US Pilots & Ground Personnel (Vietnam War)

Published: February 20, 2022
Company: ICM

Finding figures in 1/48th scale for Vietnam is a pretty hard chore. Whether you want to depict USAF or Army helicopter pilots your choices in the past have been pretty slim. Well thanks to ICM there is at least a new option.

Inside of the sturdy cardboard box is a single sprue of individually wrapped light grey plastic and a single page of full color instructions.

The plastic is blemish free with parts for five personnel. It has two pilots, two mechanics and one admin line chief. The poses are very good. The detail is very crisp, including the faces which is sometimes hard to get right in plastic, but ICM has nailed it. The relief of the clothing also appears very good. Each figure is assembled from anywhere from five to 11 pieces. This may sound like a lot, especially… more

US Aviation Armament

Published: February 20, 2022
Company: ICM

With the recent release of many Vietnam era aircraft such as the B-26K, OV-10A and the OV-2 it was inevitable that you would want a variety of armament slung underneath these aircraft, particularly the B-26K. Well, ICM is providing you with plenty of options.

Packaged in a very sturdy cardboard box with a cover, the box contains two of each of two sprues for a total of four sprues. My set was perfectly formed with no blemishes anywhere. The box also contains clear and concise instructions printed on high quality paper. They are printed on a large single sheet folded in half making up four A4 pages. An inventory is on the cover, the actual instructions on the inside two pages and finally the decal placement and painting instructions are on the back. Paint call outs are for ICM,… more

US Helicopter Pilots (Vietnam War)

Published: February 13, 2022
Company: ICM

Figures from the Vietnam War are few and far between, especially helicopter crew. With the ICM release of the 1/32nd scale AH-1G they have released a kit of THREE Vietnam helicopter crewmembers.

Packed inside a typical sturdy box are three plastic sprue of light grey plastic that features the parts for the three figures. Two of the sprues are the same with both APH-5 and SPH-4 helmets, mic booms and ear cups. This is a nice feature because the helmets can be used without the figures to spruce up any model. The plastic is very crisp and the figures, especially the faces, are very well done. The assembly and paint instructions are printed on high quality paper with color callouts in ICMs paint range, as well as, Revell and Tamiya.

Figure one is a crew chief sitting on the… more

Do-217N Wheels & Paint Masks-Early B

Published: February 6, 2022
Company: Aires Hobby Models

The Do-217N is a unique version of the venerable Do-217. Designed as a night fighter it was really just too slow to catch the bombers. It wasn’t useless but it did have its share of problems.

ICM released their kit of this airplane in 2020. It was a nice kit, but it was not without a few mistakes, as all models are. One of those mistakes was slightly undersized wheels. Also the wheels did not have a bulge or flat spot to indicate weight being on the landing gear. Another area that could use improvement was the tail wheel fork which is slightly anemic and mishappened. Well Aires has a solution.

Contained in a baggie with a… more

AH-1G Late Production

Published: February 6, 2022
Company: ICM

Before I begin this review I think it is important to know that I flew Cobras in the Army and now fly them with the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation, so I am intimately familiar with them. So I tend to be a little bit of a nit picker or rivet counter when it comes to Cobras. Please forgive me.

When ICM released the AH-1G Cobra in 1/32^nd scale there was much rejoicing in the helicopter modeling world. We had waited so long for a replacement for the venerable Revell AH-1G. The Revell kit was released in 1968 and it was very basic. Accurate in outline but lacking in any detail. It needed lots of aftermarket to bring it up to speed. Would ICM be better? Oh heck yeah.

Packaged in a sturdy cardboard box with a boxtop that slips over that the model is well… more

Wings of the Black Cross-Special Number Two- Junkers Ju-87 Stuka

Published: February 5, 2022
Book Author(s): Mark Proulx
Company: Eagle Editions Ltd.

Eagle Editions is synonymous with Luftwaffe subjects so it comes as no surprise that their latest book in the Wings of the Black Cross series is an airplane that just evokes memories of the Luftwaffe, the iconic Ju-87 Stuka. The name and the noise of the airplane became a symbol for Luftwaffe dominance of the air in the early part of the war. By the Battle of Britain, it was grossly outclassed and obsolete, yet is soldiered on until the very end of the war.

This book covers the Stuka history throughout it’s development in 48 pages softbound book. It features 67 photos from the author’s private collection, most never seen before. A little history and camouflage is covered including some survivors in the beginning. Then the book excels at showing you some unique photos. They… more

AH-1G Cobra (Early) Landing Gear

Published: February 5, 2022
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

Having built two of the ICM 1/32^nd scale Cobras I can tell you that the mounting point is a fragile joint. On my first one I broke it off twice and had to pin and glue it back on. It was frustrating as it was near the end of the build.

Well SAC has taken that frustration out of the equation. Inside their typical blister pack are two white metal landing gear and four parts for the ground handling wheels. Mine were perfectly cast and were exact replicas of the kit landing gear, but stronger. This set has the aerodynamic fairings installed on Vietnam era Cobras. These fairings were later removed and the round crosstubes remained.

As they were exact replicas of the kit landing gear, they also had the nubs on the end where the tow bar is supposed to go. This area… more

Presentation Spits, Part III: Spitfire Mk.IX Decals

Published: October 25, 2021
Company: Foxbot

Let’s face it, British aircraft are pretty standard as far as camouflage goes, however, they sometimes exercised some individualism in personal aircraft. This release from Foxbot decals deals with just that.

Inside of the resealable baggie, is a single sheet of 8.5 x 11 heavy stock paper folded in half to provide some protection. The instructions are printed in full color and feature the profile view for six aircraft. On the backside of the instructions are stencils and the color callouts using FS numbers, Humbrol, Model Master and AKAN paints. The plan view is also shown with both the A and B scheme.

The decals themselves are printed in perfect register and suitably thin. I can’t determine who printed them. There is a set of stencils included and various roundels that… more

Flying Revenge: Ilyushin Il-2 (Early Type), Part 1 Decals

Published: October 25, 2021
Company: Foxbot

The Il-2 Sturmovik is THE iconic Russian aircraft for me. It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t maneuverable, but it was a deadly ground attack aircraft. It could take a lot of punishment and was produced on larger numbers than any other aircraft in history. So you know it had to have some colorful markings. Well thanks to Foxbot we have some examples to add to our collections.

Packaged in a standard ziplock baggie, the decals and instructions are protected from moisture. The instructions are printed on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of high-quality paper folded in half. This provides strength to protect the decals from bending. They are printed in full color and feature EIGHT aircraft, two single seaters, three modified single seaters with the gunner in the exposed back, and three of the later model… more

B-25 Pin-Up Nose Art, Part 1

Published: May 31, 2022
Company: Foxbot

Maintaining aircraft in hot and humid conditions often meant that they would sit around getting worked on. This gave the crews time to personalize their aircraft and since there weren’t any women around most of the time the aircraft sported some beautiful nose art. Foxbot has taken on some very sexy nose art.

The decals and instructions are packaged in a resealable baggie. The instructions are a single 8.5 x 11 high quality paper folded in half to help protect the decals from damage. The instructions are printed in full color with side views of SEVEN aircraft. Some from the SWP and some from Italy. The subject aircraft are B-25Cs and Ds. One of them has a painted over gun nose which is really interesting. There is a stencil instructions on the inside of the sheet but no… more