F4U-7 Corsair Cockpit Set

Published: February 2, 2011
Company: Aires Hobby Models

Molded in light grey and cream colored resin, the cockpit set consists of eight resin pieces, a fret of PE and a clear acetate sheet. The level of detail is exquisite. How they molded the control stick to the floor I will never know. These guys are incredible.

The parts breakdown is very logical. The instrument panel is a three piece affair incorporating a resin background, clear acetate film and a PE front. This makes for quite a nice looking cockpit. The rest of the cockpit builds up pretty conventionally, however the detail is anything but conventional. It is superb.

The cockpit will add dramatically to your Corsair. With a little bit of work I’m sure you can use this set in other kits as well.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Aires and IPMS/USA for the… more

Bf-109 Late Versions-Camouflage and Markings

Published: January 24, 2011
Book Author(s): Krzysztof W. Wotowski
Company: Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books

I love late war 109s so this book was right up my alley. This book is printed in MMP’s White series which is an A4 sized softbound book with 112 pages.

The book focuses on late war 109s starting with the Bf-109G-5/AS to the K-4. The book starts off with a discussion of the tail units used on 109s. I found the differences very interesting and easily understood. Then a small section on late war Erla Haube canopy is discussed. A discussion of the colors and a color chart is next and especially helpful is the callout for CMYK and RGB colors. The first thing I noticed was the great drawings and color profiles. Gunther’s Speck G-5/AS is particularly striking.

One benefit of the larger format book is that 1/48^th scale drawings are provided for each version. This… more

Mustang Aces of the 357th Fighter Group

Published: January 24, 2011
Book Author(s): Chris Bucholtz
Company: Osprey Publishing

Osprey’s Aircraft of the Aces series continues to be a great resource for the modeler and historian. This edition is no different. Written by noted historian, researcher, fellow modeler and editor of the IPMS/USA Journal, Chris Bucholtz, this soft bound book features 96 pages of information, stories, black and white photographs, and color profiles, featuring such noted pilots as Chuck Yeager, Bud Anderson, Kit Carson, and John England to name a few. The 357^th featured some of the brightest colored Mustangs in the ETO.

The book follows the unit from its inception in 1942 with P-39s until the end of the war flying the latest P-51Ds. The unit produced 42 aces, more than any other unit in Europe, and it did this in just over a year of combat flying.

The writing… more

Middle East Airpower in the 21st Century

Published: December 1, 2010
Book Author(s): Tim Ripley
Company: Casemate Publishers

Middle East: just the term reminds me of fighting. The air forces play a significant part in the balance of power throughout the reason. This hardback book is written by a correspondent from Jane’s Defense Weekly so you know he has access to some great information. Luckily for us he shares that information with us on 256 high quality pages. The photos are mostly full color and very nice, many from the author’s collection.

The majority of the book provides history on the each air force, the structure, doctrine and strategy, the operational activities, infrastructure, ordnance, the procurement and finally an assessment of the air force. Every air force in the region is discussed and researched thoroughly. Each nation’s Order of Battle is included with the lat/long of the base for… more

A-26 Invader Units of World War 2

Published: December 1, 2010
Book Author(s): Jim Roeder
Company: Osprey Publishing

The A-26 was a late arrival to World War II but it was the epitome of the medium attack bomber. Designed to replace both the B-26 and the A-20 Havoc, the A-26 was faster and more robust than either design. With crew of two or three (depending on which version) the Invader was a single pilot aircraft that carried fewer crew members into battle with a bigger bomb load. The A-26 would soldier-on through to the Vietnam conflict, quite an accomplishment for a twin-engine medium bomber.

This book is typical of this series of books; a soft bound book contains 96 pages filled with b/w and color photos. Included in the center section are 30 color profiles that will provide plenty of inspiration and information for the modeler. The text is informative and interesting; both easy to read and… more

Bf-109F-4/Trop Part 2

Published: December 1, 2010
Company: Eagle Editions Ltd.

Eagle Editions is synonymous with Luftwaffe research designed for the model builder. Their latest release is for any 1/32nd scale Friedrich. As always with EagleCals, the quality is felt right from opening up the packaging.

You are presented with markings for four Freidrichs. These are quite colorful aircraft. All of them start out with base colors of RLM 78/79, but that is where they commonality ends.

The instructions are printed in color on four 8x10 pages. The front page contains the profile and plan views. The profile views are printed larger on the second page. These profiles are absolutely beautiful. I don’t know for sure but I’m fairly certain they are done by Tom Tullis. The third page is a written description of each aircraft. The fourth page contains the… more

Arado Ar-196 Radio Equipment

Published: November 19, 2010
Company: Quickboost

The next set, QB 48 332, for the Ar-196 is a simple set for the radio set up. The kit offering features soft detail in a highly visible cockpit. This is a simple upgrade. Molded in blemish free light grey resin, this upgrade is as simple as remove the part from the pour block, paint and add. This is a direct replacement for part number 21A. I did notice that the kit part looks slightly different than the Quickboost part. As I don’t have my references handy, I’m leaning towards the Quickboost part as being correct.

These parts are quite nice and will make the work for the modeler so much easier. The radios are a nice addition and certainly look more like radios than what is in the kit.

Highly recommended

You can obtain your copy at your local hobby shop or online.… more

Arado Ar-196 Correct Cowling

Published: November 19, 2010
Company: Quickboost

I never expected to see another injection molded plastic Ar-196 but Italeri and Tamiya recently surprised me with their releases. While nice looking kits there are some issues. Quickboost makes a several upgrades for the kit.

QB 48 328 is the corrected forward cowling. Molded in blemish free light grey resin this 10 piece upgrade will aid the modeler dramatically. The kit cowling is a three piece affair with the center section plagued with a seam line all the way around the bulges. This is a big pain in the cowling to clean up and darn near impossible to get right besides the bulges there are also hinges in the way. On top of that this set also provides push rods and a push rod ring. The rods won’t require any cleanup once removed as there are no seam lines. The hardest part of… more

Helicopter Gunships: Deadly Combat Weapon Systems

Published: November 19, 2010
Book Author(s): Wayne Mutza
Company: Specialty Press

Helicopter gunships evolved from the need to provide close quarters combat for the Army. While we think this is a natural thing, the earliest attempts to arm helicopters were frowned upon. It wasn’t until the French started to put guns on some of their aircraft that the US Army took notice. What followed was nothing short of phenomenal culminating with the first purpose built armed helicopter then onto a battlefield essential tool.

This hardback book includes 208 high quality pages with over 360 photos, many in color. Wayne Mutza is well known in the helicopter community for his expertise and vast photo collection. This book is no different. The book is an easy read and follows the development of the armed helicopter from the end of World War II to present day. The entire… more

Hawker Hurricane Wheel Bay

Published: November 19, 2010
Company: Aires Hobby Models

I love the Hawker Hurricane even more than the Spitfire. The Hasegawa kit is a very nice kit but the wheel well is pretty basic. Aires provides a very nice upgrade.

The Aires wheel well comes on two pour blocks. In my example, the larger major assembly is molded perfectly in light grey resin. The detail is impressive and far superior to the kit offering. The pour block will be a little bit of a pain to remove but some simple sanding will take care of that. The other pour block is molded in light caramel with remarkable detail on the eight pieces. Removal of these pieces will be easy enough and clean up will be a breeze.

The instructions are simple enough to understand and should be no problem for most. Online references are easy enough to find if your library is lacking… more