Air Wing All-Stars - Tomcats Part One

Published: September 6, 2016
Company: Furball Aero-Design

The F-14 has no shortage of kits in 1/48^th scale and with the impending release coming from Tamiya the Tomcat will likely become a more popular model on the tables. The Tomcat is not a stranger to colorful markings. Furball Aero-Design has released another great sheet for the Tomcat.

The Air Wing All-Stars Part One has options for seven F-14As, all of them colorful. Typical of Furball decals the decals are sealed in a large ziplock bag. Inside the bag are the instructions printed in full color on three sheets of 8.5x11 high quality print stock. These instructions are easy enough to follow with no issues noted. All the aircraft have profile views of the left side and where there are differences between sides this is noted. Plan views are included on a side to… more

R-60 Short-range Missile with P-62-l Launcher

Published: September 6, 2016
Company: Advanced Modeling

This has got to be the best time to be a modeler of modern Russian aircraft. I remember as a helicopter pilot in the Cold War, it was virtually impossible to find photos of aircraft let alone weapons systems. Advanced Modeling is the latest from the Russian manufacturers to represent missiles and bombs. This is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to review this company’s products. All I can say is wow!

Packaged in a self-sealing bag, a card stock backing keeps everything safe. The instructions are glued to the backing card. They are beautifully printed on two folded pieces of paper. The instructions are written in Russian and English. The drawings are some of the most detailed drawings I’ve seen. The instructions even include some of the capabilities of the missile.… more

Bf-108 Wooden Propeller

Published: November 12, 2020
Company: Eduard

The Eduard Bf-108 has been around for some time and recently re-released. This little gem of a kit is a fun build and a very nice model.

There are limitations to things that you can do in plastic. In this instance the fine trailing edge of the prop blade can’t get be thinned enough. Well resin allows you to do a lot of things that plastic won’t. That is where this resin prop from Brassin comes in.

Packaged in a vacuformed container this set contains two pieces of resin. The resin is cast in light grey resin with no defects noted. The parts are the actual propeller blade and the nose cap. The key is the way Eduard casts their parts. I’ve found it to be very easy to remove and clean up.

There is also a sheet of decals for the prop blade logos.

The set is… more

Su-7 (Fitter-A) Pitot Tubes and 30mm Gun Barrels

Published: September 5, 2016
Company: Master Model

In model aircraft, especially 1/72^nd scale, the pitot tubes are very fragile. Limitations of plastic also means that they tend to be overscaled. Even being overscaled the pitot tubes are fragile. Then there is the trouble of the mold lines on the part and keeping them round while removing it. If you are like me that means I can’t do it justice, especially in this scale.

Protected by card stock backing, the parts are contained in a ziplock baggie. Inside of that baggie are two separate ones. One contains the turned metal parts and the other a piece of resin. Each brass piece is packaged separately. This means that you can’t get them messed up. The resin piece is a piece of art in itself. The light grey resin is simply gorgeous. The resin is protected by a foam capsule… more

FW-190D-9 Mimetall Gun Cover & Early Gun Cover

Published: September 5, 2016
Company: Quickboost

• QB 32 176 - Fw-190D-9 Mimetall Gun Cover - $5
• QB 32 177 - Fw-190D-9 Early Gun Cover - $5

The late war production machine in Germany required that many smaller manufacturers of parts be decentralized. As such a situation developed different manufacturers modified parts as necessary to ensure they meet production quotas. This is the situation with the FW-190D-9 forward cowlings and gun covers.

Packaged is a familiar self-sealing package, these gun covers are molded in light grey resin with no visible flaws. They are drop in replacement for the kit parts. Simply remove them from the resin pour stub and add to the model.

The latest offerings from Quickboost highlight some of these changes and allow you to modify your Hasegawa D-9 accordingly… more

Su-17/20/22 (Fitter) Pitot Tubes and 30mm Gun Barrels

Published: September 5, 2016
Company: Master Model

The Sukhoi Su-17/20/22 family of aircraft were the primary air to ground to air for the Russian Air Force. It saw service during the Afghanistan war and was a primary attack aircraft during the Cold War.

The KP models and the soon to be released Kitty Hawk model of the Su-22 are out there. The main issue with many of these kits is the fragile pitot tubes that extend past the nose. The other issue with this particular aircraft are the pitot tube and AOA vanes on these protrusions. The limitations of plastic cause these parts to be slightly oversized. The other thing is mold release marks and trying to keep these tubes circular.

Packaged in a self-sealing baggie with a cardboard backing. Inside of this baggie is seven beautifully turned metal barrels and pitot tubes. They… more

Su-25 (Frogfoot) Pitot Tubes

Published: September 5, 2016
Company: Master Model

Master Model has been producing some exquisite pitot tubes, gun barrels and static discharge wicks. So it is natural that they continue that success with new barrels and pitot tubes.

The latest offering is for the Su-25 Frogfoot, the Soviet version of the A-10. Eduard, KP and Monogram have the Frogfoot in their inventory. This set is different than some others that I’ve had to deal with from Master.

Contained inside the ziplock baggie are three brass pieces which are beautifully turned brass. Each brass piece is packaged separately. This will ensure the parts are flawless when removed from the package. In another self-sealing baggie is a very fragile resin vane that contains a bunch of separate shapes from the pitot tube. This piece is protected by a foam piece and held… more

F-16C Blk 50-50 Years of YGBSM

Published: September 5, 2016
Company: Twobobs Aviation Graphics

Wild Weasel. The name alone conjures up thoughts of F-100 and F-105 in Vietnam and F-4G Phantoms in Desert Storm. The pilots who fly these specialized missions walk around with their cajones in a wheel barrel. It is hard to believe that this mission has been around for 50 years.

As is often with these events, an aircraft is painted in a special scheme. The Wild Weasels are no different, only the aircraft is different now, the F-16. This decal sheet depicts this special aircraft of the 20^th Fighter Wing on June 20, 2015. Serial number 92-0920 displayed a rather dramatic full color weasel on the tail holding a lightning bolt it’s gloved hand.

The aircraft features an ECM pod on its centerline station along with the latest versions of the AGM-88 HARM missiles on… more

USAF/US Army Tow Tractor Driver

Published: September 5, 2016
Company: Aerobonus

Designed for the Aerobonus DMC Logan T-40 USAF Tow Tractor, this latest figure from Aerobonus is a single block of light grey resin that features a complete seated figure. There are no blemishes or bubbles anywhere.

The figure features a driver with a boonie cap, typical of a Vietnam era USAF enlisted personel. The resin is contained in a typical self sealing bag with a card stock backing. There are painting instructions on three pages.

Removal of the figure from the pour blocks will be easy enough. How they molded and cast these parts is simply amazing. There are lots of undercuts and plenty of room behind the driver on the seat. The parts include the seated body of the driver, two arms, and a separate head.

This figure is essential if you have the Tow Tractor… more

Growler Anthology - Part II

Published: September 5, 2016
Company: Furball Aero-Design

The EA-16G has taken over from the EA-6 and as such it has all the colorful markings that the Prowlers had.

One of the things I love about Furball’s decal sheet is the amount of choices you are given on each sheet. This sheet is no different. There are SIXTEEN Growlers included in this release. Not only do you get 15 US Navy Growlers you also get the markings for an Australian one. Some of these Growlers are quite colorful, so the problem may be which one do you choose. Besides the 16 aircraft you also get enough stencils for TWO aircraft.

The decals and instructions are contained in a ziplock bag. The instructions are printed in full color on four double sided 8.5x11 sheets. The profile views show the left side of every airplane. Each upper wing National insignia and wing… more