Beechcraft Bonanza F33

Published: March 5, 2014
Company: Minicraft Model Kits

The Beechcraft Bonanza V-tail is one of the sleekest general aviation designs out there, and it’s still flying today. I wish I would have had the chance to log some hours in one before I gave up flying. The Bonanza was introduced in 1947 and is still produced today, although the V-tail design was retired in 1982.

The Kit

The Minicraft F33 Bonanza reutilizes their previous… more

F4F Wildcat Exhaust

Published: March 3, 2014
Company: Quickboost

Upfront, I want to thank Aires and Quickboost for providing these fine aftermarket bits for our beloved models and to the IPMS USA a big thank you for allowing me to review this Quickboost product.

Admittedly I am proud of the fact I love the stubby World War II fighter. The Rita, Buffalo and certainly the Grumman Wildcat. I have several in my stash including the Hobby Boss 1/48… more

Ju 88 Exhaust

Published: February 5, 2014
Company: Aires Hobby Models

In all honesty, I grabbed this little gems to review before even cracking open the box on my new tool Revell Germany Ju 88A-4. Quickboost, yet again have produced replacement parts up to their normal high standards. Packaged in their standard orange plastic bag, you are provided with two pair of exhaust stacks in finely molded grey resin. No instructions are needed as the new parts will drop… more

Pz.Kpfw.III (5cm) (T) Ausf.G

Published: January 4, 2014
Company: Dragon Models

The Kit

This is my first Dragon Pz. III build and my overall impression of the kit is very favorable. The parts are very well molded with fine, delicate detail and no flash to speak of… almost. I found only a few small fit and engineering issues that take away from the overall build experience. In general the kit builds up like any other newer Dragon armor kit. The other thing I… more

Infantry Tank Mk. III “Valentine” Mk IX

Published: December 20, 2013
Company: Bronco Models

The Kit

The Bronco offering of the Valentine tank comes fully packed in a sturdy box. Inside you will find 17 grey sprues, one clear sprue, 18 track sprues (12 links per sprue), two decal sheets, two photo etched frets (including an addendum instruction for the smaller fret), a box sized color poster of the Valentine tank, and a very well done instruction booklet. With a couple of… more

Yak-1 Exhaust

Published: December 10, 2013
Company: Quickboost

The Yak-1 kit originally manufactured by Accurate Miniatures and now re-boxed by Eduard is a fine little kit but could certainly use a bit of aftermarket sparkle with this Quickboost exhaust kit. The original kit parts are ok but lack the bored out exhaust stubs.

The Quickboost kit contains a pair of well molded exhaust parts in grey colored resin. Removal from the pour stub is easy… more

Japanese Type 3 Medium Tank “Chi-Nu” – “Girls und Panzer” series

Published: October 30, 2013
Company: Fine Molds

I must begin this review by giving a big thank-you to one of my fellow IPMS Wright Field Scale Modelers, Robert Cobb, who at our January 2013 modeling retreat got me hooked on Japanese Anime. “Thanks, Bob!” Specifically, Bob introduced me to the “Girls und Panzer” series. (And yes, it has snowballed from there.) “Girls und Panzer” follows several characters from the Ōarai Girls High School in… more

Hasegawa J2M2 Raiden (Jack) Prototype

Published: May 24, 2013
Company: Hasegawa

The J2M series of aircraft were designed by Dr. Jiro Horikoshi who also was responsible for the Zero / Zeke design. The J2M (Allied code name “Jack”) was designed in 1939 and first flown in March of 1942. A total of 621 J2M Raiden (Japanese for Thunderbolt) series of aircraft J2M1 through J2M6 were produced with the M2 and M3 accounting for 438 of the total built.

I’m a big fan of all… more

Xuntong TU-2T Torpedo bomber

Published: May 6, 2013
Company: Xuntong

The Tupolev TU-2 was introduced into service in 1942 and produced as several variants to include a high speed bomber, dive-bomber, interceptor, recon and as represented in this review kit, a torpedo bomber. The TU-2T torpedo bomber began it service in early 1945 with overall production of the TU-2 continuing until 1948. Russia retired the TU-2 in 1950 but sold many of them to other nation's… more

Soviet Military Truck ZIS-5V

Published: March 7, 2013
Company: Zvezda

Initial construction of the ZIS-5 truck began in 1933, and ultimately the Soviets produced a million examples of this cargo truck. Wartime shortages of raw materials necessitated much of the truck body to be made from wood. The normally stylish/rounded fenders were simplified to the simple, squared-off examples represented here. I’m sure many of these trucks made the grueling winter crossing… more