Dave Koukol
Reviews By Author
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USS Arizona - Squadron at SeaPublished:
For 70 years following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona has been the icon of the devastation and loss of American life on December 7, 1941, having lost 1,177 American servicemen herself that infamous day. For many modelers, building Arizona has been a memorable part of their modeling heritage and continues to be a popular subject among kit manufacturers. Many of us have cut our teeth on the classic Revell and Lindberg kits of old, of which the Revell kit is still in production. Over the past decade, numerous Asian kit manufacturers have offered… more |
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Su-25 UB/UBK FrogfootPublished:
In the latter half of the 1970’s the Sukhoi Design Bureau rolled out the Su-25, NATO codenamed “Frogfoot”, to the Soviet Air Force to fill a requirement for a dedicated close air support aircraft. Similar in role to the US Air Force’s A-10 Warthog, the Su-25 was designed to carry large air-to-ground payloads and internal cannon to defeat a wide variety of ground threats, including armor and personnel, and to have extended on-station time in the combat area to provide maximum support to its ground forces. About a decade after the Su-25’s introduction, Sukhoi began delivery of two-seat trainer variant prototypes and production units. Designated “UB” and “UBK,” these variants offered the capability to provide direct skill assessment of flight cadets and training and operational… more |
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'63 Corvette Sting Ray CoupePublished:
Chevy’s classic Corvette was first offered in a hard-top version in 1963, and that model-year’s radical shift in design style can still be seen in the generations of ‘Vettes which have since followed. The ’63 Sting Ray Coupe is Revell’s latest addition to its Snap-Tite Corvette collection, and this one surely does not disappoint young modeling hands. Camden (age 6) built this review sample in less than an hour during a visit to a local pediatric urgent care facility the night the kit arrived, and we can definitely say this was one of the best-behaved snap kits we’ve seen in a while. The kit consists of 5 sprues of parts, the candy apple red body, the clear window insert, 4 vinyl tires, steel axles, a couple of self-tapping screws, and a sheet of peel-and-stick decals. Surface… more |
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Wile E. Coyote and the Wile E. WillysPublished:
Saturday morning cartoons once again meet the modeling bench in Round2’s resurrection of classic kits featuring Warner Brothers’ beloved Road Runner and his nemesis, Wile E. Coyote. Of the three newly re-released kits, this review focuses on the hapless Wile E. Coyote and the Wile E. Willys – a loony dragster embodying a skateboard culture theme. The MPC-branded kit consists of 4 sprues of colored parts (including 1 chrome-plated), a set of peel-and-stick decals, and a pre-painted vinyl Wile E. Coyote figure. Construction is touted as snap-together, but we found it necessary to apply either superglue or Tamiya liquid cement for virtually every step. The 14-step assembly sequence is clearly outlined in the instructions, and took roughly an hour or so to complete. Round2… more |
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Road Runner and The Rail RiderPublished:
Saturday morning cartoons again meet the modeling bench in Round2’s resurrection of classic kits featuring Warner Brothers’ beloved Road Runner and his nemesis, Wile E. Coyote. Of the three newly re-released kits, this review focuses on Road Runner and The Rail Rider – a looney dragster embodying a steam engine theme. The MPC-branded kit consists of 5 sprues of colored parts, including 1 chrome-plated, a set of peel-and-stick decals, and a pre-painted vinyl Road Runner figure. Construction is snap-together, but is well served by a few well-placed applications of liquid cement and superglue – especially if the finished product is to be subjected to the playful hands of a little one. The 17-step assembly sequence is clearly outlined in the instructions, and took roughly… more |
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Air War Afghanistan - NATO Air Operations from 2001Published:
In the decade since America engaged in the War on Terror following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the war in Afghanistan has been an ongoing campaign to hem in and eradicate the Taliban and other radical Muslim entities which have held the country hostage since the departure of Soviet forces and provided safe haven and support for the Al Queda operatives behind the 9/11 attacks. A key element of US and NATO operations in the Afghan theater has been the employment of airpower in a multitude of roles supporting the ground operations. Tim Ripley, noted aviation journalist, thoroughly, yet concisely, chronicles the application of NATO air power in Afghanistan in this 233-page volume. Laced with color photos and maps, Mr. Ripley’s work crisply walks the reader through Afghanistan’s… more |
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Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf.BPublished:
How cool is this? A teeny-tiny 9-piece German half-track in 1/100 scale – sweet! Now, I’m not an armor guy, but I do enjoy a good armor kit every now and then, and I sure do appreciate those life-like pieces of work that show up every month at club meetings and at contests. Frankly, they intimidate this aircraft modeler to some degree. This little guy, however, is quite a different story. When I saw this was a snap kit and might be good for kids, I jumped at the chance to do this review with my 5-year old modeling “Mini Me,” Camden. As fate would have it, the night we planned to build it at a clubmate’s house, Camden and his junior clubmate buddy opted to assemble integrated air strike packages of plastic and diecast model planes, wreaking havoc on Lego ground forces, leaving my… more |
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F-22 Raptor in ActionPublished:
Indispensible to scale modelers since the 1970’s is Squadron/Signal’s “In Action” series of books chronicling history’s great aircraft, armor, and naval vessels – featuring developmental and operational backgrounds and outstanding reference photos of details and markings. Their latest volume, penned by the legendary Lou Drendel, showcases the world’s most advanced and capable fighter aircraft, the F-22 Raptor. As the Raptor is a quantum leap beyond its predecessor, the F-15 Eagle, so Drendel’s F-22 Raptor in Action far surpasses his 1975 F-15 Eagle in Action. In the pre-internet days of the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, nearly every one of this reviewer’s aircraft builds was supported by either the In Action or In Color series references from… more |
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North American P-51D Mustang, Part 3Published:
After 3-1/2 weeks since the “First Look,” this reviewer is pleased to provide this final installment for the out-of-box “build of a lifetime.” Indeed, in my humble opinion, our friends at Tamiya outdid even their standard-setting Spitfire series. All said, 34 hours were invested in the build – 24 on construction, and 10 on painting, decaling, and weathering. I can’t believe fewer than 40 hours were logged…but that’s what all my records indicate -- most likely a testament to how well everything fit, and the fact that there were a couple of uninterrupted “build days” early in the build. IntegrationWith the majority of subassemblies complete at the time of the previous report, integration was the next major task. Again, as e xpected, all of the “subs” fell together with… more |
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North American P-51D Mustang, Part 2Published:
At the time of this writing, it’s been a week since I penned the “First Look” at this amazing kit, and I’ve now logged 19 hours of benchtime on this baby – 19 glorious hours of relatively problem-free building with exquisitely-engineered parts and crystal clear instructions. PowerplantVirtually identical to the Spitfire Merlin, with the exception of several parts unique to the Mustang, the engine’s 80-plus parts all but “fell together” with about 3 hours of steady effort. Detail is crisp and accurate, fit is perfect, and it paints up into a real gem. Only disappointment here is the absence of spark plug wiring – which would be an easy add on another fret of PE. CockpitNot sure what the aftermarket guys are going to do regarding aftermarket cockpits… more |