Frank Landrus
Reviews By Author
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MiG-31B/BS FoxhoundPublished:
The KitThe AMK 88008 Mig-31 follows on their earlier MiG-31 BM/BSM (88003) Foxhound kit and comes in a large, solid, top-opening box that is packed solid. Similar to Wingnut Wings kits, it will take extreme care to repack the sprue packaging back into the box if you are not starting cutting sprues right away. Sprues are individually packaged in re-sealable packaging, with some parts (missiles, forward fuselage, and main upper fuselage) packed in their own boxes. Parts are molded in a medium gray styrene that is fairly hard and comparable to Tamiya sprues. Panel lines may be considered by some to be a little heavy, but I found no issues. The transparencies come molded in both clear and a transparent-smoke color and include separate open and closed options. The IRST lens,… more |
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World’s Fastest Single-Engine Jet FighterPublished:
Specialty Press’ biography : “Col. Doug Barbier grew up to the sound of F-106s flying out of Selfridge AFB, MI, where a visit on Armed Forces Day 1962 began a lifelong interest in the jet. A U.S. Air Force Command Pilot with more than 3,500 flight hours, he flew the Lockheed T-33, the supersonic Northrop T-38, and logged more than 1,000 hours in the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II. Barbier finished his military career flying the F-16, spending many hours sitting Air Defense alert, and making three intercepts of Soviet Tu-95 Bears along the way. After retiring from the Air Force, he flew for a major airline for twenty years. Barbier has had over 200 photographs published worldwide, and this is his first full-length feature book.” You can find additional information on the F-106 at… more |
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Northrop Grumman F-5 TigerPublished:
Andy Evans is currently the Group Editor for the SAM magazines Scale Military Modeller International and Model Aircraft Monthly. Andy has authored at least 12 books, including Crowood’s Bae/McDonnell Douglas Harrier (1998), Crowood’s Panavia Tornado (1999), Cassell’s Combat Search & Rescue (1999)Warpaint Books’ Sepecat Jaguar (2006), SAM’s The British Aerospace Sea Harrier (2007), SAM’s The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II Part 1 (2007), Dalrymple & Verdun’s The Nimrod (2007), SAM’s The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II Part 2 (2008), SAM’s The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II Part 3 (2008), SAM’s The Grumman F-14 Tomcat (2008), SAM’s The Bae (Hawker Siddeley) RAF Harrier (2010). This volume follows last year’s MDF (Modellers Datafiles) Scaled Down 4 on the Sea Fury. MDS… more |
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The SS Division Wiking in the Caucasus 1942-1943Published:
Massimiliano Afiero was born in Afragola (Naples Province) in 1969. Massimiliano is a computer programmer and teacher, but has long been a serious historian of World War II. He has been extremely active in writing articles for many history magazines in his native Italian, Spanish, and English. You can also find him as an active participant in many military history websites. Massimiliano has personally interviewed many Waffen-SS veterans and has published their experiences in World War II. He published his first book, ‘Hitler’s Foreign Volunteers’, in September 2001, and has now amassed 33 published books. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine SGM (Second World War), Ritterkreuz, The European Volunteer, Fronti Warning, and The Axis Forces. You can find his website at… more |
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Model Art All About Aviation Volume 1 USAF Modern Fighters and AttackersPublished:
Model Art Issue 63 is typical of other Model Art magazines in that it is written entirely in Japanese, with occasional English words, usually in article titles or in captions. The All About Aviation is part of the Model Art Extra series. This issue leads off with either short articles on a finished build or an in depth step-by-step ‘how to’ on the build and painting. The finished model photographs are of high quality in brightness, color, and depth of focus. Advertising is limited to two pages, the inside covers. I counted 749 color photos, one black and white drawing, and 106 color drawings, many color profiles. You will find throughout this journal, color photographs of the real aircraft that are discussed. This issue focuses on USAF modern fighters and attackers, featuring… more |
