Crew AH-1 Cobra

Published: February 18, 2015
Company: Aero Line

Finally, somebody has made figures for the helicopter models in 1/48 scale. Aero Line’s latest release is marketed as a Cobra crew. As far as I know there have been no previous US Army helicopter pilots available in this scale.

Packaged in a vacuformed shell, Aero Line has created two beautifully cast figures molded in light gray resin. The instructions are on the back of the insert card. There is no actual color callout, just the color profiles. The instructions show the flight suits in a Vietnam-era olive green like the two-piece flight suit of the time; however, with the way the figures are molded, you could easily modify them by removing the upper pants pockets and painting the flight suit in the sage green color of the one-piece and no one would be the wiser.

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F-4B/N Phantom II Undercarriage Covers

Published: December 23, 2014
Company: Quickboost

The Academy family of F-4 Phantoms are impressive kits. I absolutely love them. They are very detailed, but as always there is room for improvement. Enter Quickboost.

Packaged in typical Quickboost bottom opening package with a cardboard stiffener. Two pour stubs of light grey resin hold eight resin pieces that are blemish free. They contain beautiful detail on both sides. They are easy enough to remove from the pour blocks and are direct replacements for the kit parts.

Immediately you will notice that the parts are different than the kit offerings on the inside of the gear doors. They are more accurate for the F-4B than the kit offering. In no particular order, the main gear doors have different details on the inner door face. This would be noticed when you view the… more

German Luftwaffe Pilot WWII for Bf-109 late version

Published: December 23, 2014
Company: Aerobonus

This latest offering from Aerobonus is typical of their line of figures. There is one pour stub containing four pieces of flawless light grey resin. There are two arms, body and head. That sounds all kind of boring but this figure is molded as if he were exiting a late war Bf-109. The two separate arms are set to lay on the top of the canopy frame. The arms are added on a natural seem line. The legs are already set to have one leg on the seat and the other on the canopy sill, no assembly required on them. Overall clean up is relatively easy. The pour stubs are small and easy to remove.

Obviously a good pose won’t make a necessarily good figure. That is the job of the sculpting. The sculpting on this figure is nothing short of superb. The proportions of body to head are perfect… more

Big Sin Russian Modern Aircraft Missiles Set

Published: December 20, 2014
Company: Eduard

Modern Russian aircraft have been making a surge in the marketplace of late. The SU-24, SU-25, SU-27, MiG-29, MiG-23 and MiG-25 have been released by a variety of manufacturers. Regardless of manufacturer, one thing that all these kits can benefit from is the addition of really accurate armament.

In case you didn’t know Eduard is from the Czech Republic, a former member of the Eastern Block. They have access to the information and the real items.

This BigSin set consists of five separate types of air-to-air missiles. The, R-60/AA-8 Aphid, R-27ER/AA-10 Alamo-C, R-27ET/AA-10 Alamo-D, R-73/AA-11 Archer and the R-77/AA-12 Archer. This is the Russian equivalent of the Sparrows, Sidewinders and AMRAAM in the US inventory.

The first set is the AA-8 Aphid IR missile.… more

Big Sin F-4 Weapons Set

Published: November 13, 2020
Company: Eduard

The F-4 Phantom II is perhaps the finest jet of its time. It could carry a variety of ordnance. In addition to heat seeking and infrared air-to-air missiles it could carry bombs, and lots of them. The Phantom is an iconic airplane with legendary performance and capabilities.

What would a Phantom be without the ability to shoot down other airplanes and bomb the enemy back to the stone age? Just another pretty, no wait we are talking about a Phantom here, just another ugly loud smoking airplane.

With that in mind and Academy’s release of the F-4B and F-4C it is essential that you include ordnance and lots of it. Enter the BigSin set. This set is EVERYTHING you would need to arm up your Phantom. The set contains five sets, one set of Sidewinders, one set of Sparrows and… more

FW-190 Wheels Late

Published: November 13, 2020
Company: Eduard

I love the Eduard FW-190 series of models. I’ve built seven of them so far. The stuff in the kit is nice but there are limitations to what can be done in plastic. That is where the Brassin range comes into play.

In this set are two wheels with predrilled holes, unfortunately they are just as loose as the kit offerings. I would have loved if they were molded with smaller holes with the angles set already. Oh well the detail is really nice. They are molded in light grey resin with flawless detail molded on. You also get a masking set for the wheels. Just another great idea from Brassin. You have to be careful as the wheels are sided. So be careful when you take them off the resin pour stubs to not get them mixed.

The beautiful detail and masking material makes this just a… more

AGM-45 Shrike

Published: December 20, 2014
Company: Eduard

The Wild Weasels flew specialized missions in Vietnam using first the F-100, F-105 and finally the F-4 to take out SAM targets. Their exploits are stuff of legend. One of the things that made them so effective was the Shrike anti-radiation missile. The missile was used all the way up to Desert Storm by F-4Gs.

Molded in light and dark grey resin, you are provided with four missiles. My examples were perfectly formed and no blemishes noticed. The best thing about these resin pieces is that there are no mold lines and they are perfectly round. Included in the set is a fret of photo etch for the exhaust nozzles. Decals round out the missiles. These are perfectly formed. The instructions are simple enough with the color call out and the decal placement easy enough to… more

Bf-109G Royal Class

Published: December 20, 2014
Company: Eduard

No other kit that I can remember has caused as much commotion as the Eduard Bf-109G. Eduard had already had the sets in the production when “Sizegate” hit. The kit was larger than 1/48th scale and had some shape issues. Eduard had already committed to the kit and announced that they would still release the Royal Class kit with the larger molds. The Royal Class was the first time that the G-2, G-4 and G-14 would be available from this company. Would it be worth the money? I guess that would depend on how wrapped around the axle you are on the size and shape issues.

The Royal Class comes in a large box that is full of goodies. Starting with the plastic, the kit is molded in light grey plastic with no flash. The kit features recessed panel lines and rivet detail which is… more

Bf-109G-10 Wheels

Published: December 20, 2014
Company: Eduard

The Revell Bf-109G-10 kit is a gem and at a reasonable price. As always there are ways to improve the kit. One of the easiest ways is to replace the wheels with resin weighted wheels. The Brassin set consists of seven resin pieces perfectly molded in light grey. There are the two main wheels and a tail wheel. The other parts are the face and the brake assembly for the main wheels. The wheels are sided so use caution and don’t get them mixed up. There is also a set of Kabuki masks for the wheels, which will make the whole painting process easier.

So perfectly formed and highly detailed wheels plus paint masks make this set a great addition to your large scale 109. The set is designed for the Revell kit but it looks like it will fit the Hasegawa kit perfectly with no… more

AH-1G Canopy Masks

Published: December 19, 2014
Company: Eduard

If anyone knows me they know I love the AH-1 Cobra. I never had the opportunity to fly the AH-1G but I’ve always wanted to. Special Hobbies finally released their series of AH-1 models. For now they have just released the G model but it is an awesome little model. Like many modelers, I hope they release it in 1/48th and 1/35th scale someday.

The AH-1G had a slightly bulged canopy, which can cause a challenge for some modelers to mask. Special Hobbies was nice enough to produce the canopy doors separate so you can pose them open or closed. The masks will make this chore so much simpler. There are outline masks for the entire canopy framework. You will need liquid mask to fill in the center but Eduard provides the outline. Special Hobbies provides the option of having the ground… more