Chris Smith
Reviews By Author
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OH-6D "Winter Camouflage"Published:
First flown in 1963, the HUGHES OH-6 is a light observation helicopter capable of carrying four at cruise speeds of up to 135 knots. The type is also known in the civilian world as the Hughes 500 series. A number of countries used the OH-6 including the Japanese Self Defense Force who used aircraft built under license as the OH-6D by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. That version is represented in this kit. This is a limited-edition kit and comes in the now common Hasegawa top open box with a photo of the real thing on it. Inside you find high quality parts typical of this company with restrained panel lines and very good fit. Six resin parts are included that consist of antennas and a supplemental tail light assembly. Construction begins with the cockpit and enough parts are… more |
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#10 Danica Patrick Aspen Dental Ford FusionPublished:
With her Indy car win in Japan in 2008, Danica Patrick has become a house-hold name in racing and a celebrity based on her clever add campaign with Go Daddy, one of her past sponsors. In 2010 Danica moved to Nascar and although she hasn't won any races she has claimed pole position and led a number of laps. She has proven her ability as a racer and follows in the footsteps of Shirley Muldowney and the up and coming Cortney Force. This kit represents one of Danica's 2017 cars sponsored by Aspen Dental. Running under the Ford Banner for the Stuart-Hass racing team, the car is shaped to represent the Ford Fusion. All the teams ran the Roush-Yates FR-9 engine that season. This 358 CI engine was equipped with fuel injection and were restricted by a plate on the intake manifold to… more |
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GAU 8 Avenger Gun & Pitot PEPublished:
HistoryDeveloped in parallel with the AX program which eventually led to the A-10 Thunderbolt II the General Electric GAU-8 "Avenger" was designed as a tank killer. The seven-barrel 30 mm cannon can fire over 3000 rounds a minute. When coupled with depleted uranium cored ammunition this weapon can penetrate most known armor. During my time in the USAF I was posted with the 23rd TAC who flew the shark mouthed A-10s of Flying Tiger fame. Part of my duties required maintenance visits to the firing range where I got to see these weapons awesome power first hand. A number of model companies have produced the A-10 in 1/48 scale and while the airframes are very good in most cases the gun is a solid piece without hollow barrels. Scratch building a GAU-8 is certainly possible but not… more |
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Sukhoi Su-22 M3/M4 Fitter FPublished:
HistoryDeveloped from the delta wing Su-7 the Su-17/22 NATO code name "Fitter", the design incorporated a swing wing to reduce landing speeds. Interestingly the swing-wing was limited to the outboard portion of the wing allowing the landing gear and fixed weapon pylons to remain unchanged. Kitty Hawk has given us the Su-22 M3/4 in this boxing. The Su-22 is the export version of the SU-17 and you get no less than seven marking options for German (pre and post-cold war), IRAQ, Czech, Polish, Syria and Vietnamese aircraft. Perhaps the most memorable moment involving this aircraft is the encounter two Libyan Fitters had with US F-14s on August 19, 1981, in during which the Tomcats prevailed. Although it's not the most elegant of designs its always been my favorite cold war era… more |
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Bf 109F-4Published:
Entering service in June 1941, the Bf 109F (Friedrich) corrected some of the limitations revealed in the Battle of Britain, namely the ability to carry extra fuel in a drop tank under the centerline. Other distinguishing features included strutless tail planes and a refined nose profile. Personally, I always associated the Friedrich with Hans-Joachim Marseille who scored many of his 158 victories in this version of Messerschmitt's ubiquitous fighter. This kit is another in the "Weekend Edition" series from Eduard. As with the other kits I've built in this series I didn't finish this one in a weekend, but if you really devoted a weekend to it you probably could. But why? I say that because this is one to savoir. While the box art is not exactly inspiring, the kit inside is.… more |
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Bf 109F-4 WeekendPublished:
This is a detail set for the excellent Bf 109F-4 (kit84146) from Eduard that I wrote up in a separate review. Another in the "Zoom" sets this includes the instrument panel, rudder pedals, seat harnesses and other small cockpit details. There are radiator faces for front and back, screens for the tropical filter and the actuator arms for the filter cap. One important addition is the tail reinforcement strips added to the "F" series aircraft after a structural weakness was revealed. Topping off the set are some details for the canopy and antennas. As with all the Zoom sets I've used from Eduard this one is worth the instrument panel and seat harnesses alone. I used all but the tiniest parts and am really happy with the results. Highly recommended the addition to an already… more |
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P-38 H/J Lighting "European Theatre"Published:
Yet another rebox of a familiar kit from Hasegawa. This time we're treated to two P-38s with limited edition "European Theater” decals representing the early H model "Texas Ranger" flown by Lt. Col Jack Jenkins and a J model "Jenne" flown by Capt. Roy Scrutchfield. The later regalia is very familiar to those of us who built the Monogram kit from years ago. The kits are old Hasegawa molds with raised panel lines and basic cockpits but they still look good. To maximize the molds, Hasegawa lets the builder do the surgery to convert the as molded J variant into an H. That is facilitated by an indented section on the backside of the nacelles guiding where the cut should be. Once I cut those away I found the new nacelle parts didn't quite line up and I had to resort to some plastic… more |
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2014 Mustang GTPublished:
In 2010 Ford introduced a restyled Mustang known internally as the S-197 platform. The fifth generation of the iconic pony car featured design cues from the 1960s fastback including a body shape with hard edges, scalloped side panels and hooded headlights for a more aggressive look. As it turned out, this generation would mark the return of the Mustang muscle car. In 2011 the GT version featured the return of a much improved 5.0 Liter Coyote V-8. This dual overhead cam 32 valve power plant made over 400hp in its normally aspirated form. The S-197 platform was also the basis for the return of the infamous Boss 302 (2012-2013). This kit represents the last year of S-197 body style that was replaced by the current S-550 body style in 2015. In the last few years I’ve reviewed a number of… more |
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Dornier Do 17z vs. Boulton Paul Defiant Mk 1Published:
HistoryOn 26th of August 1940 during the Battle of Britain, the two aircraft represented in this kit met over the English coast, during which the Do-17z would fall victim to the guns of the Defiant, and the Defiant itself would fall victim to escorting Me 109s moments later. Two of the four German crew were lost in the encounter. The Defiant’s crew survived a crash landing. Fast forward to 2013 when an underwater survey revealed this very Do-17 in shallow sand off the English coast. In an extraordinary effort the RAF museum sponsored an expedition to raise the wreckage from its watery grave. (Click here for the Recovery article). It will eventually be placed in the… more |
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Do-17 Metal Landing GearPublished:
This set (SAC #72120) replaces the main gear legs and retraction struts along with the tail wheel. You have to use the kit main wheels and fenders. You get five metal reproductions of the kit parts in the usual soft white metal. That’s where my difficulty with this set started. Airfix has done an excellent job of reproducing very delicate landing gear parts in plastic. The main gear legs trap the main wheels and the flexible properties of the plastic parts help. It also really helps when you install the gear parts into the finished gear wells. There’s a lot of fiddling once the parts are the bay and again the plastic assisted by snapping back to its original shape. The metal parts on the other hand, bent and were very difficult to realign once the glue set. For… more |