Charles Landrum
Reviews By Author
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Yak-23 "Flora"Published:
Mikro Mir has come on the scene from Ukraine, releasing a lot of new naval kits and some aircraft. I had earlier reviewed their new CAD designed model of the British 1/144 Holland Class Submarine. It was a pleasure to build, so I quickly signed up for this kit. I was wary of the Bilek release of the Yak-23 and was looking for Mikro Mir’s approach to the subject. Well, Mikro Mir had a hand in this kit, but the basic aircraft is the Bilek kit (4 sprues) with an extra sprue of details, new PE, new decals and set of masks from Mikro Mir. The Mikro Mir sprue includes a full engine (but no tailpipe!), wing tanks and simplified landing gear. The Yak-23 Flora was the last and best of the Yak “tadpole” fighters, so named because of their shape. The plane was the result of lessons… more |
DH.9a Ninak Landing GearPublished:
SAC has filled the niche of replacement landing cast in white metal. In most cases these are copies of the original parts cast in white metal. Some are upgrades that fix noted errors. These products are convenient for many multiple reasons:
This offering is intended to replace the landing gear on the Wingnut Wings DH.9A Ninak and contains white metal copies of kit pieces. The DH.9A is a large plan especially in 1/32 and Wingnuts Wings planes are dense with components and therefore often heavier than other kits of the same scale and size. I have not had a problem with my built Wingnuts Wings kit but… more |
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British Holland Class SubmarinePublished:
Mikro Mir has releases a series of submarine models from the first submarines through the Cold War. Most of these are in 1/350 and are subjects not seen on plastic or at all. When the IPMS review list came out I wanted to try one, but it was overwhelming and a hard choice of which subject to pick. Fascinated with warships of the turn of the 20th Century I opted for the first British submarine – the American designed Holland Class developed by Mr. John Holland and his company Electric Boat. For such a small submarine, Mikro Mir chose 1/144 scale, which turned out to be a good size. Mikro Mir’s British Holland is an injection molded styrene kit with a PE fret for the finer components. Also included are a display stand and a very small decal sheet, the majority of which is a Royal… more |
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Yak-28P "Firebar"Published:
If you are fan of Soviet and Russian aircraft, the model gods are listening and continue to produce kits which fill gaps in coverage in 1/48. A-model had released the Yak-28 family of jets in 1/72 and now it looks as if Bobcat Hobby will do the same in 1/48. This is a straight styrene-only kit, with a manageable parts count. First out of the gate is the Yak-28P “Firebar”. Never exported, this was a Soviet interceptor from the 1960s and 1970’s that had that classic Soviet propaganda appearance. A stable flight platform, it carried a more powerful radar and complex weapons systems than the single engine interceptors. It was eventually replaced by the Mig-23 family. Since it was only in Soviet service, and has been out of service for 35 years, few reference photos are available.… more |
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USMC Tank Crew [Modern]Published:
When I model military vehicles, I like to have a figure or two with the vehicle to give it more animation and scale. If you like to model modern US armor, there have been limited options for tanker figures in the most modern of US military uniforms. Mostly, suitable figures are found in resin, but injection molded options are few. To be fair to the manufacturers, the US military has kept changing uniforms during its 15 years of conflict in the Middle East and Afghanistan. When figures are available they tend to be US Army, which wears a different uniform than the US Marine Corps. MiniArt to the rescue. With this MiniArt release, the Marine Corps finally gets their due. There are five figures in this set, 4 tankers, and a field officer, perhaps Infantry, to accompany a vehicle.… more |
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Beechcraft 17 DecalsPublished:
The Beechcraft 17 Staggerwing and later D17 was a versatile family of aircraft that ended up serving in for more roles than originally envisioned by Beech. Renowned for its attractive lines and good performance, it was designed to be an executive aircraft. But it soon found a role as a racer, liaison, and a utility aircraft in both military and civilian livery. In the US Army Air Force it was the UC-43, in the US Navy the GB-1 and 2. In addition, it flew with 15 other air f orces. Roden answered the call of many modelers to release a nice kit of the Staggerwing, finally supplanting the old AMT kit which is still available through Round 2. The AMT kit was a specific post war variant however, and required modification to backdate it. The Roden kit represents the most common D17S… more |
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Super Etendard Landing Gear (for Kitty Hawk Kit)Published:
Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) continues to be the prolific leader in producing replacement landing gear in white metal. These products are convenient for many multiple reasons:
While often their parts are just metal copies of the kit parts, SAC has also made alterations to improve the accuracy of their parts without compromising fit. This set is designed for the Kitty Hawk kit of the Super Etendard (SuE). The Kitty Hawk has its critics with respect to accuracy of their SuE (all in all it is a nice kit), but I have not read of any complaints regarding the landing gear. One… more |
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KAB-500KR TV Guided BombPublished:
To those who model Soviet era and modern Russian aircraft there has been a welcome proliferation of weapons which have emerged on the market, so we have something to hang on aircraft models other than rocket launchers and dumb bombs. Unlike the west, the Soviet and now Russian military is not known for the use of smart ordnance; rare were the pictures of them fitted. But a wide range of smart weapons exist in the Russian inventory for specialized missions and the pictures coming from Syria show smart weapons being used. A new manufacturer from Russia has come on the scene to offer perhaps the widest range of munitions than we have seen so far on the market – Advanced Modeling (AM). These are multi-media kits cleanly cast in gray, durable resin; the detail is superb. … more |
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KAB-1500KR TV Guided BombPublished:
To those who model Soviet era and modern Russian aircraft there has been a welcome proliferation of weapons which have emerged on the market, so we have something to hang on aircraft models other than rocket launchers and dumb bombs. Unlike the west, the Soviet and now Russian military is not known for the use of smart ordnance; rare were the pictures of them fitted. But a wide range of smart weapons exist in the Russian inventory for specialized missions and the pictures coming from Syria show smart weapons being used. A new manufacturer from Russia has come on the scene to offer perhaps the widest range of munitions than we have seen so far on the market – Advanced Modeling (AM). These are multi-media kits cleanly cast in gray, durable resin; the detail is superb. … more |
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244N Soviet Nuclear BombPublished:
To those who model Soviet era and modern Russian aircraft there has been a welcome proliferation of weapons which have emerged on the market, so we have something to hang on aircraft models other than rocket launchers and dumb bombs. Unlike the west, the Soviet and now Russian military is not known for the use of smart ordnance, and rare were the pictures of them fitted. But a wide range of weapons exist for specialized missions and the pictures coming from Syria show smart weapons being hung. A new manufacturer from Russia has come on the scene to offer perhaps the widest range of munitions than we have seen so far on the market – Advanced Modeling (AM). Multi-media kits with cleanly cast in gray, durable resin the detail is superb. The casting are so well done that I could… more |