Audi R8 Spyder

Published: September 12, 2012
Company: Revell

When I was in Montreal a couple of years ago for the GrandPrix, I saw an Audi R8 and went nuts over it. I sure wish I had $164,000 to get one. I got the next best thing, the new Revell kit of this car.

When I opened the box, I was surprised by the number of parts. Upon looking at the very complete and well thought out set of instructions, I knew I was in for a fairly easy build. This is the first 1/24 kit I have built in many years and I was really impressed with the quality of the parts since I last built one of these cars.

The build was very straightforward with the engine being built first and then the interior. All of the parts fit beautifully. I had sprayed all of the parts with Duplicolor automotive primer grey. I actually used this grey for the interior color. I… more

F-94C Starfire Landing Gear

Published: August 28, 2012
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

I was recently given the new 1/48 Kitty Hawk F-94C Starfire to review. I think this is a very nice kit, especially considering that it is the first release by this company. When looking at the parts I was impressed by the detail of the landing gear.

No sooner had this kit hit the market, when Scale Aircraft Conversions released a metal landing gear that not only adds weight to the nose of the aircraft but also corrects a minor error in the kit landing gear.

The kit landing gear, while very nice, represents the legs at full compression. This is not correct. SAC has chosen to represent them as the real aircraft sits, which will alter the stance of the kit. The oleos are not fully compressed and look just right.

I have consulted some photos I have of the F-94C as seen… more

Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot – Battle of Britain

Published: August 23, 2012
Company: Ultracast

This is the sixth Ultracast figure I have had the honor of reviewing and I can honestly say that each one is better than the last. This figure of a Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot is no exception.

It is sculpted by my friend Mike Good. He has a world reputation as a sculpture of pilots in every scale, and I believe I have painted every one of them.

This piece is cast in hard tan resin in five parts that fit perfectly. The engineering is superb in that the pieces are pegged in such a way that there is no way to fit them wrong.

After removing the casting blocks and minor cleanup of seam lines, I assembled the parts and mounted the figure on my favorite working block, a medicine container. I like this method because it affords me a surface to hold onto once the figure is… more

Avro Vulcan B.2

Published: August 2, 2012
Company: Cyber-Hobby

Back in 1986 I was in Great Britain to attend the British Grand Prix. I wasn’t aware of the fact that between the support races they staged an air show. I was very impressed with the vintage British aircraft which included a Lancaster, a Spitfire, a Hurricane among a vast number of classics. The one aircraft that impressed me the most was the Avro Vulcan. When this big bomber passed over, it blocked out the sun and deafened all around. It made several passes both at low speed and also at high and also dirty with everything opened. Since that time, I have always wanted to build a model of this unique big bird.

Fortunately, Cyber Hobby has produce one in a small enough scale that it doesn’t take up too much space on my shelves.. The kit is molded in light grey plastic and the… more

XB-70A Valkyrie

Published: April 30, 2012
Company: Cyber-Hobby

I have built many Cyber Model kits in the past year and I believe that they are getting better. This kit of the XB-70A is a real beauty. I might add that the scale is a little off from the standard but I can see the reasoning. The XB-70 is a truly huge aircraft.

One of the highlights of my stay in Columbus for the Nationals was a visit to the USAF Museum in Dayton. I had been there before, but I really wanted to see the XB-70 again and take some detail shots. At the time I didn’t know that a kit of this aircraft was coming out. I have one in 1/144 and one in 1/72 but they are just too big. This scale worked out just fine for my shelves.

Now, on to the kit. It’s molded in standard grey plastic. I would have preferred it in white to make painting easier. There are not too… more

F-86F Wheel Bays

Published: March 27, 2012
Company: Aires Hobby Models

Since the F-86 is my favorite aircraft, I just had to have the Aires Wheel Bay detail set when it came up for review. This set is made to fit the Kinetic / Italeri kit in 1/32. They are both the same kit with different boxing.

I bought a couple of the kits last year and thought they were great, with super detail. This wheel bay detail sets takes it over the top.

The set is cast in very brittle light grey resin. The casting blocks are easy to remove with a razor saw and some sanding. Included with this set are all of the necessary struts and a set of very clear instructions.

Unfortunately, there are no color references, so I had to resort to Squadron’s very fine F-86 Walk Around book by Larry Davis. In this book are many fine detail photos and some wonderful… more

F-86D Sabre Dog

Published: March 19, 2012
Company: OzMods

Let me begin this review by saying that I have all the OzMods 1/144 kits and love them all. Their subject matter is great. I only wish they would speed up their releases.

This latest release of the F-86D was a welcome addition to their small range and I was surprised to see that it came in a box instead of their usual bag and also that it was molded in a softer plastic then their usual brittle kind.

This kit had an almost complete cockpit that I was pleased to see. The seat is a two piece beauty complete with molded-in seat belts. I was disappointed with the instrument panel, so I reduced a 1/72 decal for an F-86 instrument panel to 1/144 scale and glued it to a piece of plastic card and put it in place of the kit one. The difference was remarkable. The cockpit tub was… more

Sea Vixen FAW.1

Published: March 13, 2012
Company: Cyber-Hobby

The De Haviland Sea Vixen is one of my favorite aircraft, mostly because it is so unusual looking. I am very happy that Dragon (Cyber Hobbies) has chosen to make a kit of this strange aircraft.

Dragon produced this kit in 126 parts in light grey plastic which is very brittle. I have built several Dragon Golden Wing series aircraft and I am always amazed at all the fine detail they put into their kits. This one is no exception.

On to my build of the Sea Vixen. I started with the cockpit as the instructions stated. Overall, I have found that the Dragon kits have very poor instructions in one respect – there are no references as to the colors of any parts. The Sea Vixen is strange in that the pilot has one cockpit and the navigator/radar operator has another. The pilot sits… more

Collecting Toy Soldiers in the 21st Century

Published: July 4, 2020
Book Author(s): James Opie
Company: Pen and Sword Books Ltd

When I was a young boy, I was like many my age and played with toy soldiers. I remember the armies attacking each other and chipping the paint off a lot of them. My mother took me into Manhattan every Christmas to see all the toys at Macy’s, and the ones that fascinated me the most were the toy soldiers. I only wish I saved them all from my childhood. As I grew older and began painting military miniatures, I attended many figure shows and was totally in awe at the collections of toy armies displayed, but I had no idea of the value of them.

Pen and Sword has seen fit to publish the definitive book on collecting toy soldiers in the 21st Century, authored by James Opie. This gentleman has done a great deal of research in not only the collecting of toy soldiers, but also the… more

US Checkpoint in Iraq

Published: January 7, 2012
Company: Master Box Ltd

Master Box has done it again. This time they produce a four figure set of US Soldiers at a Checkpoint in Iraq.

The figures come in four different poses with multi parts to make up four complete figures. I would like to point out that the box art is superb and is terrific for use as a color guide. The only thing missing is the concrete barrier as shown on the box cover. The rear of the box is the layout of the parts and two figure views of each figure showing where the various parts belong.

I found the detail of the figures and accessories to be terrific, especially the weapons. The heads are separate from the helmets, too, making the well detailed faces easier. I also found the parts almost free of flash and required almost no cleanup before assembly.

After… more