Chris Vandegrift
Reviews By Author
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F-16AM Falcon J-016 "Solo Display 2001-2004" Royal Netherlands Air ForcePublished:
A great surprise upon opening these decals is finding a set of masks as an alternative to the decals themselves. Then the secondary surprise was finding out that you’re provided enough information to do either the 2001/2002 early type or the 2003/2004 late type Demo scheme. This isn’t obvious from the cover sheet for the decals so it was definitely nice to find in the package. Someone who really knows the display teams would probably recognize the different schemes by year without needing a reference on the cover page. The decals are for the early type and the masks are for the late type. The decals on what I’m learning are a classic dark blue and white background for Syh@rt, making them stand out clearly. All of the decals for the paint scheme are in the gloss black striping. The… more |
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The Battleship USS CaliforniaPublished:
Right off the bat the 2 inserts are going to grab your attention! The color Sheet C is a large 16”x23” profile and top view of the ship as she was in 1944. Additionally, it has a profile showing the armaments for 1944 as well. This color version is obviously to reflect the camouflage scheme and will be the perfect reference for painting. The flip side of this is sheet D, the planes arrangement on the stern deck, which includes 3-view and technical data for the OS2U Kingfisher and SC1 Seahawk aircraft. Sheet A & B is black and white views of the ship. Sheet A provides armament arrangement and an uncluttered view of the hull without superstructure. It’s an interesting view but it’s duplicated from the profile view so it serves mostly to fill out the page. All 3 views on Sheet B… more |
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F/A–18F Super Hornet BuNo 166673 "Vandy One" VX-9 "Vampires" - US Navy 2023Published:
It’s really unique to open these up and see the dark blue and white background to the decal sheet. It sets the individual decals off and honestly, I think it makes the numbers easier to read. When you look at the individual decals, what caught my eye right off the bat was how well the placards look. The lettering and lines have a bright silver metallic look to them that I don’t see in other decals. Printing on the smaller warning decals is crisp and readable at what looks like size 2 font. The registration on all the colors on my sheet looks perfect, no issues. The decals overall are very, very thin. You can hardly feel them on the sheet. When applying them be careful not to let them curl over on themselves. Apply right off the sheet to the aircraft, if possible. Another thing that… more |
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Tie Down Points (Star Type)Published:
These brass pad eyes have a good appearance to them with a slight bit of texture just on the inside diameter. I think this will help it take paint and give some depth to the inside of the pad. On the real ones, this section rolls down into the bowl, so having a slightly different tone on the ID should give an appearance of depth. These pad eyes measure out at 5/16 inches in diameter, at 1:32 scale, that is 10 inches. Check your references to make sure this matches the assembly or carrier deck you are working with. The brass is a pretty standard thickness. They should lie down nicely for a diorama. I like that there are only two attachment points, making it simpler to clean up the edges of the brass for installation. My approach has been to drill shallow holes, using a drill press so… more |
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F-16A Falcon J-364 "Solo Display 1997-1998" Royal Netherlands Air ForcePublished:
This is another value-added set having both decals and masks. The modeler will have an option for how to replicate the demo scheme. For striping this set supplies only the white decals. One heads-up related to the white color; the graphics decals and the striping decals are not an exact color match. The graphics like the hearts on the fuselage strakes appear to be slightly off-white, almost white-grey. There is a set of masks that can be used for the white striping and a small stripe of the red from the leading edge of the wing up to the nose of the cockpit canopy. Without the red and blue striping as decals the masks may be the better option from this set. When you look at the individual decals, what caught my eye right off the bat was how well the placards look. The… more |
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Oliver Hazard Perry Class FrigatePublished:
OverviewThis is a new tool kit that they did it right. 6 options for anti-submarine and anti-aircraft fits. Accessories include a small photoetch fret that adds to the model, harpoon missiles, and three different SH-60B Seahawk models as well. I think AFV Club has put together a nicely detailed ship. Plenty of options, plus the instructions have good call-outs for those options that are well organized. I had a few quandaries as I went but nothing that I couldn’t resolve between multiple photos from the instructions and art. The fact that the microscopic pin and hole alignment for the masts actually functioned said a lot for the way they molded this kit. I found the hangar bay doors and the hangar bay itself didn’t fit without trimming and my original boxing had 2 B sprues… more |
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Acrylic Paints Set for AnimalsPublished:
ICM has an expansive line of these acrylic sets and I was anxious to try them out. To see how they apply and what sheen they have as they dry, I pulled out a Saber-Tooth Tiger to paint for my son’s D&D games. Getting started I applied a dab of paint to a strip of white Styrene to determine how the colors would dry. Everything matched the color swatch on the box except the light flesh. It was definitely lighter than the swatch. For the tiger, I darkened it up with the deep brown for several layers. I also struggled to create pink. Originally given the pig on the box, I thought this would be possible. However, I couldn’t get this color with the orange. I intended to use it for the inside of the tiger’s jaws. Doing a figure gave me the opportunity to try a few different styles of… more |
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Instrument Panel IP Spitfire Mk.VIII/IX EarlyPublished:
These sets from Yahu Models have intrigued me for a while now. This opportunity to do the review through IPMS was the perfect opportunity to try them out. I just happen to have a 1/24 Spit in my stash. Each of the parts was made of a thicker piece of metal than the usual photoetch. That made removal from the fret less likely to bend any of the corners or edges. The detail is crisp and legible. The whole IP has a variety of color and metal tones in addition to the black background, making it an interesting piece to the eye upon installation. The lever for the flaps looks like it has enough metal on the mounting point to create the hinge assembly but alas, in this gauge metal, I could not bend the very narrow tabs. I installed it flat to the panel and it gives the requisite look to… more |
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USS Midway Pt 3: Flight Deck & IslandPublished:
IntroThis last part has only 2 key elements really, the flight deck and the island. However, there are a lot of individual steps that make this as long as the other 2 parts of the ship already completed (hull and hangar bay). The fine details really come together around the flight deck. Take note of the order in which you want to handle the assembly. For instance, doing some of the PE on the flight deck would be best done before attaching the island so you can flip the carrier over for ease of assembly. With that, let’s head for our home port... Flight DeckThe real story here has to be the fit. Two perspectives drive that conclusion, 1st is that after all those individual hangar bay walls were fit and glued in days ahead of time everything aligned… more |
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USS Midway Pt 1: Hangar Bay DeckPublished:
IntroShore Patrol is mustering everyone back to the ship, time to start our 2nd leg of this journey...In this review we’ll install the flight deck, all the armament and ancillary pieces from part 1, build up the hangar deck walls, and fit out the ship with railings, ladders, and nets. This is a really extensive, and sometimes repetitive part of the build. There are probably several ways to do it, I have a different approach in mind for the next one I build as a matter of fact. So let’s see how it came together. BowOverall the bow went together rather nicely. I was worried about how the deck above it would fit. These two assemblies are done separately and then joined together with 6 struts on top and 2 on the bottom. Given the upper deck isn’t done… more |