Dave Morrissette
Reviews By Author
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USN Missile Cart w/FiguresPublished:
Videoaviation is an Italian manufacturer of superb aircraft accessories, ground support equipment and figures in all three popular scales. I have had the luck to review a few of these and have always been impressed by the excellent casting and design of their kits. This newest set, a 1/32nd scale US Navy MHU-191 Missile cart and two ordnance man is excellent. The set consists of parts for a MHU-191 cart set up for missile transport. There are two ordnance men in different poses. All parts are cast in light tan resin with crisp details and minimal seams. Parts breakdown is as follow:
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RAF Pilot (1960’s)Published:
PJ Productions from Belgium is well known for their wonderful resin figures and accessories. This instance is a RAF pilot in flight suit from the 1960’s in 1/32nd scale. The kit includes four resin pieces with the body being one-piece cast and the arms and head separate. Casting is good with a slight amount of flash and is all done in cream colored resin. The box is your instructions as far as color for the pilot and his uniform. Assembly is first with the casting lines being removed from the arms and these were attached to the body. The head can remain separate for painting if desired. Fit is good, so it can be added later. There were slight seams at the arm and I used glazing putty smoothed with lacquer thinner to eliminate the seams. Painting the face was… more |
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RAF Pilot in Tropical Clothing (WWII)Published:
PJ Productions from Belgium is well known for their wonderful resin figures and accessories. This latest kit is a RAF pilot in tropical flight clothes from the WWII era and is made in 1/32nd scale. The kit includes five resin pieces with the body being one-piece cast and the arms and head separate. Note that there is a separate piece for the oxygen hose and it is small and between the head and left arm. Don’t mistakenly throw it away. Casting is good with a slight amount of flash and is all done in cream colored resin. The box is your instructions as far as color for the pilot and his uniform. Assembly is straightforward. Get rid of the casting blocks and seams by gently scraping. Glue the arms onto the body. I used glazing putty smoothed with lacquer thinner to… more |
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Israel IAI Kfir C2/C7Published:
A little history on this kit. When AMK first issued this kit, Kfir aficionados noticed that the coke bottle shape of the fuselage was not quite looking right. IPMS/USA reviewed the kit last year. You can see the shape is flat. SO, AMK fixed it and with this new release, the subtle shape is there. Fantastic! Inside the box, you get 11 sprues of well done grey parts, a clear sprue and 20 weapons all molded as one price and stacked. More on that later. You get a superb decal sheet with marking for six planes:
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USN MK83/BLU-110 BombsPublished:
Videoaviation continues their excellent 1/32nd scale ordnance releases with a set of 4 USN MK83/BLU-110 bombs with light ablative fire-retardant coating used by the US Navy. The set consists of 34 cream colored resin parts perfectly cast: four main bodies, four tail fins, four fuses, four caps, and 18 attachment lugs along with decals. The main bodies are especially impressive. They have a very finely detailed molded on ablative coating. I have not seen this done often but have seen it replicated by modelers using putty or primer and a stiff brush. Ablative coatings are used to protect the explosives from cooking off as quickly if heated and look like rough sandpaper texture. Some great pictures are on the Videoaviation site listed above. Construction is simple. Sand the… more |
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SAC Kfir C2/C7 Landing GearPublished:
Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) is well known for making replacement white metal landing gear for many, many subjects. This set replaces the main and nose landing gear for the AMK 1/48th scale Kfir C2/C7 kit from AMK. The set consists of seven well-made white metal parts; four are the main gear and three make up the nose gear. The main gear replaces kits parts C54/57 and E19. The nose gear replaces parts C17, 21, and 68. To prepare the parts, I sand off a few small seam lines and the parts are ready. For the main gear, the assembly adds the two white metal parts together and then you complete the assembly with the plastic oleo from the kit. The nose gear is broken down differently than the kit gear. The kit gear has the retraction strut molded in and the remainder of… more |
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Kfir C2/C7 Antennas for AMK KitPublished:
Quickboost, which is part of Aires, is known for their wonderful and simple kit enhancements which are drop in or require slight surgery. This set is for the wonderful AMK 1/48th Kfir kit and is a replacement set of antennae. It consists of six resin parts on a small casting block which replace five of the kit parts. Parts 1,2 4 and 5 are listed as direct replacement while part 3 requires the removal of the molded-on kit part. All of the casting is superb and the parts are finer than the corresponding kit parts. Going through the parts individually:
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Angle of Attack Probes. US Type, 1/48 & 1/32Published:
Angle of Attack probes are used on all aircraft. They measure the angle between the wing and the airflow which is what controls the lift generated by the wings. Without going deep into it, it lets the pilot know when a stall might be coming. Master Models from Poland, known for their excellent metal parts, has made a set of replacement AoA probes for modern jets. There are five pieces included in either the 1/48th or 1/32nd sets. One of the great things about these sets is that they can be used on multiple air frames. The instructions list F-4, F-14, F-15, F-16, F-18, F-111, Draken, Viggen, Gripen and many more. And with the number of parts, you can do multiple kits. 1/48th scale
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F-84G Thunderjet Landing GearPublished:
Scale Aircraft Conversions continues issuing white metal landing gear for not only new kits but older ones also. In this case, set 48430 is made for the Tamiya 1/48th scale F-84G series. This set is four parts – the two main legs while the front gear is two parts itself. Parts are made from white metal and are duplicates of the Tamiya kit parts but made of stronger white metal. Looking at the nose landing gear, there are two parts in the kit and the SAC set. The SAC gear will require some straightening and is as nicely detailed as the Tamiya part. The layout of either will result in some work sanding around the linkages. The main gear legs are direct drop in replacements. Testing the fit of both gear into their appropriate positions, the gear fits very well… more |
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Dornier Do-335 Pfeil/ArrowPublished:
For fans of aviation, the names J. Richard Smith and Eddie Creek are well known for their unparalleled work on Luftwaffe subjects and the detail and history they put into their efforts. Their four volumes on the Me-262 is the definitive set on the subject. And now, they give this same treatment to the Do-335 Pfeil/Arrow. I will say upfront that if there is anything you want to know about this plane, get this book and it will be there. The hardback book is 288 pages lavishly illustrated with color and black & white photographs as well as many drawings. The table of contests lists:
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