David Goudie
Reviews By Author
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Aviation Modeling Techniques, The Greatest GuidePublished:
Review author’s note: I had difficulty finding this book on any US web site. It may be too new or only available in Europe. The MSRP is an approximation calculated from the MSRP in Euros with a W.A.G. factor added. This book is the English translation of the original Spanish version. It is well translated but I did find several odd things which were easy enough to figure out. The publication consists of 8 chapters and a gallery of photos from people who are obviously master modelers to illustrate what can be accomplished with patience, skill, and technique. Chapters
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Eagles of Mitsubishi - The Story of the Zero FighterPublished:
Note: While this book has been out of print since approximately 1992 it can still be found at Amazon.com. A softcover was released in 1992, priced at $15.00. The original was published in Japan by Kobunsha Co., Ltd., in 1970. While unpacking my book collection from 6-year old moving boxes, I came across a treasure trove of books long forgotten. “Eagles of Mitsubishi….” came out of the box and, after taking a look, I decided that this was worthy of a review. “Eagles of Mitsubishi….” is written by Jiro Horikoshi, Chief Designer of the Zero-sen fighter. The Zero-sen was the premier fighter for the Japanese Navy during throughout WW II. Much like the Messerschmitt Bf-109, the Zero went through upgrade iterations, starting with the original design stemming from the… more |
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Albatros D.V Flying Circus Decal SheetPublished:
The boys from New Zealand have again moved forward with their line of World War I products. This time it is the release of a series of decals sheets intended for kits already on issue. These decal sheets are of the same quality as the kits from this manufacturer and are printed by Italian company, Cartograf. Cartograf is well known as a premier decal printer and these are no different. If you want something other than the kit supplied decals then any of these kit specific sets will suit your needs. This specific set represents 5 different aircraft from JG1 “Flying Circus”, which was a mobile group of machines piloted by, ostensibly, the best pilots in the Imperial German Army Air Service (Luftstreitkrafte). The term “Flying Circus” rises from the colorful schemes of… more |
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Spitfire Mk. VIII Interior S.APublished:
Editors note: This Eduard photoetch set is also contained in the recently reviewed Eduard Cat. #32679, also self adhesive. It is Fret Part 1 in the larger set. Eduard Model Accessories has produced another fine set of photoetch parts to help complete your Supermarine Spitfire Mk. VIII. The set is for up-detailing the cockpit to a highly detailed replica of a Spitfire Mk. VIII cockpit. As an added bonus the parts on the fret are prepainted and have an adhesive backing. You will find two large instrument panel parts; one is pre-punched and assembles as a front layer for the unpunched one. When assembled together they will make up the main instrument panel. The colors are accurate and the printing is so fine it would be impossible to duplicate by hand. The fret… more |
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Spitfire Mk. VIII Interior S.A. (self adhesive)Published:
Eduard Model Accessories has produced another fine set of photoetch parts to help complete your Supermarine Spitfire Mk. VIII. The set is for up-detailing the cockpit and you should need to add nothing more to make the cockpit area a highly accurate replica. As an added bonus the parts in this set are prepainted and have an adhesive backing. There are two frets, made from stainless steel and a clear film with four marked rectangles to replicate glass faces on instrument panels and gunsight reflectors.
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Spitfire Mk. VIII SeatbeltsPublished:
Well, then, now here’s a set of photoetch that I can really get into: pre-painted seatbelts with the straps, buckles, adjusters, and quick-releases. The set includes the lap belt and shoulder harness. The quality of the workmanship by Eduard shows through on these and I am anxious to do my Tamiya Spitfire using them. By the way, this set appears to be identical (with the exception of the color) to Eduard’s set 32667 (Spitfire Mk.IX late seatbelts) and thus interchangeable. Good to know if you can’t find the specific set you are looking for. While I love to look at completed and installed photoetch assemblies, I often feel that they are the bane of my existence. A love-hate relationship if you will. The carpet in my hobby-cave gets more than its share of them. This set… more |
Bf 109F-4 Canopy MaskPublished:
Masking to paint a kit canopy can be a pretty complex and time consuming thing. Not to mention possible (probable) paint bleed under the mask to mess-up the clear areas. Eduard has a solution for this in the form of a sheet of die-cut masks for specific aircraft. This set is for the Hasegawa 1/32 scale Bf 109F-4. You get a small (1-7/8” x 2-5/8”) rectangle of a very thin, tough material on a peel away surface. The die-cuts are almost invisible and I had to hold them at an angle to my light source to actually see the individual pieces. That is precision! The instruction sheet shows a drawing of the masks and arrows point to their individual locations on a drawing of the kit parts. You just slip a sharp pointy thing under a corner of a mask piece, lift and peel, then… more |
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Parabellum LMG14 and Spandau LMG 08/15 WWI Machine GunsPublished:
This review will be for two different sets of machined brass and photoetch fro Master Models. Aside from appearance differences between the guns they were meant to mimic, assembly would be pretty much the same. Master Models makes some of the nicest brass machining and photoetch I have ever seen. When I combined their barrel set for the German LMG-14 Parabellum with the breech and stock of the weapon in Wingnut Wings LVG C.VI, got them painted and added a touch of gunmetal and smoke pigment you could almost smell the hotgun oil and smoke. I used CA and a touch of white Gator Glue in this assembly, along with Tamiya red-brown and Model Master Acrylic Gunmetal, with a light dusting and rub of Mig Gunmetal and smoke. I used Model Master Brass for the bullets and Stone for… more |
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Building the Wingnut Wings Gotha G.IVPublished:
For those of you interested in World War One aviation you are probably familiar with Windsock Worldwide, a publication of Albatros Publications, Ltd. out of the U.K. If you are a modeler of World War One aviation and not familiar then you might check them out at your soonest. In addition to their bi-monthly Windsock magazine, Windsock publishes “Data Files” dealing, in detail, with specific single subjects. The bi-monthly Windsock magazine deals with more than one WW-I aircraft subject and always includes at least one highly competent and detailed review and build article. As a modelling publication and reference series on WW-I aviation subjects they are second to none, unequivocally. The subject of this review is the new series publication (this is billed as “Windsock… more |
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Air Modeller #32, October/November 2010Published:
Contents:
This publication bills itself as “SHOWCASING THE VERY BEST IN SCALE AIRCRAFT MODELLING”. Believe it! Everything about this publication is… more |