EA-18G Growler Anthology Decals

Published: April 12, 2016
Company: Furball Aero-Design

As the Navy transitions away from the venerable EA-6B’s into the new EA-18G Growlers, the planes have started to get more elaborate markings and kits have become available to replicate the plane. Hasegawa took their excellent F-18F kit and has issued several iterations. Maybe it is just me but most of the aftermarket decal companies have been slow to respond to some of these new releases. Fortunately for us modelers, Furball Aero-Designs is not one of those and has great new releases. This one is for the Hasegawa kit and includes a whopping 12 wonderful growlers and has enough decals to actually build two full planes.

Let’s look at what’s inside the package. The first thing you notice is that all instructions are full color and well printed. Each of the 12 planes has a left and… more

OV-1D Scoops

Published: April 6, 2016
Company: Aires Hobby Models

When I first saw that these were released, I was a little confused as they had previously released set 48585 which was a set of scoops. The confusion was solved with a little research. The initial release was for the OV-1 early versions while these scoops are specific to the OV-1D Roden release. Problem solved but there is no mention of which is which on the either set so modelers will need to do the research. On to the parts review.

The set includes three scoops with no seam lines and deep insets. Casting is perfect and removal is simple with a saw blade. Installation is also simple with one scoop on the left by the cockpit and the other two on the top of the fuselage. There is an excellent note explaining which Quickboost parts replace which kit parts. As you can see by the… more

Soviet Fighter Pilot with Ejection Seat for Su-27

Published: March 25, 2016
Company: Aerobonus

Aires and Aerobonus fill another gap with a Soviet pilot in a K-36 ejection seat meant to be added to Trumpeters very large 1/32nd Su-27. The set includes five well-cast resin pieces - two arms, the head/helmet, the top of the ejection seat and the seat/pilot figure.

Preparation is simple, remove the parts from the casting blocks and add the top of the seat and the two arms. There were small amounts of putty at the arms- I used Squadron white putty smooth with lacquer thinner. The head can be kept separate for painting if you like, or glued in place.

I primed the piece with Alcad gray primer, cleaned up a few seam lines, primed again, and set aside to dry. Since the pilot is attached to the seat, I actually started by painting the seat with a base coat of black. I then… more

B-25B Doolittle Raid

Published: March 24, 2016
Company: Academy Models

Academy has rereleased the Accurate Miniatures 1/48th scale B-25B in Doolittle Raid markings and it is a welcome sight as this kit was getting rarer as the days passed. Inside the box, you get all the plastic parts associated with the initial release as well as a decal sheet covering all 16 planes. The parts are well molded and even 12-15 years later, they are flash free and excellent. The clear parts are superb also.

I will forgo the history as most are well aware of the raid by Lt. Col. Doolittle and his pilots and there are many excellent references and even some fun movies referring to the raid. I have wanted to build this kit for a while ever since trading it off to a friend a while back and jumped at the opportunity to build it.

I did include two parts of… more

A-6E TRAM Masking Set

Published: March 9, 2016
Company: Eduard

Masking sets started to show up 10-15 years ago and the first sets were cut vinyl, which worked well on certain things but had difficulty bending around corners and staying in place. Eduard solved this problem a while back by going to low tack yellow tape that is sticky enough to fit into corners and stay put while painting is going on but still leaves no residue. There are precut and usually fit a specific kit.

This set fits HobbyBoss 1/48 A-6E TRAM kit and allows masking of several different parts. First, solid masks are included for the two large front windows. The small sides to the front and the main canopy have parts that provide a sharp out frame. The instructions say to mask with liquid masking and this works but I have also used Tamiya tape and that works also.

F-86 Ultimate Sabre

Published: March 5, 2016
Company: Eduard

In the last several years, Eduard has had great ideas by taking well done kits from certain manufacturers, adding their beautiful photoetch, masking sets and Brassin resin to it and issuing it as a complete set. This is one of those kits and it is a winner! What you get in the package is Hasegawa’s excellent 1/48th scale F-86 Sabre with a masking set for the wheels and canopy. Also included are excellent resin castings for the ejection seat and two frets of photoetch. One is colorized and is used to detail the cockpit with seat belts, multipart instrument panels, and other small parts. The second fret is not colored and contains replacement parts for the canopy deck and details, more seat details, and other smaller bits. Also included is an excellent color instruction guide and decals… more

A-6E TRAM Interior Zoom

Published: March 5, 2016
Company: Eduard

Eduard offers their photoetch in a couple different formats for those that haven’t had the pleasure. They offer the Big Ed sets which are full meal which include multiple frets, masking sets and many, many parts for those that want the ultimate detail on their kits. They also offer the sets in groups which include multiple frets for specific areas such as interiors, wheel wells or exteriors. Lastly, they offer “Zoom” sets which are one fret of colored photoetch to address, usually, cockpits. This set is one of the latter and addresses the kind of barren cockpit in HobbyBoss 1/48 A-6E TRAM kit which is already a wonderful kit. The set consists of one colored photoetch fret with excellent instructions which included a multipart instrument panel, multiple parts for the ejection seats… more

German Luftwaffe Pilot WWII with Life Vest

Published: February 4, 2016
Company: Aerobonus

Aires continues their wonderful pilot release, this time in 1/32 scale of a German WWII pilot wearing a Kapok life preserver. The parts are perfectly case and have both arms, the body and a separate head. Also included is a full color painting guide and also a printed map and booklet which can be cut out and added to the models right hand.

Assembly is simple. Start by removing the arms and sanding as needed. Same for the head. The body takes a little more work cleaning out along the inseam but nothing too difficult. The arms and can be attached and the head painted separately.

I primed with Alclad gray and let dry overnight. I used Scale 75 painted for the face. If you haven’t tried these, they are wonderful with a great range of flesh colors. The body was painted with… more

Dropper - Short Version

Published: February 4, 2016
Company: Eduard

Eduard has been issuing the world’s best photoetch for a long time now and I have watched many of my modeling friends use all sorts of things to add CA glue to the parts - toothpicks, dental tools, sprue parts and many more. The issue is how to apply the minimum amount of glue needed. Eduard has issued a nifty little tool to help apply the glue.

The parts come on a photoetch fret with 20 droppers. The droppers have a etched lower part and come to a tip with two small forks. Use is simple- cut the dropper free and make sure not to damage the tip. It is designed to fit into a #11 knife handle. Place it into the handle like a knife blade and tighten it up.

To use it, put a pool of glue near where you work. Dip the tip in and place the tip onto where you want it. I tried… more

Triple Ejection Racks (TER)

Published: January 30, 2016
Company: Eduard

The BRU-42 triple ejector rack (TER) is a weapon suspension unit that attaches to an aircraft's main pylons to allow the carrying of three weapons instead of one on a single pylon. They have been around for a while and can carry multiple types of weapons. Many models have simplified representations of the TER in their kits. Eduard’s set comes with parts to make five separate TERs each is comprised of 2 shackles for the attachment and six sway braces and one central body. The total set is 45 resin parts, color instructions and a full set of decals containing all the markings needed.

Assembly is straightforward with a one caveat. You remove the main body from its casting plug. You remove the two top shackles. Here, you need to space them to fit on whatever pylon you are adding… more