P-51 Mustang Decals Part 2

Published: January 19, 2012
Company: Lifelike Decals

Lifelike Decals always offers some unique decal options and this sheet is typical Lifelike quality. Designed for the Tamiya P-51D and the Trumpeter/Revell P-51B, these decals offer some very unique looking machines.

The instructions are on three sheets, two single-sided A4 sheets and one half-page. The single-sided sheets include the profiles and plan views, as well as the historical and research data. The smaller half-page sheet contains the stencil placement.

Lifelike Decals has used Cartograf out of Italy to print their decals. Cartograf printing is perfect, with even the smallest detail being picked out. The decals are thin, in perfect register, and with good color saturation. They also respond to setting solutions and conform to compound curves. There are three… more

P-51 Mustang Decals Part 1

Published: January 19, 2012
Company: Lifelike Decals

Recommended for the exquisite 1/32nd Tamiya P-51D kit, Lifelike Decals’ latest decals are beautiful markings and options to rival those included in the kit.

Typical of Lifelike, there are four aircraft included on the sheets. The instructions are printed on two A4 single sided sheets and one half A4 sheet. The first one is the cover and the plan views. The inside sheet includes the historical data and the research used to determine markings. The smaller third sheet is a stencil sheet.

The decals are printed in perfect register and color saturation by Cartograf, so you know they are really thin. Printed on four sheets, the colors are vibrant and will look great on the model. The first sheet includes the red, yellow and light blue markings. The light blue I thought was… more

Nakajima Ki-44 Decals Part 3

Published: January 19, 2012
Company: Lifelike Decals

Want a variety of marking and painting options for your Hasegawa Ki-44? Well, Lifelike Decals has exactly what you are looking for on this sheet. It features four aircraft in four distinct paint schemes and marking options.

The instructions are printed on two single-sided A4 sheets in full color. The first page is the cover and the back with the plan views of the subject aircraft. Interestingly, the second aircraft is not shown in the plan views. The other page includes the history and the research used to determine the markings. This is one of the things that Lifelike Decals does better than most manufacturers, in that they show you where they got the research and the logic behind the color call-outs. They don’t even pretend that they know all the answers but give you, the… more

Nakajima Ki-44 Decals Part 2

Published: January 19, 2012
Company: Lifelike Decals

This is the second decal sheet that Lifelike has released for the Hasegawa 1/48th scale Nakajima Ki-44 Tojo. This particular sheet is unique with the inclusion of a bunch of aircraft with kill markings on the sides.

The decals themselves are printed by Cartograf, so they are very thin and in perfect register. The decals are included on three sheets. The first and largest sheet contains everything but the kill markings. The second sheet is a small sheet that includes ‘scratched’ number ‘2’, which is perfectly executed, and the kill markings. To show you the level of attention to detail, there is a third sheet that is a correction sheet for the one set of kill markings that is finer and better executed than the previous sheet. Well done, Lifelike.

The instructions are… more

Nakajima Ki-44 Decals Part 1

Published: January 18, 2012
Company: Lifelike Decals

Lifelike Decals has always produced some fantastic decals with awesome marking options. This latest decal sheet is designed for the Hasegawa Tojo kit. Typical of Lifelike Decals, this sheet contains four marking options of three II Hei and one II Kou. All the aircraft have the yellow identification stripes on the wing leading edges for that little splash of color.

The variety of markings is a big draw to this sheet. Your first choice is a black-grey aircraft with a natural metal finish lower surface from 1LT Hideaki Inayama from January 1945. The colors are interesting and based on the interpretation of an interview and reference photos. This points out another great thing about Lifelike Decals – they give you the references that they used for determining the color schemes.… more

Bf-109F Stabilizers

Published: January 18, 2012
Company: Quickboost

I like to articulate my flight controls, but I can never get it to look just right. The biggest hassle is the curved portion on the flight controls themselves. Quickboost offers a solution. Molded in light grey resin with no blemishes, a Bf-109F rudder and two elevators with rounded leading edges are now offered as a solution to that problem.

You will have to cut the horizontal tail surfaces and bevel the attachment area, but this wasn’t too difficult. I did this with Dymo tape and a scribing tool. Once the part was removed, the parts were trued up and then the bevel was done with a round file. All this ensured a proper fit. I pinned the elevators to the plastic piece to allow me to install and adjust the elevators to the same angle. Everything is relatively easy and within the… more

Bf-109F-2/F-4 Cockpit Set

Published: January 18, 2012
Company: Aires Hobby Models

For me, Aires has always been synonymous with quality aftermarket products. This latest release is designed for the 1/32nd Hasegawa Bf-109F-2. Like many of their cockpit sets, this set is based off of resin parts, accentuated with photo-etch metal parts and a pre-printed decal film. The instructions are on an 8.5x11 sheet of blue paper. They are a little vague with some parts, but present nothing that can’t be determined with good references.

The resin is molded in light grey on 11 resin pour stubs. I did have a bubble on the base of the stick. This was easily fixed with some Apoxy Sculpt. The rest of the detail is exquisitely rendered. My floorboard was slightly warped but a little hot water took care of it. The seat is beautiful and looks great, especially with the addition… more

Bf-109F Wheel Bay Set

Published: January 17, 2012
Company: Aires Hobby Models

One of the areas that the 1/32nd scale Hasegawa Bf-109 kits lacks is the wheel wells. There is no lining and the detail is a little heavy. Aires now offers an option.

The Aires set includes two resin wheel well inserts and a small fret of photoetch. The parts are molded in light grey resin without any imperfections that I could see. The instructions are adequate for the job at hand.

Start the addition by deciding whether or not you want the round or squared off wheel wells. If you elect to use the squared off one, you’ll have to do it now. Then start thinning out the upper wings and the area around the wheel well opening. You will have to remove a good amount of plastic and thin out the upper wing, but nothing that a Dremel tool with sanding bit can’t fix. The process… more

Bell P-39 Airacobra

Published: December 6, 2011
Book Author(s): Robert Peczkowski & Artur Juszczak
Company: Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books

Spoiler alert – if you don’t want to know what I think, go to the next paragraph. This is THE only book you will need to own for reference on the P-39 Airacobra. Printed on high quality gloss paper, this paperback book is printed on A5 size with 160 pages chock full of information. Modelers will love the information included in this book.

The very first thing you will notice upon opening the book is four view drawings of the P-39F and Q in 1/48th scale and the P-39Q in 1/32nd scale. If you build 1/72nd scale, fear not – there are plenty of 72nd scale drawings throughout the book. OK, 1/144th scale guys, there are drawing in the book for you as well.

The development of the aircraft is followed from prototype to the P-39Q. The P-63 variant is not covered in this book. I… more

Bandits over Baghdad

Published: October 12, 2011
Book Author(s): Warren E. Thompson
Company: Specialty Press

Editor's note: This publication is also available in a downloadable version from the publisher.

As a Desert Storm veteran, it was quite a unique thing the first time I actually saw an F-117 in the air. The initial raids against Baghdad brought to light the existence of these stealth fighters and their capabilities. Firsthand accounts of air combat have always been a favorite read of mine. This book was right up my alley.

This soft bound book features 200 pages of accounts from the pilot, ground crew and commander’s perspective during the war. The book features many previously un-published black and white photos. These will be helpful and informative for the modeler. Every photo comes with an extensive caption that provides insight.

The planning,… more