Bell AH-1G “Cobra” Photo Etch

Published: January 20, 2014
Company: Brengun

AZ Models AH-1Gs are the first new Vietnam-era Cobras to hit the market in quite some time. While a nice model, there are some limitations that plastic can’t replicate as well as I would hope. This has to be overcome by photo etch, and Brengun has just what the doctor ordered.

Packaged on card stock to protect the PE, the Brengun single fret of nickel plated metal includes some really nice additions to the kit and replaces things that should be replaced. Brengun includes a lot of things to dress up the cockpit: seatbelts, shoulder harnesses, instrument panels, side consoles, handles and gun sights to name just a few. The armor side panel for the XM-35 20mm weapon system is included as well. Sway braces, ejector racks, and rocket pod front and rears round out the upgrades for… more

Mig-21PF/PFM Exhaust Nozzle

Published: November 13, 2020
Company: Eduard

With the release of the MiG-21 PFM, Eduard has reestablished them as the industry leader. Even with the best plastic kits there is always room for improvement. The Brassin range is designed by Eduard using the same CAD work as the kit which ensures that they will fit the kit they are designed for.

The exhaust nozzle is a work of art. Six pieces of flawlessly cast grey resin along with a burner ring made out of nickel plated brass. It sounds so simple when you break it down like that but what you get is some exquisite work.

The parts are perfectly cast and seem to be easily removed from the pour blocks. They will just take some careful painting. Assembly is easy enough. The MiG-21 has such a large exhaust nozzle that it is important to have it properly detailed. The kit… more

MiG-21PFM Interior

Published: November 13, 2020
Company: Eduard

The Eduard MiG-21 family displays some of the best engineering in modeling. The kit cockpit is nice but there are limitations with plastic molding. Luckily for us modelers, Eduard has an answer for that in their Brassin range.

Typical of the Brassin range this set is a mixed media offering with resin and photo etch. The instructions are typical colored pictograph which is quite nice and helpful. There are five pages of actual assembly diagrams.

Also typical of the Brassin range, the resin is cast in light grey resin is perfectly cast with no bubbles or blemishes anywhere. There is one piece of clear resin. The detail is absolutely exquisite. The parts are packaged in a sturdy cardboard box with foam protecting the parts then to further safeguard them the resin parts are… more

DeHavilland Mosquito Spoked Wheels (Diamond Tread)

Published: January 19, 2014
Company: Ultracast

Ultracast has been providing replacement wheels for quite some time. The latest offerings are all designed for the Mosquito. What sets Ultracast wheels apart from the rest of the replacement wheels is the bulge. They are realistically bulged and will add an appropriate weight to your model.

Perfectly molded in light caramel color, there are two wheels per set that are molded with unique treads. The pour blocks are small and placed in an inconspicuous place, the flat spot. Adding them to your Airfix, Monogram or Tamiya model is very easy. Remove the wheel from the block, clean up with a sanding stick, then paint and add.

Also when you order from Ultracast directly you will have to add $9.95 CDN for shipping and handling world wide.

The wheels are easily the… more

Consolidated B-24 Liberator Part 4

Published: January 19, 2014
Company: Lifelike Decals

Lifelike Decals has produced another sheet for the Hasegawa/Minicraft/Academy and Eduard 1/72nd B-24s.

Contained in a 6x9 Ziploc baggie, the first thing you will notice is two A4 sized single sheet full color instructions. One sheet contains the front with the profile drawings and the back page has the plan views and references listed where Lifelike got their information from. This is a particularly good idea because if you wanted to verify the information you could. The other thing this does is it allows Lifelike to tell you what they saw. Lifelike is not afraid to make an informed guess if they don’t know something. But unlike other decal companies, Lifelike will tell you if they don’t know something.

The decals themselves are some of the world’s best. They are… more

FFAR Rockets

Published: November 13, 2020
Company: Eduard

The Typhoon was an impressive air to ground fighter. It was made even more formidable with the underwing rockets that it carried. Brassin has taken notice of the this piece of armament and given it the Brassin treatment.

Eight resin missiles are provided in dark grey resin. The pour blocks on the rockets is quite small and will easily be removed. The rockets themselves are perfectly straight and have no mold lines to remove so you know they are perfectly rounded with no work.

What will require the most work will be the photo etch which is supplied on a fret of nickel plated photo etch. The hardest part of the whole upgrade will be folding the mounts which are in photo etch for realistic look. There are two mounts per rocket so that is a lot of photo etching. The… more

Focke Wulf Ta-152 C Propeller with Tool

Published: January 19, 2014
Company: Quickboost

The Hobby Boss Ta-152C has been released in a number of guises. The Ta-152C, E and H for that matter, could be equipped with different propellers. They could sport either rounded or pointed type of props. On top of that the spinner could be opened for an engine to fire through or a capped nose cone.

Typical of Quickboost the set is cast in blemish free light grey resin. There are six pieces to the set. There is a spinner, three prop blades, prop shaft and a setting tool.

Hobby Boss allows you to choose either one of the props. In this particular set, there are pointed tip blades. The blades are very thin and accurate in shape. The spinner is beautifully accurate with the hole in the tip. The spinner has a small casting block that should be easy enough to remove. The… more

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt Part 6

Published: January 19, 2014
Company: Lifelike Decals

The P-47 just begs for nose art with that big cowling out front. That is exactly what ground crews did and Lifelike has captured in this latest release.

Designed for the Tamiya, Hasegawa, Academy or Revell/Germany kits, the decals and instructions are packaged in a 6”x 9” inch ziplock baggie. The instructions themselves are printed on two A4 pages with full color profiles and plan views. They also include a reference section so if you want to see the real aircraft all you have to do is find the book or website. There is another half sheet that has the stencil locations on one side. I love the instructions. A little history of each aircraft and the markings are included for each aircraft.

Lifelike has no problem letting the modeler know what is known and what is… more

Consolidated B-24 Liberator Part 3

Published: January 19, 2014
Company: Lifelike Decals

The third 1/72nd B-24 sheet from Lifelike contains more colorful nose art. If you are a fan of pinups and nose art these sheets are really impressive.

The decals are contained in a 6”x9” ziplock bag along with two A4 full color instructions. The decals themselves are printed by Cartograf and Microscale. Between those two decal printers you know you have some of the best printed decals in the world. But what about the research? Lifelike is well known for their research. Even Lifelike can make errors as they acknowledge. Lifelike basis their findings on the latest information available and when the information is lacking they base their finding on educated guesses. Some would find this a weakness in the decals but I think it is an asset. They let you know what is known and what… more

Spitfire Mk.IX Royal Class

Published: September 28, 2013
Company: Eduard

I won’t go into the history of the Mk.IX Spitfire, but let’s get right to the kit. It comes packaged in a sturdy large box with a flat black cove complete with a beautiful gold Spitfire sporting two beer barrels under the wings. On the sides are full color renditions of all the decal options. The box top itself is a piece of art that would look really good framed next to the Bf-109E box top.

Once I got the box top off, I was amazed at the amount of stuff in there. There is no wasted space. Everything is packaged individually to ensure there is no breakage. The first thing to look at is the absolutely beautiful light grey plastic sprues. All the parts are exquisitely done. The model features beautifully rendered rivets and fine recessed panel lines. There are nine sprues… more