IPMS Number
26328

Reviews By Author

Box Art

Mig-23M Flogger B Antennas

Published: May 23, 2013
Company: Quickboost

Note: the packaging of this set indicates that it is antennas. In fact the details are antennas and pitot tubes.

As with most Soviet designed aircraft, the Mig-23 Flogger has numerous antennas and pitot tubes protruding from the airframe. Trumpeter has included all of them in their nice kit of the Flogger, but there are limitations in the injection molding process and you can only get… more

Box Art

Mig-23 Flogger Pitot Tube

Published: May 21, 2013
Company: Quickboost

Prominent on the nose of the Mig-23 Flogger is a pitot tube. From a modeling perspective a nose pitot presents several challenges. First you hope that the part is not bent, broken or molded out of round. Surviving that, you then need to remove the pitot from the sprue, remove the mold lines and ensure that the cross section is round. Lastly, a nose pitot tube becomes a transportation liability… more

Product Image

Mig-23 Flogger Gun Barrels

Published: May 21, 2013
Company: Quickboost

Prominent on the underside of the Mig-23 is the twin GSH-23 twin barrel 23mm cannon which can be used air to air or air to ground. The Trumpeter 1/48 Mig-23M and Mig-23MF kits provide multiple parts to create the cannon – the L34 for the fairing, PE parts 2 and 3 for the shell ejection chutes and part C2 which consists of the twin cannon barrel. Once covered by the fairing, the only portion of… more

Box Art

F-14 Alpha Probe and Angle of Attack Probe

Published: May 12, 2013
Company: Master Model

I would like to thank Master Model for this review sample.

Master Model has been literally “turning” out numerous metal details for the model maker. This latest offering is the Alpha Probe and angle of attack probe for the F-14 in 1/48. The alpha probe is the pitot at the forward end of the radome. For a model this is a very vulnerable place and no doubt, like me, you have managed to… more

Box Art

Mig-23 Wheel Wells

Published: May 12, 2013
Company: Aires Hobby Models

The Trumpeter Mig-23M and MF kits in 1/48 finally give the modeler an alternative to the Esci Mig-23/27 family of kits. While it has its own issues, the Trumpeter kit renders the other one obsolete. One problem with the Trumpeter kit are the main wheel wells. Trumpeter’s wells are under detailed and worse yet are symmetrical from port to starboard. This is not the case with the Mig-23; the… more

Cover

USS Lexington CV-2, Squadron at Sea

Published: April 25, 2013
Book Author(s): David Doyle
Company: Squadron Signal Publications

USS Lexington (CV-2) and her sister USS Saratoga (CV-3) played a critical role in the development of the modern naval aviation and the way the US Navy wields air power. Built on the hulls of battlecruisers cancelled in the 1920s under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, Lexington and Saratoga were far more different and innovative than the first US aircraft carrier, USS Langley CV-1, and… more

Box Art

Soviet PAG-14 Airfield Plates

Published: February 11, 2013
Company: ICM

One of ICM’s most recent offering is a set of PAG-14 Airfield plates used in the construction of airfields by the Soviet Union at home and in the Warsaw Pact nations. This particular set is for 1/48th scale. Knowing little of Soviet airfield construction – and what I did know centered on the use of hexagonal blocks for construction – I conducted online research into the PAG-14 plates. My first… more

Parts Package

Yak-38 Forger A (Mid-Production) Cockpit

Published: January 21, 2013
Company: Aires Hobby Models

The Yak-38 Forger was considered by many to be the Soviet Harrier. Like in the West, Soviet aircraft design bureaus were fascinated by the potential of VSTOL aircraft and undertook their own developmental efforts. The Forger was borne out of a requirement for a VSTOL fighter for the Soviet Navy to take to sea on the Kiev Class ships. The Kiev Class was technically not an aircraft carrier, but… more

Parts Package

Soviet UB-16 Rocket Pods

Published: December 31, 2012
Company: Aires Hobby Models

There is probably no more uniquely a Soviet/Russian weapons system than the unguided rocket – think Katyusha. Their use, on a smaller scale, extended to Soviet concepts of close air support with aerial unguided rockets. Whereas in Western air forces the unguided rocket is a thing of the past in favor of precision munitions, they remain a staple with most Soviet/Russian-influenced air forces.… more

Parts Package

Soviet Training Unit UZR-60 Missiles with Transport Box

Published: December 31, 2012
Company: Plusmodel

The R-60 (AA-8 Aphid) is a Soviet/Russian short range infrared (IR) homing air-to-air missile. It has been fielded for 35 years and is widely used by a variety of Soviet/Russian manufacturer aircraft. For attack aircraft, it is their primary means of self-defense. The UZR-60 is the training variant of the R-60, distinguished by its lack of rear delta fins and the three black bands designating… more