Dave Morrissette
Reviews By Author
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MD3 Ground Power UnitPublished:
The MD-3 Ground Power unit is a portable generator designed to provide either DC or AC power to aircraft while on the ground. It is powered by a 180 hp Continental engine to drive its generators. Its initial design was for the B-47 aircraft but it can also be used for other cold war era planes such as F-84, F-86 through to F-4 Phantoms from 1960 to 1970, and this is by no means an exhaustive list. Videoaviation.com now produces a model of this unit in all three popular scales. This review is the 1/32nd scale unit. There are 21 parts cast well in off-white resin, along with a decal sheet and two lengths of vinyl tube for the wire. Casting is good. I did have to sand a few places as there were some faint lines present possibly due to this being 3D printed. They are very minor and… more |
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German Sprengboot TornadoPublished:
As WWII started going towards its end and the Germans were backed into a corner, they came up with some interesting ideas to try and turn the tide of the war around. Like the Japanese Kamikaze group, the German Kriegsmarine came up with the Sprengboot Tornado. The thought was to take two of the large floats from a Ju-52 Floatplane and add 7-800kg of explosives and provide power with the V-1’s pulsejet engine. The theory was to get the boat up to speed of 53 mph having a pilot guide the ship and when close the pilot would take an attached boat or just bail out while the Tornado was remotely guided to hit the target. One of these was built and tested for sea trials but was destroyed as the allies overtook Europe. MikroMir has produced a kit of this very unusual subject in large 1/35… more |
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MiG-31 Foxhound Speed BrakesPublished:
AMK’s 1/48 Mig-31 is a kit that, once you see one built, it grabs you. Phenomenal engineering of a large subject is a real show stopper. Even as well designed as the kit is, there is always some room for improvements. Aires to the rescue with a set of speed brakes and pistons as replacements. Inside the package, you will find a left and right speed brake (they are handed so watch for location) and two pistons for support. There are no instructions as these are direct replacements for the kit parts. Preparation consists of freeing the pistons from the casting block and webbing which is easily accomplished with a sharp knife. You can see that the Aires parts (also available from Quickboost as a standalone set) are cast finer especially in the piston parts. A small… more |
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USS Thresher (SSN-593)Published:
I have always had an interest in submarines after visiting the USS Cod in Cleveland. When the USS Thresher came up for review from MikroMir, I jumped at the change. The USS Thresher was the first of the new (in 1961) Permit class subs and had all the modern equipment for the time. She was 279 feet long and nuclear powered. Sadly, she was the first of the nuclear subs to be lost at sea during driving trials when she imploded about 350km east of Cape Cod on April 10, 1963. MikroMir’s kit of the Thresher consists of two hull halves split upper and lower, a small PE fret with the propeller and other parts, decals for all subs in this class, two base parts and lastly, a small gray sprue containing the scopes, diving planes and the rest of the parts. Parts are nicely engraved and… more |
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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 |