A-20G Havoc "Low Altitude Raider"

Published: February 15, 2024
Company: Special Hobby

The Douglas built A-20 havoc first flew on October 26, 1938. Designed by Jack Northrop and Ed Heinemann, Douglas produced over 7000 of them, making it the most produced light bomber. The Douglas A-20 Havoc (known as the Boston by the British) was a light attack bomber, powered by two R-2600–23 engines, each producing 1600 hp and turning a 13' 3” Hamilton Standard propeller. Riding on a wing… more

A-20G Havoc

Published: October 8, 2023
Company: HK Models Co.

The A-20 G of this kit was built by Douglas under the company designation DB-7. 7478 were built, with nearly a third of them going to the Soviets. It served in many theaters, operated by the English, French, Americans, and Soviets. It had a crew of three, with its first flight being January 23, 1939 and being retired by the Brazilian Air Force in the late 1950s. A P-70 night fighter variant… more

A-20G Havoc Test Shot

Published: February 1, 2023
Company: HK Models Co.

The Douglas built A-20 havoc first flew on October 26, 1938. Designed by Jack Northrop and Ed. Heinemann, Douglas produced over 7000 of them, making it the most produced light bomber.

Originally ordered by the French, the American Army Air Corps quickly caught on and placed an order three months later. Nearly half of the production run went to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act… more

S. M. Unterseeboot U-9

Published: April 19, 2021
Company: Das Werk Scale Models

When I heard a 1/72 scale World War I submarine kit was coming out, I was excited. It ended up being the U-9 class from Germany. The kit is molded in light gray plastic and comes packed in a nice large, sturdy box. In fact, it will fit back in the box all the way until the completion of the build.

When I first saw the instructions I thought they were ruined, but they are intentionally… more

A-26C Invader

Published: April 6, 2021
Company: Hobby Boss

The A-26 is a lesser known twin engine bomber from World War II which got its ancestry from the A-20 Havoc. After World War II it was re-designated B-26 and also served in Korea. At first glance Hobby Boss’s 1/32 scale A-26C Invader is impressive.

The kit is molded in light gray plastic, with crystal clear transparencies and rubber tires. There are decals for two options, a night… more

A-26B Invader Landing Gear Set

Published: April 6, 2021
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

The SAC replacement gear seems to be an exact replica of the parts from the Hobby Boss A-26 Invader kit. The metal is soft but easy to clean and file. The set consists of main gear, nose gear, and nose wheel well. I decided to use the nose gear and its well to help balance the model since I have never tolerated tail sitters.

The nose gear well needs a little filing to fit. Even after… more

Vosper MTB 74 with Crew- Part 2

Published: September 20, 2020
Company: Italeri

In Part One, I alluded to some issues I had with the windows in the kit so I’ll start with that. The portholes had acetate to represent the glass, which turned out to be larger than the flat spots they were intended to nestle into, so most had to be trimmed down. The same needed to be done for the ones that were in the deck.

Vosper MTB 74 with Crew (Part 1)

Published: September 1, 2020
Company: Italeri

Italeri’s 1/35 scale version of the Vosper MTB 74 which was used on the 28 March 1942 Operation Chariot Saint Nazaire raid comes in a big box. It was a specially configured boat having most of its offensive armament removed and having two torpedo tubes added to the foredeck. It also had special muffler silencers added. It successfully hit the nets which protected the docks, torpedoed the lock… more

Browning .50 and .30 Caliber Shells and Cartridges

Published: March 11, 2020
Company: Master Model

Total number of parts: 25 each package.

As I’m scratch building a 1/16 scale PT boat, when I saw these neat little shells and cartridges I was curious. What arrived was 4 small packages which included 25 shells or cartridges each in both .50 caliber and .30 caliber. For a large scale I was surprised at how small they were. I was able to compare the .50 caliber ones with a real .50… more

North American B-25C/D Mitchell

Published: January 24, 2021
Company: Airfix

A versatile twin-engine medium bomber, the B-25 was to find its first fame on April 18th, 1942, as the Bomb Group led by Jimmy Doolittle flew them off the carrier USS Hornet and made the first attack on Tokyo. Mitchells were flown by many of the United States’ Allies, were used throughout WWII, and were in service up into the 1960s.

The new Airfix B- 25C/D was sorely needed in… more