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AH-64 Apache M230 Chain Gun, Pitot Tubes, and Tail AntennaPublished:
This Master Model set provides a huge leap over any of the injected molded parts available on any 1/48 kit. I based this review on the older Monogram kit from 1986, but it applies to any of the 1/48 kits on the market. This set includes a turned brass tail antenna (not included on the Monogram kit), two pitot tubes (again not present on the Monogram kit), and the forward part of the M230 Chain Gun. The M230 Chain Gun parts include eight parts, but one of the parts is a spare. You can easily see the crisper detail available in the comparisons in the attached pictures. Notable is the thin heat sealed pouches to separate the different machined brass parts that Master Model uses that makes the parts easy to review and then stuff back into the re-sealable package securely. I simply… more |
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The Women's Royal Naval ServicePublished:
Neil R. Storey attended North Walsham High School and completed is pre- and post-graduate work at the University of East Anglia. is a social and military historian focused on the impact of crime, war, and medicine on British society. He has been writing since the late 1980s and has pursued military, historical crime, and topographical topics. Author of nearly fifty books, including: Animals in the First World War (2014), The Women’s Land Army (2012), The Women’s Suffrage Movement (2012), The Battle of Britain (2012), The Victorian Criminal (2011), Women in the Second World War (2011), Women in the First World War (2010), The Home Guard (2010). Neil continues to write articles for national magazines and national journals in addition to providing lectures across the UK. He has served as… more |
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Aviation Records in the Jet AgePublished:
Lt. Col. William A. Flanagan, aka Bill “Flaps” Flanagan, was an SR-71 RSO for five years, flying out of Palmdale. Bill was inspired to join the US Air Force due to a Northrop YB-49 trading card. Later on in his career, he became the 14th pilot to fly the Northrop B-2. He flew combat McDonnell F-4 Phantom IIs in Vietnam followed by an assignment in Europe under NATO. Next up for Bill was his experience as a test pilot for Lockheed where he was part of a task force for upgrades to the SR-71 Blackbird. Now he is a docent at Blackbird Airpark, in Palmdale, California, currently home to not only a SR-71A, a D-21B, a unique Lockheed U-2D, but a Lockheed A-12 Blackbird. Bill has been done a multitude of videos, including: |
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Saab 29 'Flygande Tunnan'Published:
Mikael Forslund was born on June 7, 1960 and currently lives in Falun, Sweden. He has worked as a press photographer since 1978 both as a freelancer and as a staff photographer and currently uses Nikon cameras. He has authored over twenty-one books with his latest book on Saab 29 ‘Flygande Tunnan’ that achieved its first flight on September 1, 1948. His other books include Torpedflyget i Sverige (1998), P-35A, AT-12, and P-66 in Swedish Service as J 9, B 6, and J 10 (2008), Gloster Gladiator and Hawker Hart: In Combat with the Swedish Voluntary Wing F19, Finland 1940 (2009), Saab J 21 / J 21R (2010), Glosterflygpan I Svensk Tjanst: Gloster Aircraft in Sweden Service (2012), Caproni Ca 313 R.P.B./S: B 16A - S16 A T 16A - Tp 16A… more |
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Tales from the Apocalypse - The Heroine / ShePublished:
“The Heroine / She” is the lead-off figure in Gecco’s first series that is followed by three figures in series two in GeccoDirect’s Tales From the Apocalypse that I believe are sculpted by Shojiro Kasai. This first series creates Scene 1: Day 1, 11:50am on the freeway and goes with two other figures, a truck driver, and a traffic guard. This figure, She, was on her way to pick up her little sister from a relative’s house but was involved in a terrible car accident leaving her unconscious. When she wakes up she is in the middle of a zombie pandemic! Now, her only mission is to track down her little sister and somehow survive the zombie infected apocalypse. The kit includes her shoulder bag and a misplaced zombie head to sit near her feet. GeccoDirect is probably better known for… more |