Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor

Published: February 14, 2023
Company: Italeri

This review is of the Italeri 1:48 scale Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor, kit #2822, a 2022 reissue of their 1999 kit with new decals. The kit claims to represent the F-22A production version. See Photo 1.

The box contains two large bags of parts, one small bag with the slightly gold-tinted canopy and clear head up display screen, the decal set and a 12-page instruction booklet with sprue… more

SR-71 Blackbird Landing Gear (Revell)

Published: February 4, 2023
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) is a Texas based company that has been marketing resin and white metal parts for scale model aircraft for well over 20 years. In perusing their website, it’s hard to find an aircraft kit for which they don’t make a metal landing gear set. There are currently about 228 available sets in the 1/48 scale jets list alone. I’ve used them at least a half-dozen times… more

Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor 3D Quickset Instrument Panels

Published: January 23, 2023
Company: Red Fox Studio

My modeling experience detailing aircraft cockpits includes:

• Laboring over kit-supplied embossed instrument panels that need to be painted by hand and/or dry brushed;
• Giving in to using instrument decals, either the kit-supplied panels or individual gauge decals; or
• Using photo-etched panels backed by film pieces with gauge faces that need to be back painted… more

Bottled Lacquer Paints, LP-1, -2, -3, -4, -5, -9

Published: February 13, 2022
Company: Tamiya

• LP-1 - Black
• LP-2 - White
• LP-3 - Flat Black
• LP-4 - Flat White
• LP-5 - Semi-Gloss Black
• LP-9 - Clear

I’ve used Tamiya lacquers in spray cans for years and they are my go to paints for the bulk of my car and aircraft models. Their quick drying and smooth coating, especially the gloss lacquers, provide show-level finishes. Now,… more

Single No. 25 – Lockheed F-104G Starfighter

Published: June 24, 2021
Book Author(s): Dariusz Karnas
Company: Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books

This book is as single-minded as one can be. Don’t look for a title page, a table of contents, an index, or any text for that matter. They are not to be found. It is an 8-1/4” x 11-3/4” glossy paperback with 24 pages of nothing but information and pictures of the -G model Starfighter as flown by non-US licensees, i.e., the “Single” subject..

The publisher’s catalog (Mushroom Model… more

F-104G/J, CF-104 Landing Gear

Published: April 8, 2021
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) is a Texas based company that has been marketing resin and white metal parts for scale model aircraft for over 20 years. They endeavor to be accurate in their moldings, claiming to correct inaccuracies if found. I have bought about a half dozen of their metal landing gear sets in the past, all of which have turned out to be excellent replacements for the… more

Model Building Guide #11 Lockheed P-38H Lightning Reference Gallery

Published: September 29, 2020
Book Author(s): Richard Marmo
Company: Scale Publications

This 50-page reference document presents a nice pictorial history of the P-38H in the Pacific theater of WWII. While all but two of the photographs are black & white, this shouldn’t be a problem for modelers trying to duplicate the color scheme since all those shown were olive drab over gray.

This e-document allows a reader to navigate from a thumbnail list at the front or scroll… more

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter – A Comprehensive Guide

Published: August 9, 2020
Book Author(s): Andy Evans
Company: SAM Publications

This title is No. 36 in the MDF series of aircraft guidebooks issued by SAM Publications. It is an 8-1/4 inch by 11-5/8 inch, 184-page heavy paperback book printed on high-quality glossy paper. The beauty of this book easily lies in its many photographs, both black and white and color, of the “Missile With a Man In It”, the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. Whether a modeler or not, if you like… more

FLEX-I-FILE #7000 "TOUCH-N-FLOW" System

Published: April 17, 2022
Company: Flex-I-File

The Flex-I-File “Touch-N-Flow” (Photo 1) is the ultimate capillary action gluing system. Nothing else I know can get cement into hard to reach spots with such accuracy. It enables a modeler to put solvent cement exactly where needed, with very little chance of missing the target and marring an outside surface.

The #7000 system is composed of three components (Photo 2): A bottle of thin… more

FLEX-I-FILE #7000 "Touch-N-Flow" System

Published: April 17, 2022
Company: Flex-I-File

The Flex-I-File “Touch-N-Flow” (Photo 1) is the ultimate capillary action gluing system. Nothing else I know can get cement into hard to reach spots with such accuracy. It enables a modeler to put solvent cement exactly where needed, with very little chance of missing the target and marring an outside surface.

The #7000 system is composed of three components (Photo 2): A bottle of thin… more