Frank Landrus
Reviews By Author
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Kamov Ka-27 Helix Seats with Safety BeltsPublished:
Aires Quickboost has released an easy replacement for the Hobby Boss 1/48 Kamov Ka-27 Helix kit that replaces the four kit seats with four resin seats with safety belts. There are no instructions but they are a simple replacement for the kit parts that use three parts to construct each seat. I am not aware if there are any other 1/48 kits of the Helix available that could use these seats, but they may be applicable on other 1/48 Russian helicopter kits with some modification. Quickboost has molded the four seats perfectly in light grey resin with no apparent bubbles. The Quickboost seats are each supplied on their own resin sprue with a thin resin attachment to the part that will minimize any cleanup. Although most paints will adhere to resin alone, I would recommend… more |
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Death in the Air: The War Diary and Photographs of a Flying Corps PilotPublished:
Originally published in Hardcover in 1933 by William Heinemann, this diary immediately became a bestseller, largely due to the incredible WWI in action photographs. The publisher was told that the author had been killed in action in 1918 and that the suppliers of the typewritten manuscript wished anonymity. The diary had no named author, and had no dates or any squadron references that could be checked. The spectacular pictures did create some doubt, but in post war Britain, no one wanted to dishonor a WWI hero. Fast forward to 1983 when a collection was donated to the Smithsonian and the contents were recognized by noted WWI historian Peter M. Grosz, who along with Karl Schneide, deduced what had happened. The book was re-printed in October 1985 by Greenhill Press with an Introduction… more |
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F4U-5 Corsair ExhaustPublished:
Quickboost provides you with one set of Vought F4U-5 exhausts. Of note is the re-sealable packaging that Quickboost uses that makes the parts easy to review and then stuff back into the package securely. There are no supplied instructions; you simply swap out the kit provided five plastic parts with the new Quickboost replacement. The genius here is going from five parts that must be aligned properly with a single piece that provides alignment inherently. Even better, the exhausts are already hollowed out! Although most paints will adhere to resin alone, I would recommend that you wash the parts to remove any remaining mold release and prime them first. The landing light and venturi tubes will need to be installed with your favorite CA (super glue) or epoxy, as the normal… more |
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F-4 Phantom II Arresting HookPublished:
Want an easy upgrade to your Academy or Eduard F-4 Phantom II? Step right up to the new Quickboost F-4 Arresting Hook set that provide a beautiful replacement to what is supplied in the kit. There are no instructions to identify where new Quickboost replacements go but it’s quite easy to understand where the parts go. The parts are packaged in the standard Quickboost re-closable packaging with a paper stiffener. These parts will fit the new tool Academy series of F-4 Phantom IIs that was released in 2012 (12232, F-4B; 12294, F-4C; 12294S, F-4C; 12300, F-4D; 12305, F-4J; 12310; F-4D) as well as the re-boxed limited edition Eduard kits (1186, Good Morning Da Nang!; 1190, Bicentennial Phantoms; 1193, Good Evening Da Nang!; and 1143, Rockin’ Rhino) I suppose you could use this set… more |
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Su-15 Landing LightsPublished:
Want an easy upgrade to any 1/48 Sukhoi Su-15? Step right up to the new Quickboost Su-15 landing lights set that provides a beautiful replacement to what is supplied in the kit. The supplied instructions identify where new the Quickboost replacements go. The parts are packaged in the standard Quickboost re-closable packaging with a paper stiffener along with the instructions. These parts will fit the Trumpeter series of Su-15s (02810; Su-15 Flagon-A; 02811; Su-15TM Flagon-F; 02812, Su-15UM Flagon-G). Quickboost has molded the landing lights perfectly in light grey resin and clear resin with no apparent bubbles. The Quickboost landing lights are supplied with thin resin attachments to the parts that should minimize any cleanup. Although most paints will adhere to resin alone, I… more |
