Pablo Bauleo
Reviews By Author
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Military Aircraft Insignia of the WorldPublished:
Military Aircraft insignia dates to pre-World War I era, with France and Romania as the first two countries to have designated official military markings. This book covers every country that I can think of, including a handful of little know countries like Transinistra and some major countries that over the years had multiple military air force insignia (like the US or the Regia Aeronautica). Each country has a section devoted to the markings, the colors in the insignia and a small description of their aerial assets. In most cases there is a picture of an airframe showing the insignia. Countries like Spain, that had multiple insignia and even civil wars, the book covers the markings of both sides. All the markings are printed in full color and most of the… more |
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L-39 "Capali" and "Capeti II"Published:
The L-39 Albatross is an advanced trainer/light attack double-seat jet aircraft of Czech design that has seen service with over two dozen air forces and several of them are currently being used in the civilian market. Avant Garde Models (AMK) has recently released the first injection model of this significant aircraft trainer in 48th scale. “Capali” and “Capeti” are special markings used by Hungarian L-39 at the 2004 Kecskemet Airshow. The names of the airplanes correspond to the Canadian TV show “Sharky and George”, however the airplanes camouflages do not match the colorful characters of the TV Show. Capali sports a disruptive camouflage of green and sand over light blue, with a striking Hungarian flag in the tail, while Capeti is an overall aircraft grey. Both aircraft… more |
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AMD/BA/Dornier Alpha JetPublished:
The Dornier Alpha Jet is an advanced trainer/light attack/helicopter hunter/double seat jet aircraft that has seen service with 10 air forces, and several of them are currently being used in the civilian market. Caracal models has released an impressive decal sheet for 15 airframes for 8 different countries. These are the airframes you get (listed from Caracal Website)
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Stars and Bars (Modern USAF High Viz Insignia)Published:
Often you get a great aftermarket decal sheet for 3 or 4 aircraft, but they don’t include enough insignia for all of them. The solution: Enter a insignia decal sheet, like the one recently released by Furball Design This set contains 95 correctly proportion modern (post 1947) US National Insignia (the one with the blue border and red stripe). You get (14) 10" insignia, (25) 15" Insignia, (14) 20" insignia, (10) 25" insignia, (8) 30" insignia, (8) 35" insignia, (8) 40" insignia, (8) 45" insignia, which should cover from small drones, to larger bombers in the last 7 decades of USAF service. I want to point out the decal design is correctly proportioned, as the star points do not reach the edge of the circle, but stop at a distance equivalent to width of the blue… more |
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WWII German Sd.Kfz.10/5 2cm Flak38 (Armoured Cab Version)Published:
Griffon Model from China specializes in photoetch, turned brass, and resin details for armor vehicles. This set, L35039, it is actually a combo including the L35037 and L35038 sets, one for the Sd.Kfz.10/5 and the other for the Flak 38 gun. This set is recommended for the Dragon 6677 kit. The set includes a total of 16 (16!) photoetch fret, two brass rods, one hollow brass pipe, and some extra materials, like plastic rod and brass wire. So, what parts do you get to upgrade with close to 300 photoetch pieces? Almost everything. A partial list for the half-track includes:
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Universal Carrier Mk.IIPublished:
Riich.Models continues expanding its line of British Universal Carriers. This recent addition is the Mk.II series. I expect we will continue to see more versions of this vehicle, which saw widespread service during World War II. Upon opening the box, you will find 13 sprues (one clear), two photoetch frets, a piece of thread, a piece of chain, brass tubing, and 32 springs (for the road wheels). In total, there are over 400 plastic parts and over 120 photoetch pieces. Add in the thread, chain, and springs and you have a truly multi-media kit in your hands. The instruction booklet has 38 steps, several of them with subassemblies, so you know you are in for a long haul in the assembly of this kit. The assembly guide is fully graphical, no description or color codes, and… more |
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Sd.Kfz.10 Ausf.A w/5cm PaK 38Published:
The Sd.Kfz. 10 was a German half-track used as a prime mover for artillery pieces or special applications, mainly in the early years of World War II. Dragon Models has multiple kits of their “basic” Kfz.10 kit, with some including additional parts to make the extra-armored versions or with added parts for an artillery piece, as in this case. Upon opening the box you find 15 sprues (one clear), two bags with individual links for the tracks, two photoetch frets, a set of masks for the windshield, and a small decal sheet for the three marking options, all representing Eastern Front vehicles. The instruction booklet follows the typical Dragon style, printed in black, white, and blue, with a total of 15 steps for the half-track and 12 steps for the artillery gun. There are… more |
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British 6 Pdr Anti-Tank Gun (Airborne) with 1/4 Ton Truck & CrewPublished:
Bronco models have repacked its Jeep and airborne anti-tank 6 pdr gun, together with 6 figures into this “full meal” boxing. Actually the vehicle has the necessary part to be the airborne variation used to tow the gun, including all the fittings for the ammo boxes. When you open the box you find 26 (!) sprues –including one clear-, 3 photo-etch frets, and 3 decal sheets, including one for the soldiers rank. You get all the parts needed to model the airborne variation of the Jeep used to tow the gun, including all the fittings for the ammo boxes. You actually get several extra parts in this boxing and maybe you can model other versions of the Jeep, but I am not sure. The surface detail is impressive, petite yet well defined. The tires even have the maker letterings in… more |
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"Ovals and Oblong" and "Ovals" Steel TemplatesPublished:
In recent months Eduard Models has been releasing some very useful tools for the modeler, like this series of templates. I have previously reviewed three other sets in the range: http://web.ipmsusa3.org/content/shapes-templates This first set reviewed in this article is “Ovals and Oblong,” part number 00031, with a total of 25 shapes. There are four subsets of shapes: two oval subsets, a teardrop subset, and a circle with a flat edge subset. The last shape is very useful when scribing fuel/oil caps onto airplanes or vehicles. The next set is “Ovals,” part number 00032, with a whopping 60 oval templates. Their dimension ranges from 1x1.8 mm to 2.8x7.6 mm. You will be hard pressed to claim there was an oval… more |
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Chinese Navy Type 052D Missile Destroyer ChangshaPublished:
The Type 052D is a Chinese designed and built missile destroyer. It features an active electronically scanned array radar system and it is refer by the Chinese media as the “Chinese Aegis”. There are two ships in the class completed and several more under construction. This kit represents the second ship of the class, “Changsha”. Upon opening the box you find 13 sprues, 2 photo-etch frets (one of them for the nameplate), one clear sprue for the helicopter and a small decal sheet. The superstructure is packed on its individual box –inside the main box-. Despite the precautions my sample got slightly warped during transit (see photo). This is a nice sized kit, with the hull being almost 18.5 inches long. There is no option for waterline hull, however there is an flat… more |