Gino Dykstra
Reviews By Author
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Panther Ausf. F with 7.5cm KwK42 L/100Published:
Anyone who knows me well knows that I’m a bit of a fan for speculative or hypothetical armor. In this field, Dragon Models has done me well over the decades, and I’ve had the pleasure of assembling everything from their E-100 and Kugelblitz AA tank to a couple of variants on the Panther F. This latest incarnation sits well with my other renditions and then some. As is typical of Dragon, the box comes packed with parts; 17 sprues in all plus clear parts for the periscopes, three separate sheets of photoetch, two types of metal cable for the tow ropes, a metal shroud for the mantlet and rubberized tracks. There’s also a tiny decal sheet that seems to have been tossed in more as an afterthought. Predictably for Dragon, you’ll inevitably find yourself with a host of spare parts… more |
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Sd. Kfz.7 8 Ton Type HL m11 1943 Production Half TrackPublished:
I began building Dragon Model kits when they first became available back in the 1970’s. Even back then they were a breath of fresh air on the modeling scene. They offered fascinating subjects never seen before and although sometimes a bit simplified, I liked them a great and built numerous models from their catalog, enjoying them all. My, how they have evolved over time. This new 8 ton half track kit is a fine demonstration of that evolution. The kit consists of 9 crisply cast sprues as well as finely molded vinyl tires, wire cable, photoetch, decals and even masks for the windshield. All of the track pieces are precut, prepped and bagged, eliminating hours of work. There are also numerous parts which benefit dramatically from the new slide molds including a one piece chassis,… more |
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10.5cm leFH18/40 with Gun CrewPublished:
Later in World War 2, the Germans made an effort to upgrade older guns by mounting them on newer, lighter carriages. Sometimes this was successful, sometimes not. The old 10.5 cm leFH 18/40 light field howitzer was just such a conversion. It was updated by mounting it on the tried and true carriage used for the 75 mm Pak 40. The carriage proved to be too light to support the gun well, and there were constant problems with the combination. Nonetheless, it was used from about 1943 until the end of the war. Dragon’s model of the field howitzer exhibits the same melding of equipment, with the gun carriage clearly coming from their Pak 40 kit. This set also comes with a full five-man gun crew along with a large sprue of their most up-to-date personal equipment, providing a rich… more |
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British Airborne 75mm Pack Howitzer and 1/4 Ton Truck with TrailerPublished:
Over time, I find myself becoming fonder and fonder of Bronco Models and their products. They consistently seem to offer fascinating subjects done with a real flair, and this set is no exception. It consists of a 75mm Pack Howitzer along with a jeep, trailer, four riding paratroopers, and a wealth of personal equipment. The box is packed with good, firm plastic which takes fine detail well, and it also includes three sheets of photo-etch and two decal sheets: one for the equipment and one for the soldiers. As this is a variant of the regular jeep offered by Bronco, you wind up with a host of useful extras, including wheels/tires, windshields, and steering wheels. The instructions are actually a 27-page full-color manual, and they are extremely well laid out and informative. In addition… more |
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Hitching a Ride: US Paratroopers and CiviliansPublished:
Master Box continues to surprise with interesting vignettes, all in one package. This set includes their Type 170 German staff car and five figures – two US Paratroopers and a civilian family. The US officer is consulting with the father in the family to determine where he’s going, and the child has squirmed out of his mother’s arms to get a closer look at the fascinating soldiers. I was attracted to his model from the moment I saw it – anything about the lighter side of warfare appeals to me anyway, and Master Box had come up with something really interesting. The staff car was the first assembly, and I was surprised by the diminutive size. My experience in the past with German staff cars in general is that they tend to be big. This one is scarcely larger than a jeep. The… more |
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Israeli IDF UH-1N "Anafa" HelicopterPublished:
Dragon has recently released a 1/35th model of the much used IDF UH-1N “Anafa” Troop transport helicopter. As a bonus, they have included a set of their Israeli Paratroopers – a figure set which was, I believe, the second set of figures released some decades back by the then-new Dragon Models, right behind their Soviet “Spetznatz” figures. As these figures have been on the market for almost 30 years, I will pass on reviewing them yet again and instead focus on the helicopter itself. On opening the box I was startled by the relatively small part count for such a large model as well as the somewhat, shall we say, “robust” nature of the parts. None of the molding reflects the typical delicacy of Dragon models, and I suspect this is a reboxing of the Panda UH-1N manufactured some… more |
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Typhoon D-Day 70th Anniversary DecalsPublished:
“To commemorate the 70th Anniversary of World War II’s D-Day landings, the Royal Air Force (RAF) unveiled a specially-painted Typhoon jet with D-Day invasion stripes at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire. The Typhoon has been adorned with the iconic black and white invasion markings in a tribute to the significant role of the crews of the Hawker Typhoon, its WWII namesake – particularly during D-Day operations. Technicians painted the jet, tail number ZK308, in April 2014, so that it could be ready to take part in UK-wide air shows this summer. The aircraft also completed a dual flypast with a similarly adorned Spitfire, part of the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.” Two Bobs has created a superlative decal sheet to commemorate this event in both 1/72nd and 1/32nd scale, all in… more |
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Nieuport 17 WW1 Centenary Special EditionPublished:
Recently Academy has jumped on the bandwagon of World War 1 related items by re-releasing a couple of their older 1/32nd scale aircraft. This one is the ubiquitous Nieuport 17. This new commemorative edition features new decals for three aircraft, a little string for rigging, and a small photoetch sheet for details. Having built this model a number of times over the years, I still consider it one of the best offerings Academy has ever done of a WW1 aircraft. It captures the lines of this scrappy little fighter quite well. The only notable exception is the upper wing gun, which doesn’t to my eye come close to representing a Lewis gun, or any other aircraft gun of the period, for that matter. In general, the model builds quite easily with a minimum number of… more |
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T-72 B/B/1 Turret for Tamiya KitPublished:
This is not the first turret conversion I’ve dealt with for the ubiquitous Russian T-72 tank in 1/35th scale. Dragon Models, which was one of the first companies to come out with something resembling a real T-72 tank in this popular scale, even at the time realized that the turret was an extremely elusive shape to model accurately, and almost immediately released their own resin revision. I don’t pretend to be an expert on modern Soviet armor, so this review is going to be mostly based on my observations about this specific kit and what it offers. This specific version of the turret depicts the T-72 turret as it was modified in preparation for the stand-off armor bricks that were to be added later. It featured the much thickened front cheeks as well as the moving of… more |
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MiG-17PF (Fresco D) - 23mm gun barrels set & Pitot TubesPublished:
Anyone who has tackled the old Trumpeter MiG-15 or MiG-17 can tell you that these are not models that fall together easily. They are quite challenging and need quite a bit of care to achieve something reasonably accurate. However, since they don’t typically cost an arm and a leg, they can be fun to tackle. Personally, I like the challenge. Master Model has taken a little of the pain away from creating an accurate model by offering a very nice set of gun barrels and pitot tubes which add enormously to the final finish. I’d already enhanced my model with a bit of scratchbuilding in this area, as the gun tubes on the kit are extremely crude and inaccurate. However, I hadn’t even thought to tackle the pitot tubes as I couldn’t find good photos in my research. In creating this set,… more |