Mr. Paul Dunham
Reviews By Author
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Volvo S40 BTCC 1997 Brands Hatch WinnerPublished:
NuNu of Macau in cooperation with Platz of Japan offers an interesting assortment of European and Asian racing cars in their range.A recent release and the subject of this review is their new Volvo S40 as raced in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) of 1997. The kit includes a body and six parts trees molded in white plastic, a tree of chrome parts, a tree of clear parts, soft rubber tires, polycaps, several sheets of decals, a sheet of window masks, a black and white instruction booklet, and a full-color decal placement guide. The parts and decals are protected in plastic bags. The body is cleanly molded. Most mold parting lines are subtle and fall along panel lines. One mold parting line falls on the frond edge of the hood and on my sample formed a slight step that… more |
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WWII Japanese Pilots and Ground PersonnelPublished:
In recent years ICM has been in the practice of issuing figure kits to accompany their aircraft, armor, and automotive kits. One of ICMs newest releases is a set of five 1/48th scale figures to accompany their new Ki-21 “Sally” kits. (You can read Allan Murrell’s review of ICM’s “Sally”.) This kit includes three Japanese Army aircrew figures and two ground crew figures. The three aircrew figures are dressed in flight gear. Two are in relaxed standing poses and the third is saluting. One groundcrew figure is at attention and… more |
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WWII Japanese Pilots Acrylic Paints SetPublished:
The Ukrainian kit manufacturer ICM has recently expanded their catalog to include a range of acrylic paints and varnishes. ICM has begun packaging sets of paints to finish specific kits in their range. In this review, I try out the paint set on ICM’s figure kit “WWII Japanese Pilots and Ground Personnel”. The set comes in a small rectangular box with examples of the included colors printed on the front and a painting guide for their figure kit on the back. The set includes six 12ml bottles of paint. The bottles are open-topped (no dropper-tips). The undersides of the lids have a raised ridge that does a pretty good job of keeping the paint from getting on the threads of the lids. The included colors are:
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WWII British Army 30cwt 4x2 G.S. TruckPublished:
The model represents an Austin 30cwt truck in common use with U.K. forces during WWII. I assume that Airfix couldn’t get a license to use the “Austin” name on the box-top. The kit comes in a big, sturdy, and colorful box. Included inside are two parts trees of tan plastic, a piece for the hood, a tree of clear parts, a small fret of photo-etch, decals, and instructions. The trees are bagged to prevent loss of parts. The clear parts and decals are separately bagged to prevent damage. The hood (maybe I should call it a ‘bonnet’ since it is a British truck?) does not come attached to a parts tree, so make sure that you find it before throwing the bags away. The instructions are printed in a 15-page 8 1/2” by 11” booklet. Assembly illustrations are clear and easy to follow. Painting… more |
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WWII British Royal Navy Aviation Paint SetPublished:
The Ukrainian kit manufacturer ICM has recently expanded their catalogue to include a range of acrylic paints and varnishes. In this review, I try out ICM’s paint set intended for WWII Royal Navy aircraft. The set comes in a small rectangular box with examples of the included colors printed on the front and a painting guide for a Royal Navy Sea Gladiator on the back. The set includes five 12ml bottles of paint and one 12ml bottle of satin varnish. The bottles are open-topped (no dropper-tips).The undersides of the lids have a raised ridge that does a pretty good job of keeping the paint from getting on the threads of the lids. The included bottles are:
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Gloster Sea Gladiator Mk.II With Royal Navy PilotsPublished:
ICM first issued a Gloster Gladiator in 2019 and a Sea Gladiator in 2020. For 2024 the Sea Gladiator has been issued again with a set of three Royal Navy figures included. Except for the figures and the box art, this new kit is the same as the 2020 Sea Gladiator kit. The kit includes six trees of grey plastic parts, one tree of clear parts, decals, and instructions. The new figures in this kit are a standing pilot in flight gear, a pointing officer, and a sailor holding a paint can. The parts for the figures have some minor flash but are otherwise well-molded and detailed and have and well-sculpted faces. The instructions for the figures are a single sheet with a parts map and color key on one side, and an illustration of the completed figures on the other. The color key… more |
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Studebaker US6-U3Published:
Although not as famous as the U.S. Army’s GMC CCKW ‘Deuce-and-a-half’ the Studebaker US6 trucks were historically important trucks in their own right. Over 200,000 were built by Studebaker and Reo, with the vast majority of these trucks provided as ‘Lend-Lease’ to the Soviet Union and other allies. Although not ‘standard’ in the U.S. Army, many trucks were used by the U.S. Army Corps of engineers and transportation units in building and using supply routes such as the Alaska-Canada Highway, the Ledo Road from India to China, and the Persian Corridor from the Persian Gulf to the Soviet Union. (Tankograd Technical Manual Series #6037 and Wikipedia). ICM first issued a Studebaker US6 back in 2007.This issue of the kit is a mix of parts from previous issues and some parts newly… more |
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P-40K-1/5 Warhawk 'Short Fuselage'Published:
Special Hobby’s short-fuselage P-40K kit was first issued back in 2018. I am glad to see it re-issued in 2023 (you can never have too many P-40s). The kit includes three runners of gray plastic, one of clear parts, a resin antenna and mount, decals, and instructions. Runner ‘B’ has lots of parts for other P-40 versions, so be careful that you use the correct ones. The parts and decals are individually bagged to prevent damage or loss. The kit comes in a sturdy top-opening box, so it should be safe from crushing even if it winds up at the bottom of your stash. Markings are provided for three U.S. and one Soviet P-40. Color call outs are provided for Gunze Sangyo Mr. Color and Aqueous Hobby Color paints. The instructions are well-illustrated and easy to follow, but I did find some… more |
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R.O.K. Army K311A1Published:
This new kit from Academy depicts the K311A1 1¼ -ton truck currently in service with the Armed forces of South Korea (R.O.K.) and exported to many other countries around the world. A detailed history of the vehicle is available on Wikipedia, so I won’t repeat it here. The kit provides marking options for two R.O.K. army trucks, one R.O.K. Marines, one R.O.K. Air Force, one Philippines, and two Chilean Marines trucks. The last Chilean option is a single color, providing an option for modelers who aren’t in the mood to paint complex camouflage. The kit comes in a sturdy and surprisingly large box with the entire top covered by artwork of the vehicle. The kit includes separately molded cargo bed, bed canopy, and cab floor, four trees of tan parts, one tree of clear parts, a tree… more |
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Panzer IV/70(A)Published:
Tamiya’s new ‘Panzer IV/70(A)’ kit depicts a late war German ‘stopgap’ design attempting to mount a high-velocity L/70 75mm anti-tank gun on a minimally modified Panzer IV chassis. The resulting vehicle had a taller profile than most other turretless Panzer IV and III types. Since this is a late-war vehicle, the lack of zimmerit is appropriate. The kit includes individually bagged sprues. As one would expect from a modern Tamiya kit, the parts are crisply molded with very faint mold parting lines. The lower hull front, sides, and bottom are molded in a single piece. The new lower hull mold is made by modifying Tamiya’s Panzer IV J mold with new components to depict new detail on the sides. The lower hull tub shows copyright dates for both 1994 and 2023. The drive sprockets,… more |