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Famous Russian Aircraft: Mikoyan MiG-17Published:
Yefim Gordon was born in 1950 in Vilnius, Lithuania (then part of the Soviet Union) and graduated from the Kaunas Polytechnic Institute in 1972. He has been researching Soviet and Russian aviation history for more than 40 years. A professional photographer, Yefim Gordon has published hundreds of features and photographs in Russian and foreign aviation magazines. He has authored and co-authored more than 120 books on Soviet and Russian aviation. Dmitriy Komissarov was born in 1968 in Moscow and graduated from the Moscow State Linguistics University in 1992. He has worked as a translator ever since, with the most of his work associated with his interest in aviation. Dmitriy Komissarov has authored two books and translated or co-authored more than 50 others. He has also written… more |
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Miles M.52: Britain’s Top Secret Supersonic Research AircraftPublished:
Tony Buttler was born in 1956 and joined High Duty Alloys in Redditch in 1974 as a metallurgist. For nearly 20 years he was closely involved in the testing of aluminum and titanium airframe and engine components for many of the world’s most important airplanes. It was during this timeframe that his interest in military aircraft grew into a passion. Since 1995, Tony has been a freelance aviation historian, with this book being his twenty-sixth major release. He has also written many titles for the Warpaint series of monographs as well as many articles for most of the popular historical aviation magazines. The cover painting by Daniel Uhr depicts the Miles M.52 in flight ahead of its chase plane, a Gloster Meteor. This painting is reproduced again after the title page, pristine,… more |
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Operation Market Garden Paratroopers Vol. 1Published:
This tome appears to be Piotr Witkowski’s first book in English. I’ve found two prior books in Polish: Polskie jednostki powietrzno-desantowe na zachodzie (Bellona, 2009) and a second edition of this book titled: Spadochroniarze Sosabowskiego : Dzieje polskich jednostekpowietrznodesantowych 1939-1945 (Bellona, 2012). Volume 2 has already been scheduled for a 2017 release by Piotr Witkowski that will focus on armament and equipment used in Operation Market Garden. This book focuses on the uniforms and accessories used by 1st Independent Parachute Brigade. Created in September 1941 under the command of Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski, their original mission was to parachute into Poland to liberate their home country. The British had other ideas and… more |
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B-25 Mitchell Landing LightsPublished:
Want an easy upgrade to any 1/48 North American B-25 Mitchell? Step right up to the new Quickboost B-25 Mitchell landing lights set that provide a beautiful replacement to what is supplied in the kit. The supplied instructions identify where new Quickboost replacements go but it’s quite easy to understand where the parts go. The parts are packaged in the standard Quickboost re-closable packaging with a paper stiffener along with the instructions. These parts will fit the Accurate Miniature series of Mitchell’s (3430, B-25B; 3431, B-25C/D; 3432 B-25G; 3430-0200, B-25B; and 480030 B-25C/D) as well as the later kits re-released by Italeri (2650, B-25C/D) and Academy (12290, B-25G; 12302, B-25B). They will also dress up the Monogram kit (5500, B-25H; 5502, B-25J; 5507 B-25J) that… more |
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Douglas C-54/R5D Skymaster and DC-4Published:
Warpaint’s latest is their standard A4 format softbound publication that is 92 pages (excluding covers) on the Douglas C-54/R5D Skymaster and DC-4. I counted 213 photographs (141 in color) along with 34 of Richard J. Caruana’s color profiles. Richard J. Caruana also contributes the centerfold (eight A4 pages) that features nine line drawings, all in 1/72 scale. Charles Stafrace has authored several Warpaint series books, including: Warpaint 43, Lockheed F-104 Starfighter; Warpaint 60, English Electric Canberra; Warpaint 65, Westland Wessex; Warpaint 70, Vought F4U Corsair; Warpaint 71, Armstrong Whitworth A.W. 650/660 Argosy; Warpaint 76, Grumman S2F Tracker, TF-1 Trader and WF-2 Tracer; Warpaint 79, Consolidated PBY Catalina; Warpaint 84, Grumman F6F Hellcat; Warpaint 87,… more |