Mike Hoekstra
Reviews By Author
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Captain America - The Winter Soldier, 1/9 Scale FigurePublished:
Making his first appearance in comic books in 1941, Captain American began fighting the Axis Powers as a patriotic superhero. Fast-forward to today and Captain America (Steve Rogers) has had his own movie, been a member of The Avengers movie, and most recently again held the main stage in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The newest release from Dragon is a replication of the Stealth S.T.R.I.K.E. suit from the Winter Soldier movie. “This is the end product of exhaustive CAD design, and the heroes are made with an eye to perfect accuracy and authenticity”. This phrase is directly quoted from the Dragon site and it is not a lie. The level of detail in this 3D printed cast model is astounding. The mesh in the gloves to the detailed mesh in the face mask is recreated accurately… more |
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Herman Munster and Grandpa MunsterPublished:
Mention “The Munsters” and instantly the vision of an odd family on Mockingbird Lane comes to mind. Fortunately Moebius has introduced two new kits to bring the 60’s family icons of Herman and Grandpa to life in a pair of kits that combine to make a nice diorama of the duo. Moebius also did a great job with the sculpts, bringing the likenesses of Fred Gwynn and Al Lewis to life. Opening the kits reveals both are very easily constructed kits. Herman is comprised of approximately 50 parts. The sub-assemblies fit and line up very well. The mold lines are very minimal and all joints are where seams in the clothing would be anyway. I would have liked to seen the head be one piece rather than a front and back with a top hat insert that makes for a cumbersome seam to camouflage on the… more |
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Rat Fink with DioramaPublished:
Mention the Rat Fink and any car enthusiast, or fan of 60’s Kustom Kulture, will immediately think of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s infamous anti-hero to Mickey Mouse. Revell originally issued the Rat Fink kit character in the early/mid 60’s and has seen fit to reissue the kit again. The kit in itself is very simple and comprised of 7 pieces. A front and back half of the the body, two feet, a tail, a base, and a nose. The rest of the box contains an instruction sheet and a cardboard diorama. The first thing I did was assemble the diorama backdrop by folding the various pieces and inserting tab A in to slots B etc. with a bit of white glue where needed. The Roth arrow road sign goes together well and quite easily. The garage was comprised of several pieces and goes together with the… more |
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V-Twin Custom Wild ChopperPublished:
This is my second encounter with an Aoshima kit. The first was many years ago with a 1/24 Nissan Skyline. This latest offering from Aoshima is a nice change of pace, as it’s an American subject in the form of a traditional chopper motorcycle. Though MRC Academy is listed as the distributor, I was unable to find anything on their site regarding Aoshima products. I did, however, find two of the upcoming Aoshima motorcycle releases on the Dragon Models USA website, as they are listed as the US distributor on Aoshima’s site. (Review Administrator’s Note – distribution of Aoshima models changed from MRC/Academy to Dragon Models USA while Mike was building the model.) Upon receiving the kit, the first thing I noticed was “Captain America” adorning the box art with a skull-… more |
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Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeller, Volume 22Published:
This is my first go-around with Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeller. I’d heard of the magazine/publication, but never had the opportunity to look at one up close in my area of the country. I must say that the first thing that immediately caught my attention was that this is not a typical “magazine”, but more of a soft-cover book. The materials for the publication are very sturdy with the pages made of very heavy paper stock, pretty much guaranteeing that this will be around for years as a reference or inspirational item. Upon opening the cover, the publication consists of 14 articles and 98 pages. The first article sets the stage with a scratchbuilt Blake’s 7 Liberator ship. Included in the article are computer layout drawings of the ship for reference, along with multiple step-by-… more |
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Model Art Auto Modeling, #827, August 2011Published:
This is my first experience with Model Art publications. This issue is dated August 2011 and titled Model Art “Auto Modeling” No. 827, Vol. 24. Its main focus is on the spectacular race cars of the ’70’s Formula 1 series. The first few pages are an index of topics and noted cars of 1973-78 in succession. The first noted car is the ’73 Tyrrell Ford from that year’s championship, driven by Jackie Stewart. The kit supplied and meticulously reviewed is a Tameo Kits 1/43 white metal kit. It’s not a common scale for autos, as most are 1/24, 1/25, 1/20, or 1/12. This is the first offering I’ve ever seen in this scale for autos that is a complete white metal cast kit. The next 40 pages cover the same format of various kit offerings from Tamiya, Studio 27, Hasegawa, and E.Jan conversion kits.… more |
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Tritium.TG Series - Dual Action Pistol Style Airbrush, Top GravityPublished:
I had the day off from work and had some time to spend with the Grex Tritium TG3 airbrush I recently purchased. The basic kit included the TG3 gravity-feed airbrush, three interchangeable paint cups - 2ml, 7ml, and 15ml, one needle and one crown cap. The caps are magnetized for easy on/off switch outs. The magnetic, spare needle crown cap sticks to the back of the rear handle cap - NICE feature. A tool/wrench is also included for switching out the caps and general disassembly. The total weight of the unit is 6.4oz. The airbrush comes preset from Grex. To assist with consistent line widths, the Tritium has a Pre-set knob at the back of the airbrush. Turning it clock-wise limits the trigger and how much amount of paint sprayed. Completely turning it clock-wise will stop the… more |
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Genesis.XG, and XN Series Double Action Top Gravity Fed AirbrushesPublished:
Two more green machines added to the arsenal. The basic kit included the Genesis XG ( $149.98) airbrush with a 7ml cup capacity, .3mm nozzle, and weighs in at 4.2 OZ. To assist with consistent line widths, the Genesis has a Pre-set knob at the back of the airbrush rear handle cap. Turning is clock-wise limits the trigger and how much amount of paint sprayed. Turning it counter-clockwise, allows for more/unlimited paint and trigger extension. Just the feel of the airbrush lets you know it's solid. The balance is very nice as the rear handle cap is all metal. Not plastic like some other airbrushes in its price range of $120. Grex also makes the comfort grip set that can be purchased separately for a more ergonomic/comfortable feel. Again, I had to use the #AD14 adaptor to hook… more |
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'72 Oldsmobile Cutlass SupremePublished:
My latest kit for review is the new Revell’s '72 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. Upon opening the box, the first thing I noticed was the very clean molds. The mold seams on the body were scarce and very easy to clean up. Moving on, the kit gives a few different options to build the car. First off is the choice of an automatic or manual transmission (I'll be building the manual version) which also includes an extra set of floor pedals, different center consoles and shifter options. Also optional with the kit is the choice of a top up or down convertible, and lastly a set of stock wheels (I'll be using) and an optional set of 5 spoke mag wheels for a modern custom look. One other very nice feature with the body is the separate windshield frame. It makes painting the body etc. much… more |