Dick Montgomery
Reviews By Author
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Valiant Units of the Cold WarPublished:
Prior to reading this book, I had no particular interest in the Valiant, and was only vaguely aware of this aircraft. But because of my previous positive experiences with Osprey publications, I began to read the book with the knowledge that I would soon know more about the Valiant and its role in the Cold War than I did at the outset. This book is written by Andrew Brookes, author of over a dozen books related to aviation and recipient of the Aerospace Journalist of the Year Award in 2004 and 2006. Mr. Brookes also has some expertise in the subject of aviation, amassing some 3500 flying hours Victors, Canberras, and Vulcans. The man knows what he is talking about. Valiant Units contains about 30 original color side-views of the Valiant, the work of Chris Davey,… more |
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Cutting Templates A & BPublished:
There are many tools on the market, and Hasegawa offers a wide variety of those that many modelers have on their workbench. This review looks at two such items, Cutting Template A and Cutting Template B. Both Templates are made from a sheet of metal using the same overall dimensions, those being 0.3mm thick, and 90mmx200mm. Those numbers translate to about 3.5”x8”. Template A can be used to generate angles and straight lines, while Template B provides guides for… more |
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Scale Aircraft Modelling, Vol 34 Issue 07Published:
SAM, or more precisely Scale Aircraft Modeling, is an excellent monthly publication focusing on modeling scale aircraft. No surprise there. And if you are a long-time fan of SAM, then it is also no surprise that I state that SAM is one of the best modeling magazines focused on aircraft that money can buy. Averaging just under 100 pages, SAM is filled with “build” articles featuring some of the newer kits on the market, as well as projects based on old favorites. In the Sept issue (Vol 34, Issue 07), a number of featured articles spans subject matter from World War I to modern jets, both military and civil. Starting with a WWI subject, Lukasz Kedzierski builds up the Roden 1/32nd scale Nieuport Ni.24bis. Lukasz finished the kit in Polish markings. This kit is… more |
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Voyager Unmanned Space ProbePublished:
Hasegawa’s Voyager is the 2nd in a series of “Science World” kits. The 1st offering in this series is the 1/72 Manned Research Submersible Shinkai 6500, an intriguing kit in its own right. For those who enjoy “real space” subjects, the release of the Voyager is a stroke of luck. NASA launched two spacecraft during the Voyager program, known as Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. The actual Voyagers were almost identical, and that being the case this model can be said to represent either vehicle. At the time of this writing, Voyager is 18,169,754,598 KM from the Earth. In the time it took to type these two sentences Voyager extended that distance to 18,169,757,539 KM. I find that stunning! Speaking of stunning, this kit is stunning. The 1/48th scale kit contains 86 pieces,… more |
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Blast-Away Sandblasting CabinetPublished:
The Blast-Away Sandblasting cabinet is also labeled as the Blast-A-Way Sandblasting cabinet. For the purposes of this review it will be labeled as the “Blast-Away” cabinet. That is the manner in which it is identified on the instruction booklet that accompanies the product. The Blast-Away cabinet is made from corrugated plastic and arrives in a box roughly 40x 24x3. Within the review sample was the cabinet itself, the clear “window” items which will be attached to the cabinet, and the 10 page instruction booklet. Additional parts can be purchased – those being additional clear plastic lenses, a replacement liner, and an exhaust manifold. Setup is an easy process; it is recommended that you skim the instruction booklet to get an overview of that process, but use the… more |
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Wooden Stand for Building, Painting, and Transporting Biplane ModelsPublished:
JHmodels offers two different wooden stands, sometimes called “jigs,” that look similar to one another. A major difference, however, is that the item described in this review is for biplanes while the previously reviewed product, (No. 4801) is primarily used for monoplanes. There is an easy way to remember the difference….. No. 4801 is for a single wing and No. 4802 is for 2 wings. The other wooden stand, No. 4801, is reviewed at http://web.ipmsusa3.org/content/wooden-stand-building-painting-and-tran… This product (4802) has more parts and looks more complicated than the… more |
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Wooden Stand for Building, Painting, and Transporting ModelsPublished:
I have long seen the need for a stand or base that could be useful while painting a model, as well as for use in the construction of the model. I have tried to design and assemble such a base with some level of success, but recently I had the opportunity to try out a product by JHmodels. acquired through UMM-USA. This stand consists of a set of simple wooden parts, assembled with super glue, and including some metal nuts and bolts that allow for the parts to be adjusted to fit the model being built or painted. Straight out of the package, the parts are held in a wooden fret that will remind one of PE frets that hold the parts in place with very small connecting tabs. These tabs can be cut with a hobby knife, popping the parts out of the wooden fret quickly and easily. Once the… more |
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F4F Wildcat Aircraft Pictorial 4Published:
Authored by the well-known and respected Dana Bell, and published by the equally well known “Classic Warships Publishing”, this publication is a “must have” for Wildcat fans, modelers, and historians. It is a recent release, having been published in March of 2012. In 72 pages, this publication traces the general history of the Wildcat, through its development and use throughout World War II. The reader interested in the historical aspects of the Wildcat will find charts showing the serial numbers for airframes sorted by contract order, paint and camo schemes (shown in color drawings and including both US and British markings, and squadron markings for the aircraft stationed on ships of the Escort Carrier Force. These Squadron markings are, again, shown in color drawings.… more |
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Air Modeller #43, August/September 2012Published:
If you are familiar with Air Modeller, then you have a set of expectations regarding the content. You know that the images are stunning, the layout of the content is excellent, and that the coverage of the “build” projects (usually six aircraft models in various scales featuring kits from different manufacturers) is consistent from issue to issue. In this issue you will be treated to some excellent images of projects featuring:
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F9F Panther Landing GearPublished:
The Parts: This product contains 10 white metal parts that replace kit parts A22 and A31 (nose gear components), C12 & C13 (main gear struts), C29 & C30 (main gear support arms), and C4 & C5 (4 parts folding wing support arms). The four white metal parts (they resemble hockey sticks) are used if the F9F will be built with the wings in the folded position. If the wings are in the extended position, these four white metal parts are not used. Assembly: Assembly using the SAC white metal parts is straightforward. Treat the SAC parts as though they came with the Trumpeter kit. Use them in the assembly process just as you would use the Trumpeter parts. Conclusion: Scale Aircraft Conversions… more |