Chris Smith
Reviews By Author
|
Extra EA 300L/330LCPublished:
Designed by German aerobatic pilot Walter Extra in 1988, the Extra 300 started life as an unlimited aerobatic platform with a shoulder mounted wing that made landing interesting because the runway wasn’t visible during touch down. In 1995 the Extra 300L was introduced and has become the most numerous of the Extras manufactured to date. Learning lessons from previous versions the L (for low wing), mounted the wing lower on the fuselage to improve the view for both pilot and student. This is a purpose-built machine that is capable of exceeding the average pilot’s physical abilities. Designed to withstand the stress of 10 positive and 10 negative Gs and roll up to 400 degrees per second, the Extra is right at home in the worlds of unlimited aerobatics. They can be seen in airshows,… more |
|
Tiger Moth Landing GearPublished:
The SAC website says they replicate plastic kit parts in white metal and correct inaccurate or missing details if needed. That is the case in this set for the 1/48 Airfix Tiger Moth kit. The main landing gear on the Moth has two forward facing struts connecting the main gear to the fuselage. Airfix does provide those in the kit. They are not part of this set. It also has two smaller struts facing rearward. Airfix didn’t include those in the kit but SAC has. A tail skid replacement rounds out this offering. I recommend this set for anyone wishing to build an accurate Tiger Moth. Thank you to SAC for the offering the sample for review and to IPMS for sharing that sample with me. |
|
Airbus A321 Neo Landing Gear for Revell KitPublished:
With the success of its A320/321 Airbus has proven a worthy competitor to the Boeing 737. This set replaces the gear parts in the Revell A321 New Engine Option (NEO) kit. Six parts are provided and the casting is directly from the kit parts including runners with kit part numbers on them. No doubt, there are advantages to metal parts supporting a model of this size but there are some issues. Removing the parts from the sprues was difficult to do without distorting the parts. The metal used is very pliable so they can be straightened out. In this scale, I don't know how precise the parts prep would have to be but the sample had some offsets in casting that needed a lot of material removal to make level joints. Once the struts are glued to the main gear, it makes a pretty stout assembly… more |
|
Seversky P-35A Landing GearPublished:
This set is a metal replacement for landing gear in three kits of this aircraft currently on the market. Two main gear legs and a tail wheel are provided. The P-35 main gear has two retraction struts mounted on each side of the main gear. These are cast in the same soft white metal SAC is known for. The challenge of this set will be making those long thin struts straight. That said, this is a detailed replacement for the older kits of this aircraft. Thank you to SAC for the sample set and to IPMS for allowing me to take look at them for you. |
|
Modelbuilding Guide #12, Lockheed F-4/F-5 LightingPublished:
This book was compiled by Richard Marmo, a long time IPMS/USA member. It consists of a collection of 60 images of the photo reconnaissance version of the P-38, both the F-4 and F-5. The “Marmo Method” refers to other books in this series that take you step by step through the techniques used to complete a specific project. As the title says, this is a photo reference gallery of a specific squadron, the 128th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron during a specific time frame, July 1944 to September 1945. This unit sent aircraft where needed and as a result conducted operations over an extensive area of pacific operations. Quality of the images range from fair to very good. A lot of these, as the author points out, are photos taken in operational environments that didn’t have composition… more |
|
US WWII 75 Gallon Fuel TankPublished:
Brengun brings us an improved version of the metal 75 gallon drop tanks used on all types of US fighter aircraft during WWII. You get two tanks cast in resin, a PE fret with caps and a small decal sheet with labels and stencils for the tanks. Casting blocks are attached to front of each part and come off easily. A little touch up was required since the attachment points from the blocks left minor dimples and there were a few pin holes to fill. I painted the tanks aluminum per the directions. The PE caps fit the provided recesses just right. Decaling proved easy as they went down with micro set. The only gripe here is the stencil blocks are just colored stripes without writing on them. Compared to the tank from the Airfix Mustang kit, the details are much sharper. The Brengun… more |
|
De Havilland Chipmunk T-10 Landing Gear (for the Airfix kit)Published:
The Chipmunk was a Canadian design that satisfied the need for a post WWII primary trainer to replace the outdated Tiger Moth and other trainers like it. First flown in November 1946, it went on to become the standard primary trainer for the RCAF and RAF. Most famous in civilian hands was the “Super Chipmunk”, flown by aerobatic legend Art Scholl. I have a personal connection to the Chipmunk as my grandfather, a flight instructor at the Montreal Flying Club, taught many a pilot to fly in what he described as a beautiful flying aircraft. SAC has provided a white metal set for the Airfix T.MK10 kit. This was the standard RAF version of the Chipmunk of which 755 were built. Per SACs usual process, these parts are a reproduction of the kit parts in white metal. Two main gear legs… more |
|
M26 FlarePublished:
Before the days of night vision goggles and infrared sensors, US bombers needed a system to illuminate the target area before or during bomb release. Introduced in 1942, the M26 parachute flare was designed to do that. Designed to mount onto the same shackles used to secure bombs, this flare system was activated at release by a wire attached to the fuse on the nose. At the pre-set time, the flare would deploy a parachute and a shield that prevented the burning flare from blinding the bombardier. This model of the M26 could burn for up to three and half minutes at a brightness of 800,000 candlepower. There are a number of these empty canisters on eBay for those who collect such things. Brengun has given us a couple of these flares to add to our next 1/48 scale US bomber load out… more |
|
G.91Y "Yankee"Published:
As with most fighter aircraft, they tend to get heavier as the user needs more capability than the original design can deliver. In this case, the light weight G.91 needed more range, loiter time and weapons. Enter the G.91Y. Going from a single engine to two engines, the G.91Y nearly doubled its empty and max take off weights while increasing range and navigational capabilities. External ordinance capacity increased from 1000lbs to 4000lbs. Like its predecessor, the G.91Y also competed against some of what the world had to offer in 1965 but in the end only the Italian Air Force used this aircraft. The “Yankee” version of the G.91 would serve from 1966 to 1995. This title follows a format established by these authors in numerous volumes on aircraft in Italian service. The text… more |
|
We Were Never There, Volume 1: CIA U-2 Operations over Europe, the USSR and the Middle East, 1956-1960Published:
On May 1, 1960, an ex-USAF turned CIA pilot named Francis Gary Powers flying a Lockheed U-2 at 70,000 feet 800 miles east of Moscow felt and saw the results of a Soviet SA-2 missile removing the tail of his aircraft. Thus ended the first round of U-2 overflights over the Soviet Union and the time frame covered in this volume. Despite the international incident that resulted, the information gained about the state of Soviet bomber and nuclear weapon capabilities more than justified the risks taken. The author, Kevin Wright is a university professor specializing in the Cold War. This book outlines the first phase of U-2 operations from 1956 to 1960. The book opens with a brief history of how the U-2 came to be and examines the various equipment packages that the aircraft could carry.… more |