Dave Morrissette
Reviews By Author
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F/A-18E VFA-137 Kestrels CAG 2011 DecalsPublished:
Being a Naval Aviation fan, I am always on the lookout for new markings and schemes. One of the more interesting schemes to come out in the last few years is the digital camouflage scheme work by the CAG of VFA-137, “The Kestrels”. I have always liked VFA-137 schemes (maybe it is the groups nickname, the Flying Buttcheeks) and some of their markings have been produced in 1/48th scale by several different manufacturers. The Kestrels are based at NAS Lemoore in California and started flying F-18A’s and have transitioned all the way to the new F-18E’s. DXM Decals has produced one of the ultimate set of decals for the F-18E in that it replicates the digital camouflage scheme perfectly with decals. For those that have never heard of DXM decals, they are based in Taiwan and… more |
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B-25J 345th BG Air Apaches DecalsPublished:
Eagle Editions has released a 1/32 scale sheet for the pending HK Models B-25 “Strafer” which represent the 345th Bomb Group, the Air Apaches. For those who don’t know, the Air Apaches were a Bomb Group based in New Guinea in WWII who flew the B-25J. They flew missions against shipping, ground emplacements, and flak positions using the B-25 bomber not only for its intended purpose but also for strafing almost anything. One thing they also had was very distinctively marked ships. The tails were marked with stylized Indians and the planes marked as bats, parrots, and many other things with great nose art. A modeler’s dream come true. HK Models’ B-25J Strafer is reviewed here at http://web.ipmsusa3.org/content/b-25j-strafer… more |
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B-25H DecalsPublished:
Eagle Editions’ newest decal release is three choices for the yet-to-be-released HK Models’ 1/32nd B-25H. This version of the B-25 will have a 75mm canon in the nose along with the remainder of the cheek guns, turret, and all the aft guns. The H version also required a cockpit design due to the shorter nose and length of the canon which made the designers relocate the topside gun turret more toward the nose. This accounted for the visual changes to the exterior. The plane was designed to strafe and hit targets with its forward facing guns and cannon. In practice, the slow fire rate of the cannon compared to the guns meant that the previous strafe versions ended up doing the same or more damage. HK Models has announced a 1/32nd B-25H due in 2013 with a part number of 01E00. It… more |
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Hs-129 Landing GearPublished:
Scale Aircraft Conversions continues their prolific run at supplying modelers well cast metal gear with this latest offering for the Hasegawa Hs-129 kit which has been freshly released in a winter camouflage screen. The Hs-129 was the WWII Luftwaffe equivalent of the A-10 Warthog. The Hs-129 was small for a 2-engine attack plane with a wingspan of slightly over 46 feet. Consider that a P-51 had a wingspan of 37 feet for only one engine – this was a small plane! Hasegawa first released this kit about 12 years ago and it still holds up well with a new reissue in winter camouflage. SAC’s gear consists of two main landing gear struts, two retraction arms, two separate torque links, and a complete new tailwheel. All are well cast and strong duplicates of the kit parts with slight… more |
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XF10F-1 JaguarPublished:
Everyone knows the F-14D Tomcat and its swing wing design – Top Gun locked that down to the general public. Before the F-14 was built, Grumman produced the XF10F Jaguar, which was the world’s first swing wing fighter. Never heard of it? Me, either, until Planet Models produced a resin kit of it. One reason it never became famous is that only one was ever produced (although a second was started) and, like many early jets, it suffered from being…well, underpowered. Add that to the weird cantilever tail and the other problems, and the plane ended up being a test bed for swing wings, and I can say that lots of good information was learned and ended up in the F-111 and F-14. If you want to see one today, you can’t. Both of them were destroyed, so we have a model left to bring us that part… more |
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T-28D TrojanPublished:
Roden continues its 1/48th scale family of T-28 Trojans with a “D” model. The kit comes with three sets of markings for an Air Force Training Squadron from Eglin, a CIA plane based in the Congo (both of which are light gray in color), and a Special Operation marking in SEA camouflage based in Thailand in 1960. The kit parts are found on light gray sprues with good panel lines, and there are a clear sprue, decals, and an instruction sheet. Construction starts with the engine, and it is good. For those wanting a little more detail, Quickboost offers a very nice replacement. The kit does include all the need parts, such as manifolds and push rods. Once those are complete, I moved to the fuselage. The cockpit is decently detailed and will show nicely through the large canopy.… more |
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T-28 Trojan Landing GearPublished:
One of Scale Aircraft Conversion’s latest releases is a nice metal landing gear set for the Monogram 1/48 T-28 series. I was currently reviewing the Roden T-28D and, miraculously, this was a nice fit on that kit, too. The set contains the three gear struts, the additional part for the front gear, and the gear door attachment linkages for the bottom gear doors. All the parts are well cast in white metal with small seams which are easily sanded off. Fit is excellent, as you can see from the pictures. I can say that having the front landing gear in metal is good as there is a fair amount of weight in the kit to keep it on its gear and metal is much more stable. This is another great set from SAC for a reasonable price. Recommended especially with the weight over the nose… more |
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F/A-18E/F ECS Exhausts, Late and EarlyPublished:
Quickboost has a pair of great detail sets for the Trumpeter 1/32 F/A-18E/F kits. The parts reviewed here are the ECS (Environmental Control System) exhausts which are located on the back of the new Hornets. There are two sets. First is a late version which is a direct replacement of the kit parts. Simply sand the kit parts smooth and sand off the casting block and attach. The Quickboost parts have more of a correct angle to them and deeper intakes and are very well cast. The second set allows you to backdate the kit to one with the early set of ECS exhausts. In this case, a little surgery will be needed to allow the part to sit into the kit. There is a picture included to show the needed… more |
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F-35B Metal Landing GearPublished:
Hot on the heels of the release of Kitty Hawk Models’ 1/48 F-35B is Scale Aircraft Conversions’ metal landing gear set. The set consists of 11 pieces of white metal to replace the entire landing gear structure on the F-35. There are three gear struts, three torque links, three retracting arms, and two retraction cylinders. As you can see from the pictures, the metal castings are excellent. For review, I installed the parts on the kit (which I am in the process of reviewing) and they fit like a charm. In one picture, you can see the nose gear torque link has snapped and, thankfully, SAC to the rescue. All it takes is a little clean up and they drop into place, providing a sturdy base to the kit. You can also polish the metal where the silver parts are and leave them bare metal… more |
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F4D-1 Skyray Part 1Published:
Being a fan of large scale planes (1/32 and above), I was excited when Paul Fisher from Fisher Model and Pattern announced an impending 1/32 F4D-1 Skyray. No one else would have the tenacity and devotion to make one, and as a fan of US Navy planes, this was a dream come true for me. The plane itself has not been made in 1/32 before and is a welcome addition. This is going to be a multi-part build. In this part, we'll take a look at what you get in the box and then dive right into a full build in subsequent parts. For those not having built a Fisher kit, they are cast in resin with photoetch detail added, and this kit is no different. The parts are cast in a light gray resin that holds detail well. There are approximately 157 parts to the kit. The windscreen and the canopy are… more |