Dave Morrissette
Reviews By Author
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Kriegsmarine U-Boat U-96Published:
Neverland Hobby has been involved in the plastic model hobby for a while and have jumped into the pond with there first release, a 1/144 Kriegsmarine U-Boat U-96. As a bit of background, U-96 was a Type VIIC version of the U Boat which sunk 27 ships and was it self sunk in port by allied bombs. It is known for having the markings of a laughing swordfish.
Looking at the kit, there are multiple sprues molded in color. The bottom hull and parts are light gray, the upper hull and conning tower a lighter gray and deck a tan color. All the parts are made to be assembled as a snap tite kit and without paint if chosen that way. Molding is well done and a good set of instructions as well as a sheet of stickers with multiple colors of the laughing swordfish. A stand and U boat… more |
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F-14 Seamless IntakesPublished:
From Fab Scale comes a really nice addition to the 1/48th Tamiya F-14, a 3D printed set of intakes that are in white. Inside the nice package are left and right intakes still attached to eh printing sprues. The packaging is great as it is firm and makes sure there is no damage to the parts. Prep is simple, I used sprue nippers to cut off the printing supports. I sanded the end and the parts were good. I test fit the parts into the kit and they slide with in well and the intake fans for the engine from the Tamiya kit fit like a glove. Since they are printed in white, they can be added after the rest of the intakes are painted the correct color for you kit or you could also paint them. They are seamless so there is no need for sanding like the kit parts which are… more |
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Army of IcePublished:
Army of Ice includes three figures from the Game of Thrones universe including the Night King, the Great Other and a Wight. The set is three separate kits and each includes a base. The kits are molded in gray styrene with clear weapons for the Night King and Great Other. The Night King is 17 parts; the Wight is 17 parts and the Great Other is 15 parts. Also included are instruction sheets with one side showing the parts tree and color reference while the back shows the assembly of the parts. Also included are full size sheets of painting for color reference for each kit Assembly is straightforward so what I want to do is highlight the differences and specifics of each kit.
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Lockheed F-35B Lightning IIPublished:
Tamiya follows it 1/48th F-35A Lightning kit with a new and very updated 1/48th F-35B. I have been lucky enough to review both. Read the F-35A review. For this review, I will focus on the differences between the two kits. Inside the box, you will find 14 sprues with trees A, B, C and E being carryovers from the A version. There are sprues to make weapons also:
There are seven marking options (USMC, Royal Air Force, Italian Air… more |
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Russian 9P149 Launching Vehicle w/9K114 Shturm-SPublished:
The 9P149 is a tank destroyer of Soviet origin and in this example, it is a vehicle carrying radio guided anti-tank system designated 9K114 Shturm which uses the 9M114 Kokon (Cocoon) missile. Same missile as used by the Mi-24 helicopter. The kit comes in standard gray plastic in 15 gray sprues, two clear sprues, decals and 2 photoetch frets. Total is 790 parts many of which are very tiny as the entire vehicle is a about a scale foot long. There is an entire interior which covers the driver compartment, engine and transmission. You will decide how far you want to build the interior if you don’t decide to open the hatches. The interior is really nice but I didn’t find many references no color call outs on the instructions. Construction begins with the bottom hull adding the… more |
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HH-60J Jayhawk ConversionPublished:
Floyd Werner and Werner Wings produces wonderful aftermarket and decals primarily (but not wholly) aimed at helicopters. That not surprising as that was what Floyd’s does- fly helicopters. This set consists of parts and decals to convert the Kitty Hawk 1/35th scale HH-60H to the Coast Guard version of the HH-60J Jayhawk. Wait, Kitty Hawk is out of business! Zimi Models to the rescue. They have reissued many of Kitty Hawks kits and that includes the Resue Hawk. Problem solved. The set includes seven well cast resin parts. The bigger pats are in white resin and include the extra fuel tank and the front fairing in front of the cockpit. Three of the seven parts make up the search light with the modeler supplying the lens.The last two parts modify the instrument panel with… more |
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Heinkel He162 Volksjäger - From Drawing Board to Destruction: The VolksjägerPublished:
The He-162 Volksjaeger has long been a popular model subject with great kits in all popular scales from Tamiya to Revell to Trimaster. It is an interesting plane and now we have an excellent book documenting the development to deployment to the end of the small jet fighter. Written by Robert Forsyth and Eddie J. Creek, this is a wonderful book with great profiles, pictures and information on the He-162. The chapter breakdown is as follows:
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P-38J DecalsPublished:
Iliad Designs makes a bunch of decals with really great schemes in all the popular scales. The object of this set is the P-38J with several kits being available. I had a Tamiya kit looking for some markings so I jumped at the chance to review the decals. Inside the package there is a single sheet of well printed decals with two full color instructions sheets with profiles of the plane and details associated with the plane as well as top and bottom profiles. There are markings for five planes covering everything from natural metal, OD over neutral gray and one with medium sea gray and a black bottom. Note that ONLY the markings are included. Stencils and all need to be sourced from the kit or elsewhere. The markings are:
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F-14A VF-41Black Aces DecalsPublished:
HAD Models is a group out of the Budapest Hungary and specializes in decals and masking sets for aircraft kits in the all-major scales from 1/144 to 1/35. They range from WWII to modern era planes. This set is in 1/48th scale and covers F-14A’s from the VF-41 Black Aces. Markings are included for seven unique planes:
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The Scrapyards - Aircraft Salvage Around Davis-Monthan AFB, Vol. 1980’sPublished:
New from Tempest Publishing is a great book covering the Davis Monthan AFB Scrap yards and this volume focuses on the 1980’s. the book starts with an introduction and Mr. Robson goes into his love of the fields and there is a great overall shot of the many planes stored and dismantled there. One of the first things I learned was that there are multiple actual scrapping and recovery facilities. The book is actually broken down by these and follows a path around the yards. The chapters include the following:
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