Moon Bus (REVISED)

Published: November 14, 2010
Company: Moebius Models

From the Editor: The following is submitted by fellow IPMS Member Clyde Jones regarding addition of mentioned lighting set to model:

"LEDs ARE polarized, just like batteries. Connect them ”backward” and they not only don’t light, they slowly go dead. Or not so slowly. The light strip is not polarized." (Added May 2011)

I built my first Moon Bus in 1969 and that model still resides in my display case. Because of my fascination and interest with models rooted in “2001: A Space Odyssey”, it was with great anticipation that I awaited the arrival of the recently released Moebius Moon Bus and I purchased a copy from the local hobby shop as soon as it arrived. When Moebius offered a kit to IPMS for review purposes I was pleased when… more

Viper Mk. II

Published: November 1, 2010
Company: Moebius Models

Moebius continues to deliver some very interesting products, and the Viper Mk. II is another in the growing list of Moebius kits. This model is in 1/32 scale and includes several features. The Viper can be displayed with gear down or mounted on a base with gear up. A resin pilot figure is included. The decals are of the traditional waterslide variety. The instructions are rather unique in that they are presented to the builder as a “briefing paper”, complete with the Colonial Headquarters Seal at the top of each page. The “briefing paper” approach is fun and it encourages the builder to “get into character” during the assembly process. The instructions contain some excellent color images as well as some accurate and well done line drawings. These images and drawings will help the “crew… more

River Embankment Section

Published: October 18, 2010
Company: MiniArt

The MiniArt River Embankment Diorama Section consists of two sets of parts, some pieces being injection molded and some being vacuformed. The parts for the street surface, river embankment retaining wall, and access steps are vacuformed. The sidewalk railings, various street posts and stanchions, “park” benches and manhole covers are all injection molded. Each of the six part trees included in this kit are identical and each carries a manhole pipe casing and manhole cover, a storm grate frame and cover, parts for two sidewalk railing stanchions, and half of the parts required to build up a “park bench”. These parts provide the builder with all of the pieces to build up the street scene as shown on the box lid as well as extra parts so the builder can do a little free-lancing.

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Building and Improving Vacuum-Formed Model Aircraft

Published: October 15, 2010
Book Author(s): Richard Staszak
Company: Richard Staszak

In 1984 Richard Staszak authored an excellent publication entitled, “Building and Improving Vacuum-Formed Model Aircraft”. The book was published by Kalmbach Books and was given the item number of 12054 and received the ISBN number of 0-89024-047-7.
Recently Mr. Staszak has released a DVD that is, or all intents and purposes, a complete copy of the original book. In addition, the DVD includes colored pictures and mini-reviews of over 100 vacuformed models from the author’s collection. Current sources for some of the older vacuform kits are also identified as well as new kits from current manufacturers.

Mr. Staszak’s book provided the tips and techniques that I used to build my first vacuform kit and those same techniques and skills have become part of my modeling “tool box… more

F-14A Tomcat Weighted Wheels

Published: October 11, 2010
Company: Aires Hobby Models

Every now and then a product comes along that represents a giant leap forward for the modeler. This is one of those products. Aires has released the Wheelliant Weighted Wheels set for Tamiya’s F-14A Tomcat in 1/32 scale

The product is packaged in a clear plastic bag that allows one to view all of the parts prior to purchase. The package contains parts for all four tires, both the main gear tires and nose wheel tires. Also included are the rims, or wheels, for all four tires. A length of copper wire is also included. This wire can be bent and added to the main struts to simulate pneumatic lines.

The detail molded on the rims is outstanding. The various nut heads are all carefully molded into the parts with no flash or misalignment. The recessed areas are… more

Windsock Worldwide, Vol. 26, No. 4 - July/August 2010

Published: October 9, 2010
Company: Albatros Productions, Ltd.

This bi-monthly publication provides an excellent resource for WWI aviation enthusiasts. The publication is an 8x12 softbound magazine and usually averages about 30 to 34 pages. Each issue features a particular aircraft modeling project. In this issue there are two featured articles.

Lance Krieg’s “Modelling Master Class”. Part 3 covers detailing the “Cockpit”. The text is accompanied with excellent images that illustrate the techniques discussed within the article. This series of articles will cover additional topics in the next few issues providing a very valuable resource to the modeler.

The second of the two featured articles is entitled, “Rolands in Russia”. Author Marat Khairulin, translated by Sergey Vlasenko. Accompanied by a large number of original images, this… more

Ferrari F60

Published: September 6, 2021
Company: Tamiya

Upon opening the box you will find 9 baggies containing 182 parts, one tree of P.E. parts, a couple of small sheets of decals, a 10 page instruction booklet, and a decal placement flyer. Parts are molded in three colors; black, red, and chrome. The chrome parts have an aluminum tint to them, making them much more realistic and appealing to the eye than the typical “chrome” parts found in most car models.

Kit instructions

Before beginning this project it is important to study the instructions and illustrations, and become familiar with the part number and paint color codes. Having given that admonition, once these codes and the associated symbols become familiar to the builder the instructions become very clear and easy to follow. The illustrations are well drawn and… more

USS Enterprise NCC 1701 Refit

Published: January 1, 2009
Company: Polar Lights

The first thing that you will notice, even before opening the box, is that this is a big model! The box measured at about 17 inches on each side and is five inches deep, weighing in about just less than five pounds. Opening the box one of the things that draws the eye is the saucer. The saucer, which is about 16.5 inches in diameter, weighs in at just less than 2 pounds. For the math challenged among us, that equates to a saucer circumference of just less than 52 inches. As a reference, a standard NBA basketball hoop has a diameter of 18 inches. Each engine pod is about 17 inches long. The model will take up an estimated vertical displacement of about 10 inches. Okay, it's big. It's heavy.

The instructions are printed on a "poster" sized sheet of paper, folded into a 5.5x 8.5… more

Star Wars Snow Speeder

Published: January 1, 2009
Company: Fine Molds

In the Box

Eighty-three parts, including those for the two pilot figures and the display base, are located on the five part sprues. The glazing for the canopy consists of two clear parts. The canopy framing consists of two parts into which the glazing fits. The parts are, with only a few exceptions, without flash, and are held in place at small attachment points that will require very little clean up.

Kit Instructions

The instructions include both Japanese and English text but neither is required. The illustrations are clearly drawn and easy to interpret. Gunze is the paint of choice and all color references are for Gunze products.

Decals

The decal sheet contains markings for two different "squadrons". One set features "gray" markings… more