Santa Fe Skyway DC-3 Decals - Part 1

Published: November 2, 2012
Company: Vintage Flyer Decals

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… more

Gloster Meteor F.4

Published: June 20, 2012
Company: HK Models Co.

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… more

F-104 Pitot Tube

Published: May 20, 2012
Company: Master Model

Master Model out of Poland has released a number of pitot tubes turned from brass. This 1/72^nd 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… more

Mi-4 Interior Self-Adhesive Zoom Set

Published: February 14, 2012
Company: Eduard

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… more

PBY-5A Catalina

Published: October 1, 2021
Company: Minicraft Model Kits

The PBY-5A Catalina is a well-known piece of US Naval aviation. The modeler has Catalina options in 1/48^th, 1/72^nd, and 1/144^th. For the 1/144^th modelers out there or those that do not have the shelf space for the 48^th Monogram kit, the Minicraft kit will fit the bill nicely. This is Minicraft’s third boxing of the PBY-5. The box contains… more

KC-97G

Published: December 1, 2010
Company: Minicraft Model Kits

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… more