Free French Fighter Pilot WWII Normandie-Niemen (1942-1945)

Published: April 7, 2016
Company: Aerobonus

Normandie-Niemen were Free French fighters who flew for the Russians following the fall of France. Their exploits while flying Yak-3s is the stuff of legends. Until now, if you wanted to have one of these pilots in your diorama, you had to settle on a Russian pilot in Russian flight gear. Not anymore.

Molded in light grey resin, this pilot figure contains four parts: the body; arm; and two heads, one with a dress hat and one with a flying helmet on. The pose is completely natural with the pilot standing upright with a parachute draped over his shoulder. You can put either head on him. I’m going to put the dress cap on mine, since it is uniquely French. Both faces are well sculpted and very high quality.

Assembly is easy, just remove the parts from the block and assemble… more

Russian Pilot WWII

Published: February 29, 2016
Company: Aerobonus

Aerobonus has been putting out inexpensive and impressive figures for aircraft modelers for quite some time now. They have been beautifully sculpted and easy to assemble. This new figure is no different.

Molded in light grey resin this Russian pilot comes in four pieces: The body, the helmeted head, and two arms. The body will require some very minor cleanup between the legs but that is about it. All the other parts are easily removed from the pour stub. Assembly is easy enough. Then it is just a matter of painting the figure. I like his pose as he is ‘flying’ his hands.

If you are looking to learn figure painting without breaking the bank, these Aerobonus figures are just the ticket. They are perfect additions to any model airplane or even as stand-alone figures. This… more

F-4D Canopy Mask

Published: November 14, 2020
Company: Eduard

The Academy F-4 series finally brought the Phantom into the present with regards to mold technology. I’ve said it many times I hate to mask canopies. Eduard’s masks are made out of Kabuki tape which makes them flexible and able to conform to bends in the windows. In my opinion Kabuki tape is the premier masking medium.

This set is designed for the Academy F-4D, but it will fit the Academy or Eduard F-4C as well. You will need to use liquid mask to complete this set. There are 12 masks included in the set. This set will ensure that the canopy has crisp edges with minimal work.

These worked to perfection on my recent Eduard F-4D. They were easy to add and easy to remove. They performed flawlessly. If you are careful you can replace them back on the sheet and maybe able to… more

The Dogs of War - USA/USAF/USMC/VNAF O-1 Bird Dogs in the Vietnam War

Published: February 28, 2016
Company: AOA Decals

When you mention the Vietnam Air War, most people think of the F-4 Phantom or the F-105 Thunderchief, not some slow-moving, single-piston-engined airplane like the O-1 Bird Dog. But this little airplane played a pivotal role in close air support role over South Vietnam. The Model USA kit has been out for some time, but the markings options have been limited until now. Thanks to AOA Decals we now have plenty of marking options.

Contained in a 6x9-inch ziplock-bag are two decal sheets. The instructions are printed in full color on four 8.5x11 double sided pieces of paper. The cover is a beautiful full color shot of an O-1 on a mission over Vietnam. It will aid the modeler in weathering the model. Some color call-outs are listed and the back side of the sheet has the stencils. The… more

Spitfire Mk.XVI High Back with Early Wings Overtree

Published: December 31, 2015
Company: Eduard

Ever heard of an Eduard Overtree kit? You would not be alone. Eduard offers overtree kits occasionally, for a very limited time and ONLY through the Eduard website. They contain only the plastic parts. No box art, no instructions, no decals, no masks and no photo etch. No nothing, just plastic. Why do this? To keep the costs down. Eduard also offers the modeler the parts that you may want to add separately. If you have aftermarket decals then you aren’t paying extra for the decals. I personally like to use the Zoom sets to spruce up the instrument panel and some other odds and ends, like seatbelts. This is what I consider an essential set. Everything else is nice. The instructions are available for download online in the Profipac or the Weekend Edition releases. Maybe you own the Dual… more

Spitfire Mk.XVI Bubbletop with Late Wings Overtree

Published: December 31, 2015
Company: Eduard

If you’ve built a weekend edition of an Eduard kit you would think that is as cheap as you can get an Eduard kit. Well then you haven’t seen an overtree. Eduard occasionally release an overtree kit for a limited time of their new items and it is only available through the Eduard Store online. The thing about an overtree kit is it only comes with the plastic pieces. It does not come with instructions, decals, masks, or photo etch. You can download the instructions online from the Profipack or weekend kit. You have to be careful and order the correct kit. Like me I chose to review a Bubbletop Mk.XVI with Late Wings. I should have ordered the Bubbletop with Early Wings. So note that you only get one set of wings and one fuselage. You need to know what you are going to build before you… more

Hurricane Camouflage Scheme B Mask

Published: December 31, 2015
Company: Eduard

British aircraft have hard edged fairly standard paint schemes. This can be a blessing and a boon for modelers. Well it has been made infinitely easier thanks to Eduard.

Packaged in a ziplock bag, Eduard provides you two sheets of Kabuki tape masks which I think is the best masking medium out there. If you aren’t familiar with Kabuki tape, it is the same stuff that Tamiya tape is made of. You can tell if it is properly down because it is slightly see through. The one sheet has the fuselage halves on it and the other has the wings, tail and some extra strips. They are all easy to apply and they fit perfectly.

I’ve used these types of masks from Eduard on some Spitfire kits and they work perfectly. This makes the arduous task of masking simple and easy. If you are careful… more

Spitfire Camo Scheme B Masks

Published: November 14, 2020
Company: Eduard

British aircraft have a hard edged camouflage. Getting those hard edges in the proper position is difficult. How do you make that hard edge? If you are like me you’ll be using the Eduard masks. They are made of highly flexible Kabuki tape. This set includes two large masking sheets. One for the fuselage and tail surfaces and the other for the wings.

How do you know if you need Scheme A or B? The only real way to know is to look at photos of the real aircraft. It has been postulated that even serial numbered aircraft had scheme A and odd serial numbered aircraft had scheme B. This is not always correct. It seems to me more of a guideline than a rule.

The key to this set is follow the instructions. First paint the lower surface color then mask that off with the provided… more

Spitfire Mk. VIII Seatbelts Superfabric

Published: November 14, 2020
Company: Eduard

The Super Fabric are quite a unique product. They are paper thin. The belts and shoulder harness have beautiful detail and the silver looks metallic. I found that when compared to the pre-painted photo etch seatbelts that the Super Fabric ones were a little orange and not as tan.

The belts can be added with white glue. DO NOT USE CA GLUE! They are easily removed from the backing paper and added to the kit parts. There is no special preparation required. The fabric allows you to fold, spindle and mutilate the belts exactly like real fabric.

There are no complicated threading buckles onto the belts and no chipped paint when you fold pre-painted belts. This set makes adding seatbelts to your model very easy and realistic. The review copy was a little orange to my eye,… more

Hurricane Camo Scheme B

Published: December 10, 2015
Company: Eduard

British hard edged camouflage is always a pain in the butt to get to look right. Eduard has provided a way to make this camouflage simple and easy. Kabuki tape masks. The Kabuki tape is flexible and provide a perfect hard edge.

You will have to find the exact aircraft that you building to determine if it has the scheme A or B. It use to be ‘known’ that even number aircraft had the A scheme and odd numbers had the B. Well that isn’t quite true. It is more of a guideline than a hard fast rule.

This set has two sheets of Kabuki tape masks. One is for the wings and the other is for the fuselage and tail surfaces.

This set is designed for the Airfix kit but will fit any 1/48th Hurricane. Using the set is easy enough. You paint the bottom color then use the provided… more