Charles Landrum
Reviews By Author
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Sukhoi Su-9 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 Trumpeter’s SU-9 and contains white metal copies of the assembled pieces. In the Trumpeter kit the pivot for the landing gear gets glued to the main strut. The plastic is not keyed for… more |
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Price of War: European Civilian 1944-1945Published:
This is my first experience with Master Box products, which is primarily known for its figures series for military and aircraft models. I decided to step outside my comfort zone and build a subject I don’t typically build. This is the first bicycle model that I have assembled since building the old MPC Schwinn Ten Speed 40 plus years ago! The “Price of War” set is a multimedia kit which includes a figure with baggage accessories and a multi-media bicycle with a separate sprue and PE fret by North Star. The details are etched from brass and given the subject it would have been nicer to have them in stainless steel – more about this later. First thing that I did was to research vintage European bicycles on the internet. I intend to use this figure and the bike for a Prague 1968… more |
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BMD-2Published:
The BMD is an air-droppable infantry combat vehicle built originally for the Soviet Airborne Forces. It was one of the first vehicles into Afghanistan in 1979 and like BMP soon proved to be inadequate to the task. Like the BMP, the BMD was upgraded as a result of the war experience, being fitted with a 30mm 2A42 automatic cannon and 7.62mm PKT machine gun and the AT-5 Spandrel anti-tank missile system. These upgraded vehicles were built and they served in Afghanistan and in Kosovo with SFOR. The vehicles still serve in the airborne forces of Russia and Ukraine. According the Cookie Sewell 2500 were built and the majority of the BMD-2 and the older BMD-1s were placed in storage in depots around Russia and the Ukraine. Fast forward to 2014 and crisis erupted in the Donets Basin (DONBAS… more |
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Sukhoi Su-9 (Fishpot)Published:
The Su-9 was a Soviet interceptor from the later 1950s until the late 1970s. It superseded by the Su-15 Flagon and Mig-25 Foxbat. Often mistaken for a Mig-21 because of the delta wing, it was in fact a much larger aircraft with greater range. It was the second Sukhoi fighter with the Su-9 numerical designation, the first being a prototype early twin engine early jet fighter similar to the Me-262 which never saw service. The Su-9 shared an airframe and engine with the Su-7 Fitter, the aircraft being developed somewhat in parallel. It only saw service with the Soviet Air Force (VVS) and was never exported. When researching the aircraft, I realized how few pictures there are of the Su-9 likely since they were only in the Soviet Union during the depth of the cold war. There is one… more |
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MiG and Sukhoi Static DischargersPublished:
Master Model continues to “turn” out metal details for the model maker. Here they are offering the static discharge whips that you see on all high performance Eastern Bloc built jets. You know - the ones on the trailing edge of the wings and tail surfaces that, if they are molded, quickly snap off never to be seen again. Plus molded discharge whips are often out of scale. Previously I stretched sprue and then quickly exposed the tip of the rod to heat to cause it to mushroom slightly. This is a good solution except the whips always were too big and quickly snapped of at the slightest touch.
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Aero L-29 DelfinPublished:
The Aero Vodochody L-29 was a Soviet and Warsaw Pact primary jet trainer developed and manufactured in Czechoslovakia. The design won a Warsaw Pact competition beating the Yakovlev Yak-30 entry and the Polish PZL TS-11 Iskra. The L-29 competition represented a clean-sheet approach and gave the Eastern bloc its first jet trainer not derived from a fighter. Rugged and reliable the L-29 has since been surpassed by the Aero L-39 and other aircraft, but it continues the soldier on in the air forces of former Soviet client states or break-away republics. Georgia is a notable example, since it has an aircraft manufacturing infrastructure in Tbilisi, and its L-29s are in a state of excellent repair. AMK is a start-up model company in Macau, China, this kit being one of its first… more |
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KH-25ML (AS-10 Karen)Published:
The KH-25ML is a Soviet/Russian LASER guided surface to air missile, designated AS-10 Karen by NATO. Its primary use was/is against hardened targets like fortifications, bunkers, or armor. In Afghanistan Su-25 crews started employing the weapon in the mid-80s to try to collapse cave entrances used by the Taliban. The CEP is cited at 4 meters. In addition to the Su-25 other Soviet era strike aircraft such as the MiG-27 Flogger, and Su-17M and Su-22M Fitter carried the weapon. These aircraft used nose mounted optical target tracking sensors with boresighted laser designators, for self-designation. While superseded by newer weapons, it can still be found in the inventories of many former Soviet states, Warsaw Pact countries and client states. The KH-25ML is an important weapon… more |
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TBD-1A on FloatsPublished:
The Douglas TBD-1A was a one-off aircraft built to compete for a Dutch requirement in 1939 for a float plane bomber, the Netherlands being blessed with a vast inland sea from which to operate. The Dutch were not interested and the aircraft was sold to the Navy for testing at Naval Air Test Center (later this center would outgrow NAS Anacostia and NAS Patuxent River would be built). The Navy had no need for a float plane version of it carrier aircraft, yet the Navy found the TBD-1A to be a stable torpedo and bombing platform, with the oversized floats only diminishing air speed by 20 knots. So theTBD-1A was reassigned to Experimental Squadron Two (VX-2) at NAS Quonset Point in Rhode Island (part of the 1st Naval District) where it would support the Newport Torpedo Station in the testing… more |
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Albatros D.IIIPublished:
The Albatros, with its torpedo shaped fuselage is one of the more iconic German aircraft of WWI. Not without its shortcomings, it never the less gave the German air superiority mid-war and remained a mainstay of the German and Austrian air forces to the war’s end. To meet the demand for aircraft, production of the D.III was seconded out to three other companies: Johannisthal, OAW and Oeffag. This outsourcing allowed Albatros to focus on D.V production much like what happened with Grumman Corp. in World War Two – where General Motors took over production and development of the F4F-4 (FM1) and Grumman pursued the F6F Hellcat. Like in the case of the Wildcat and General Motors, Johnannistal, OAW and Oeffag continued to build and refine the D.III and turn it into a more effective and… more |
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Antonov AN-2 FloodlightPublished:
The AN-2 “"Annushka" (NATO designation “Colt”) bi-plane is a throwback from a very earlier age as a rugged biplane used in a STOVL role. The Hobby Boss kit is a nice replica of this plane, yet there are some details that require improvement. One shortcoming is the landing floodlights on the leading edge of the lower wing. The kit provides the lens for the lights, but they are blanked off and no light is represented. This set by Quickboost corrects that shortcoming by providing three recessed sockets with the floodlight reflectors. To install the floodlights, you need to remove the plastic indicated by the shaded areas in both the upper and lower wings. I used a battery powered etching tool I bought at Harbor Freight. I found that it operates a low enough speed to remove the… more |