Lancaster B Mk.III Dambuster – Part 1 of 3

Published: November 9, 2019
Company: HK Models Co.

In 2012 Hong Kong models entered their first 1/32 scale model the B25J Mitchell and since that time modelers have been seeing a long line of 1/32 scale kits, multiple B25s, B17E, F and Gs, the Dornier Do 335A and B and the De Havilland Mosquito B Mk. IX/ Mk. XVI and Mk. IV Series II. Now we have the Avro Lancaster B Mk.I which has been reviewed by IPMS member Eric Christianson this year, and of course the Lancaster B Mk.III Dambuster that I am reviewing now.

The RAF during WWII needed a 4 engine bomber that was capable of delivering a large bomb load over 2000 miles. Early in the war the British only had twin engine bombers that could not fly fast enough, far enough or high enough and take damage from flak and fighters, hence the Avro Aircraft company designed the Lancaster… more

Do335 A-0 Pfeil - The Big Finish, Part 3

Published: December 30, 2016
Company: Zoukei-Mura

Big Finish

So we are finally to the point of paint, decals and final assembly. I started out with applying the paint masks for the canopies. The paint masks seem to fit very well and are applied easily. I started the painting by covering the entire fuselage with Model Master Metallics non buffing Aluminum. I do this for two reasons, 1) to find any defects in the fuselage and take care of them before final paint, and 2) because I like to have an aluminum base to all my aircraft that once painted when I do weathering I can chip away the final color to reveal the aluminum underneath and it looks more realistic.

Now on to the final paint colors. I started with the bottom first and applied Model Master Enamel RLM 65 Light Blue and applied three coats. After allowing it to… more

Do335 A-0 Pfeil - Fuselage and Wing Build, Part 2

Published: December 13, 2016
Company: Zoukei-Mura

The Build Part 2: Continuing with the build is the 2 Daimler-Benz DB603 inverted V-12 liquid cooled engines. It starts with the two halves of the block with molded in pistons and rods. There are two halves of each bank of pistons that all get put together, then the upper sections are glued to that and the top cap of the whole assembly to finish it off. The valve covers are next along with the front gear box and propeller shaft and also the rear engine accessory components which are very well detailed. Next is the ignition piping and wiring, some oil tubing and the supercharger, all well detailed. The engine mounts are next along with the exhaust pipes, shrouds, cooling fluid tanks and related tubing. There are many tubes and piping that must be put together in this step that must be… more

Do335 A-0 Pfeil - First Look and Cockpit Build, Part 1

Published: October 23, 2016
Company: Zoukei-Mura

Overview

The Dornier Do335 was a German WWII heavy fighter that had a unique twin engine inline push pull setup that made it the fastest propeller driven German fighter of WWII. The Luftwaffe was desperate to get the fighter into production as soon as possible, but with engine availability problems by the time they got it into the fight there was only a handful of planes available and the war was about over.

It’s amazing how many planes were developed by the Germans that were way ahead of their time. Like the Messerschmitt Me262, the Horton Ho229 flying wing, the V-1 and V-2 rockets along with the Do335 and a few more. With the amount of bombing day and night by the Allies it’s a wonder the Germans got any planes developed at all.

The Kit

When you… more

Academy B17E "Pacific Theater"

Published: August 19, 2016
Company: Academy Models

Overview

I won’t go into too much detail on the B17E because its been covered extensively with all the other B17 kits out there. It started the war headed right into the middle of the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The B17s were not armed so they had no way to fight back. They had to land because they were low on fuel. Some were destroyed some damaged and a couple escaped with little damage. From that point on the B17 was the only big bomber in the pacific that was used for the first year and did what it could to slow the Japanese onslaught. It’s amazing that they could accomplish anything with the limited men and materials available during the early part of the Pacific war, not to mention the horrible conditions they had to work in.

