Dave Morrissette
Reviews By Author
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C-2A GreyhoundPublished:
When Kinetic announced the release of a C-2A Greyhound, I was very interested after having seen VRC-40 Rawhides above the USS Carl Vinson last summer. When the opportunity came up to build one, I jumped at the chance. Looking at the plastic, much of the kit is a carryover from their excellent E-2C Hawkeye kits, with the wings, engine and props duplicated. Included are a new fuselage and full interior, along with a back ramp. Molding and panel lines are excellent and I dove right into the interior. Unlike the Hawkeye, this kit includes a full interior which is visible with the ramp in the lowered position. There is a full cockpit which is part of a one-piece molded floor to the plane and cargo area. I added only belts to the seats. Here I got confused when building the… more |
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Bela Lugosi as Dracula on BroadwayPublished:
This is going to be the easiest review I have done in a while. This is the best styrene figure kit produced...at least to date. Now for the why's. The kit is 1/8 scale and includes Bela Lugosi in the Broadway version of Dracula (it looks like the movie a lot). The kit can be broken down into 4 parts. First is an excellent base with dungeon floor and walls and the door to the dungeon. This includes rock piles, skull, obligatory rodent, lit torch, and an excellent door with its hardware. Second is the figure in a good pose wearing a tuxedo with shoes and gold chains. Third is the cape, which is molded in such a way that it can be added to the painted figure and still drapes naturally. Last, and the most for me, are the head and hands. This is the best likeness of Lugosi around. That… more |
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US Navy Carrier Deck with Blast DeflectorPublished:
Skunkmodels continues its run of excellent diorama items with a 1/48th scale Nimitz class carrier deck including the blast deflectors. When complete, this will be about 24" x 14" in size. The parts count is large to get an accurate deck with 112 styrene parts and a 5-piece PE set. In addition to this, you can get the PE tie down set which includes over 160 etched tie downs for about $6.00 (and it is worth it). Options include two open or closed hatches, a shuttle for the catapult, and, of course, a positionable blast deflector. Lastly, there are four very nicely molded deck figures. Construction starts with the deck which consists of 10 large parts. The trick here is to get them as even and smooth as possible. The deck is molded with the correct anti-skid coating, so the better… more |
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Panavia Tornado Speed BrakesPublished:
Aires continues releasing excellent resin sets for the series of 1/32nd Revell Tornadoes. The latest set is replacement wells and speed brakes and includes the actuating pistons. Molding is first rate with no flash or air bubbles. To install the parts, cut out the kit bays and smooth the openings. Install the parts from the inside and add the speed brakes. Detail on the parts is excellent and is somewhat better than the kit. The speed brake is deeper and finer than the kit’s. This set is an improvement but with a couple of caveats – obviously, if you are going to close the speed brakes, this set is not necessary. Second, the improvement in depth and detail is there but will set you back $27 ($24 from Great Models) and this is a decision for the modeler. It is a simple… more |
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War of the Worlds Alien TripodPublished:
Steven Spielberg's 2005 remake of War of the Worlds took the original 1953 version and upgraded the already excellent special effects using today's technology. In my opinion, the movie was okay, but the effects were excellent, and central to that were the Martians and their tripods. Pegasus Hobbies has already issued the Martians and has now followed up with this kit of the tripod. And what a kit it is! The kit is 93 parts including an excellent base of a destroyed street and buildings. The capture cages and lenses are clear. The top of the tripod is smoky clear. All the parts are perfectly molded, with no flash and petite engraving. There is an option of building the kit with the laser arms attached as it is first seem in the movie or building it with the cages underneath the… more |
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Sea Vixen Ejection SeatsPublished:
Airfix's 1/48th Sea Vixen kit is a beauty all by itself. The one thing it does need is some ejection seats, as these are pretty visible when the build is done. The kit seats are OK but do not include any belts and, with the limitations of injection molding versus the great detail of resin, someone needed to make a nice set of seats. Squadron products to the rescue! Squadron's True Details USA line offers excellent value and detail and these seats are no exception. The set comes with two seats and a small sprue of ejection handles to add. The first thing you notice is that the seats are not carbon copies of one another – they are different. This is a great idea as many aftermarket sets that have seats with belts just mold the seat twice and while you get a nice seat, they look… more |
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EA-18G GrowlerPublished:
Freshly released from Hasegawa and Hobbico is the best 1/48 scale version of the E/A-18G Growler. This is a modification of their F/A-18F two-seat Super Hornet Kit including four new sprues to allow for the radar jamming pods, extra bumps and antennae and cockpit differences. All the parts are nicely done with engraved panel lines and no flash. Marking are included for lo-viz VFQ-129 Vikings and the CAG from VFA-141. I chose the latter with its black spine and tails- great looking plane. The kit has several up front things to do. Since this is a modified F version, there are a bunch of holes to open on the forward fuselage, wings, and rear fuselage to allow adding of the changes peculiar to the G version. I missed doing this to the wings and made life much more difficult as… more |
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Me-262 Seat with BeltsPublished:
Quickboost has come out with a 1/32nd scale seat and belts for the Me262. It can be used with either the old Hasegawa offering or the newer Trumpeter kits. A quick check of the Hasegawa and Trumpeter kits seems like it will fit either one. The kit has a casting block on the bottom which I cut off with a razor saw and then sanded smooth (although it is on the bottom and out of sight, which is great). The molded-in seat belts are excellent with all the correct parts present and done in nice relief. I included a comparison [picture of the Hasegawa and Trumpeter kit seats and the Quickboost offering). It is an enormous improvement and will make a world of difference in the kit as shown in the picture. Highly recommended! My thanks to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for the… more |
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Me163A Seat with beltsPublished:
Quickboost continues with its excellent replacement seats with one for the Dragon/Trimaster Me163A. The seat comes with a small pour block which is on the bottom and easily cut off and sanded smooth.I had an old Trimaster kit and the picture shows just what an improvement it is with thinner edges and beautifully molded in seat belts. This product is highly recommended for the Dragon or Trimaster kit. My thanks to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for the review sample. |
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Kothoga CreaturePublished:
Once in a while, you see a movie that, while not hugely financially successful, makes for a great 2 hours of fun. Such is the "The Relic", a 1997 monster flick starring Penelope Ann Miller, James Whitmore, Linda Hunt and Tom Sizemore. It shows up on cable pretty regularly and if you have the chance, watch it. The star of the movie is a 12 foot long mutant creature called the Kothoga that is part mammal, part reptile and all bad. It likes eating brain parts. Stan Winston Studios produced the monster and did it perfectly. Pegasus Hobbies has given a great opportunity to model the creature with this kit. The kit itself is a mini diorama which contains the creature, a large museum base (the entire movie was shot in the Natural History Museum in Chicago), stanchions with rope, a name… more |