Jeffrey Brown
Reviews By Author
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Volkswagen Beetle Type 1 Police CarPublished:
For this review, I built the Hasegawa Police version of the VW Beetle. This says Limited Edition on the box and, if that is true, I would pick one up ASAP. You get a really nice car kit here, and it includes three versions of the bug to build – a green and white German Polizei auto, a black and white Canadian bug, and the version I built: the white and blue Belgium Politie. The good news about that is if I am ever in Belgium and see a white bug with a blue stripe behind me, I won’t do anything stupid. The kit is a basic curbside kit – not much in the way of frills and no engine, just the tailpipes and muffler you would see on the real thing. The tires are rubber, which is nice because it allows you to paint the rims and then attach the tires. There is a metal transfer for the… more |
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German Military Staff Car Sd. Kfz.1 Type 170 VKPublished:
This review is of the Master Box German Military Staff Car, WWII Era, Sd.Kfz.1 Type 170 VK, also known as the Mercedes Benz 170 VK. Since I am a lazy typist I am going to refer to this as the “Mercedes” during this review. Well, this is one of those kits that is different, and therefore a welcome challenge. The kit consists of three main builds: the engine, the frame, and the carriage. The engine is a complete engine minus the wiring and oil leak. It is a really neat thing to have, and it is INCLUDED! No extras to buy, no aftermarket stuff, but included. It went together without any problems. There is a little flash to clean up on the fan, but that was minor. Next step is the frame, which also went together without any difficulties. There was some minor flash to… more |
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Ardennes StreetPublished:
This review is for the 1/35 MiniArt Ardennes Street, which is a road section with a damaged building and a small culvert. As with most of these MiniArt kits you get extras, and these are worth it too. There is a full door, some window panes and some window shutters plus a rail fence. The culvert is really neat too, and I plan to dress mine up with a small piece of pipe, and some trickling water. The building is not difficult to build, but it does need some reinforcement in the form of styrene stripes. As you can see in the photo, it helps the building stay together, and it provides a place for the putty later on. I have built three of these MiniArt 1/35 buildings, and while I do like them my main pet peeve is that they don’t have much surface for glue to grab onto.… more |
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Village HousePublished:
Normally I don’t build 1/72 scale. The armor is too small and my eyes are too old. There is a guy in our club named Scott who only builds 1/72 and because I thought how funny it would be to enter something into our upcoming contest in 1/72 scale to surprise him, I picked this kit to review. It is a Village House, which is molded in color (although it still will need to be painted), and it is awesome. I’ll admit that building this kit was a lot of fun, my son helped me because it went together so easily, and it is going to look cool once I add in the extras. You get a few extra pieces, and have two choices for the front door. There are full gutters and rain spouts, which I left off so I can take the roof off to finish the interior. The roof and bricks are well done, and… more |
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Leichte (Funk) Pz.Kpfw.I Ausf. APublished:
Well, being an armor builder, I decided to try the Dragon Leichte Funk Pz.Kpfw.I Ausf. A, or, as I simply call it, “The Funk Wagen”. This was the first armor kit I have ever built that doesn’t have a gun. This review should be titled, “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.” The Good: For starters, it is a neat subject. It has a complete interior which allows for a nice option to have all the hatches open. It contains a nice selection of photo etch parts, especially for the grilles and certain radio parts. The interior went together perfectly. In fact, I was happy with the model in the beginning. The wheels are nice, and the etched rims are a neat touch. I can’t rave enough about the interior. It went together well and looks very nice. In fact, I am almost tempted to leave the turret… more |
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Street Section with WallPublished:
This review is of the MiniArt Street Section with Wall, a part of their diorama series of bases for armor models. Like the other section I built in an earlier review, this was also pretty easy to build. When weathered, this looks nice when finished. First, you get a sheet of very soft plastic to use as the base with a cobblestone street and some sidewalks. This has some very well done details with the cobblestones and sidewalks. The base is marked off for where you will put the wall, as in the other diorama. Now, this one is fairly easy and simple to build. It comes with a tower you have to build, but like the other dioramas they offer, this is an optional piece. I, for one, plan to use the manhole cover and drain from the other review I did to complete the street scene.… more |
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Diorama with Park WallPublished:
This review is of the MiniArt Diorama with Park Wall, part of their diorama series of bases for armor models. It was a pretty easy build, and it looks nice when finished, but it did take some work and some modifications to make it look good. First of you get a sheet of very soft plastic to use as the base. This has some very nicely done details with the pathway and some small rocks in the road. The base is marked off for where you will put the wall. You have to cut the wall pieces out of this single sheet of soft plastic. You have to be very careful doing this, as one slip of the blade can ruin a piece or cut off some detail. Building the wall was a challenge in that the pieces have nothing to grab onto when you glue them. I ended up using some styrene strips to help hold… more |
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Bf-109F-4 JaboPublished:
I recently built the Hasegawa 1/32 scale Bf-109 F4 “Jabo” version. This was a great kit to build. In fact, if by some miracle I win the lottery or find a decently paying job, I actually plan on picking another one up. The decal sheet gives you three versions to build: Oberleutnant Frank Liesendahl from 10 Jabo /JG2, Unteroffizier Felix Sauer from 10 Jabo /JG53, and Oberleutnant Werner Langemann, 10 Jabo /JG53. Unlike the Hellcat I reviewed a short while ago , the decals for this kit were crisp, clean, and really well done. The white is a clean, bright white, and the Blue 1 I plan on using for Liesendahl’s aircraft looks like it will stand out when applied. I did a build for the review. There were no real problems; in fact, just about everything fit beautifully. The… more |
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F6F-5 Hellcat “Pacific Aces”Published:
I recently received the Hasegawa 1/48 scale F6F-5 Hellcat “Pacific Aces” version. This is a very nice kit, and I was actually impressed by the details, especially in the cockpit. From my research, this is a re-release of their previous F6F-5 with a new set of decals covering a few late war aces. The two planes you have the option to build are ‘White 115’ of VF-83 from the USS Essex which was actually flown by three different Ensigns (Donald McPherson, Bill Kingston Jr. and Lyttleton Ward), and ‘White 12’ of VF-31 from the USS Cabot flown by Lt. J.G. Ray Hawkins. I did a build for this review. There were a few tiny glitches, but the majority of the kit went together very well. Naturally, the seam down the back needed a tiny bit of filler, and there are a few parts that need to be… more |
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Ferdinand/Elefant: Detail In ActionPublished:
The book Ferdinand/Elefant: Detail In Action by David Doyle is a nice addition to the library of any German armor modeler. It is packed with 80 pages of drawings, photos, and information on the Ferdinand and Elefant tank destroyers. This book also contains a small part in the front covering the Porsche Tiger, which was the predecessor of the Ferdinand/Elefant. In fact, Ferdinand Porsche designed the suspension of these three behemoths. My favorite part of these In Action books is always looking at the pictures of the actual vehicles during the war. From these photos you can get a sense of how used these tanks were, and how the paint schemes look as compared to the museum specimens. I enjoyed looking at the photos of these giant monsters. An interesting… more |