Frank Landrus
Reviews By Author
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Windsock World War Centenary Spring 2016, Vol.32, No.1Published:
The Spring 2016 edition of Windsock World War Centenary is the first edition of Volume 32. This edition’s cover story features an enlarged version of Ronny Barr’s Albatros B.II 675/15 side profile. The Wingnut Wings Albatros B.II is covered in the Kit Reviews section along with period photos from the Harry Woodman collection. The third in a series by the late Harry Woodman focuses on an unpublished update to his rare Scale Model Aircraft in Plastic Card that is a must have. This feature provides updates to the original and is supplemented with plenty of archival material and color photos. David Byers provides color and period photos of the Roold Helmet, an early safety helmet used from 1912 and throughout the war by aviators on both sides. The color feature by… more |
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Model Art No. 934, February 2016Published:
Model Art Issue 934 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 Model Art magazine is a monthly issue that has evolved from their first issues in 1966 that focuses on all modeling subjects. I’ve attempted to capture the contents below, but please be aware of translation difficulties. There are about 40 pages of advertising, out of the 160 pages, showing what is available and new, always useful for building up that wish list. Nearly all the articles are supported with color photos. A few of the ongoing series are supported with black and white drawings and photos I would have to say my favorite series is the IJN / IJA Airplane Illustrated that highlights aircraft… more |
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Model Art No. 937: Tools and Modeling 1Published:
Model Art Issue 937 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. This Tools and Modeling issue is devoted to the “Right & Wrong of Your Common Knowledge of Scale Modeling”. There are two pages of contents that are grouped in five major chapters. Color tabs are employed to identify each chapter for easy location of each section. Advertising comprises the inside covers (and back cover) along with another four pages showing what is available and new, always useful for building up that wish list. There are hundreds of color photos showing the latest tools. You will also find hundreds of color photos of the tools in action depicting what different tools do as on Page… more |
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L-29R Delfin Reccon ConversionPublished:
Aires Quickboost has released an easy set to convert the AMK 1/48 Aero L-29 Delfin to the L-29R reconnaissance version. The major differences were the camera bay that fits under the forward fuselage and the installation of semi-permanent auxiliary fuel tanks on the wing tips. The supplied instructions identify proper placement of the new Quickboost parts. If you have the older Planet Models 12448 resin model kit of the Aero L-29 Delfin, this set will probably work on it as well, although I do not have that kit to test fit. Quickboost has molded the camera bay and the auxiliary fuel tanks perfectly in light tan resin with no apparent bubbles. The Quickboost auxiliary fuel tanks and camera bay are supplied on two resin sprue with thin resin attachments to the parts that should… more |
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Battlestar Gallactica SD (Super-Deformed) Viper Mark 2Published:
BackgroundThis is the latest release from Moebius Models based on the Battlestar Galactica series aired on SyFy. It is their first in the SD (Super-Deformed) series, sometimes referred to as an ‘egg plane’ version of the Viper Mark 2. Please keep in mind, that at roughly 1/32, this kit is much larger than your standard ‘egg plane’. The kit is designed as a snap together model and comes with both water slide decals and stickers. The KitThe kit is molded in white styrene on four trees, along with the left and right fuselage halves and a stand that have already been removed from their sprue trees. Total part count is fifteen with the over double that amount in the decal or sticker count. You even get a bonus sticker for your school notebook! The one piece… more |
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Model Art Vessel Model Special No. 59, 2016 SpringPublished:
Model Art Issue 59 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 Vessel Model Special is a quarterly issue that focuses on naval subjects. Advertising comprises the inside covers (and back cover) along with another four pages showing what is available and new, always useful for building up that wish list. I counted 596 photos (mostly in color) along with 17 side view or top view drawings. Additionally there are a lot of color scrap drawings highlighting details in the Ship Construction series. There is a lot of amazing work in this Spring edition as I was just amazed at what could be done in 1/700 scale. This issue leads off with an article on improving a ship’s… more |
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Cross & Cockade International Spring 2016 Volume 47/1Published:
Annual Subscription (4 issues): £ 27.00 ($39.10) plus shipping The latest journal of Cross & Cockade International - Spring 2016, features a water-color painting of two Short Admiralty Type 166 Seaplanes on the cover. The rear cover shows a photograph of Captain Eric John Stephens and his 41 Squadron SE5a along with a photo of Captain Frank Ormond Soden and his captured Fokker D VII of Ltn Adolph Auer (Jasta 40). If you check out the web site link above, you can get additional sample pics of the current issue. Cross & Cockade International is a non-profit UK based group known as the First World War Aviation Historical Society that publishes their journal four times a year. They also provide a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and… more |
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J2M Raiden and NiK1/2 Shiden/Shiden-Kai AcesPublished:
The newest in Osprey’s Aircraft of the Aces series is authored by Yasuho Izawa, an ophthalmic optician in Tokyo. His past literary works include co-authoring Japanese Army Air Force Fighter Units and their Aces 1931-45 (with Ikuhiko Hata), Japanese Naval Air Force Fighter Units and their Aces 1932-45(with Ikuhiko Hata), Japanese Naval Aces and Fighter Units in World War II (with Ikuhiko Hata), and Bloody Shambles Volumes 1 and 2 (with Christopher Shores and Brian Cull). Tony Holmes has been the Osprey Aviation Editor since 1989 and is responsible for devising the Aircraft of the Aces, Combat Aircraft, Elite Units, and Duel series of books for Osprey. In his 26 year career, Tony Holmes has authored, or co-authored, more than thirty aviation books. Illustrator Jim Laurier, a native of… more |
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Su-11 Fishpot Landing GearPublished:
Scale Aircraft Conversions has released a nice set of replacement landing gear for the Trumpeter 1/48 Sukhoi Su-11 Fishpot. The seven parts supplied include the nose gear, main gear, and gear retraction arms. A side by side evaluation of all the SAC parts shows the similarity with the kit parts. There are no supplied instructions; you simply swap out the kit provided plastic parts with the new white metal items. The SAC landing gear may need to be slightly adjusted to be straight (a benefit of using metal is that you can bend it slightly). Smooth jaw needle nose pliers work wonderfully. I assembled the nose gear wheel bay, except for one side, to test fit the SAC nose gear. Trumpeter has a nice design where the nose gear strut fits into a round and a square hole in the sides of… more |
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J 29F Tunnan Landing GearPublished:
Scale Aircraft Conversions has released a nice set of replacement landing gear for the Pilot Replicas 1/48 Saab J 29F Tunnan. The nice part about Ross McMillan’s set is that it will fit any J 29 Tunnan from Pilot Replicas, and they have designed their kit to be able to issue all versions of the Saab Tunnan. The eight parts supplied include the nose gear strut, nose gear mud guard, nose gear torque arms, main gear stuts, and main gear retraction arms. A side by side evaluation of all the SAC parts shows the similarity with the kit parts. There are no supplied instructions; you simply swap out the kit provided plastic parts with the new white metal items. The SAC landing gear may need to be slightly adjusted to be straight (a benefit of using metal is that you can bend it slightly).… more |