Jarrod Booth
Reviews By Author
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F6F-3 Instrument Panel and Steel Seat BeltsPublished:
I used this instrument panel and seat belt set in conjunction with a full build review of the latest release of Eduard’s 1/48 scale F6F-3 Hellcat, Kit # 8227. I applaud Eduard for their innovation and the thought of simplifying build cockpits. They are pre-painted and ready to install in your cockpit. While the instrument panel is very nice, compared to their photo etch equivalents I find the pre-painted markings are a little thick, and make some instruments look like mostly white circles. The steel seat belts are wonderful and bend easily around the seat edges to conform naturally like the real belts would. Both the instrument pane and belts make a great addition to the Hellcat cockpit. Thank you Eduard and IPMS for the opportunity to review… more |
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World War Toons British Infantry Tank A12 Matilda IIPublished:
Here is another caricature tank from Meng Models. These models are obviously targeted at kids, but many of us “serious” modelers are finding them to be fantastic “breaks” from our usual in-depth subjects. I am seeing them on the contest tables as well. The kit comes in a strong end opening box with a colorful painting of a British Matilda. All the sprues, instruction manual and tiny decal sheet are located within a single plastic bag. All the parts show a good amount of detail, and it is intended to be a “snap fit” model. The instruction manual is easy to follow, but the painting and decal diagrams are very small and quite dark, making it a little difficult to determine decal positions and color demarcation areas. There are two decal schemes offered: a British tank in… more |
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Tempest Mk. VPublished:
The Hawker Tempest Mk V was a follow-on fighter from the Typhoon. It proved to be a superb mid to low level fighter and ground attack aeroplane. This is Eduard’s brand new mold of the Tempest and effectively puts their older (but still very acceptable) model, Cat 1169, out to pasture. This is the ProfiPACK which includes color photo etch, masks for the canopy, wheels, lights and walkways, as well as a nice in register decal sheet and a high quality paper instruction book. The ProfiPACK provides the modeler with just about everything needed to build a very nice model out of the box. For this build review, I also used Eduard’s resin wheels, exhaust pipes, “Look” instrument panel, steel seat belts and gun bays. For whatever reason, several parts had separated from… more |
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Tempest Mk. V TFace Canopy MasksPublished:
One of the greatest things to ever hit the modeling community was the invention of the canopy mask! These unassuming sets have to be the Holy Grail of saving untold hours masking simple and complex canopies! Eduard has supplied canopy masks for many years, and recently they introduced a new line of TFace masks. These include the standard masks for the outside of the canopy and also a set for the inside. The beauty of these is that the canopy frames can be painted their respective color on the inside. This results in a more realistic look and no tedious masking to remove glossy frames. I used the TFace masks on Eduard’s new Tempest Mk V. The inside of the canopy was masked off and painted black, while the outside received the camouflage colors. My canopy is quite small,… more |
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Tempest Mk. V - Instrument Panel and HarnessPublished:
The “LööK” instrument panels sets are a welcome addition to the ever expanding offerings from Eduard. They provide the modeler with a ready to use panel. To compliment these, they are accompanied by a set of steel pre-painted seat belts. These two items will really set a cockpit apart and take it to the next level from the standard kit parts. When the IPMS offered Eduard’s latest releases for review, I requested the Tempest Mk V along with this set. My intention was to use the LööK instrument panel and seat belts. The Tempest kit was the ProfiPACK that included a color photo etch (PE) instrument panel. Eduard’s new PE instrument panels come complete with clear gloss over the instruments. No more having to carefully add tiny clear gloss drops to simulate glass… more |
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Hawker Tempest Mk. V Gun BaysPublished:
The recently released Eduard Hawker Tempest Mk V really sets a high standard for all other 1/48 scale Tempest’s. While building this kit, I included the Eduard gun bay which took it to an even higher standard! Gun bays are provided for both wings, but I decided to only use the right wing parts. Now I have a spare set for another build. The set includes resin and photo etch (PE) parts. They are very nicely packaged in zip-lock bags, within a cardboard box and protected by soft foam. All resin parts are attached to pour stubs or resin supportive framework. They were easily removed with careful use of a razor saw and gentle sanding. I managed to break a delicate cross member part beyond repair and replaced it with sheet plastic. I first removed the right… more |
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Tempest Mk. V Wheels LatePublished:
These Hawker Tempest resin wheels replace the already nice kit plastic wheels. The stand out features are the extra detail on the rims and tire side walls, flat spots and they are single pieces. The kit wheels are supplied in two halves to be glued together and the seam dealt with. The resin wheels just have to be removed from the resin pour block with a razor saw. This is located under the flat spot. If you are careful cutting it off, you only need a few swipes with a sanding stick to smooth out the cut, and the wheel is ready for paint. Paint masks are supplied and fit nicely, resulting in great looking wheels that really compliment Eduard’s superb Tempest Mk V model. These are a direct fit replacement, although I found the axel holes needed to be opened a little for… more |
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Tempest Mk. V Exhaust StacksPublished:
This a simple resin set that replaces the exhaust stacks on Eduard’s new Tempest Mk V kit. The plastic parts supplied in the kit feature solid exhaust pipes that will need to have the ends either painted black or, as I typically do, hollowed out to show depth. The resin exhausts feature nice weld seam detail and are hollowed out. They are a drop in replacement for the plastic parts. A razor saw is best used to remove the resin pour block, painting and a quick sanding readies the exhaust to be slotted into the nose cowl. Thank you to Eduard and the IPMS for the chance to review another fantastic release from Eduard. |
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TF-104 StarfighterPublished:
The F-104 Starfighter was a single engine, single seat fighter that was operational from the mid-1950s through 2004. The TF-104 was a two-seat training version and did not carry the fuselage mounted cannon. Italeri’s 1/32 scale TF-104 follows their nice F-104 from a few years ago. It comes packaged in a very large, sturdy box. All the parts sprues are individually wrapped and only a couple of parts were disconnected from the sprue. The clear parts and photo-etch fret were contained on one side of the box protected by a cardboard divider. Two very large decal sheets, an instruction manual plus a separate painting and decal manual were located at the bottom of the box. There are numerous options offered including open/closed canopies and electronics bays, two types of… more |
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World War Toons German Light Panzer 38 (T)Published:
The Panzer 38 was a Czechoslovakian tank designed and built prior to World War 2. After Germany occupied the country, the tank was used successfully against the allies. World War Toonsis a “humorous first-person shooter and tankcombat game set in a whimsical, cartoon-inspiredworld”. Meng has been expanding into the “egg” scale models over the last few years, and they are EGGzactly what the doctor ordered as a break from the complex builds most of us put ourselves through. Need I mention they are perfect for kids to put together? The two plastic sprues, instruction book, and decals are contained within a clear plastic bag, inside a sturdy end-opening box. The model parts are broken down conventionally. The plastic is a very good color match to German Panzer Grey… more |