John King
Reviews By Author
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Santa Fe Skyway DC-3 Decals - Part 1Published:
Vintage Flyer is a relatively new decal company producing airline decals from the late 1930s to the late 1960s, according to their website. This review is for their Santa Fe Skyway DC-3 decals in 1/144th, which is quite interesting as Santa Fe Skyway was not around for long at all! These decals will be used on a Minicraft DC-3. The decals come in a standard Ziplock-type bag. They are Alps printed and come with at least one coat of sealer on them, but adding another coat couldn’t hurt. They are crisply printed on three separate sheets. One sheet contains solid white decals as the underlying base for most of the colorful decals. There is another sheet that contains all the black markings. Finally, the third sheet has the colorful artwork on them, such as the Santa Fe logo. This… more |
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Gloster Meteor F.4Published:
The Gloster Meteor F.4 was the first post-WWII Meteor. The big differences between the Meteor F.3 and F.4 were the engines and wings. More details can be found online or in many different publications. For the 1/144th community, there are only a few Meteor options. The ones that I know of are the F-Toys F.1, Don Schmenk’s resin F.8, a Welsh Models vac-form F.8, and an Anigrand resin F.3. That would make Hong Kong Models’ F.4 the first injection molded Meteor kit in 1/144th. This review sample came to me with no box, instructions, or decals. (Editor's Note - this was added in with the 1/32 B-25) Off the bat, this kit looks like something for wargamers, very similar to the 1/144th Zvezda Bf-109, Lagg-3, Il-2, and Ju-87. The kit consists of seven parts on one tree. Of… more |
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F-104 Pitot TubePublished:
Master Model out of Poland has released a number of pitot tubes turned from brass. This 1/72nd F-104 pitot tube is similar to other Master Models pitot tubes in that it is turned brass and is a simple replacement for the kit part. For this review, I compared the Master Model’s pitot tube with the pitot tube from the Hasegawa F-104G. The Master Model pitot tube has a lot more finesse than the kit part, and it also looks a lot better than what the kit provides. That being said, the fit is a little loose. You can either use a little CA to solve this issue, or you can fill in the kit nose and drill out a new locating hole. This brass pitot tube is a welcomed addition to any 1/72nd F-104 kit. It is a simple replacement to the kit part but provides a huge… more |
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Mi-4 Interior Self-Adhesive Zoom SetPublished:
Hobby Boss has provided the modeler with a nice choice for an Mi-4 “Hound.” Detail on the Hobby Boss kit is crisp. However, some PE would definitely help out. Eduard has answered the call with multiple PE sets for the Hobby Boss Mi-4. For the modeler who chooses to button up the cargo compartment, the Eduard Interior Self-Adhesive “Zoom” set is perfect. This PE set consists of instrument panel, seat harnesses, overhead panels, and the little instrument panel that sits on the side of the front windscreen frame. The PE set is pre-painted and self-adhesive. The modeler is required to sand away the detail on the center console and the overhead consol. There is no need to sand away the kit’s instrument panel as the PE replaces the whole thing; a nice touch. The… more |
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PBY-5A CatalinaPublished:
The PBY-5A Catalina is a well-known piece of US Naval aviation. The modeler has Catalina options in 1/48th, 1/72nd, and 1/144th. For the 1/144th modelers out there or those that do not have the shelf space for the 48th Monogram kit, the Minicraft kit will fit the bill nicely. This is Minicraft’s third boxing of the PBY-5. The box contains the same plastic but contains two decal options. Upon opening the box, two light gray sprues, one clear sprue, decal sheet printed by Cartograf of Italy, and instructions greet the modeler. There is some flash on some of the parts but nothing too bad. The engraving on the parts is nicely done with the exception of the main wing. The engraving of the main wing is a little soft, especially… more |
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KC-97GPublished:
Minicraft models has issued another boxing of their KC-97G. I believe this is the second boxing of this kit and is a slight improvement over the first release. The parts are unchanged, but this new boxing includes a gorgeous decal sheet with two different options (more on this later). The kit includes five sprues of light gray plastic and one sprue containing the clear parts, which consists of boomer’s pod and the cockpit windows/part of the front fuselage. No clear parts are provided for the side fuselage windows; black decals represent these windows. After giving the parts a once over, a small amount of flash is present. Also of note, there were a few sink marks in the fuselage halves and some rather soft detail on the wings. This would also be a good place to note that the… more |