Chris Smith
Reviews By Author
Vickers 1911-77Published: March 4, 2023 Anyone familiar with the Vickers name knows how critical their contribution to British industry has been. Starting in 1828 as a steel producer, the company diversified into arms, ships, railroad stock and aircraft. The aviation arm of the company got its start by building rigid airships and blimps. This experience not only gave them experience in building these types of structure, it also… more |
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P-51B MustangPublished: January 23, 2023 I know what you’re thinking, does the world need another P-51 Mustang model? In the case of the ARMA P-51B kit the answer is YES! If you love the Mustang like I do, you must build one of these kits. ARMA has created detail fidelity in this scale that I’ve not seen in scales much larger. The cockpit is a model in itself and includes decals for all the placards. Capping it are standard canopy… more |
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Detail Up Parts for Beemax Porsche 935 K2 ’78 Le MansPublished: January 23, 2023 This set provides upgrades to the Porsche 935 K2 78 LM kit # BX24025 from Beemax. It includes a steel fret of metal parts including screens, wing and air deflectors, window straps… more |
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Porsche 935 K2 ’78 Le MansPublished: January 23, 2023 A presence on the racing scene from 1976 to 1981 when FIA rules changes finished their run, the Porsche 935 series of race cars won about a third of the all the races they entered. This car, a 935 K2 series fielded by the Porsche-Kremer racing team ran the 1978 Le Mans race finishing 25th. Kremer would go on to win Le Mans in 1979 with a 935 K3. These cars were powered by flat six 3 to 3.3… more |
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Yak 9T WWII Soviet FighterPublished: December 6, 2022 The Yakovlev series are considered by many the best of the Soviet fighters of WWII. It was the equal of its opponents and generally carried a mixed cannon/machine gun armament. Yakovlev believed he could fit the recently developed NS 37 cannon to make the YAK 9 a tank killer. Designated the Yak9T for tyazhelowoonuzhenny or “heavily armed”, fitting of this weapon required some changes to the… more |
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Polish Wings #34, Mikoyan Gurevich Mig-15 and License Build VersionsPublished: December 1, 2022 it’s a good time for fans of reference books. Since the collapse of the Iron Curtain, many former Soviet Pact countries are flooding the market with detailed new sources aimed right at the modeling community. This volume focuses on the Mig 15 in service with the Polish Air Force. Each of the seven variants, which are defined by foreign or domestic manufacture, are covered. The first two… more |
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Operation Allied Force, Air War over Serbia 1999 Volume 2Published: December 1, 2022 In the spring of 1999, NATO intervened in a conflict in Serbia. This effort called Operation Allied Force (OAF) was undertaken to stop what the NATO nations said was systemic ethnic cleaning by Serbian forces of the Albanian population in Kosovo directed by Serbian President, Slobodan Milosevic. Several books have been written about this intervention, but they tend to favor the NATO side of… more |
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FJ Fury Part 2:FJ-4 and FJ-4B VariantsPublished: September 7, 2022 After a near decade long hiatus, the Detail and Scale series is back up and producing modeler focused references for some of our favorite aircraft subjects. In this volume, number 13 in the new series, the authors follow up volume 12 by completing their examination of the FJ Fury series of Naval fighter aircraft. The book opens with an introduction to Burt Kinzey and Richard “Rock” Roszak. I… more |
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Camouflage & Decals #8, Warsaw Pact Vol IIPublished: September 1, 2022 For the visually inspired, this is the perfect format. This volume is 40 pages of color renderings of six different Mig fighter versions, 15,17,19,21,23 and 29. Each type has one four-view layout to assist with camo patterns where applicable. The renderings are very well done with a slightly worn appearance to them. As the series title indicates, a small decal sheet is included with national… more |
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AN/ALE 39/47 Chaff/Flare DispensersPublished: September 1, 2022 Bregun has provided a better option for the flare dispensers that are either blanked off or poorly represented on most kits in this scale. The AN/ALE 39/47 dispenser system is used on the F-16, F-18 as well as some helicopters and transports. The real system can accommodate mixed decoys in the same pack. These are programable, to release in predetermined or automatic order. Brengun duplicates… more |