Il-2m3 Wheels and Paint Masks

Published: December 15, 2016
Company: Aires Hobby Models

Rubber tires on models have always been a problem for me, largely because of the unstable nature of rubber and vinyl. I’ve had numerous tires (and treads) crack with age, melt plastic hubs, or otherwise wreak havoc on lovingly-made models which I’d hoped to remain pristine for years.

That being said, I must admit that Trumpeter’s 1/32^nd scale Sturmovik comes with a very nice set of rubber tires. They feature a detailed and realistic tread and certainly look good in and of themselves. So why purchase the Aires set?

First, they ARE resin rather than rubber. Consequently, they will last over time much better than the rubber tires, which will outgas and eventually fail in one spectacular manner or another. That’s just the nature of the material, alas.

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Bergepanzer 38(t) Hetzer mit 2cm Flak 38 - Smart Kit (2 in 1)

Published: December 6, 2016
Company: Dragon Models

I’ll be honest – I’ve always had a thing for AA mounts. When Dragon decided to release this, it struck an immediate chord with me.

Germans in World War 2 certainly had a propensity for creating makeshift anti-aircraft installations on various vehicles. Surprisingly, this particular Hetzer modification, which apparently never made it beyond the prototype stage, was not actually designed to provide air cover at all, but to serve as a reconnaissance vehicle.

Like many Dragon kits, this one includes a plethora of already available sprues along with some new items. I spotted parts from a standard Hetzer, a 38(t), a Marder and full 20mm AA kit, among other bits. This is a lot of box and a lot of plastic for such a relatively small vehicle. Consequently, about 50% of the parts… more

Model 39M Csaba Armored Car Cordatic Replacement Tires

Published: November 14, 2016
Company: SBS Model

A short while ago Hobby Boss released a charming model of a rarity – the Hungarian 39M Csaba armored car, which clearly shares an ancestry similar to the French Panhard armored car of roughly the same vintage. Although Hobby Boss seems to have done well in the overall design of this kit, it is somewhat let down by the soft rubber tires, which fall below the quality of the rest of the model. Ironically, what detail is evident on the tires is soft and inaccurate, and even includes a misspelling!

Appropriately enough, S.B.S. Model, which is a Hungarian company, has come to the rescue with some truly lovely replacement wheels and tires, available in two patterns. This package features the Cordatic tires and includes four complete wheels and separate brake drums. The minute detail,… more

508 CM Coloniale Replacement Wheel Set

Published: November 13, 2016
Company: SBS Model

Recently Italeri released a model of the Italian Coloniale – a military version of a popular pre-war civilian vehicle, which proved to be quite versatile and was used extensively not only by the Italian army but by the German army as well, mostly hauling officers around in rear-echelon areas. The kit itself is comparatively simple, which reflects the relative simplicity of the vehicle itself. However, one area where this reductionism has caused a loss of detail is in the wheels, which are simple two-piece castings with very little detail beyond the hubs.

S.B.S. Model, a Hungarian company, has come to the rescue with excellent replacements cast in resin. The package features five wheel/tire units, and these all feature an exceptionally fine tread pattern which beautifully… more

39M Csaba Armored Car Firestone Replacement Tires

Published: November 9, 2016
Company: SBS Model

A short while ago Hobby Boss released a charming model of a rarity – the Hungarian 39M Csaba armored car, which clearly shares an ancestry similar to the French Panhard armored car of roughly the same vintage. Although Hobby Boss seems to have done well in the overall design of this kit, it is somewhat let down by the soft rubber tires, which fall below the quality of the rest of the model. Ironically, what detail is evident on the tires is soft and inaccurate, and even includes a misspelling!

Appropriately enough, S.B.S. Model, which is a Hungarian company, has come to the rescue with some truly lovely replacement wheels and tires, available in two patterns. This package features the Firestone pattern tires and includes four complete wheels and separate brake drums. The minute… more

"Shidenkai no Maki" Kawanishi N1K2-J Shidenkai (George)

Published: October 27, 2016
Company: Hasegawa

“Hagoromo Maki is going to an all-girls high school, a special one that allows its students to commute by plane! She and her first friend at school, Hasegawa Motiko, have found a plane and fixed it up for themselves to fly! However, it turns out that it was a plane used by a legendary pilot who protected the airspace for their school, and their school’s ace pilot does not approve of them having it. Will Maki be able to fly and protect the air for their school?” (tethydust)

But of course.

To Western sensibilities, Japanese pop culture sometimes offers seemingly bizarre juxtapositions, such as giant warrior robots shaped like teddy bears. Or a girl’s school involved in deadly aerial warfare with other schools using antique aircraft. Go figure.

In 2013 Hasegawa… more

Zis-6 Family Wheels Set

Published: February 3, 2020
Company: MiniArt

If you are building any of the host of Russian military trucks from the Great War, you may find yourself mumbling at the rather iffy rubber tires frequently included with the kits. Although a number of manufacturers have come out with really excellent kits of these workhorses of the Soviet Army, the tires included seem to be a regular stumbling block.

MiniArt has addressed this problem with a series of new detail sets that create beautifully detailed renditions to replace the soft tires included with most of these kits. This set, for instance, not only provides 12 complete tires, but the various hubs, bolts and brake drums needed as well. Each tire itself is composed of five individual “wafers” that when assembled create a realistic and detailed tread pattern. Finely molded… more

British Heavy Tank Mk.V Female

Published: August 17, 2016
Company: Meng Model

I’ve always had a thing for World War 1 armor. Or perhaps I should say I was into World War One before it was cool. What this means is that for the longest time, if I wanted something in this scale, I had to make it myself. Later, Emhar released a series of lozenge tanks which, although extremely crude, gave you the basic shapes to do something with if you had the skills and inclination. Over time I’ve happily made every kit they issued, and spent hours improving them to reasonable standards.

In the last couple of years, of course, this situation has dramatically changed. Several companies have leapt onto the bandwagon and released true state-of-the-art models from this time period. This Mk. V Female by Meng turned out to be my first dive into the new pantheon of models and it… more

Scale Aircraft Conversions Horsa Glider Landing Gear

Published: July 29, 2016
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

Bronco’s 1/35^th scale model of the Horsa Glider Mk. 1 is quite an impressive model, as anyone who has built it will tell you. They may also mention that the landing gear of this kit is fairly fragile, as it’s obliged to hold up a fair amount of weight on this over two-foot long kit.

Scale Aircraft Conversions have come to the rescue with a very nice set of white metal parts which are direct replacements for all of the landing gear components including the front fork. The only thing not reproduced is the skid itself.

As you might expect, these are stronger for the most part than the styrene items included in the kit, and should assist in keeping your model from “drooping” over time – something I’ve been a bit concerned about with my own copy.

In an… more

Roman Army Units in the Western Provinces (1) 31 BC-AD 195

Published: July 17, 2016
Book Author(s): Raffaele D’Amato; Illustrator: Raffaele Ruggeri
Company: Osprey Publishing

During its heyday the Roman Empire sprawled across the better part of three continents, making it one of the greatest political bodies of its day. To maintain such an empire required an enormous military budget and huge numbers of men at arms (an approach to militarism we can, alas, observe to this day). One of the chief duties of this sprawling military was to hold the edges of this empire from incursion from without.

Osprey Publishing and author Raffaele D-Amato have put together a surprisingly exhausting study of the military units comprising Rome’s Western borders – more specifically, what would someday become England, Germany and France.

Like other modelers, I’ve come to accept a rather rigid mental image of Roman military gear and weapons from this period; helmet… more