Blaine Singleton
Reviews By Author
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T-45 Goshawk Landing GearPublished:
Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) produces white metal replacement parts for kits in a variety of scales. Some of their landing gear sets are for a variety of kits and some sets are designed for a specific model. The sets are designed to support the weight of a specific model without warping that can sometimes be seen with kit styrene landing gear supporting a model’s nose weight. This landing gear set is for either the Wolfpack, Italeri and Testors 1/72 scale model T-45 Goshawk. I had to add a good amount of weight in the nose to get the model to rest on its nose gear and the gear supported the weight without any problems. The aircraft with all the weight in the nose is quite steady sitting on the SAC gear set. The parts were well cast and had no flash or other areas… more |
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Tidal Wave - From Leyte Gulf to Tokyo BayPublished:
IntroductionIn Tidal Wave from Leyte Gulf to Tokyo Bay, Thomas McKelvey Cleaver offers a deep analysis of the political and strategic situation in the last months of the Pacific War, interwoven with engaging accounts of kamikaze raids and aerial combat. He explains how the last months of the Pacific campaign constantly challenged the crews of the US Navy ships, whose pilots conducted continual bombing missions and aerial skirmishes, how the success or failure of the ship’s gunners spelled life or death for their vessels, and how the commanders had to protect their ships from the worst ravages of the Pacific Typhoons. The AuthorThomas McKelvey Cleaver has been a published writer for the past 40 years, with his most recent work being the best selling Osprey… more |
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Kawasaki Ki-61-Id Hien - (Tony)Published:
HistoryThe Hien was notable not just as the sole Japanese fighter in the Pacific War with a liquid-cooled engine, it also fought numerous battles against incoming B-29’s in defense of the Japanese home islands. In December 1940 Kawasaki Aerospace Company produced a prototype 1,175hp engine, Ha-40, a licensed version of the Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine. This liquid-cooled engine was more powerful and had less aerodynamic impact than comparably-sized air-cooled engines. Engine production could not keep up with airframe production so eventually a radial engine was fitted to the airframe and the aircraft designated the Ki-100. In the BoxInstructionsThe instruction booklet is divided into five pages of clearly marked parts and their construction… more |
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TP-63E King CobraPublished:
HistoryAn entirely different two-seater was produced by the Bell company for internal use. Two P63E-1s were modified by Bell with a separate observer seat in the rear fuselage, located behind the engine mounted under a separate canopy. A probe was mounted which extended through the spinner, and to make space for the observer the radio equipment had to be moved forward into the armament bay. The aircraft carried the civilian registrations NX41963 and NX41964. In the BoxInstructionsThe instruction booklet was divided into eight pages of clearly marked parts and their construction sequence. Illustrations for the parts and their construction sequence were very clear and crisp. The instructions contained 49 separate steps to complete the model.… more |
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SSN-585 "Skipjack" SubmarinePublished:
HistoryThe Skipjack was a class of United States Navy nuclear submarines. This class was named after its lead ship, the USS Skipjack. The Skipjack’s design was based on the USS Albacore design. This new design was maximized for underwater speed by shaping the hull like a blimp. The bow panes were moved to the massive sail to cut down on the flow-induced noise near the bow sonar array. The KitOpening the box: When I opened the box, the model was packaged with three sprues one for the hull halves, one for the parts to go on the model and a sprue containing the stand the model will be displayed on. Also included was a clear plastic envelope containing the photo etch propeller and the decal sheet. Instructions: The… more |