Mike Kellner
Reviews By Author
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Kawanishi H8K1 Type 2 Flying Boat Model 11Published:
When I heard about a new Emily I was excited, as I had built the 1972 issue which had fit problems and a canopy that was too wide. I had sanded off most of the raised detail and scribed in new ones, but overall I remembered it as a tough build. However, the price of 149.95 for Hasegawa’s new issue seemed steep, and as I had already built one Emily, thought I would pass on another. But! when I was availed of this review opportunity, I was all in to try another. This one turned out to be an almost easy build. Molded in light gray plastic with a four-piece fuselage having a separate bow section, it all comes in a nice sturdy box with good instructions. The only exception was the many decks in the nose section which weren't depicted quite… more |
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Armstrong Whitworth Whitley MK VPublished:
The Armstong Whitworth Whiley was a British twin-engined bomber that was in service at the start of WW2 and was the first to drop bombs on a German-held territory. Although it was slow and could only reach 15,000 feet loaded, it was a significant contributor at the beginning of the war. The kit comes molded in a light gray plastic that is somewhat soft, but has a sturdy box. Looking into the box one sees that the elevators and rudders come as separate pieces, but the ailerons are molded to the wing. The tires have the flattened look and there are some sink marks in the bomb bay doors. Not knowing much about this plane, I followed directions and found that part D.32 did not fit well. It needed to be cut in half to allow it to fit in place. The interior detail is nice and… more |
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B-17E, F, and Early G: Part II - The Finished ModelPublished:
Beginning with the rest of the fuselage assembly (from Part I of my review), the fit of the two fuselage halves was good, but my alignment of the bomb bay catwalk and structure must have been a little off, since it’s slightly closer to one side. I installed most of the glass except for the radio hatch and nose; the waist and nose glass had to be sanded to fit. I used Micro Mask to mask the windows since I couldn’t find an aftermarket mask set for the E model. Some spots must have not been covered, because it was a lot of work to clean off overspray. I worked on the wings next. I built the inner nacelles but left off the landing gear for the time being. This may have been a mistake, since the inner nacelle was too large resulting in a gap on the sides of… more |
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B-17E, F, and Early G: Part 1 - First Look and InteriorPublished:
When this huge box arrived, I was excited as it was large (26" x 14" x 6 ") and heavy. It came with no box art, instructions, or decals so I borrowed a set of instructions from HK’s first issue from a friend and also received a PDF file of the new, unfinished instructions. At first glance the kit looked impressive, but it has some of the same problems as the last issue. There were still many injector pin marks on the interior fuselage, and the fuselage parts needed to be washed prior to starting the build because they had a heavy residue on them. Since this issue is supposed to build a B-17E or F, there are a lot of extra parts. It looks like you could also make an early B-17G. You get 3 complete nose sections along with their clear parts and interior equipment, a stinger tail… more |
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P-47D & F-86E "Gabreski"Published:
This is a dual kit of two famous aircraft flown by American Ace Francis Stanley Gabreski (nicknamed “Gabby”). Gabreski flew the P-47D in WWII scoring 28 kills, and flew the F-86 in Korea with 6.5 credited kills. He was one of only seven pilots to become an Ace in two wars. It was my pleasure to meet him in person at the IPMS/USA National convention in Chicago in 2001. Both the Academy kits have fine recessed panel lines and are molded in a light gray plastic. The builds are fairly straightforward with some fit problems. I needed some filler around the leading edges of both airplanes’ wings. The P-47’s cockpit floor seemed to be too low and left a gap between the instrument panel and the top of the fuselage. The F-86 had some sink marks in the landing gear doors. I left… more |
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B-17G Flying Fortress "D-Day Doll" Limited EditionPublished:
The B-17 Flying Fortress was one of the best-known bombers of World War Two. Being able to withstand large amounts of battle damage and still come home endeared the aircraft to its crews. This release by Hasegawa is an aged kit but still a joy to build. It features a new set of decals, overall good fit, and lightly raised panel lines. The light grey plastic has some sink marks, the worst being the backs of the propeller blades. The kit contains 97 parts and comes in a nice box with a sturdy card stock bottom and a nice glossy top with beautiful box art. Although this kit was received in good condition, one of the propellers had a blade broken off. While I was able to fix that one, my kitten Amelia decided to chew up another. I had to go to the spares box to find a… more |
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C-54D SkymasterPublished:
The C-54D was a derivative of the DC-4, which was first designed in 1938. It had a 117 foot, 5 inch wingspan, was 94 feet, 3 inches in length, and was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-2000-25 engines of 1,450 HP each. By the end of production, Douglas had turned out 1,241 machines. They’re best remembered for their role in the Berlin Airlift where they became known as "Candy Bombers" for dropping candy to refugees by small parachutes on the way in to offload supplies. The kit comes in a large colorful box, and contains 352 parts molded in light gray plastic. The model has recessed panel lines, and many parts had light flash on them. Due to the high parts count, I highlighted the letters on the sprues to make them easier to identify. The interior is well-detailed… more |
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B-47E Stratojet - Air Research and Development CommandPublished:
Boeing's B-47, the first American jet bomber, was ordered in April 1946, and first flew in 1953. Although thought to be a good-looking plane, it had a few shortcomings that shortened its service life, including limited weight movement due to its landing gear configuration and uncomfortable crew conditions. Hasegawa's B-47E kit comes in a big box with a nice painting on the top, and it includes decals for two aircraft of the Air Research and Development Command. The plastic is light gray, and as this release is a reissue of a vintage kit, it sports raised rivets and panel lines. There are many sink marks, including ones on the seat backs, wing roots, wheel wells, bomb bay doors, and fin. The kit features a one-piece canopy plus a positionable boarding ladder, crew door (with… more |
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USAAF B-29A "Old Battler"Published:
The B-29 is probably best known as the aircraft that dropped the atom bomb, putting an end to WWII in the Pacific. The reissue of the Academy kit comes in a nice sturdy box, and is molded in a light grey plastic, with light recessed panel lines and good surface detail. The interior detail is very good for the scale, but unfortunately, you can’t see much of it. Crew bunks are even included for the aft section but there’s no way to see them. I decided to leave out some of these pieces in the rear section so less weight would need to be added to the nose to ensure my model sat on its nose wheel. Fit is good, but the lead I added in the nose kept me from getting a tight fit on the forward fuselage. This caused me to shim the canopy then sand and blend the nose glass - I feel this… more |
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U-Boat Type IX C (U-505 late)Published:
The U-505 was a Type IX C late-war boat completed in 1942 and refitted in 1943. A “hard luck” sub from the beginning for the German Navy, the U-505 was damaged in action, had a captain commit suicide, and finally, was captured by the Americans in 1944…she is now a museum piece at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. I went and visited her for this kit build to check details, and found only the bow section to have any rivets left showing. When I inquired as to what happened to the rest, I was told that thanks to the boat’s being out in the Chicago elements for years, they figured they’ve lost up to 70% of the hull thickness. There also were many welded-on patches to hold her together, which looked like big band-aids. The U-505 kit comes in a large, impressive, remote… more |