Jim Pearsall
Reviews By Author
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Grumman X-29Published:
The X-29 was built in 1984 as a test bed for the forward-swept wing concept. The result was an extremely maneuverable aircraft, but because the center of gravity was behind the aerodynamic center, the aircraft was inherently unstable. The solution was a fly-by-wire system which used a computer to make 40 corrections per second to keep the aircraft going where the pilot wanted it to go. Two test aircraft were built. If the aircraft looks kind of familiar, the basic airframe was a Northrop F-5A and the main landing gear was from an F-16. The KitSince it’s 1/144, it’s pretty simple. The parts are on 2 sprues, one for the clear parts, one for everything else. But simple doesn’t mean crude. The molding on this kit is very good, and the fit is really great. And it… more |
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Hawker Hurricane Mk.IPublished:
The KitThis is another of the 1/144 aircraft for Zvezda’s “Art of Tactic” game system. As such, it’s designed to be robust enough to stand up to handling and repeated abuse. It also means that some of the delightful little details and add-ons you find on other 1/144 fighter kits aren’t there. The kit is only 8 parts plus the stand, and it’s designed to be a snap-together kit. OK, but the horizontal stabs won’t take much handling, and I recommend glue. AssemblyThis was really easy. The single-piece fuselage snaps onto the single-piece wing, the horizontal stabilizers snap into place and immediately fall out, the prop assembly presses onto the pin, the solid canopy presses onto a pin, and the landing gear press into place. I did the painting before putting… more |
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Supermarine Seafire FR.46Published:
I have always been very interested in the odd subject, the one-offs, the participants in some historically significant or merely strange event, and the Seafire FR 46 fits in there somewhere. The Seafire 46 was a modification of the Spitfire F 22, with the bubble canopy and contra-rotating props. Combined with the larger vertical stabilizer of the Seafang, the Mk 46 fixed the problem of the sudden swing to starboard when power was added, as on takeoff. There was an order placed for 200 FR 46s, but only 24 were built. It wasn’t a very good carrier aircraft as there was no provision for folding the wing. The follow-on Seafire 47 had a folding wing, and the 46 was relegated to shore-based training units. Yep, I was destined to build this kit. Special Hobby has sort… more |
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P-36 Interior Upgrade SetPublished:
I bought this upgrade set at the Orlando Nationals to upgrade the Monogram P-36 which I was going to do with the Yellow Wings decals, which I have also reviewed. The Monogram P-36 has been around for a long time, first released in 1967. While it’s not a new kit, it has decent shape and fit. But the interior is just a seat and an instrument panel. Starfighter Decals, part of Mark’s Models and Toys, comes to the rescue with resin parts. You get wheel wells, a seat, cockpit sides, a floor, an instrument panel, and a stick. Mark Tutton made the masters for the resin parts, and he’s done a good job. Everything in the cockpit went together well, and I’m happy with how it looks. The instructions call for an aluminum interior, or possibly interior green. Since… more |
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Multi Aircraft Series Special Decals #1Published:
Yellow Wings Decals specializes in the “between the wars” period, 1930-1942, when there was a lot of aircraft development and the American military aircraft were incredibly gaudy. I’ve heard that the yellow wings on these aircraft were to make them easier to find when they made emergency landings or crashed somewhere off the field. The AircraftThis is the first of a series of special decals which will include more than one aircraft type. This set is for:
I picked up this review decal sheet at the IPMS Nationals in… more |
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F-4 Phantom II (Short Nose) Pitot Tube, Ram Air Inlet, Angle of Attack ProbePublished:
I am not a Phantom Phreak. Just because I have built about 4 dozen F-4s, in every scale from 1/32 to 1/700, have stopped in a drugstore parking lot and got out of the car to see one of the last Phantoms land for a Luke air show, and have driven a 150 mile round trip to see the last of Springfield IL’s Rhinos take off, does NOT make me a Phreak. A Phan, yeah, but not a Phreak, OK? I jumped at the chance to review Master’s F-4 Short Nose set because some of my older built kits need some repair. The pitot and ram air inlet on the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer are thin, fragile, and easily damaged. Also, the ESCI Phantom, while a fine kit, does not include the angle of attack probe on the side of the nose. As a hint, the Revell/Monogram 1/72 F-4 does have one. The… more |
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Tupolev Tu-144D ChargerPublished:
The AircraftThe Tu-144 was quite a special aircraft. It was the first supersonic passenger plane to fly, beating the Concorde by two months. The Concorde was scheduled to fly first, but ran into some developmental problems which delayed the flight. Tupolev was pressured into flying their aircraft first, in spite of problems, giving the Soviet Union a huge propaganda boost and showing the superiority of the Communist system. There were only 16 Tu-144s built: two prototypes, nine Tu-144S and five Tu-144D, compared to 20 Concordes. In the 1960s, there was great expectation that large fleets of supersonic airliners would be seen around the globe. One of the contributing factors that made this impractical was the global energy crisis of the early 1970s, when OPEC… more |
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Pz.Kpfw.III.Ausf.M with wading mufflerPublished:
A note: I reviewed the Dragon PzKw III Ausf L about 5 months before I got this kit. I covered the history more exhaustively in that review. The PanzerThe Panzer III was built by Daimler-Benz, and the A models were first produced in 1937. The first mass production version was the Ausf F, which entered service in 1939, just in time for Poland. The Panzer III was upgunned and armor added due to the experiences in Russia in 1941 and ‘42. The Ausfurungs J through M were equipped with the 50mm KWK L39/60 gun, which could penetrate the T-34’s front armor at ranges under 500 meters. This model of the M had a modification to the exhaust system where the muffler was mounted near the top of the rear, allowing the tank to ford streams and shallow rivers. … more |
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The Daring Dozen – 12 Special Forces Legends of World War IIPublished:
“Special Forces” was a fairly new concept in World War II. There were some who thought outside the military box and saw that another war like World War I would probably destroy Europe, if not the rest of the world, both economically and from population loss. The generals in the military establishment were far from enthusiastic about the idea that a few soldiers with skill and cunning could do what whole battalions couldn’t. This is the story of twelve of those guys who thought that hitting the enemy in unconventional ways could do more damage for far less cost than huge armies sitting in trenches throwing high explosives at each other. The twelve chosen as representative for this book are:
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MiG-23 Pitot TubePublished:
Here’s another of those little add-ons that can really make your project look good. It’s just one part, but with very little fiddling you can replace the kit part with a really good looking brass part. Airfix, Hasegawa, Heller, and Zvezda all have 1/72 MiG-23s, but I’ve only built the Hasegawa Flogger. Twice. Once as DDR (East German) and one Czech. After I pulled the DDR plane off the shelf and washed all that dust off of it, I checked the pitot. I had replaced the Hasegawa plastic pitot with part of a straight pin, much more durable than the plastic part. It was the work of only a few minutes to pull out the pin, ream the hole slightly, and insert the new pitot. It fits nicely, and with just a dot of CA, it stays in place. After an application of flat black, the… more |