Dave Morrissette
Reviews By Author
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T-28 Control Lever and Rudder PedalsPublished:
Quickboost adds another set of upgrade part to its line for the Roden T-28 series. In this example, the add two upgraded control stick and four upgraded rudder pedals. the parts are cast perfectly in Aires gray resin. The control sticks have a web of film that has to be removed. No instructions are included as these are direct replacement parts. Removal is simple. Cut the parts free and trim as needed and use. I will warn you, the control sticks are very thin and fragile and even with the good quality of resin, I snapped one off at the base. Its an easy fix but still, a light touch is required. I have included comparison shots of the Roden parts. The Quickboost sticks are finer and have no ejection pin marks. The rudder pedals from Quickboost have a better tread pattern… more |
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Heinkel He-219 UhuPublished:
First, a little background. The He-219 Uhu was a purpose designed night fighter and also the first operational aircraft to have ejection seats. The plane had an advanced VHF radar, a 385 mph top speed, excellent armament and good range. It was not available in quantity however which is probably a blessing for the bombers flying at night. Revell's kit consists of 12 light gray sprues of medium soft styrene with 2 clear sprues. There is a large booklet of instructions and a large decal sheet. There is some small amount of flash on the sprues. The decal sheet gives you options for four planes:
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P-61B Black Widows- 414th, 418th and 422nd NFSPublished:
Super Scale International through Squadron Products continues its decal releases for HobbyBoss' excellent 1/32 P-61 with a set for three options for P-61B's. Inside the package, you get a page of full color instructions and a nicely done decal sheet printed by Cartograf.
The instruction sheet contains paint and more black. The planes are:
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P-61B Black Widow Decals- 548th NFS, Iwo JimaPublished:
If you want to dress up HobbyBoss' excellent 1/32 P-61, Superscale decals give you three options for P-61B's based on Iwo Jima from the 548th NFS. Inside the package, you get a page of full color instructions and a nicely done decal sheet printed by Cartograf. The instruction sheet contains paint and marking schemes for three planes all of which are black with red spinners and cowlings which match the red plane numbers. The planes are:
There are placement guides for the excellent nose art and unit markings and also the national insignia. The nose art in two cases are very well done pin-up girls.… more |
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Kawasaki Ki-100 Otsu Part 1Published:
Lifelike has produced this set of decals for he recent RS Models Ki-100 kit. They can also be used for the FineMolds kit but the producer does not that there might need to be some modification. In the package, there is one decal sheet which covers the five aircraft. The decals are printed by Cartograf and beautiful, in register and colorful. Also included is the sheet with five full color profiles of the aircraft and their histories and information which is wonderfully researched. Last is a page indicating the paint colors and also the stencil placement and reference sources. The planes covered are:
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Ki-84 Hayate Part 2Published:
Lifelike Decals continues its superb line of 1/72 decals with 5 options for the Hasegawa kit. The decals are perfectly in register and are printed by Cartograf. The instruction sheets are superb being full color and having side profiles of all five aircraft. There is also a very thoroughly research paint scheme and stencil instructions. The five aircraft represent the following:
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USN/USMC Phantom II Walkways Decals #1Published:
Superscale Decals is now owned by the excellent people at Squadron Products, and their latest release is this sheet containing four different sets of walkways for 1/48th scale Phantoms. Both the wing and top of fuselage walkways are included. The set is printed by Cartograf and is beautifully in register and glossy. The sets included are:
The instructions are well done, in color, and show the needed location of the decals. This set is highly recommended and will go really well with older Phantom kits or the newer… more |
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F-4B Phantom II VF-32 “Swordsmen” DecalsPublished:
Super Scale (Squadron Products) has released and excellent new set of decals for the Academy F-4B Phantom. This set covers an F-4B from the VF-32 Swordsmen aboard the USS John F. Kennedy (CFA-67) circa 1970. The decals come with a single sheet of colorful decals and include the markings for BuNo 152972. The national insignia are also included, along with some specific stencils. The decals are printed by Cartograf and are perfectly in register and very colorful. The highlights are the large yellow/black tail flashes and sword on the rudder. The intake warnings are colorful and also included. These decals are a great addition to the excellent Academy kit. Highly recommended. My thanks to Squadron Products and IPMS/USA for the chance to review these decals. |
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California License Plate 1963-2012 DecalsPublished:
Warbird Decals is known just for that, its airplane and warbird decals. This release is a new venture and is for 1/24 scale cars. It features California license plates from between 1963 and 2012, and comes with the background on the color and style changes. This set contains 112 license plates covering the different styles. Eight of these are pre-lettered, but the remaining 104 are blank. Below this are the letters you use to customize the plates to your liking. To customize a plate, pick the appropriate letters and color and cut them out. Warbird has provided a line indicating where the lettering should be located. Drop the letters on the plate (and there are great instructions on how to accomplish this) and let dry. The decal can then be applied with your own customized… more |
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S-2A TrackerPublished:
Kinetic’s second release of their S-2 Tracker series is the "A" version. This was a redesignation of the S2F-1, occurring in 1961. The early Trackers also had some differences in the horizontal stabs and the nacelles. This kit has all that on eight nicely made gray sprues with a clear sprue and a large decals sheet. The first note I want to make is follow the directions and watch your part numbers. There are multiple noses, nacelles, and other parts. You also have the options to fold the wings, which I did to save shelf space. There are also a couple areas to address. The cockpit is very bland and although you can see a lot, it could use a little love. Also, the very prominent spotlight on the wing is not there at all, and you can purchase an aftermarket set or… more |