German Motorcycle & Sidecar

Published: February 3, 2020
Company: Tamiya

After a massive scratch building job on my 1/35th scale Werner’s Wings MH-47E I needed something simple. Quick. Easy. I needed a Tamiya kit.

Many of you may remember the old Bandai 1/48th scale series of military vehicles. Until Tamiya revived the scale with modern renditions in this scale Bandai was the only game in town for 1/48th scale armor. One of the unique vehicles that Bandai put out was the BMW R-75 motorcycle with sidecar. Finding these was always a pain. I built one of them a long while ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Could Tamiya do better? That is a rhetorical question.

Packaged in a sturdy 6 x 9 cardboard box with typical quality box art the modeler is treated to a single sprue of light tan plastic wrapped in plastic along with a small decal sheet. The… more

MiG-17PF (Fresco D) - 23mm gun barrels & Pitot Tubes

Published: August 31, 2014
Company: Master Model

The MiG-17PF was the all weather fighter version of the Fresco. The Fresco D had three 23mm cannons.

This set includes five precision turned brass parts. There is nothing to clean up. Simply drill the hole where the parts go and you are in business.

The highlights of this set are the pitot tubes. They are perfectly formed and even capture that one pitot tube is slightly longer than the other.

The other three parts are the 23mm cannon barrels.

The instructions indicate the proper holes to drill and the proper length of the parts.

This set is like every other Master part I’ve used, simple, effective, and strong. The strength is especially important for the wingtip pitot tubes, which will invariably are subjected to some damage from handling.

MiG-17APF (Fresco A,B,C) - 23mm Gun Barrels Set & Pitot Tubes

Published: August 26, 2014
Company: Master Model

The MiG-17 has two prominent pitot tubes on the wing tips. Inevitably, if you are like me, you will knock off one or both of them. Brass pitot tubes will make this harder to do. Included in this set are two pitot tubes, a two part 37mm cannon barrel, and two 23mm cannon barrels.

The pitot tubes are machined perfectly with the proper taper to the tips.

The 37mm cannon is simply gorgeous. Plastic kit makers can only hint at the cooling jacket for the cannon. Master is able to produce a precision machined cooling jacket and barrel. The barrel simply slides precisely into the jacket. Then just prime and paint. A thing of beauty.

The 23mm cannon barrels are different lengths just like the real thing.

The best part about all these brass pieces is no cleanup.… more

Fw 190 A2-A5 Armament Set & Pitot Tube

Published: August 23, 2014
Company: Master Model

The Focke Wulf 190 was a heavily armed aircraft with lots of guns and a long pitot tube. The early Fw 190s had their MG-17s in the cowling and wings, along with MG-151 guns on the inner wings. If that isn’t enough, they had a long, fragile pitot tube.

Master provides you with one pitot tube that requires no clean up and has the need strength to hold up to some handling. For the MG-151, Master provides you with the wheel well protective tube as well as the barrel for the gun. The MG-17s for the cowlings are represented by the tips only, while the wings have the barrels. Make sure you don’t confuse them.

All the gun tubes and the pitot tube have hollow ends in them. They are beautiful renditions of the real thing. The best aspect of the turned-brass parts is the complete… more

Bf-109 G5-G14, K Armament Set

Published: August 19, 2014
Company: Master Model

With the release of the new Revell-Germany Bf-109G-6 and G-10 there is some nice little updates that are available. The latest release from Master addresses some areas that are absolutely necessary for a kit, the guns and the pitot tube.

The set includes three perfectly machined brass parts, two MG-131 cowl guns and one pitot tube. What can you say about these items? There is no cleanup. Simply replace the kit guns with these beautiful hollow guns. For the pitot tube you will need to drill a hole but nothing is too drastic. The instructions are easy to follow and explain the correct angle for the pitot tube on the Bf-109.

Beautiful rendition in perfectly formed brass, which will provide strength and won’t require cleanup of mold lines makes this an essential aftermarket… more

Messerschmitt Bf-109G-10 Cockpit Set

Published: August 17, 2014
Company: Aires Hobby Models

The Messerschmitt Bf-109- has any other aircraft ever evoked more passion in the model building community? Maybe its nemesis the Spitfire but I doubt it. The modeling community has been blessed with new state of the art models in every scale. The best of these is the new Revell-Germany 1/32^nd Bf-109G-10 and to a lesser extent the G-6. Revell-Germany released the Erla built Bf-109G-10, the first time this variant had been available in kit form in any scale.

While the kit cockpit is nice there is always something nicer in resin. It is just a matter of the limitations of plastic injection versus resin casting. With that said, the clear kit part is used for fuel line. Packaged in vacuformed packaging that is typical of Aires sets, this set is well protected. Inside the… more

MiG-23M/MF Exhaust Nozzle

Published: November 13, 2020
Company: Eduard

Trumpeter has been releasing first class kits of Soviet Bloc aircraft for some years now. They have recently been taking on the MiG-23 Flogger and its variants.

The prominent point of any jet is the cockpit and the exhaust. With the limitations of plastic molding we, as model builders, are lucky to have resin parts. If you were going to do anything to spruce up a kit I concentrate on those two areas.

Perfectly molded in light grey resin the Brassin parts are everything that I’ve come to expect from Eduard. The detail on these seven resin parts is impressive to say the least. Of course none of the parts have any blemishes or imperfections that I could find other than my exhaust nozzle was slightly warped. A quick dip in warm water restored the roundness.

… more

MiG-15 and MiG-15 bis Gun Barrels Set, Antenna Base and Pitot Tubes

Published: February 10, 2020
Company: Master Model

With Tamiya release of the MiG-15 and the Trumpeter release of the MiG-15 family the weakest parts of the kit are the guns and the fragile pitot tube. If you are like me and you have a hard time keeping these items round when cleaning off the mold lines then this is for you. There are six exquisitely machined brass pieces included in the set. There is no clean up. Simply drill holes where the parts go, prime and paint.

The best part is a two piece 37mm cannon barrel. The two part barrel is a work of art. Simply insert the one piece into the other. The fit is phenomenal. It gives you the look of the real thing. Something the plastic kit parts can only hint at.

The other two gun barrels are simple and effective. They are the perfectly sized.

The antenna base is… more

F-4C Interior Photo Etch

Published: November 13, 2020
Company: Eduard

Eduard has perfected the art of the pre-painted instrument panels. I can’t even paint the instruments as good as they pre-paint. If you haven’t used them you really should try them.

The newest addition is designed for the new Academy 1/48^th scale F-4C. The single sheet fret is a nickel plated sheet with all the instrument panels and side consoles for both the front and back seats. These parts are self adhesive and designed to be added directly to the kit parts. You will have to sand off the molded on detail but that is simple enough to do with a sanding stick.

The self adhesive is definitely sticky but I still use super glue to hold the parts together and Future in the bezels to add the sticking and to replicate the glass. The set is simple to add and the… more

IAI Kfir Pitot Tube and AOA Probe

Published: August 15, 2014
Company: Master Model

I recently have started to build jet aircraft and I’ve noticed something, pitot tubes typically stick out of the nose a significant amount. This causes an issue with bending or breakage. The other thing that I have had an issue is removing the part from sprue. It is a pain in the butt to get rid of the excess plastic and retain the round cross section. That doesn’t include the mold lines on the part. How do you deal with all that? Easy, turned metal barrels.

Master Model turns out some of the finest turned metal barrels out there. I’ve used them before and they fit and look amazing. This release designed for the newest Kfir kits by Kinetics, AMK or Wingmaster.

The parts are packaged on card stock with a zip lock plastic bag containing another self sealing plastic bag… more