Mike Howard
Reviews By Author
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Fw-190D-9 PropellerPublished:
Quickboost, an Aires Resin division, continues to produce quick and simple resin upgrades for a wide variety of subjects. The detail parts are crisply cast and often add to or correct kit items. This review covers replacement propeller blades for Hasegawa’s 1/32 Fw-190D-9. In overall dimensions, length and width, the kit and resin parts are very comparable with maybe .001 difference in length. The portion that differs is at the propeller base. The kit part starts to widen just a few millimeters from the base whereas the Quickboost parts taper more gradually and better match online profiles of the actual blades. Installation is extremely simple and straightforward: carefully cut the propeller base from the poor stub and attach to the kit prop hub. One caveat here: the… more |
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Fw-190D-9 Correct CowlingPublished:
Quickboost, an Aires Resin division, continues to produce quick and simple resin upgrades for a wide variety of subjects. The detail parts are crisply cast and often add to or correct kit items. In this case, the subject of this review is the engine cowling for the 1/32 Hasegawa Fw-190D-9. In a side-by-side comparison (see photos), the details (panel lines, fasteners, etc.) are almost exactly the same. The old real noticeable difference is that that Quickboost replacement is deeper than the Hasegawa kit part. Based on my Vernier caliper measurements, the Quickboost part is 0.025 deeper than the kit cowl. I would have to assume that this is the “shortcoming” of the kit part. The resin casting is also thinner than the kit part and lacks the locating pin. It is cast on a large… more |
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Nisseki Trust Porsche 962C Limited EditionPublished:
BackgroundThe Group “C” racing class ran from 1982 until about 1993. It was an extremely exciting series that saw some of the class cars run over 250 mph on the Le Mans' Mulsanne Straight (the WM-Peugeot recorded the highest 405 km/h / 252 mph). Porsche revolutionized the race series with the 956/962 cars and the associated aerodynamics and ground effects innovations. These Porsche vehicles were dominant for many years and were campaigned by both the factory and private race teams which, for modelers, allows for a multitude of paint and color schemes. The KitHasegawa released the 962c series many years ago and has continued to rebox the same basic kit, with some body/aerodynamic modifications, in many different team liveries (I have at least four different… more |
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Old SuitcasesPublished:
I’ve slowly been working my way back into armor and vignettes and/or dioramas, so when I saw this set list I thought it would be a good exercise in painting, and allow me to have some unique items to add to a scene. The Plus Model “Old Suitcases” set comes with 9 pieces (actually 7 suitcases of varying sizes, plus a hat box and a steamer trunk) molded in a light gray resin. All of the various luggage items have a casting block attached, either to a back/bottom corner or along the bottom of the item. Making a choice as to whether to use these blocks as handles while painting, or to cut them off prior to paint, will be an individual decision for each modeler. As I have large hands and am often rather clutzy, I chose to leave them on and do some touch up painting afterwards.… more |
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SU-27 Flanker PilotPublished:
I’ve always liked modern Russian/Soviet aircraft and have several in the works (Su-27, MiG-31, MiG-21). Seeing the opportunity to review this pilot figure sounded like a prime chance to add a little spice to one of them (whenever I get them finished!). Though this particular figure is listed as a Su-27 pilot, my research showed that the uniform and gear is applicable to pilots of most other modern Russian fighter and attack aircraft. No assembly at all is required on this guy, just a little cleanup, priming, and painting. The cleanup was minimal, with just a few bits of stray resin and what looked like a couple of seam lines along the legs. Just a few minutes with a sharp scalpel blade and a fine grit sanding stick was all that it took to get the figure ready for scrubbing and… more |
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Sexton II with CDP Tracks (Canadian Dry Pin Tracks) – Smart KitPublished:
First off, I’d like to apologize to Dragon USA and IPMS for the extended delay in getting this kit review completed. My sincerest apologies go out to both. The Sexton II was a British SPG, based on the Grizzly tank hull and carrying the 25 pounder artillery gun. It was produced in Canada by Montreal Locomotive Works from 1943-1945. The Kit and ConstructionThe Dragon kit is a very nicely detailed replica of this SPG, with many small extras that lend greatly to the end product. One very nice features of this kit is that there are many, many extra parts leftover once the Sexton II itself is completed. These would be great for the diorama builder or to throw on this and other vehicles. When you first open the box, the number of sprue is a little… more |
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Metal BucketsPublished:
Add On Parts, from Belgium, produces diorama accessories in many different scales. They also have some upgrade sets for armor and offer various model building tools and books. This set is comprised of one sheet of photo etched buckets, in two different styles, along with the bucket bottoms and handles. The parts are easily cut from the sheet with a sharp blade and then the fun begins. I wasn’t sure how to get a nice even circular bend out of the tapered bucket, so I asked a good modeling buddy for some advice. The suggestion was to use a tubular object, of similar diameter to what the completed bucket would be (using the bucket bottom as a reference), and roll this across the part while it was laying on a semi-hard surface. I gave this a try, using an XActo knife handle… more |
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B-47E Cockpit SetPublished:
The B-47 has long been one of my favorite aircraft. I remember the first aircraft history book I got as a kid had a picture of the B-47 taking off with RATO packs in full thrust. A very impressive picture indeed. Looking at the plastic modeling side of the B-47, there are kits available in 1/144th, 1/72 and I believe there was a 1/48 vacuform kit also (possibly Sanger?). I’ve built the Hobbycraft/Academy kit and even in 1/144th it takes up some space in the display cabinet. I’ve also have the 1/72 Hasegawa kit in the stash for a lot of years with the full intent of scratch building a reasonable cockpit for it some day as well as re-scribing the entire airframe. I’m guessing that I’m not the only holder of this kit that is surprised by the lack of aftermarket addition/… more |
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Panavia Tornado GR.1/IDS/ECR Landing GearPublished:
SAC produces replacement metal landing gear for many aircraft kits in many different scales. The replacement gear can be a big help in larger, heavier kits that may require lots of weight in the nose area to allow them to sit correctly or for gear that is inherently fragile in its design. This set is for the newer mold Revell of Germany Panavia Tornado kits (GR.1/IDC/ECR), a great kit by itself, with excellent detail and engineering. The SAC gear, for this application, gives the builder a comparable level of excellent detail (see the side-by-side photo of the assembled and painted parts and try to decide which is kit and which is SAC) and one less step in the assembly process of the main gear legs. The one detractor I found in using the SAC main gear legs is that the attachment… more |
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The Weathering Magazine - Issue 10 - WaterPublished:
In recent years the art of realistically weathering models, of almost any genre, has been both a heated topic and a much sought after skill, one that has been changing and evolving regularly. Modelers from different areas of the globe often have very different techniques, which come through as very different results on their finished products. Some of these are very subtle and must be carefully examined to detect all of the nuances while others are very bold and jump right out at the viewer. Some modelers are happy to share their weathering techniques and others are reluctant to reveal the secrets to their incredible finishes. Fortunately for us, AMMO products, by Mig Jimenez, has worked to pull together a group of modelers with the former traits: not only happy to share, but… more |