Dave Morrissette
Reviews By Author
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GBU-10 Paveway IIPublished:
The GBU-10 Paveway II laser guided bomb is a modified version of the Mk. 84 general purpose bomb with added fins and guidance system. Eduard has produced a set of two GBU-10’s in 1/48th scale. Each set has two bomb bodies, separate front fins for 8 parts and two sets of seeker heads for the front; one ready for use and one with a cast in cover. Casting is perfect and in standard Eduard dark gray resin. Also included are the instructions and a decal sheet with all the markings. Construction is simple. My one piece of advice is to take your time and cut slowly. The parts are small and thinly cast to make them realistic. The main body gets cut loose at the rear of the assembly. I cut each fin loose separately and the trimmed off the pour block and the cut the remainder loose with… more |
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3D Center Locating Tool JigPublished:
UMM continues to make and issue tools that their owner John Vojtech has developed and used to make his award winning models. The UMM™ 3D Center Locating Tool Jig is one of those tools. What you get is two pieces of aluminum bolted together so that the bottom forms a v-shaped notch and the top forms a straight edge aligning with the point of the notch. The purpose of the tool is simple, find the exact center of a round or square object. This is extremely handy when you need that center for drilling out holes or attached things exactly on center. I tried the jig on the bottom of a bust which needed to be attached to a base, and I had to drill and insert a pin to insure its stability. I slid the base square to the notched side and drew a line up the straight edge. I then rotated… more |
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Mk. 20 Rockeye StencilsPublished:
One thing that has been overlooked by some manufacturers is markings for the weapons they include in their kits. They are sometimes afterthoughts or incomplete and a few are actually not bad, but seeing a beautifully built plane with average weapons kills the mood. AOA Decals has started a trend to fix that with their release 32009 for Mk. 20 Rockeye cluster combs. Inside the package is a two-sided color sheet detailing the markings with notes for the Mk. 20 and a small decal sheet containing enough markings for four bombs total. One really thoughtful note is that the yellow-stenciled markings are presented with variations compared to each other so that each set is slightly unique, which will give you a nice variation and a more realistic weapon. There are also alternate double… more |
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UMM VojTech Hand Sanding Bar XLPublished:
John Vojtech made a big splash at several nationals a while back with his magnificent builds of a B-2 and C-130 to name a few. To build these models, John actually fabricated some of his own tools and over the years has refined them and is now selling them. This UMM-USA tool is the VojTech Hand Sanding Bar. These bars come in five convenient sizes: Extra Large, Large, Medium, Small, and Fine. Made from polished aluminum and with 6 flat surfaces, these tools are useful in many applications. The part reviewed here is the extra-large bar. Using it is simplicity itself. Get a piece of the appropriate sandpaper cut a strip the width of the sanding bar or a little less. Wrap the sandpaper around the bar of the side you need. One end of the sanding bar is longer and comes to a sharper… more |
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The Intruders SandboxPublished:
AOA Decals continues their releases for Trumpeters 1/32 A-6 and in this the A-6E version. The decals included cover all three squadrons from the Operation Prairie Fire (March 1986) and Dorado Canyon (April 1986) missions in Libya, and also two squadrons from Desert Storm from Jan. to Feb. 1991. The markings included are:
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Scale Aircraft Modelling, Vol. 37, Issue 6Published:
Scale Aircraft Modelling's August 2015 issue continues its fine history and modelling articles with everything from new kits, scratchbuilds and older kits. The articles start with an Academy 1/48 F-4J Phantom built by Bill Clark. He adds Hypersonic Models canopy set and Quickboost resin seats to build an RAF Phantom in a unique turquoise scheme. The finished build looks great. Andy McCabe builds Revell's 1/144 747-8F in Cargolux markings. The kit is built on a stand with an excellent paint job. Airliners and cargo planes never seem to get enough attention and this is a wonderful article covering just such a subject. Meng Models 1/72 Kayaba Katsuodori Ramjet fighter is built by Mike Williams. Not only does he do an excellent review of the kit, he fits it to a… more |
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Intruders from the BeachPublished:
AOA Decals has released its first 1/72 scale sheet which is a scaled down version in many ways of the 1/32 scale sheet. AOA indicates that the reason the company formed was to fill the large void in decal coverage of Marine Corps Intruder accomplishments during the Vietnam War. There are a couple things that hit you when you first open the package. First, the number of options is staggering - 64 marking options of 45 different aircraft. These include:
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Intruders from the BeachPublished:
Modelers everywhere clamored for years when Trumpeter announced the release of a 1/32 A-6 Intruder. When it did arrive, the kit was very nice and has been virtually ignored by decal manufacturers everywhere…until now. AOA Decals has released the first of its sets designed for the Trumpeter 1/32 A-6A Intruder. AOA indicates that the reason the company formed was to fill the large void in decal coverage of Marine Corps Intruder accomplishments during the Vietnam War. There are a couple things that hit you when you first open the package. First, the number of options is staggering - 23 marking options of 14 different aircraft. These include:
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Scale Aircraft Modelling, Vol. 37, Issue 5Published:
Scale Aircraft Modelling's July 2015 issue focuses on some of the classic British era with everything from new kits, scratchbuilds and older kits. The articles start with a test shot build of Revell's 1/72 C-54/DC-4 by Andy McCabe. The over 300 parts are assembled into a gorgeous military transport and the kits looks to be a must have. Rick Greenwood builds Kinetic's 1/48 AMX kit and reports the overall fit of the kit is good but he did sand down the slightly pronounced rivets on the rear of the plane. He also reported a slight color issue with some of the decals but the result is very good. Valom's 1/72 Bristol Bombay Mk. I is built by Ernie Lee. This is a mixed media kit with limited run plastic, resin engines and photoetch frets. The finished kit is nice and… more |
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Luftwaffe Fighter PilotPublished:
For those unfamiliar, Ultracast from Canada does a series of aftermarket parts and pieces for planes but also, makes some beautiful figures and in this case, it is a 1/32 German Luftwaffe Fighter pilot in 1/32nd scale. The kit comes in six parts and is very well sculpted by Mike Good. The kit has two different heads - one with a flying helmet and one with an officers hat. The parts are cast in light tan resin with minimal to no seam line. I chose to go with the officers hat and mounted the head on a paint stick to hold it. I then added the arms and puttied the seams and mounted that on a painting stick to hold it. The arms seams were filled with Squadron white putty and then smooth with a Q-tip wet with lacquer thinner. I left off the holster for later. Once dry, all the pieces… more |