Dave Morrissette
Reviews By Author
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A History of the Small Arms Made by the Sterling Armament CompanyPublished:
The dust jacket says it all in this case. This is an in - depth history of the small arms made at the Sterling Company between 1940 and 1989. And I do mean in - depth - it is clear the author’s passion for this subject and attention to detail shows through. In looking at the book, it is 352 pages and lavishly illustrated with 352 black and white pictures and 32 color. The table of contents is below and shows the history
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DaVinci Series "G.E.T." ClockPublished:
Academy continues its excellent series of DaVinci kits with the G.E.T. Clock. G.E.T. is listed as (G)ear system rotation, (E)scapement mechanism, (T)ourbillon movement. From their web site description, this clock is “Inspired by the principles of Leonardo Da Vinci, the G.E.T. Clock has incorporated the mechanism of the real time pieces. An escapement is a device in a clock or watch that controls the motion of the gear train and transmits the energy from the movement to the pendulum or balance wheel. A tourbillion is a portion in a mechanical watch and is used to increase the accuracy by minimizing errors due to the effects of gravity.” Building models and learning is a good thing! The kit comes molded in three colors- brown, black, and clear red. The kit consists of 51 parts… more |
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Eurofighter PilotPublished:
PJ Productions continues to issue excellent pilots for kits with this latest release, a 1/32nd scale Eurofighter pilot. The kit is simple with three well cast parts- two arms and the body. I removed all three parts with a razor saw and washed the parts in case of mold release. I glued the arms into position and filled the seams with glazing putty and let it dry. The few seams were sanded, and a couple of small pinholes were filled. These were wiped with a Q-tip and lacquer thinner and smooth seams were accomplished. Painting was straightforward and done with acrylics. The helmet was white, visor black and face mask dark gray with its attached hose. The main uniform was green with washes and dry brushed and black for the shoes and gray for the gloves. This is… more |
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Peanuts Snoopy and Woodstock Bird Bath Ice Hockey GamePublished:
It’s a model, it’s a game it’s two, two, two things in one! Atlantis Models has done all the heavy lifting getting the molds and license for this kit. Once built, you can play ice hockey. Inside the box, you will get multicolored sprues (yellow, black and white and one spring) all ready to assemble and play. This kit is well molded and has no flash. It is snap tite in that it all pushes together. There are stickers included for the hockey sticks, Snoopy’s spot and the markings on the “ice’. Assembly, start to finish, will take about 30 minutes. A good sprue cutter or razor saw will help remove the parts as the sprue gates are substantial. The pieces are heavy too, in order to tolerate the beating the game will take being played with constantly. I did deviate from the… more |
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GodzillaPublished:
A true blast from the past, Atlantis Models has reissued the Aurora Godzilla kit with glow in the dark parts. As a kid, I remember the “Frightening Lightening “versions. This issue comes in a square box with alternate glow parts for the head, hands, feet, spine, top of the tail and nameplate. The kit also includes the destroyed city base. Total parts are 32 in Godzilla green with 14 separate glow alternate parts. Building the kit, my first recommendation is to get a razor saw to cut the parts loose. The runner gates are thick and cutting them neatly helps the fit. I have built this kit as a finished non-glow kit, so I opted for the glowing parts this time. I assembled the parts using a lot of trial and error and clamps. With a little time and effort, the fit is decent… more |
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Douglas A-4 M/N/AR Skyhawk - Flying with Air Forces Around the WorldPublished:
The Duke Hawkins series of books from HMH Publications are photo essays of specific planes ranging from Tornadoes to Typhoons to this book, the A-4 M/N/AR Skyhawk. The books are lavishly illustrated, in this case with over 300 beautifully done photographs of all types and details of the Skyhawk. This particular book deals with the A-4 from views such as Top Aces, Argentina, Brazil and Argentina and includes a stop on the Brazilian Aircraft Carrier Sao Paulo. This book series goes from front to back and top to bottom covering the Skyhawk with detail pictures. Although not defined by chapters, the breakdown of this book is as follows:
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German Luftwaffe Pilot and Operator with Ejection Seats for Panavia Tornado IDS/ECRPublished:
Aerobonus continues to release pilot figures to staff planes in 1/48th and 1/32nd scale with the pilots seated in the appropriate seats. This latest release features two German Luftwaffe pilots for the Revell 1/32nd scale IDS Tornado. The hand position is different on the two figures with one in pilot stance and the second in a different stance. Molding is superb with no bubbles or casting issues. I started washing the parts and then cutting the seat/body, arms, and head free of the casting block. A little scraping and sanding and I assembled the parts. To smooth out the seams on the arms, I used perfect Plastic putty and wiped with water and let dry. I then primed with Alclad. I included a copy of the painting instructions which are very non-… more |
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USAAF WWII Pilot with Seat for P-51B/C MustangPublished:
Aerobonus is part of Aires and focuses on enhancement additions such as pilot figures for kits. This product provides a pilot figure seated, in 1/32nd scale for the Trumpeter/Revell P-51B/C Mustang. The set comes in four parts (head, hands, and set/body) all perfectly cast on a single block. Preparation was easy by using a razor saw to cut all the parts free (after a good washing). I then used the back of a #11 blade to scrape what few seams there were and glued everything together. I used perfect plastic putty on the arm seams and wiped with water and the seams were gone. I primed with Alclad gray primer. Painting was done with acrylics using Scale 75 for the flesh and various sources for the rest. The seat was painted with ModelMaster paints. As you can see from… more |
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Rome’s Northern Enemies - Painting Wargaming FiguresPublished:
This volume on painting war gaming figures focuses on Rome’s Northern Enemies - the British, Celts, Germans and Dacians and one of the first things that struck me was how applicable this would be to all war gaming figures. The book is a complete tutorial from soup to nuts on building, modifying, basing and painting figures. A quick look at the Table of Contents shows what I mean:
So we start with tools and finish with bases - a complete tutorial. Looking… more |
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Modern USMC Air PowerPublished:
Harpia Publishing has been producing very high quality aircraft books for a while. These books are lavishly illustrated and have covered subjects from subjects covering Iraqi MiGs to Chinese aircraft to specific planes like EMB Tucano. The latest volume is Modern USMC Air Power written by Joe Copalman. This is 256 pages of soft cover wonderfulness. The first thing that hits you is that the pictures in the book are amazing pictures all in perfect focus, great flying shots and lots and lots of them. Wow! I have included a picture of the table of contents. As you can see, there is a brief history and then it moves into the training aircraft, helicopters and all kinds of planes. The table of contents is below:
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