Milk Trike

Published: January 24, 2021
Company: Round 2 Models

Round 2 has reissued the 1/25^th scale Milk Trike kit and it is great to see it again. MPC was a very popular model company in the 1960’s and 70’s and thankfully, Round 2 has saved their molds. The Milk Trike was one of six trike kits which came with different window colors and extensive decals to customize your build.

Inside the box, there are 57 easy to build parts molded in white, chrome and three colors of windows- clear, transparent purple and transparent orange. There are preprinted black tires and a large decals sheet giving many options. I decided up front to stick with the Milk Trike theme and try to duplicate the purple color in Alclad Candy colors.

Construction starts with the body. I glued it together and made my first mistake and glued the part of… more

Fighting Ships of the U.S. Navy 1883-2019, Volume One - Fleet Carriers

Published: January 24, 2021
Book Author(s): Venner F Milewski Jr
Company: Casemate UK

Fighting Ships of the US Navy is a series dedicated to exploring each ship in the US Navy’s inventory since 1883. In Volume One, the author, Venner F Milewski, Jr., starts with the Fleet Aircraft Carriers in the beginning. Overall, the book has a plethora of data and information of each aircraft carrier used by the US during the last 100 years starting with the USS Langley. Taking a look at the Table of contents shows what I mean:

1. Langley Class (CV-1)
2. Lexington Class (CV2, CV-3)
3. Ranger Class (CV-4)
4. Yorktown Class (CV-5/56, CV-8)
5. Wasp Class (CV-7)
6. Essex Class (CV-9 to 21, 31 to 40, 45 to 47, 50 to 55)
7. Independence Class (CVL-22 to 30)
8. Midway Class (CVB-42, CVB-43, CV-44, CVB-56, CVB-57)
9. Saipan… more

AH-64A ANG "South Carolina"

Published: November 13, 2020
Company: Academy Models

The AH-64 Apache helicopter is very recognizable from its unique shape and visibility from both Gulf wars. First flown in 1975, over 2400 have been produced. Academy has released a kit of the AH-64A Apache in large 1/35^th scale. Based on the instructions, this a rerelease of the Kangnam kit as the instructions are very similar. That’s not a bad thing either as all new decals for the South Carolina ANG are included in an overall gray scheme.

Inside the box, there are five flash free gray sprues with nicely engraved or embossed detail. The rivet detail is especially nice. There is one clear sprue, a rubber fret with the tires on it, decals and a complete set of masks. Markings are included for:

• AH-64A, South Carolina ANG, Iraq, 2005
• AH-64A, 151… more

FJ-2 Fury

Published: November 11, 2020
Company: Kitty Hawk

Whew, this was a strange one and I apologize up front to Kitty Hawk. They were nice enough to send us a sample and somewhere between them and us, the USPS lost the kit. Every effort to find it or get it back failed. In the end, I bought the kit as I really wanted it. More importantly, let’s look at the kit!

The FJ-2 Fury was the result of an effort to convert the USAF’s F-86 Sabre to a carrier-based plane. It included folding wings and a longer nose gear strut. Kitty Hawk has come out with kit KH80155. Inside the box, you will find three well-made gray sprues with recessed panel lines, a clear sprue, a small photoetch set for details and seat belts plus a decal sheet. With this initial release, Kitty Hawk also included two resin figures which are very nicely done. Looking at… more

Lockheed P-38G-15-LO Lightning

Published: October 25, 2020
Book Author(s): Darius Karnas and Artur Juszczak
Company: Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books

MMP continues its “Single” series of books with no. 18, the Lockheed P-38G-15-LO Lightning. As you can see by the title, this is a very specific version of this plane and this book only covers that variant. There is no coverage of the H or J version of the P-38, just the one listed. This is also one of the versions covered in the new Tamiya 1/48^th P-38.

