Dave Morrissette
Reviews By Author
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MiG-31 FoxhoundPublished:
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:
Each… more |
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Rafale Pilots - Seated in A/CPublished:
Belgium PJ Productions makes wonderful resin aftermarket pieces in all scales to enhance many models. This set is a couple modern European pilots in 1/72nd 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 |
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Punchers and Tigers, USN A-6E Intruders in the Cold War & Desert StormPublished:
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 1/72nd 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 |
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Hurricane Mk. IPublished:
Italeri’s 1/48th Hurricane Mk. I is a reissue and for a great reason, with new Battle of Britain decals to commemorate the 80th 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:
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MQ-8B Fire ScoutPublished:
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 |
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Intruder SandboxPublished:
AOA Decals has expanded to 1/72nd scale and their second release is a set of markings for the Fujimi A-6E TRAM covering all three Intruder squadrons involved in the strikes against Libya in March and April 1986 as part of Operation Prairie Fire and Operation El Dorado Canyon respectively; also covered are two squadrons in 1991 from Operation Desert Storm. Inside the package, there is one 5.5 x 7-inch decal sheet printed perfectly by Microscale; full color profiles for all eights aircraft; full weapons and load outs specific to each plane; top profiles for each plane and also instructions for the decals for crew helmets, fuel tanks, tailhooks, formation lights, ejection seats, VA-35 MERs, & VA-55 special ordnance markings. The Aircraft covered by these sheets are: … more |
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The Grumman F-14 Tomcat - A Comprehensive GuidePublished:
I will tell you from the start that I love SAM Publications books. As a modeler, I am always on the lookout for books that have not only great information and pictures but modeling references too. What I’ll attempt to do is cover all the reasons in this review. This book covers the magnificent F-14 Tomcat in all its glory. The first place I want to start is the table of contents. That is presented below:
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Raiders from New FrancePublished:
Osprey Publications latest in the Elite series is Raiders from New France which covers North American Forest Warfare in the 17th and 18th century. At the time, warfare was a formal affair with men in lines advancing other men’s lines or the like. This area of North America at the time was wilderness, Indians and stand alone forts so a new type of warfare was developed and that is the focus of this book along with the people and weapons that fought in those wars. The book is broken into well thought out chapters and include:
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Armies of the Great Northern War 1700-1720Published:
Osprey is renowned for their concise histories of the rarer conflicts around the globe. This edition covering “Armies of the Great northern War:1700-1720) is just such an edition, covering the Great Northern War which was fought in the Baltic region and ranged all the way from Norway to southern Ukraine. In the end, it led to the destruction of the Swedish Empire acquisitions in the war of 1618-48 as well as transformation of Russia under Peter the Great. The book is 48 pages in the standard Osprey size and is illustrated with color plates, maps and text describing all the combatants and battles. Chapters included are:
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Q-Men F-35B Lightning IIPublished:
QMEN is part of the Kitty Hawk Panda family and specializes in egg planes - planes shaped like an egg. These have been around from many manufacturers and are simplified versions of the real plane. In this case the plane is 19 parts and the pilot is an additional 13 plus a resin head. And the pilot is a kitty cat! There is even a tail and ears sticking out of a nice rendition of the F-35’s special helmet. The kit is meant to be snap fit and the tolerances are pretty tight so it all works. More on that later. The parts are well molded with no flash. Great color instructions and painting guide come with it and there is a sheet of water slide decals. Construction starts by adding the intake inserts to the bottom of the lower fuselage. I snapped these in and glued. Fit was… more |