Dave Morrissette
Reviews By Author
|
USN Mk. XIII TorpedoPublished:
The US Navy’s most common aerial torpedo used in WWII was the first purpose built torpedo for use in aircraft (but they were also used on PT boats. Brengun’s kit comes with twelve photoetch parts and three resin parts. The kit comes with two options- the early configuration which is a standard looking torpedo and was used from 1935 until 1942. The second option was a later configuration with breakaway plywood nose (often called the pickle barrel) and plywood tail used from 1942 until 1951. I opted for the late version for variety. First thing was to cut the tail and correct nose of square. These are glued together, puttied with glazing putty, and smoothed with lacquer thinner. Next, the two tail parts are cut off – make sure you don’t lose them. Cut off the two propellers add… more |
|
US GP 100lb AN-M30A1 Bombs (6pcs)Published:
Brengun continues to release wonderful aftermarket add-ons to enhance 1/48th scale planes. In this set, there are six complete AN-M31A1 100 lb bombs which were used by fighters, bombers, or attack aircraft. They were in use for a long period of time and covered WWII to Korea and further. Inside the package are six perfectly cast bomb bodies in Brengun’s dark gray resin. Simply cut from the pour block and you are set to add the photoetch. There is a complete photoetch sheet which has the bomb fins, the nose fuse and the rear plate and tail fuse. You will need a 0.5mm rod to add the tail fuse also. Lastly, the decals are included and have the nose and tail yellow bands, marking for the tail and two for the body. The decals are crisp. The only tricky part of assembly is… more |
|
MKXVII Depth Charge Mk 54Published:
Brengun adds to its catalog with Attack Hobbies re-release of the Mk XVII depth charge in 1/48th scale. The set contains the parts to make and mark two depth charges along with the pylon for mounting. Inside the set, you will find two well-cast depth bomb bodies and nose fuse stalks in gray resin, a photoetch sheet containing the parts to make two pylons, the fuses for the bomb, and a small decal sheet for the one marking on the depth charge. Assembly starts by removing the depth charge and nose stalk from the resin. Make sure the nose is sanded smooth. Glue the stalk to the direct center. The tail band needs formed into a ring. When I did this using my PE bender, the tail was too big in diameter and would not touch the four legs. I cut ~ 2 mm off the tail and reformed and it… more |
|
USS Gato SS-212, 1941Published:
Hobby Boss has issued many 1/350 submarines from modern day to WWII. This offering continues the WWII kits with a 1941 version of a Gato class submarine successor, the Balao class, and the submarine that carried much of the burden of the submarine war in the Pacific. This offering is the lead class in this series as the USS Gato, SS-212 from 1941. The kit includes three sprues, a stand, a photoetch name plate and a small decal sheet. Molding is crisp and clean with no flash. The kit is 26 parts including the photoetch and the stand. The assembly instructions are two steps with the first adding the hull and bottom parts and the second were finishing the conning tower and detail. Fit is very good with only a little putty on the bottom. One thing to note that there… more |
|
Tiger I, Early Production, Eastern FrontPublished:
German armor of WWII has had, to say the least, a lot written about with many, many models coming out to support the literature. Tamiya continues to release wonderful 1/48th scale kits of German armor and the latest is a Tiger I from Early Production for the Eastern front. Inside the box, you will find a new bottom hull from another kit and decals for 2 Eastern front Tiger’s:
Looking into the box, the majority of parts are either road wheels or tracks. Tracks are straight runs with separate individual tracks to go round the front and back wheels. There are ~ 26 pieces per side for the tracks. I will say this up front, fit is super all the way… more |
|
Grumman EA-6B Prowler - Flying with the US Navy and Marines CorpsPublished:
Duke Hawkins books from HMH Publications are a series of, currently, twenty-three different books on various aircraft. They feature superb photography and detail with hundreds of color photos on great semigloss heavy paper. This volume, number 21, covers the EA-6B Prowler in 140 pages and over 320 photos. Rather than have a standard table of contents like many books, these dive right in and gives a brief introduction to the plane and its variants. Both Navy and Marine Corps versions are shown also. And then it dives right into the plane and its components. This starts with forward fuselage then fuselage then air intakes then more fuselage then wings, etc. working its way from the front to the back of the plane. Specifics such as the cockpit and landing gear get special… more |
|
Color and Markings of the F-14 Tomcat- Part 3: Prototypes, Test, Evaluation and Adversary AircraftPublished:
Detail and Scale has been a cornerstone reference for modelers for decades covering all types of aircraft in great detail. The Color & Markings series does just that, cover the color and markings of a specific set of planes in great detail with superb pictures and detailed test. This book, Part 3, written by Bert Kinzey and Rock Roszak, covers the F-14 Tomcat prototypes, test, evaluation and adversary aircraft. The table of contents is large and gives a great view of things to come:
|
|
Phoenix Aviation Modeling July 2022Published:
Phoenix Scale Publications came to be at Scale Model World in 2021and was formed by a veteran group of aviation and scale modeling talents. They have come out with a series of books on specific planes and also what is being reviewed here, a wonderful monthly magazine, Phoenix Aviation Modelling, which is available as individual choices from their web site, or even better a subscription. The magazines are also currently available at 250 Barnes & Noble stores for $12.99. Inside the magazine are 10 feature articles with specific builds, coverage of newsstand (publications), Czech News (covering new releases from the Czech Republic), new kit releases, along with coverage of new aftermarket and decals. There is also a nice comment from IPMS/UK. The builds in the July… more |
|
Ukrainian Albatrosses: L-39C/M/M1 Albatros, Ukrainian Air ForcesPublished:
For those that have never heard of FOXBOT, they are a decal and mask manufacturer from the Ukraine and have a series of decals and masks in scales from 1/32 down to 1/144. They specialize in planes from their region such as MiG and Sukhoi but they do have markings for other planes such as B-25 and P-38’s and more. Needless to say, this company could use some support at this time. The set includes markings for nine L-39C/M/M1 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force:
|
|
Ukrainian Foxbats: MiG-25RBPublished:
For those that have never heard of FOXBOT, they are a decal and mask manufacturer from the Ukraine and have a series of decals and masks in scales from 1/32 down to 1/144. They specialize in planes from their region such as MiG and Sukhoi but they do have markings for other planes such as B-25 and P-38’s. Needless to say, this company could use some support at this time. The set includes markings for four MiG-25RB’s of the Ukrainian Air Force:
Inside the package is a full color instruction sheet… more |