Damon Blair
Reviews By Author
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B/RB-66 Metal GearPublished:
The U.S. Air Force’s Douglas B-66 was developed from the Navy’s Douglas A-3 Skywarrior. The B-66s were used in a variety of roles to include navigation for fighters, electronic reconnaissance, weather reconnaissance, and testing components for future aircraft. Scale Aircraft Conversion has produced a set of metal landing gears for Testor’s B/RB-66 kits. Metal landing gear is sturdier than plastic gear, and Scale Aircraft Conversions has added details missing from the kit’s landing gear. You will have to use either super glue or epoxy to attach the gears to the model. These gears are a direct one-for-one replacement of the kit’s molded landing gear. As a helpful guide, I labeled the parts in one picture since there is no installation or placement instructions. To me,… more |
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Nakajima Ki27 TYPE97 FIGHTER (NATE) '4th Flight Regiment'Published:
The Nakajima Ki27 Type 97 Fighter, code named “Nate” by the Allies, was designed in 1935 to replace the older Type 95 fighter. It served in the Imperial Japanese Army in China beginning in 1938. Hasegawa has replicated this interesting fighter in fine detail. The parts were crisp with very little flash on the parts or trees. Finely molded rivets cover most of the fighter, and they look very much in scale, and add a lot of realism to the kit. Assembly of the kit is straightforward, and the fit is good. The one problem area I ran into was where the trailing edge of the wing meets the fuselage. Here, a mismatch between the two requires some filler and sanding. Overall, very little sanding was needed since the parts fit is excellent. One flaw to watch out for is in… more |
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Kawanisi N1K1-Jb Shiden (George) TYPE 11 Otsu 'Rollout'Published:
The Imperial Japanese Navy ordered the N1K1-Jb in 1942 as an interceptor. Hasegawa has come out with a fine representation of this Imperial Japanese Navy Kawanishi N1K1-Jb, with the Allied code name of “George”. The kit decals represent three factory-fresh “George” aircraft. Building the kit is straightforward, with little flash on the sprues and pieces. Assembly begins with the cockpit. The instrument panel uses a decal for the instrument panel over a raised detail panel. A word of caution here: ensure that the cockpit is securely attached to the side of the fuselage, as mine broke loose during final assembly. I was lucky enough to be able to re-glue the cockpit on my model. Painting is relatively simple on this model. There are two main colors: silver and… more |
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T-33A Photoetch SetsPublished:
Most modern model kits, although well detailed, could use some aftermarket parts to give the kit that extra “pop” of reality. Eduard has done such an accessory with their “Big Ed” kit for the 1/48 Great Wall Hobby T-33 kit. The “Big Ed” kit actually contains four items: a painted photoetched T-33 interior and exterior detail kit; painted photoetched steel seatbelts for the ejection seats; a photoetched set of landing flaps; and finally, a die-cut mask for the kit. I started with the interior part of the interior/exterior set. Once bent and glued into place, the panels really add to the realism of the cockpits. I had trouble creating the bends on both photoetch part 10s, which are aircraft form holders. Another deviation that I highly recommend doing is to use the kit’s flat… more |
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Convair F-102A Delta Dagger InterceptorPublished:
Convair’s F-102A originated as a response to a requirement for a Mach 1+ interceptor fighter. Based upon the XF-92 research fighter, the F-102 became the U.S’. first delta-winged fighter. The triangular wing was named after the Greek letter D (delta), which it resembled in shape. The kit comes molded in light grey plastic with a total of 97 parts with very little flash. The detail on the parts is quite good, with panel lines being represented by raised lines. On the exhaust parts in Step 1, the afterburner and parts 86 and 87 should be sanded smooth before assembling the fuselage, as this area becomes almost impossible to work after assembly. There are ejector pin marks on the insides of both intake halves just inside of the air intake lips. As these will be seen from… more |
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A-1 Skyraider 20mm Gun Barrels with Flash Hider & Pitot TubePublished:
Guns and pitot probes on most plastic model aircraft leave a lot to be desired. There is often a mold seam down the center of the guns or pitot probe. Another set of problems are that the same parts, once cleaned up, are usually oval shaped in diameter, and the guns do not have that proper “hollowed” look of a real gun barrel. In some scales, such as 1/72, it would be difficult if not impossible to drill out these plastic gun barrels and pitot tubes. Master Model has solved this problem with an aftermarket kit for the A-1 Skyraider. This kit consists of five metal parts, four gun barrels with flash hiders and a pitot probe to replace the kit’s pitot probe. Each gun barrel is realistically hollow on the inside, with the thickness of the barrel in scale with the model. Master… more |
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A-1 Skyraider 20mm Gun Barrels & Pitot TubePublished:
Guns and pitot probes on most plastic model aircraft leave a lot to be desired. There is often a mold seam down the center of the guns or pitot probe. Another set of problems are that the same parts, once cleaned up, are usually oval shaped in diameter, and the guns do not have that proper hollowed look of a real gun barrel. In some scales, such as 1/72, it would be difficult if not impossible to drill out these plastic gun barrels and pitot tubes. Master Model has solved this problem with an aftermarket kit for the A-1 Skyraider. This kit consists of thirteen metal parts which will allow for two different gun barrel configurations, and a pitot probe to replace the kit’s pitot probe. Each gun barrel is realistically hollow on the inside, with the thickness of the barrel in… more |
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IM-99 BOMARC Ground–to–Air Guided MissilePublished:
During the 1950’s, Boeing Aircraft Company (BO) teamed up with the Michigan Aeronautical Research Center (MARC) to create the U.S. Air Force’s first nuclear-armed surface-to-air missile. Combining both entities and shortening Boeing created the name of the new missile – BOMARC. Revell has reissued its classic kit of the IM-99 BOMARC missile. This kit dates back to 1958, and has some features common to that era, such as operating parts and oversized “rivets”. In this case, the missile launch rail moves up and down, and the nose clamps on the rail open and close. Considering the age of the kit, the fit of the parts was pretty good, with very little putty and sanding needed after assembly. However, there is a moderate amount of flash on many parts. Be warned though – the… more |
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P-51 Mustang w/Rocket TubesPublished:
The North American Company’s P-51 is well – known for the massive aerial dogfights with the Luftwaffe during World War II. A lesser-known use of the P-51 was a strafing aircraft, shooting up targets of opportunity. This model depicts one of the many armament loads that P-51s used for strafing. The kit comes with 125 pieces, with most molded from polystyrene. There are three parts molded in metal, and another 10 parts molded in a resin. Decals are included for two aircraft, one based in India, and the second based on Iwo Jima. Overall, the fit of the basic P-51 kit parts is good. There are some deviations from the kit instructions that I would highly recommend, and the first is in Step 3. Hold off gluing part C34 (the headrest) until the exterior is finished and all… more |
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F-4 Ejection Seat Belts (Steel)Published:
Some of the hardest details to make realistically in modern jet fighters (or any aircraft) are the molded – in seatbelts, especially those on ejection seats. Using strips of masking tape leaves a bit to be desired. Eduard has come to the rescue with sets of photo-etched seatbelts for different aircraft. The Eduard steel photo-etched set for the F-4 in 1/48 scale is a very impressive set of pre-painted photo etched parts that are intended as replacements to kit parts. While the set is simply marked as F-4 Seatbelts, Grey, the aircraft kit that I used this example was the Monogram F-4C/D kit. This photoetched set requires some work to use it in previous manufacturer’s F-4 kits. All the molded-in detail for the seatbelts had to be filed and ground off the seats. Specific… more |