David Wrinkle
Reviews By Author
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RF-4E Phantom II, JASDF 501st Tactical Reconnaissance SquadronPublished:
It had to end eventually. After nearly a 40-year run in the Japanese Air Self Defense Force’s (JASDF) venerable Phantoms were finally retired in 2020. Several model companies re-released their RF-4 / F-4 kits to commemorate the myriad of markings worn by these Phinal Phantoms at the end of their JASDF careers. Platz was no exception and one such release included the RF-4E Recce Phantom with the forest camouflage. Markings for 3 different machines in the squadron were included in the kit. The cockpit is first on up the plate and with the size of the kit, the pilot’s office is represented reasonably well. With the ‘pit compete, its time to bring the fuselage halves together along with the air intakes and wing. The plans have you place the air intakes on first and then the wing. A… more |
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DG-1000S Glider AKVYPublished:
As a glider pilot, I couldn’t pass up a review of this kit from Brengun. The DG-1000S is a two-seater built by DG Flugzeugbau and can be configured for either an 18-meter or 20-meter wingspan. (The Brengun kit represents the 18m wing setup.) DG no longer produces the 1000 but now builds an improved version, the DG1001. For those of you who are adventurous with making painting masks or homemade decals, the USAF Academy uses the DG-1000 (TG-16A) to train its cadets to fly. So I guess technically speaking this aircraft is in the USAF inventory. Well, no surprise the kit arrives in a typical European end opening box which consists of 33 parts molded in white plastic, three clear parts, plans and a decal sheet. You will use all but a couple parts in construction of the kit. My first… more |
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Fieseler Fi 103 / V-1 'Hi-Tech'Published:
Based off of the 2018 tooling of the Fi-103, Special Hobby has recently released another kit with some welcome extras to allow the builder to display the V-1 on its handling dolly. This configuration would make for a really cool little vignette or diorama if the builder so desired. Rest assured, the kit can also be built in the flight configuration as well. J Special Hobby has added 12 additional resin parts along with a few photoetch details. The resin parts are used to build the exposed Argus Pulsejet engine as well as one of three options for the nose of the airframe. The three nose options include a ground cover that was used to protect the nose of the aircraft, the normal nose, or what I believe to be some sort of guidance or detonation control or possibly other… more |
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Japanese Refueling CartPublished:
I was intrigued by this model offered by Brengun that would be a great piece to add with your Japanese ground-based aircraft display base. My hopes are that I will eventually have an opportunity to try the 1/48 scale version of this accessory. Typical with Brengun’s other releases, they provide the end user with some extremely nicely cast parts molded in a darkish grey resin. If there were any imperfections, they were not noticeable to my eye. I found the parts delicate buy not fragile. The resin was reasonably pliable making removal from the pour stubs easily achievable with a little patience. I can’t overstress to double, triple, and quadruple check the instructions before removing the parts. I had a small oops where I removed and discarded a small portion of the support… more |
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Japanese Airfield Fire ExtinguisherPublished:
I have to say I was intrigued by this model offered by Brengun that would a great piece to add with your Japanese ground-based aircraft display base. My hopes are that I will eventually have an opportunity to try the 1/48 scale version of this accessory. J Typical with Brengun’s other releases they provide the end user with some extremely nicely cast parts molded in a darkish grey resin. If there were any imperfections, they were not noticeable to my eye. I found the parts delicate buy not fragile. The resin was reasonably pliable making removal from the pour stubs easily achievable with a little patience. I can’t overstress to double; triple and quadruple check the instructions before removing the parts. My extinguisher nozzle assembly runs a bit shorter than it should L… more |
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DH 100 Vampire FB Mk.52 Over Northern SkyPublished:
The De Havilland (English Electric) Vampire was conceived in 1941 and first took to the sky in 1943. According to Wikipedia it was used by over 30 nations and was last flown operationally by Rhodesia in 1979. Given the longevity of the Vampire, and its interesting twin boom look I took on the challenge of this build and review. This release of the Special Hobby Vampire (Formally CMK molds) is the Northern Sky version that includes decals for three Northern European nations aircraft, specifically from Norway, Sweden and Finland. As far as construction this is a very straightforward build beginning with the cockpit. The pilot’s office leaves a bit room for those who like to add their own details but stands well on its own. Unlike traditional fuselage construction the fuse halves… more |
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B-25 WheelsPublished:
Before starting this review, I was un-aware of RES KIT and now that I am aware, I will certainly keep an eye open for some of their other accessories. They supply modelers with resin ordnance, weapons, wheels, engines, intakes as well as figures. Check them out! Currently on my workbench is an Airfix B-25C/D and I thought I might give the wheels from RES KIT a try on the model when it is finished. For a very reasonable amount of money, RES KIT provides you with a very nicely set of detailed wheels for any B-25 Mitchell. (Also available in 1/ 48 scale.) RES KIT supplies you with nicely molded set of wheels molded in dark grey resin. The wheels are molded separately from the hubs which really saves a bunch of time NOT having to mask the wheels for painting. The tires are… more |
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Imperial Japanese Navy PilotPublished:
PJ Production is a Belgian company that is self-described as a company who specializes in the creation and production of resin scale models and accessories aimed at amateurs of military aircraft kits and aviation-related dioramas in 1/72nd, 1/48th and 1/32nd scale. This is my second PJ Production product and overall, I found it to be a very nice resin figure. The figure represents a seated IJN pilot ready to be posed in the cockpit of your favorite IJN fighter. The photo of the box of the pilot figure is also used to aid your painting the figure. The figure is molded in a light grey and has very fine detail although I did find several pinholes in the resin. As most of them were on the pilot’s aft side and would be hidden once seated in his office chair I left them be. Like my… more |
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NATO Pilot WalkingPublished:
PJ Production is a Belgian company that is self-described as a company who specializes in the creation and production of resin scale models and accessories aimed at amateurs of military aircraft kits and aviation-related dioramas in 1/72nd, 1/48th and 1/32nd scale. This is my first PJ Production product and overall, I found it to be a very nice resin figure. Included in the set is the pilot figure with separate arms, oxygen hose, and two helmet / hand options representing two styles of aviation helmets. The manufacturer includes a photo of the back side of the pilot figure to aid your painting the figure. The figure is molded in a light grey and has very fine detail although I did find several obvious pinholes in the resin. I quickly filled them in with my favorite resin filler… more |
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B-25 "Desert Warrior" DecalsPublished:
Among my several favorite aircraft I have an affinity for the B-25 Mitchell in any form. So when Airfix announced the B-25C/D in 1/72 scale I put one on reserve at my local hobby shop and my plans are to start building at my local IPMS club modeling retreat this January. I planned on building the Desert Warrior scheme so this set will work out perfectly for me. Up until just a week or so ago I usually took for gospel that decal sheets were reasonably accurate… Upon receiving the Lifelike decal sheet, I started doing a little research on the B-25 “Desert Warrior” that Airfix provides as one of two finishing choices in their new B-25C/D kit. My goal was to try and get to the bottom of the decal dilemma. The dilemma being why did Lifelike Decals release decals to correct some of… more |