The Kit

Academy… more

F9F-8 & F9F-8P Cougar

Published: February 3, 2020
Company: Kitty Hawk

Overview

The F9F-8 Cougar was a carrier based early swept wing jet that was light, fast and had good range and load carrying capacity. It was developed from the F9F Panther which was a straight wing jet. The operational career for the F9F was 1951 to 1974. It was also used as a photo recon and two seat trainer.

The Kit

Kitty Hawks 1/48 scale F9F Cougar is the first 1/48 kit since the Revell kit and a couple resin kits of the 60s and 70s. It seems the Cougar has been like the red headed stepchild of the model world. That has changed now that Kitty Hawk has the F9F-8T trainer and the F9F-8 and -8P Cougars.

Right out of the box the kit looks very good, nice moldings, crisp panel lines, photo etch parts. The instruction sheet is very well laid out and… more

M4A1 Sherman Profipack

Published: January 29, 2015
Company: Eduard

I want to start by saying I don’t model much armor, this is only my third armor model completed, but I definitely will be building more.

Eduard has come up with a great kit which uses the Tasca molds for the Sherman tank and made it better with its Profi-pack. The basic kit is molded in olive drab green and comes on 14 parts trees plus a small clear parts tree and four sections of rubber tracks. It also has a nice set of photo etch parts and decals for four different subjects. The instruction booklet is pretty clear and concise and the illustrations are sharp.

The build starts with the lower hull which has multiple pieces and has an option for 2 different front hull sections, a three piece bolted or one piece cast depending on which subject is built. The upper hull is… more

Foose '69 Camaro Z/28

Published: February 3, 2020
Company: Revell

Overview

The ’69 Camaro was the second design change in the first generation series of Camaros; the ’67 and ’68 were basically the same except for cosmetic differences. The Z/28 was the top-of-the-line version with a vast amount of options, including the dual 4-barrel 302 with the Cross-Ram intake. Chevrolet designed and built the Camaro to compete against the very popular Mustang and did very well selling over 872,000 of the first generation models. The Z/28 Camaro also raced against the Mustang in the Trans Am race circuit.

The Kit

Revell has brought back the 1/12 scale ’69 Z/28 Camaro, first produced in 1988, this time as a modified kit based on the Chip Foose designed Camaro. Chip Foose is a hot rod and muscle car designer and builder who has produced a… more

F-101B Voodoo Metal Landing Gear

Published: May 16, 2014
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

Scale Aircraft Conversions has a metal landing gear conversion set for just about every aircraft you’d want to build. The Revell 1/72 F-101B Voodoo is no exception. I just happened to have the Revell kit in my stash, so I pulled the model out and retrieved the kit landing gear to compare with the SAC landing gear.

I was surprised by the kit gear. It’s relatively nice, clean, and detailed. The SAC gear is almost exactly the same as the kit gear. The casting on this set was not that clean. There were offset mold lines on all the pieces; it looked like the casting had shifted which caused the mold lines to be very prominent. This meant lots of work to remove the lines to make the gear look good. I have reviewed other SAC 1/72 metal gear and not had the same issues. Maybe it is… more

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Machine Gun Set - Browning M2 Aircraft .50 Caliber Barrels with Flash Hiders

Published: May 10, 2014
Company: Master Model

The 1/32 B-17G by HK Models was a kit that I really wanted to get my hands on, and last year I finally acquired one. I have been waiting to build it, slowly getting aftermarket pieces for the kit. When I had a chance to review the Master Model .50 cal. brass machine gun barrels, I jumped at it.

The package contains 13 turned-brass barrels, 13 brass cooling jackets with drilled holes and 4 brass flash suppressors. Right out of the package, I could see these were of very good quality. When I compared them to the kit barrels it was no contest; the kit barrels were so crude one would think that HK made a mistake. First, they were too thin. Next, they had 4 different lengths, and finally, the blast suppressors looked like cones on the ends. The Master Model barrels are about as… more