Frank Landrus
Reviews By Author
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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 |
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Spotlight On: Messerschmitt Bf 109 in RomaniaPublished:
Teodor Liviu Morosanu and Dan Melinte author the sixth book in Mushroom Model Publications’ series that presents detailed illustrations of celebrated aircraft (and in one case, AFV). This volume’s focus is on the Messerschmitt Bf 109E and Bf 109G fighters that display a variety of authentic Romanian camouflage schemes and markings. This is also one of Teodor Liviu Morosanu’s last books as the back cover shows a photo of him with the tagline of “1956-2011” There are forty profiles of Messerschmitt Bf 109E and Bf 109G aircraft in Romanian markings covered. In some cases, both sides of the subject aircraft are presented as well as top and bottom plan views. Where appropriate, enlarged scrap views focus on unique markings. All of the subject aircraft have a short biography that… more |
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Sikorsky S-55/H-19 Chickasaw and Westland WhirlwindPublished:
Warpaint’s latest is their standard A4 format softbound publication that is 64 pages (excluding covers) on the Sikorsky Chickasaw and Westland Whirlwind helicopters. The book is split into two, with the first half dedicated to the Sikorsky Chickasaw and the second to the Westland Whirlwind. I counted 187 photographs (136 in color) along with 46 of Richard J. Caruana’s color profiles. Richard J. Caruana also contributes the centerfold (four pages) that features twenty drawings, all in 1/72 scale. Adrian Balch starts out with the development of the Chickasaw, truly a pioneer as the first practical helicopter. The Sikorsky S-55 / H-19 could carry not only its own crew but could carry up to ten passengers, or eight stretchers, or 5,000 pounds of freight. The prototype’s first… more |
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Russian Battleship Tsesarevich 1904 ArmamentPublished:
Tsesarevich (Russian: Цесаревич) was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Russian Navy, built in France at the end of the 19th century. The ship's design formed the basis of the Russian-built Borodino-class battleships. This set represents what she carried prior to an attack in the night of February 9, 1904, in the Russian-Japanese war. She was one of three ships to be struck by Japanese torpedoes and limped back to Port Arthur. There she lost four of her 75mm, two of her 47mm, and two of her 37mm guns to reinforce the port defenses. After the Russian-Japanese war, Tsesarevich, helped suppress the Sveaborg Rebellion. Around 1906, her fighting top was removed and her superstructure was cut down, in… more |
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Kamov Ka-50 GunPublished:
Aires has come to the rescue with a major enhancement to the anti-tank 30 mm 2A42 cannon supplied in the Italeri 1/48 Kamov Ka-50 Hokum kit (tan plastic). Revell has also released the Italeri kit in black plastic with both the Werewolf and Black Shark markings along with more extensive stencils. There are no supplied instructions; you simply swap out the kit provided plastic parts with the new Aires replacements. Aires has molded the cannon perfectly in light grey resin with no apparent bubbles. The Aires cannon is supplied on a single resin sprue with thin resin attachments to the parts that should minimize any cleanup. I used a razor saw to carefully remove the muzzle brake and then focused on the rest of the cannon. You will want to be quite careful removing the sprue around… more |