David Wrinkle
Reviews By Author
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VCL Light Amphibious Tank A4E12 Late ProductionPublished:
Not many of the Vickers A4E12 (late) amphibious tanks were produced and oddly enough only two were purchased by the UK from Vickers. In all, a total of 43 examples were produced with the largest number, 29 purchased by China in 1932. The Chinese A4E12s were used operationally through 1942 when they were turned over to the Army Mechanized School in Chengdu. The instruction history indicates this Vickers tank never saw any combat in China, but who is to say for sure. You may also notice a striking similarity between the A4E12 and the Russian T-33 light amphibious tank. Not so strange when you consider the Russians purchased eight examples from Vickers. As far as the kit is concerned, Combat Armour Models (CAM) is a new company and appears to be associated with Riich models in… more |
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Stearman PT-17 DecalsPublished:
I’m a sucker for oddities and non-standard schemes when it comes to finishing my model aircraft. I saw the Iliad designs offering for Stearman PT-17 airframes and thought this is the set for me. I was pleasantly surprised to see Iliad design proved a full set of five decal options. So you have five kits in your stash? You’re covered in this one set. Along with a very nice color representation of the each aircraft scheme Iliad Design goes the extra mile to describe any non-standard colors or more specifically non-stand color shades. Each scheme as one would expect come with a short description of each aircraft.
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Tips to Master Advanced Techniques Building 700th IJN Ships, Vol. 1Published:
Since April of 2013 when Kodakawa games released their free browser game Kantai Collection (aka Kancolle), featuring cute anime girls each of which represent ships from the Second World War IJN, there has been an increased interest in ship modeling in Japan. Tamiya, Hasegawa and Aoshima, have long worked in harmony releasing a sizable number of 1/700 warships represented by the waterline series of kits. These three companies as well as Fujimi are capitalizing on the popularity of the game and anime series by re-releasing many of these kits, as well as creating new kits, with extra decals of the girls as well as game specific box art. Admittedly, because of the game as well as the anime series, I too have become a bit more interested in ship modeling. When I saw the Model Art… more |
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EMB-314 Super Tucano Control SurfacesPublished:
Normally I don’t build outside of my pre-1945 comfort zone, but I’ve always liked the shape and look of the Tucano/Super Tucano. When Hobby Boss released this kit I couldn’t pass on making the purchase. As with any decent kit there is always room for little improvement and this kit is no exception. Joining another resin aftermarket manufacturer, Aires is now offering a set of replacement stabs/elevators for the Tucano. Aires does not disappoint and these replacement parts are up to their normal quality and detail with a clean, bubble free molding. The Hobby Boss kit stabs/elevators are joined as one while the Aires offering easily provides the builder with the ability to pose the elevators without resorting to sawing, cutting or mutilating the kit parts. A quick comparison of… more |
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Tiger I (Late Version)Published:
Academy did a fine job packaging this kit with parts bagged and contained in a sturdy box. Academy is very clear in their instructions to examine the parts (before opening the bags) and contact them if you find any missing or damaged pieces. My kit was complete so let move on. The next thing I noticed was the fact their seemed to be several turrets and hull top pieces. More than what is necessary to build a single Tiger I kit. In fact there are 3 turret tops, two pairs of turret sides, 2 hull top parts sets, 2 glacis plates, 2 pair of fenders and a few extra wheels. I’m not a Tiger expert so I’m not sure what the differences are between Early, Mid and Late but it is obvious this kit covers more than one tank. Included with the styrene parts are a set of photoetch grill covers and a… more |
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Junkers F.13 Tauchente Conversion SetPublished:
It has been a while since Revell released this 1/72 scale Junkers J.13 kit, but given their history of re-release, I would hope to see this little gem of kit again in the next year or two. Lumir at Master-X models has recently released three resin / decal sets to upgrade your Revell F.13 kits. Two sets are geared to the wheeled kit, and the third is designed to work with the pontoon geared F.13 kit.
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