Jim Pearsall
Reviews By Author
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Hurricane CanopyPublished:
This is a replacement canopy for Sweet’s 1/144 Hurricanes. The Sweet kit is a really great Hurricane, very nice to build, with great fit. The kit canopy is molded as a solid piece, very thick. Well, for a 1/144 kit it’s very thick. There’s no hollow part inside the canopy, it’s just a chunk of nicely molded clear plastic. But that’s not why I really, really appreciated this review item. When I got the canopies in the mail, I got out a kit I bought at a local swap meet. The kit comes with two complete aircraft. Except this box only had ONE CANOPY!! That’s when I really knew I owed Phil Peterson and John Noack a big thank you for this one. OK, back to the review. The kit was partially built in the box, so it was only a few items to cement together. The Sweet kit is nicely molded… more |
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Gunships Raining Fire (1) - USAF/VNAF AC-119G Shadows & AC-119K Stingers in the Vietnam WarPublished:
When something in 1/144 scale comes up as available for review, I will quite often jump on it. There isn’t NEARLY as much in 1/144 as in 1/72 or 1/48, so I’m quite often looking at a list with nothing for me. When I saw the AOA Decals AC-119 decals in 1/144, I grabbed it. And I’m glad I did. The Roden AC-119K Stinger is a pretty good kit, but I really wish the Eastern Europeans would start putting locating rings and tabs on their parts. A simple butt joint doesn’t always hold up well to handling. In this case, if you look at my Stinger, you’ll notice that the tail booms don’t line up very well with the fuselage. That’s because I managed to rip these parts off the kit THREE times. So I’m very happy to review AOA’s decals for the AC-119. You get a wonderful set… more |
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We March Against England, Operation Sea Lion 1940-41Published:
It’s June of 1940. The Wehrmacht has just crushed the armies of Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. The British Army has escaped across the Channel from Dunkirk, and they’ve left a lot of equipment behind, not to mention a goodly number of soldiers. Germany has to get their act together in France, prepare for occupation of those conquered territories, and then there’s the thought of what to do about England. This book is not the usual Osprey book we review here at IPMS USA. It is mostly text, with only a few pictures thrown in. It covers the period from June 1940 to July of 1941. After this, Sea Lion became a moot point, as the Wehrmacht had their hands full in the Soviet Union. Chapter Listing
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The Panavia Tornado, A Comprehensive GuidePublished:
The Panavia Tornado started out as the MRCA (Multi Role Combat Aircraft). The idea was to apply the latest (1970s) technology to an aircraft which could do a number of jobs, replacing “older” aircraft like the Fiat G-91, the Blackburn Buccaneer, and the Lockheed F-104. The Tornado is a cooperative project, with Britain, Germany and Italy participating in design and production tasks. The only “foreign” user of the Tornado is the Royal Saudi Air Force. This book covers the Tornado through development and most of its service life. The RAF plans to retire their Tornadoes in 2019, Italy retired theirs in 2004. The Luftwaffe may retire theirs in 2025. Or not. The Saudis plan to keep theirs until 2020 or so. All 4 of the users have had combat missions flown by their Tornadoes. A recce… more |
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German Rocket V-2 /A4Published:
The MissileThe V-2 was the first operational ballistic missile. It didn’t use an aiming system as such but was launched in the exact direction of the target. The engine was cut off when the missile was at the correct speed and altitude to allow it to coast to the target. The 2150-pound warhead could do a large amount of damage, and, unlike the V-1 there was no way to intercept a V-2. A V-2 was also the first vehicle to go into outer space, reaching an altitude of 100 km. (62 miles). The V-2 was a “vengeance” weapon, to answer the Allied bombing of German cities. The main targets were London, Antwerp and Liege. Over 3000 V-2s were launched against these cities. The KitThis kit is mostly resin, with some PE details for the launch stand. … more |
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Hasegawa Pz.Kpfw IV ausf.F2 & 8t Half Track & 88mm Gun Flak 18 "Rommel Afrika Korps"Published:
The KitsYou get three 1/72 scale kits and a 54 mm figure in one box here. The kits are an 8-ton halftrack, (SdKfz 7) an 88 mm FLAK 18, and a Panzer IV ausf F2. The figure is Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. There are individual instructions for the vehicles, and the painting and assembly instructions for Rommel are included with the 88 mm FLAK. I built the kits and figure individually and will go through the process of construction and finishing one at a time. 88 mm Gun, FLAK 18The Hasegawa 88 mm gun can be displayed either on the travel wheels or deployed for action. Since this came with the halftrack, I decided to build it in “road mode”. The wheel assemblies can be removed, and the side stabilizers can be deployed if desired, as these parts are… more |
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MiG-15UTI PE SetPublished:
This is the photoetch upgrade set for Eduard’s 1/144 MiG-15 UTI kit, stock number 4444. The PE fret contains parts for the cockpit, undercarriage doors, wing fences and antennas. The PE is done concurrently with the kit build, as the tiny parts in the cockpit are just too small to manage while the parts are mounted inside the fuselage. The cockpit upgrade consists of instrument panels, control sticks, side consoles, and seat belts. The additions to the cockpit make it stand out and look really good. I did not use the wing fences. I just don’t have the skill with the glue to make these look convincing. I have done this before with other kits, and the bottoms of the fences always look blobby, with areas not well connected. On to page 2 of the… more |
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MiG-15UTIPublished:
The AircraftThe MiG-15UTI is the two seat trainer variant of the MiG-15 fighter from the Korean War. It has been produced by the USSR, Czechoslovakia (S103), Poland(Lim-2), China (JJ-2 / Shenyang FT-2). The MiG-15 UTI has been used by a lot of countries, including the United States, which uses it as a test pilot trainer for foreign students. The Eduard instructions provides 8 sets of markings, 2 Czech, and one each from USSR, Finland, Indonesia, Syria, Iraq and Algeria. The KitThe kit contains two complete UTIs. The fuselage top and wing are one piece, with the fuselage bottom separate. This sure makes it easy to get the wing sweep and angle correct. There is a cockpit and a canopy mask, which is marvelous. The vertical tail and horizontal stabilizers are… more |
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CH-47 Chinook in ActionPublished:
This latest book in the “In Action” series covers the CH-47 Chinook from prototypes to current operations. The Chinook began as the YHC-1 prototype in 1957. Vertol, which had been Piasecki until 1956 developed the YHC-1A and the YHC-1B. The YHC-1A became the CH-46 Sea Knight, used by the US Navy and Marine Corps. The YCH-1B, which was larger became the CH-47 Chinook. The first half of the book covers development and the various models of the Chinook. The sections are:
The “In Service” section consists of photos with captions outlining the various areas of operation of… more |
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P-51D MustangPublished:
When Phil Peterson sent out an announcement that there were new items for review, I went to the list with only a certain amount of excitement. There are very few 1/144 scale items available for review, and that’s my scale. I was glad to find a new 1/144 item from Minicraft. A P-51D Mustang. I sent an immediate email begging and pleading for this kit. And I got it. And I’m glad I did. About 17 years ago, I met a fellow in Vandalia, Illinois who was a member of the maintenance crews for the 52nd Fighter Group in Italy. He had a photo which was taken in late 1944 of the Group’s P-51 Mustangs lined up. The planes all had a yellow tail with the individual aircraft ID letter on the tail. They were lined up to spell VICTORY. There’s a book called “Spitfires and Yellow Tail Mustangs”… more |