Bill O'Malley
Reviews By Author
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German Motorcyclist 2#Published:
This is another finely sculpted resin figure from The Bodi. The figure is sculpted to be leaning against a motorcycle and has a recess on his butt for the motorcycle seat. The figures body is molded in a full-length leather greatcoat that is pulled back and buttoned around the legs. There is also a recess across the back for the rifle slung across the shoulder. A gas mask canister is strapped under the right arm, but there is no other equipment. The figure does have goggles around the collar. The body has a pronounced mold seam running up the side of the legs and up the sides of each arm. There is also a seam in the figures jacket running up the arm so make sure to remove the mold seam, not the jacket seam. There is flash between the two legs that will need to be removed. The… more |
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German Wounded SoldierPublished:
The Bodi’s Wounded German Soldier is a beautifully sculpted figure with a very natural pose and extremely sharp detail. The figure is modeled holding his wounded left arm and stands about 5 ft. 8 in. tall. The box art shows the soldier under the watchful eyes of a U.S. Jeep driver and passenger, also The Bodi figures. The Bodi is a Hungarian company that produces resin figures sculpted by Krisztián Bódi in 1/35 and 1/48 scale. The kit comes in three pieces - body, head, and left hand. The figure is molded in a medium gray resin with some minor flash at the end of the sleeve and on the back of the figure’s neck. Flash between the two legs will need to be trimmed away. Mold seams are visible on the outside of the leg. The mold seams are not apparent on the upper body, or somehow… more |
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Go Mad NomadPublished:
Far Out Dude! An enjoyable kit to build and paint! This would be a good kit for beginners who have done some snap-tites and are ready for their first glue & paint kit. It’s also an opportunity for experience modelers to let loose their creative monster art skills! Part of Deals Wheels collection by Revell based on Dave Deal’s cartoons and far-out caricatures of cars & planes, the Nomad is a reissue of a kit originally issued in 1971. The detail is a little soft and the parts fit is loose, but it’s still a fun kit for beginners and a fun painting opportunity for more advanced modelers. Two characters, Ol’ Farmer Frickett, and Rincon Ron the California surfer dude narrate the instructions, which are cartoons drawn by Dave Deal himself. The storyline of the… more |
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D9R Doobi InteriorPublished:
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 been reviewed [D9R Cooling Slats Review], as well as the Eduard Exterior Photoetch set [… more |
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DR9 Doobi Cooling SlatsPublished:
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 Exterior set has also been reviewed [D9R Exterior Review], as well as the Eduard Interior Photoetch set [… more |
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CMP F15A Van LorryPublished:
The 1/35 scale CMP F15A Van Lorry by Mirror Models is a challenging build due to lack of clarity in part locations, but experienced modelers can build it into a nicely detailed model. The kit comes nicely packed in a cardboard box, and each of the gray plastic sprues are individually bagged. On first glance there are many very small parts, and the detail of the molding is good. The parts have very large gateways, or sprue connections, for attaching the part to the sprue. The instructions noted that some of the gates are larger to avoid ejector pin marks, and suggests using a razor saw or scalpel instead of a sprue cutter to remove the parts. The sprue connections are wide but thin, and I didn’t break any of the parts removing when removing them from the sprue. The kit… more |
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The Big Macks - A Visual History Of The Mack Wheeled Prime Movers In US Army Service 1940–1958Published:
The Big Macks book is part of Ampersand Publishing Company’s Visual History Series - single-subject reference books featuring a historical introduction followed by extensive black-and-white period and walk-around photographs. The book is by renowned military author David Doyle, has 112 pages with two pages of text, and the remaining pages are all photographs. There are no ads. The two pages of text is the Introduction, which provides a brief history of development of the various Mack truck models from the early NO-1, 2, 3, which were all prime movers. The introduction also describes the next two models, NO-4 and NO-5, which were wreckers rather than prime movers. The NO-4 trucks were used by the Army Air Forces as aircraft wreckers, whereas the NO-5 was intended for field… more |
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The D7 Tractor: A Visual History of the D7 Tractor in US Army Service 1941 - 1953Published:
The D7 Tractor: A Visual History of the D7 Tractor in US Army Service 1941– 1953 is part of Ampersand Publishing Company’s Visual History Series of single-subject reference books. Books in this series feature historical introductions followed by extensive period and walk-around photographs in black-and-white and color. The D7 Tractor, by renowned military author David Doyle, features two pages of introductory text, while the balance of its 120-page length is filled with photographs. The two-page introduction provides background on the development of the Caterpillar D7 tractor. Caterpillar was formed in 1925 by the merger of the Best Gas Tractor Company and the Holt Manufacturing Company. Holt supplied tractors to the US Army during World War I using Caterpillar as its trade… more |
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D.A.K. Profile GuidePublished:
This is a beautifully illustrated book showing more than 170 profiles of vehicles used by the Deutsche Afrika Korps (D.A.K.) during the North African campaign. The sections of the book include:
A Prologue briefly describes the military episodes of the Afrika Corps between 1941 and 1943. The Prologue describes how the Afrika Corpstook over for the Italian army and, despite being outnumbered and out-supplied, effectively battled the British and, later, American forces. The Prologue provides a brief backdrop for the vehicles… more |
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Harley Davidson FLSTFB Fat Boy Lo, Part 2 - AssemblyPublished:
Part 1 of the Tamiya Fat Boy review describes the background of the Fat Boy motorcycle and the Tamiya kit contents. This Part 2 Review describes the assembly of the Tamiya Fat Boy kit. This is a fantastic kit! Not only is the Harley Davidson Fat Boy an iconic motorcycle, assembling this kit is one of the best modeling experiences I've ever had! The engineering and detail is phenomenal, the fit and finish of the parts are excellent, and the assembly, while complicated, goes together very well. The kit is a joy to build! BackgroundThe Harley Davidson Fat Boy is the latest in Tamiya’s series of 1/6 scale motorcycle kits. This is a large, multimedia kit with plastic, metal, rubber, diecast, and photoetch parts. This review also includes Tamiya’s Harley-Davidson… more |