Damon Blair
Reviews By Author
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Barbecue (BBQ) GrillPublished: December 22, 2022 Summer days bring swimming, camping, and barbecuing at home. Hauler has come out with a miniaturized BBQ Grill that would be perfect for a diorama in scale. Consisting of 19 pieces, this kit builds up into a nice little grill. Counting the airbrush painting, it took me about 8 hours total to fold the pieces, and glue them together. I used superglue to assemble all the parts. One note… more |
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Japan Air Self Defense Force T-1A TrainerPublished: March 14, 2021 The Fuji T-1A was the first Japanese-designed aircraft produced after World War II. Designed by Fuji Heavy Industries and powered by a Bristol Siddeley Orpheus turbojet engine, the prototype took to the air for the first time on January 1, 1958. 46 T-1As were built before the T-1B superseded it on the assembly line. They served as training aircraft until they were retired, with the final… more |
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Refueling Pod KC-130JPublished: March 10, 2021 Used for air-to-air refueling, Lockheed’s KC-130 and HC-130N, HC-130P series of aircraft came with two air-to-air inflight refuel (IFR for short) pods, one on each outer wing just outboard of the flaps. Later, the HC-130H, MC-130E and MC-130H aircraft were modified with these refuel pods. This conversion set replicates those later modified aircraft and the current KC-130J and HC-130J IFR pods… more |
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Spitfire Mk IX "High-Back"Published: February 23, 2021
Supermarine’s Spitfire was one of the classic fighters of World War II. Produced in different Marks (the British name for versions), the Spitfire served from the beginning of the war until the end. The Mark IX was originally developed as a stop-gap measure in response to the German introduction of the Focke-Wulf FW-190, but later grew into it’s own as a fighter aircraft. Platz’s… more |
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C-130 Props and Engine NacellesPublished: February 23, 2021 The Lockheed C-130A through H model aircraft are powered by a series of Allison T-56 engines driving a set of Hamilton-Standard 4-bladed props. The 4-bladed Hamilton-Standard props were original equipment on the C-130B through the C-130H models, and the props were later retrofitted to C-130A aircraft. Each C-130B through C-130H engine is housed in a nacelle that is slightly longer than the… more |
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Lockheed-Martin C-130 Hercules, Flying with Air Forces Around the WorldPublished: October 24, 2020 The first flight of the famous C-130 “Hercules” turboprop aircraft was on August 23, 1954, with the first production C-130 making its maiden flight on April 7, 1955. The aircraft has been in continuous production since, with over 2500 manufactured to date. Written by Robert Pied and Nicolas Deboeck, this incredible book is an invaluable resource for modelers. Its 196 pages with over… more |
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MA-1A Start CartPublished: December 7, 2019 The MA-1A Start Cart (also referred to as a “Huffer”) was used by the United States Air Force as an auxiliary jet engine providing a source of high pressure, high volume air (called bleed air) to start aircraft without starters, and to start aircraft that have inoperative starters. The F-4, A-4, T-38, F-104, and A-7, just to name a few, had to be started using this cart. I have used the MA-1A… more |
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F-5 Cannon and Pitot Probe (Standard Nose Version)Published: November 29, 2019 The F-5 series of aircraft comes armed with two 20mm, M-39 cannons, each with 280 rounds of ammunition. The U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy both used the F-5 in a training role, with different paint jobs and tactics to simulate enemy aircraft in air-to-air combat training. Master Models has come up with brass replacement gun barrels and a turned brass pitot probe for the nose. Four parts… more |
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F-5 Cannon and Pitot Probe (Standard Nose Version)Published: November 29, 2019 The F-5 series of aircraft comes armed with two 20mm, M-39 cannons, each with 280 rounds of ammunition. The U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy both used the F-5 in a training role, with different paint jobs and tactics to simulate enemy aircraft in air-to-air combat training. Master Models has come up with brass replacement gun barrels and a turned brass pitot probe for the nose. Four parts… more |
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JASDF T-1B TrainerPublished: November 18, 2019 The Fuji Heavy Industries T-1 series of aircraft was the first aircraft entirely designed and built in Japan following World War II. The T-1B has a Japanese-designed and built engine, which is the only change from its predecessor, the T-1A. Externally, there is no difference between the two models. The T-1A first flew on January 19th, 1958. A total of 66 aircraft (of both types) were produced… more |