Let’s look in the book- it is only contains 24 pages but they are packed with scale line drawings in 1/72^nd scale with plan views and cross sections for the main fuselage as well as the tail booms. This is followed by operations photos in several WWII theaters of operation. There are detail drawings of the cockpit bays, landing gear, boarding ladder and engines. Exploded views of most parts are included so… more

MiG-31 Foxhound

Published: October 22, 2020
Book Author(s): Robert Pied, Nicolas Deboeck; Kirill Mushak
Company: Casemate Publishers

Duke Hawkins is a series of superb photo essays on aircraft covering a dozen planes in thorough detail. The latest covers the MiG-31 Foxhound. As a first note, the 108-page book contains over 300 pictures taken by pilots and a “back-seater’ with over 20 years of experience and I must add that he is also an excellent photographer.

In order of appearance, the book covers:

• Types
• Forward Fuselage
• Air Intakes
• Fuselage
• Wings
• Cockpit
• Front Landing Gear
• Main Landing Gear
• Vertical Tail
• Speed brake
• Horizontal Tail
• Maintenance
• Engine
• Brake Chute
• Aft Fuselage
• Pylons
• Ordnance
• Action

Each… more

Rafale Pilots - Seated in A/C

Published: September 15, 2020
Company: PJ Production

Belgium PJ Productions makes wonderful resin aftermarket pieces in all scales to enhance many models. This set is a couple modern European pilots in 1/72^nd scale. They are listed for a Rafale but would work in any similar plane also. The set comes with six pieces of finely cast dark gray resin- two pilot bodies and four arms. The pilots are NOT duplicates of one another and are different which is an excellent detail.

Assembly was straightforward- I removed the parts with a razor saw and scraped a couple fine seam lines off (there were very few) and glued the arms into position with super glue. The super glue filled any minor seams, so no putty was needed. I mounted the pilots on poles for painting and primed with Alclad gray.

Painting was done after looking… more

Punchers and Tigers, USN A-6E Intruders in the Cold War & Desert Storm

Published: September 15, 2020
Company: AOA Decals

AOA Decals is known for its well-researched and executed decals covering the Vietnam War and newer eras with an emphasis on USMC and USN subjects. Set 72-010 continues their growth in 1/72^nd scale with Punchers and Tigers, which covers two low visibility marking periods of two Navy A-6 Intruder squadrons - VA-65 Tigers and VA-75 Sunday Punchers, with coverage spanning from the 1980s into Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Inside the package, there is a beautiful 4x7 inch decal sheet with great detail and printed by Microscale. There are full color profiles covering all six markings with details about each plane such as different lighting configurations, color call outs, and details specific to each airframe. There are also detailed top views on a separate sheet and a… more

Hurricane Mk. I

Published: September 14, 2020
Company: Italeri

Italeri’s 1/48^th Hurricane Mk. I is a reissue and for a great reason, with new Battle of Britain decals to commemorate the 80^th anniversary of that event. The kit comes in 89 pieces of well molded gray styrene with minimal to no flash. Also included is a clear sprue of 12 pieces, a photoetch fret of 8 pieces, decal sheet with four options, and a instruction manual. Engraving is very nice and there are several options along the way which I will point out as I build the kit. The four options on the decal sheet are:

• A-RAF No. 85 Squadron, Plt Albert Lewis, Battle of Britain, July 1940
• B-RAF No. 1 Squadron, F/O A.W. Clowes, Wittering, October 1940
• C-RAF No. 17 Squadron, Plt Off. HAC Bird-Wilson, 24 Sept. 1940
• D-RAF Squadron… more

MQ-8B Fire Scout

Published: September 14, 2020
Company: Brengun

The Northrup Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout is an unmanned helicopter used by the US armed services for reconnaissance, fire support, and precision targeting. It is based on the Schweizer 333 helicopter and currently 23 of the MQ-8B’s are being used by the US Navy. Brengun has produced a resin kit of this helicopter based on Attack Squadron’s earlier release. The kit is multimedia consisting of 45 gray resin parts which are finely cast with only one small pinhole I could find. There is also a PE fret of 16 parts.

The parts were well packed, but when I received the kit, three of the four struts to the skids had a clean break in them. More on the fix for that later. I separated the large parts from their casting blocks and the fit was very good - the main body, nose and top housing… more