Dave Morrissette
Reviews By Author
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PV-1 Ventura Undercarriage and Wheel Well UpgradesPublished:
So how do you upgrade Revell’s beautiful new PV-1 Ventura? Well, one of the areas on the kit that isn’t bad but could use some love is the wheel wells and landing gear doors. Eduard has come out with two very nice PE sheets in this set to upgrade the kit. The frets address the main gear wells with replacement parts, added sidewall detail, and improved bulkheads. There are added covers and hooks not present in the kit, and all is relief-etched for a great look. One excellent thing they did was to have the main piece slide over the kit’s normal attachment points for the landing gear so you are still attaching the plastic to plastic for a nice, firm grip. One other point to note is that there is very little sanding or part removal to do. For the wheel wells, I only needed to… more |
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The Bride of FrankensteinPublished:
Every time I open a Moebius Models box, I am more amazed than the last time. Frank Winspur and Moebius’ latest offering is a first for the figure industry, a two-figure diorama taken from the James Whale 1935 classic The Bride of Frankenstein, depicting the scene where the Frankenstein Monster is attempting to holds his Bride’s hand. This is one of those rare cases in the movies where the sequel is as good or better than the original, and that is saying a lot. The monster was played by Boris Karloff (born William Henry Pratt) and the Bride by Elsa Lanchester (wife of Charles Laughton – she also plays Mary Shelly, writer of the original novel, in the movie’s opening scene). The first thing you will notice in the box is that is heavy – very heavy. Inside… more |
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A-6E TRAM Intruder, plus Cockpit Detail SetPublished:
A much anticipated new-tool kit from Kinetic supplied to IPMS by Lucky Model – this is a great day. Add to that the excellent colored PE set designed for the kit (also from Kinetic but produced by Eduard) and I am in plastic heaven. First, let’s look at the kit. There are ten light gray sprues with nice panel lines and no flash. There is also a clear sprue containing the windscreen and canopy. One thing noticed immediately is that the windscreen and canopy are both split down the middle. Also included are three sets of markings for VA-115. Two are different build numbers of the CAG plane with a black tail and spine. The last decal offering is a line bird… more |
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Spinner Car From "Blade Runner"Published:
When Fujimi announced a group of vehicle kits based on the 1982 movie Blade Runner, I was excited. This is one of my favorite movies, with great actors like Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer, moody lighting, and great special effects. The first release in this series is a 1/24th scale Spinner Police Car. The Spinner is one of the iconic cars in the series, as it is a flying police car which can also change to a normal driving car. Inside the box are eight sprues. Five of these are molded perfectly in white styrene with one perfectly clear sprue for the windshield and parts. Lastly, there is one sprue molded in transparent blue and one in transparent red for the police lights. There is an excellent decals sheet and a small PE fret with “Spinner” logos. The build… more |
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OPFOR Superpack - Resin and DecalsPublished:
Creators
From Bob Sanchez at Twobobs Decals and Mike Reeves at TwoMikes Resin comes an instant classic – the IPMS/USA 2012 Nationals OPFOR Super Pack. Why list the Nationals? This item was only offered at the Nationals and sold there. A few were sent out afterward, but as of now, this item is gone, never to be released as a package again. Let's open the tube and see what's inside. First, there is a comprehensive 24-page color book detailing the OPFOR program of Adversary and Aggressor aircraft programs, TOPGUN, and the history of the entire program. There are also full-color diagrams and painting instructions for the remainder of the contents.… more |
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MiG-21SM/M/MF Fishbed J Pitot TubePublished:
From Master Model in Poland comes a well made add-on to Trumpeter’s 1/32nd MiG-21 kit (although I think it might work on the older Revell kit, too). This set is a replacement pitot tube consisting of two brass parts and a set of photoetch fins for the probe. The two pitot tube parts are sleeved and fit into one another perfectly. There are also locating holes for the fins and even two extra fins (which I needed when I lost one). I assembled the part and attached the fins. The fins are fiddly but look great one attached and you can see how much finer the detail is than the kit part. Once assembled, the base from the kit is used and a slight bend is induced in the probe to align it. Overall, an excellent improvement to a nice kit, and at an excellent price. Highly… more |
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He-162 Pitot Tube, Gun Barrels and Landing Gear IndicatorPublished:
From Master Model comes an excellent and quick detail set for the Tamiya or Dragon He-162. Included in the set are two brass barrel ends for the MG151 guns, a replacement pitot tube, and a landing gear indicator. All of the parts are turned brass and perfectly made. Use is simple. The gun barrels are direct replacements for the plastic parts and slide into the holes in the fuselage. The pitot tube is added directly to the nose and is thinner and better detailed and much less breakable. The remaining part is the indicator for the landing ear. For those who don't know, when many planes in WWII had their landing gear lowered, an indicator rod or something popped up so the pilot cold see it. For the He-162, this indicator is directly to the front and slightly left of the windscreen… more |
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Sino-French Naval War, 1884-1885Published:
Like many modelers, my knowledge of history is never as complete as I want it to be, and when MMP issued The Sino-French Naval War, I found a great opportunity to learn more about the conflict that occurred in 1884-1885. For those of you unfamiliar with these actions, during this time colonization was the policy that many countries pursued to expand growth, secure mineral and trade rights, and protect their people and interests. In this case, the French wanted Vietnam also to protect their Catholic Missions. Piotr Olender has researched the war in depth, including the ships and people involved and also the reasons behind the start of the war. The book starts with a description of the actions leading up to the start of the conflict, including the bombardment of… more |
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Boots on the Ground - The Fight to Liberate Afghanistan 2001-2002Published:
Zenith Press has published and excellent read with Boots on the Ground. The book covers the build-up and start of the war in Afghanistan during 2001-2002. The book starts with coverage of the Soviet involvement prior to their invasion, including their poisoning of the Afghani President and his subsequent execution, as well as coverage of the Soviet invasion and their loss of 15,000 troops and thousands of vehicles. There are great explanations of the Mujahedeen philosophy of "Death by a Thousand Cuts" where, in one year, the Mujahedeen conducted 5,236 attacks on the Soviets, one small attack at a time. There are great descriptions and pictures of the weapons used, from Stinger missiles to the Hind helicopter. This background history continues up through 9/11 and the decisions… more |
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Romulan WarbirdPublished:
Star Trek. Like a lot of people my age (the other side of 50), I was raised on the show and then the long running reruns. Of course, you have the movies, Deep Space Nine and more. The series is as iconic. This kit represents a Romulan D’deridex class ship which appears in STTNG series which aired between 1987 and 1994. This kit was first released by AMT a number of years ago and has become scarce in the last few years, so the rerelease is welcome. And there are improvements! The basic kit is the same with nice molding and relief. There is a round base with parts to make the kit appear in flying pose. If you see the miniatures in the series, there are two things the original kit didn’t have included. First, the warp nacelles always glowed a greenish color which… more |