Dave Morrissette
Reviews By Author
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B13L 122 mm Rocket LauncherPublished:
Advanced Modeling is a new company and specializes in Russian and Soviet aftermarket items. They cover 1/48 and 1/72 scale items which are cast in beautiful gray resin. A great set of instructions and comprehensive decal sheet is also included. The resin is firm but not brittle and the details are awesome. For this review, the B13L 122mm rocket launcher is reviewed. It comes with four pieces with a back and front section. As a bit of background, the S-13 is a 122 mm caliber unguided rocket weapon developed by the Soviet Air Force for use by military aircraft. It remains in service with the Russian Air Force and some other countries. S-13 rockets are shot from 5-tube launchers B-13L, that can be carried by most of Soviet and Russian attack and new fighter aircraft, like Su-17/20… more |
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A-6E TRAM Canopy Masking SetPublished:
Trumpeter has issued two versions of their 1/32 A-6 Intruder which was on many people's most-wanted list. While the kit is expensive, it is well done, well detailed and builds into a great replica. Of course that doesn’t mean there isn't some room for improvement. While the aftermarket has been slow coming, Eduard has issued sets for the A-6E TRAM version to spice up several areas of the kit as well as a canopy masking set. The canopy masking set is simplicity for masking the windscreen and sliding canopy. The front parts of the windscreen are two large parts made of yellow kabuki tape, and fit nicely covering that part of the windscreen. The sides of the windscreen are covered in the three corners by three parts. Be careful here as the masks are specific to which side they… more |
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A-6E TRAM Exterior Detail SetPublished:
Trumpeter has issued two versions of their 1/32 A-6 Intruder which was on many peoples most wanted list. While the kit is expensive, it is well done, well detailed and builds into a great replica. Of course that doesn’t mean there isn't some room for improvement. While the aftermarket has been slow coming, Eduard has issued sets for the A-6E TRAM version to spice up several areas of the kit. This set upgrades the exterior and contains two large frets of photoetch parts for the kit. The set addresses several areas and I will cover them separately as they are separate construction. First, there are several smaller spots addressed with finer replacement parts such as the chaff/flare dispensers. These are simple drop in replacements. Also, the interior of the engine bay… more |
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A-6E TRAM Undercarriage Detail SetPublished:
Trumpeter has issued two versions of their 1/32 A-6 Intruder which was on many peoples most wanted list. While the kit is expensive, it is well done, well detailed and builds into a great replica. Of course that doesn’t mean there is not some room for improvement. While the aftermarket has been slow coming, Eduard has issued sets for the A-6E TRAM version to spice up several areas of the kit. This set upgrades the under carriage and wheel wells and contains one large fret of photoetch parts for the kit. All three wheels wells are addressed and we can take a look at the nose gear well first. This is fairly well appointed in the kit but sidewall detail is lacking on the aft bulkhead. Eduard includes a very nicely done fix for the bulkhead and also half a dozen enhancements for… more |
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Mk.84 BombsPublished:
Eduard has produced a 1/32 scale version of the Mk.84 2000 lb. general purpose bomb and it’s the largest common bomb used in the military. Looking through my kits, there isn’t a good representation of this weapon in this configuration (there are plenty of laser guided versions) so this is a welcome option for modelers. Inside the package you will find parts to make two bombs. There are two front bomb halves and two rear fin sections. Also included are three different fuse options, a set of small photoetch rings for detailing the rear fin section of the bomb and a set of decals. Also included is a nice set of instructions in color. The decals come in either white markings or yellow. More on them later. Construction is simple. Remove the molding plug from the back of the… more |
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King Kong TriumphantPublished:
Round 2 and Polar Lights has begun releasing full resin kits with The Wicked Witch, Kane from Alien and this kit, King Kong Triumphant. All of these kits are made of cold cast resin. This kit represents King Kong after the fight with the T-rex standing triumphantly on top of his beaten opponent. The kit was sculpted by Gabriel Marquez and represents the "long face" Kong from the film as animated by Willis O'Brien. This kit is packed in perfect Styrofoam packaging with each piece nestling into a hole precut for it. The kit comes with Kong’s main body, his two arms, the base with the dead T-Rex and the dinosaurs left forearm. The kit has minimal to no seams with just a little clean up around the head of the dinosaur and a few in the fur. I prepped the kit using a Dremel with… more |
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SBD-5 Dauntless Limited EditionPublished:
Eduard continues its “full meal deal kits” this time with Accurate Miniatures 1/48th scale SBD-5. For those who haven’t seen them, Eduard takes a very good kit, adds resin, photoetch and masks and bundles it into one solid kit. Let’s look at the contents. First, the highly detailed Accurate Miniatures SBD-5 kit. The full kit is here with all the parts including optional position canopies, nice engine detail and wonderful engraved detail. There was the barest flash present on a couple parts only. The resin parts for this include the tires which have two optional outer hubs, a tail wheel and parts for the gun. The decals are from Cartograf and have five excellent options. Markings are provided for the following:
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Air Wing All Stars: Super Hornets Part IIIPublished:
Furball Aero Designs continues its fine efforts to bring modern, current plane markings to the masses with their latest release, Air Wing All Stars: Super Hornets Part II. This set includes six markings for the F/A-18E Super Hornet and one for the F/A-18F. The set is printed by Cartograf and is in perfect register. The markings included are for the following air frames:
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MK 20 RockeyePublished:
The Mk. 20 Rockeye is an unguided cluster bomb weapon and has been used since 1968. With this kind of longevity and the fact it is used by Navy, Air Force and Marines, it is not unusual to find this under the wing of many types of planes including A-10’s, F-15E’s and many others. Videoaviation continues it wonderful 1/32 scale armament releases with a set of 6 Mk. 20 Rockeyes. The Rockeyes are cast as two pieces – one for the tail fins and back, and the second the remainder of the weapon. Construction is simple. Sand the front and back free of their casting blocks and glue together. Putty the seam and prime and you are ready to paint. You have several options. First, you can place the RBF covers on the nose which entails a single cut and then adding the cover after painting.… more |
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F-104 Resin Wing PylonsPublished:
Hasegawa’s 1/48th scale F-104 kit has been around for a while and it is a very nice kit making the grade at many shows all over the world. One thing missing from the standard kit is any underwing pylons. Granted, there are a lot of pictures of F-104’s with any pylons attached but they were able to carry one under each wing and also a centerline pylon also. Eduard gives that option in spades with this newest release- a complete set of pylons for the entire airframe. Inside the package, you’ll find 25 beautiful resin cast parts, a photoetch fret with 25 detail parts for the pylons and also a full set of decals. This is a very comprehensive set for $14.95. Let’s take a little more detailed look at what the pylons are and what they are used for:
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