James Binder
Reviews By Author
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Hawker Hurricane Mk.1 TropPublished:
Fly Models is quickly making a name for itself in the 1/32 world by making high quality, short run kits. Their new Hawker Hurricane series continues this trend. The version I am reviewing is the Mk.1 with Tropical Modifications. This kit is a “multimedia” kit as it has resin and photo etch parts. Both of which are top notch. ConstructionThere are a couple of things to note before I talk about the construction. One is that none of the sprues have numbers for the parts, and two there are extra parts you won’t use for this version. I recommend looking at the instructions first as it shows what parts you don’t need and remove them from the sprue before starting the build. It will make things easier in the long run. You can also number the parts on the sprue using the… more |
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Vickers Wellington Mk.1CPublished:
The KitThe kit comes in a fairly thin box that has a nice painting of a Coastal Command Wellington bombing a U boat. The scheme seen on the box is number one of the 6 choices that Italeri gives you. Upon opening the box you find a single bag of 5 gray sprues, and one clear sprue. Inside that bag is also a note saying that the kit was made in the Czech Republic. This kit is the MPM kit reboxed. Along with the sprues come a nice large instruction booklet and a very nice decal sheet by Cartograf. Under all that is an addendum to the instructions telling you step 6 is wrong for this version of the kit, and to use the updated parts for the exhaust. (The hedgehog exhaust of the original MPM kit were replaced by regular tubular exhausts.) ConstructionConstruction… more |
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Atlas ICBMPublished:
Horizon Models of Australia has released their third kit, the Atlas ICBM in 1/72 scale. This comes after kits of the Mercury Space Capsule and Mercury-Atlas rocket both in 1/72. If you have built either of those then you know you how good Horizons kits are and if not the following review will show you. The kit is made up of 3 sprues of gray plastic. Two of sprue A and one B. The biggest difference from this kit to the mercury atlas kit is that it is missing the mercury capsule sprue. Horizon gives you three options for payload though, option A is the first SAC launch, option b is the “New Nickle” launch from 1961 and option C is the Mk4 RV test flight from 1960. My choice was to build option C as it launched from the Cape and the other two were from Vandenberg. The… more |
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Nazi MoonbasePublished:
The year is 1947, Operation High Jump is under way and will become a disaster. Admiral Byrd says it was due to weather and conditions in the Antarctic, but was it really? Could an attack by Nazi UFO craft have damaged and destroyed the High Jump fleet and aircraft? Did this cause the Nazi’s to then leave for an even more remote location to regroup and plan their ultimate revenge against the allies? That location…. The Moon! Osprey Publishing brings us the new Osprey Adventures book “Nazi Moonbase”, written by Graeme Davis and illustrated by Darren Tan. This 80-page book gives an inside look at what the Nazi Moonbase is, what it’s made of, and how it got to be up there in the first place. The book is broken down into chapters that delve into the beginnings of the Nazi… more |
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Avro Shackleton MR.2Published:
Airfix has been steadily updating its catalogue of 1/72 aircraft. One of their newest is the Avro Shackleton MR.2. This kit is a doozy! You will never have to look back at the old mold Shackleton kit again. Airfix gives you the choice of building either the early version with top turret or the late version with added antennas and turret removed. It also comes with a full interior with radarscopes, seats, panels etc., along with a detailed bomb bay with weapons, and movable rudders and elevators. ConstructionFuselageConstruction starts as usual in the cockpit. Starting with step one you have the option of putting pilots in the pilot seats or not. I chose not to so I chose the seats that have the cushions molded into them. These are three-piece units that go… more |
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Strumpanzer Ausf.l Als Befehlspanzer with ZimmeritPublished:
The Strumpanzer Ausf.L als Befehlspanzer was a command and control infantry support motorized gun based off the Panzer IV chassis. It was used at the Battles of Kursk, Anzio, Normandy, and was deployed in the Warsaw Uprising. It was known by the nickname Brummbär by allied intelligence but a name which was not used by the Germans. Just over 300 vehicles were built and they were assigned to four independent battalions. Dragon has released a model of this tank in 1/35th scale with its new Zimmerit molds, DS Tracks and PE side skirts. I had not built a tank in many years and when I saw this new kit come up for review I thought it would be a nice way to renter the world of armor modeling. Dragon gives you 20 sprues of grey plastic with certain parts having the Zimmerit molded in… more |
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Boulton Paul DefiantPublished:
Airfix. The name may have sent shudders down your spine and given you nightmares of bad fit, no cockpit, bad decals, and overly thick canopies, but fear no more. Airfix has jumped into the 21st century and has come out swinging with beautiful new kits. They are accurate in size and shape due to laser scanned 3d modeling of actual subjects. The plastic is soft but in a good way. Liquid and tube cement will make the seams all but disappear so that putty use is minimal if nonexistent. This review is about their new tool 1/72 scale Boulton Paul Defiant. The Boulton Paul Defiant came out of a 1930s idea of having a fighter aircraft with a turret. It was thought that Brittan might have to fight against wave after wave of bombers from mainland Europe and thus the more firepower per… more |
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Mig15 Control SurfacesPublished:
The AIRES 1/72 Mig-15 control surfaces aftermarket set gives you elevators and horizontal stabilizers for the Eduard 1/72 Mig-15 kit. The four piece set replaces the two single piece horizontal stabilizers and elevators. The difference is that with the AIRES parts you get separate elevators so you can position them. When I compared the kit parts to the aftermarket parts the resin parts were a bit finer in size and shape and the detail was slightly more refined. The biggest gain of the AIRES set is the positional elevators. Build wise the parts are plug and play. Eduard has a different connection point for each stabilizer so you can’t confuse right from left. The only warning I can give is that with the resin parts the pegs can be cut off easily when removing the parts from the… more |
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MiG-15bis Engine SetPublished:
The AIRES Mig-15bis engine replacement is a model kit in and of itself. It replaces the 3 part “engine” of the Eduard 1/72 kit. The AIRES kit is made up of 30 resin and 19 photo etch parts. The kit gives you a complete Klimov K-1 engine! The resin is fantastic with great detail and is very easy to remove from the pour plugs. The photo etch is very fine but has strength, so it doesn’t feel flimsy at all. Build-wise this engine goes together very well and the instructions are pretty easy to follow. The only thing they don’t provide is a list of colors to paint the parts. There are many photos though on the web of Klimov K-1s, so it isn’t too hard to find the color scheme, but it would be nice if they told you what colors each part needed. I used Alclad aluminum, burnt iron,… more |
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Focke Achgelis Fa 330Published:
The Focke-Achgelis Fa330 was was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a gyroglider or rotor kite. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II to allow a lookout to see farther. Despite its advantages, the use of the FA 330 only resulted in a single sinking when U-177 used one to spot, intercept, and sink the Greek steamer Efthalia Mari on 6 August 1943. The Allies came into possession of an FA 330 in May 1944 when they captured the submarine U-852 intact. After the war, the British government did successful experiments towing FA 330s behind ships and jeeps, but the development of the helicopter quickly occupied the attention of the military. Fly models recently came out with two new kits in 1/32 scale, the Arado 234 Blitz jet bomber, and the Fa330… more |