Bill O'Malley
Reviews By Author
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US Diamond T 969A WreckerPublished:
This is a complicated kit to assemble and requires adjusting and fitting lots of parts. This is not a kit that will fall together out of the box on a Sunday afternoon, but approached as a challenging craftsman type kit, experienced modelers will produce an excellent model. Diamond T 969 was a vehicle recovery truck based on a 4 ton 6X6 chassis, powered with a Hercules RXC six-cylinder gasoline engine, and equipped with a five speed overdrive transmission and a direct and under drive transfer, manufactured from roughly 1940 until 1945 by the Diamond T Motor Car Company in Chicago. From 1943 on most trucks were fitted with an open cab. This model includes the hard top. Mirror also has a model of the soft top version, as well as a Diamond T cargo truck. The wrecker was… more |
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Assortment Shutters, Type 1Published:
These shutters make a very nice diorama accessory and are a nice addition to building windows. The package includes 10 cast resin parts, 2 pairs each of 5 deferent shutter styles. The styles include two pairs of louvered wood shutters, two pairs of metal shutters, and two pairs each of 3 different wood style shutters. Each set of shutters includes two shutters molded in the closed position, as if closed over a window. All but one of the shutter sets includes center astragals over the joint between the two shutters. The astragal will need to be dealt with if the shutters are cut apart and placed on each side of the window in an open position. The pair of shutters measure 1-3/4” tall by 1-1/16” inch wide, or 5 feet tall by 3 feet wide at 1/35 scale. The shutters all have… more |
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Precolored Roof TilesPublished:
The kit includes approximately 325 ceramic tiles prefinished with a light terra-cotta color. The color of the roof tiles is nicely mottled and would be ideally suited for Southern Europe or Mediterranean buildings. The tiles in this sample are much lighter than the illustration on the package. There are 3 shapes to the tile - the typical field tile, a shorter field tile, and a shape with an extended edge for a roof eave or cap. There are few bubbles in the casting, some chipped edges, and some flash that can easily be chipped off. All these add to the nice texture of the tile. The ceramic material is very fine grained, integrally colored so any chipping will blend in, and can easily be trimmed with a hobby knife or sanding stick. No instructions are provided. The tiles… more |
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Scale Modeling Quarterly – Winter 2014Published:
Scale Modeling Quarterly is an interesting new magazine that nice variety of subjects of interest to many modelers. This is the second edition of the relatively new modeling magazine by Hobbyscale Press. The magazine is described is a journal for and by scale modelers. The magazine is published quarterly and costs $7.99 per issue. The magazine is 8.5” x 11”, printed on a gloss paper and is 52 pages including covers. The typeface is large, easy to read, and colors are used to accentuate paragraph headings and titles. The photographs are sharp and are all printed in color. The magazine includes a nice mix of editorial articles, modeler profiles, build articles, and modeling techniques. Contents of this issue include:
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US 250 Lb. BombsPublished:
The kit includes six resin bombs, resin tailfins, photoetch for the nose fuse and rear arming vanes, 1 decal sheet, and instructions. I compared the Brassin 250 lb. bomb to a 500 lb. bomb from Revell’s B-17F Memphis Belle. The Brassin bomb has much thinner tail fins and greater detail with the flanges on each of the fins. The nose fuse on the Brassin bomb has a more accurate projection, and the suspension lugs have nice definition. The Revell bomb only includes a slot for attachment without the suspension lugs. The rear arming vanes on the Brassin bomb are obviously much greater detail, as they are not included with the Revell bomb. The Brassin bomb his only very slight mold seams, which are easily corrected, compared to the larger glue joint and sprue attachments on… more |
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Bomber Aircraft of 305 SquadronPublished:
Bomber Aircraft of 305 Squadron is a photographic history of the 305 Weilkopolski Polish bomber squadron. The book is dedicated to Gabriel Milosz, who served as a photographer for the 305 squadron from its formation until its disbandment. Milosz's photographs capture the aircraft used by the 305 Squadron as well as the crews before and after the, often tragic, missions. He also captured the mechanics, armorers, and daily life of the Polish squadron. The photographs are black-and-white, while the illustrated aircraft profiles are in full-color. From the back of the book:
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US 500 Lb. BombsPublished:
The kit includes six resin bombs, resin tailfins, photoetch for the nose fuse and rear arming vanes, 1 decal sheet, and instructions. I compared the Brassin bomb to a 500 lb. bomb from Revell’s B-17F Memphis Belle. The two bombs are very close in size and shape, however the Brassin bomb has much thinner tail fins and greater detail with the flanges on each of the fins. The nose fuse on the Brassin bomb has a more accurate projection, and the suspension lugs have nice definition. The Revell bomb only includes a slot for attachment without the suspension lugs. The rear arming vanes on the Brassin bomb are obviously much greater detail, as they are not included with the Revell bomb. The Brassin bomb has only very slight mold seams, which are easily corrected, compared to… more |
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Ed 'Big Daddy" Roth '57 Chevy Bel AirPublished:
This is a tough kit to assemble. Not that it's difficult, but the parts are rough, fit loose, and require a lot of cleanup of flash and ejection pins. Several of the parts have a copyright date of 1973 and the years have not been nice to this kit. The kit has some interesting detail, particularly on the engine and its internal compliments, but the molding has lost a lot of detail. There’s lots of flash to clean up and some of the ejection pins are almost big enough to have their own part number. The part fit is loose and difficult to align correctly. The kit has options for three different versions: street, Roth, and a drag version. Kit includes choice of three different engine intakes and has opening doors and trunk lid. From Revell’s website:
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D9R Doobi Bulldozer Exterior SetPublished:
This is one of three photoetch sets provided by Eduard for the Meng 1/35 scale D9R Armored Bulldozer kit. The Meng D9R kit itself has previously been reviewed [Meng D9R Review]. The Eduard Cooling Slats set has also previously been reviewed [D9R Cooling Slats Review], as well as the Eduard Interior Photoetch set [… more |
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Killing bin Laden – Operation Trident Spear 2011Published:
There have been several accounts of the operation to kill Osama bin Laden, including one by a former Navy seal, one by a Navy seal who participated in the raid, as well as the movie Zero Dark Thirty. In this new book Killing bin Laden - Operation Neptune Spear 2011, author Peter F. Panzeri Jr. has developed another highly detailed account of the hunt leading up to the raid on the bin Laden's compound in Abottabad, Pakistan, and his ultimate death. Bibliography and Critical SourcesAs stated in the book “The most dominant influences on this account are those of the 880+ page Pakistani Abottabad Commission Report for its inclusion of candid raw data, the personal account in interviews of former US Navy SEAL “Mark Owen,” and the abundance of… more |