Pablo Bauleo
Reviews By Author
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Hungarian Fighter Colors Vol 2Published:
Mushroom Model Publication has released the second volume of the Hungarian Fighter Color series. You can find a review of volume 1 at http://web.ipmsusa3.org/content/hungarian-fighter-colours-1930-1945-vol… The second volume continues the saga of authors Denes Bernad and Gyorgy Punka for what might become the definite reference books on the Hungarian Fighter Force during World War II. This volume covers the Re.2000, Bf-109G, Fw-190F in extensive detail (each one of their chapters is over 40 pages long). Plus it has other shorter, but still well detailed chapters on the Me-110, Me-210, He-112, captured examples of PZL.11c, Avia B.534 IV and an indigenous design, the WM-23, which did… more |
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Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1aPublished:
ReviewHobbyboss has released the main production variant of the Me-262: the A-1a version. The kit comes in 13 sprues, a clear sprue for the canopy and a metal nose wheel well to prevent having a ‘tail sitter’. The sprues are cleanly molded, free of flash and with well-defined recessed panel lines. The model has a full interior, consisting of a nose gun bay, fully detailed cockpit and main landing gear bay plus a nicely detailed back fuselage (with a radio set and a compass set). However the detail in the back fuselage is pretty much impossible to see once the model is finished. There is only one service panel and it is not large enough as to allow viewing all that detail. I’ve started construction with the cockpit tub and main landing gear well. Spend some… more |
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Hurricane Mk.I "Fabric Wings"Published:
Airfix keeps expanding their 1/72 scale airplane line up and their latest release is the Hawker Hurricane “Fabric Wings” model. It is nicely molded, with no signs of flash and clean recessed lines together with raised detail to simulating the fabric wings ribs. Construction starts with the wheel bay. At that point make sure you have parts A05 and A06 properly lined up, or you will struggle when installing the landing gear later. From there it moves to the cockpit which goes together very well. There are no issues to report there. The fit is positive all around and make a credible rendition of a front office for the scale. Closing the fuselage was simple however I had a small step on the nose which required some filler and sanding. Attaching the wings to the fuselage was… more |
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Bloody Biscay: The History of V Gruppe/Kampfgeschwader 40Published:
KG 40 was the only long range maritime unit of the Luftwaffe. V Gruppe was the only long range fighter Gruppe within the unit. That alone makes the study of their operations an interesting topic. As part of the Battle of the Atlantic, U-Boats transiting the Bay of Biscay became pray of RAF bombers. As a response measure, KG 40 activated a heavy fighter unit (Junkers 88 C-6) to intercept the bombers. As a response the RAF deployed the Beaufighter and later, Mosquitos into the bay. The Luftwaffe counter the move by deploying single engine Fw-190 fitted with long range tanks (from 8/JG2), but eventually, the sheer number of the Allied aircraft established air superiority over the bay. The book has the following chapters
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Adler Gegen England – Luftwaffe Air Campaign against British Isles 1941-1945Published:
ReviewThe Battle of Britain has been documented many times over. However there are not as many references related to the Luftwaffe air campaign after the peak of September 1940 battles. This book is devoted to fill that gap. The book is logically split in the following chapters
All the chapters are profusely illustrated with color profiles (and 4-view drawings in some cases) of the different German… more |
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Aces of Jagdgeschwader 3 'Udet' (Aircraft of the Aces)Published:
ReviewOsprey Publishing keeps providing modelers and aviation aficionados with plenty of reading and reference material. The latest installment of their “Aircraft of the Aces” is devoted to those that flew with JG3. I have to say that I like a lot the most recent books of this series, in which they cover both the history and aces of a single unit. JG 3 is a very relevant unit to both the modeler and historian, as it participated in all major Luftwaffe campaigns and some of the most significant battles of the war, including the Battle of Britain, Battle for Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk, Normandy, Ardennes and Berlin. Not only that, it also flew all the marks of the Bf-109 (from the early –Es to the late –Ks), plus the Fw-190, both radial and inline versions. In addition… more |
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Italian Light Civilian Car (Open Top)Published:
Bronco has released a civilian version of their Light Italian Car (known as “Topolino” or little mouse). Upon opening the box you find seven tan colored sprues, one clear sprue, the main car body (independently packed) plus the decal sheet and a small photoetch fret. This boxing also includes two figures, a woman and a dog, both molded in grey. Instructions are very clear and have a total of 17 steps. The overall surface detail is very good and shows fine detail. I was not able to find any obvious mold lines anywhere in the main body. The kit includes a full engine and suspension, and the doors have interior pockets. The fine detail of the grille will take a wash very nicely. Among the possible options, you can steer the front wheels as well as having… more |
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V3000S/SS M Maultier with 7,62 cm Pak 36(r)Published:
ICM has released a great value kit of a V3000S half-track with a Pak 36 anti-tank gun in the same box. Upon opening the box you find a total of six sprues (one of them clear). One sprue is devoted to the anti-tank gun, while the other five sprues relate to the vehicle. Actually, I am pretty sure you have all the parts in the box to build the vehicle as a typical 6-wheel truck or the half-track version. You can see from the pictures that the surface detail is very good, both fine and restrained. The connection points to the sprues are small and should be easy to clean up the parts with a sanding stick. The vehicle includes a full engine, suspension and transmission and the grille is hollowed. The cab is nicely detailed, with the instrument panel provided as a decal. The… more |
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European FarmyardPublished:
MiniArt has been releasing multiple building and diorama accessories. This release is a “European Farmyard”, which actually has sprues from other kits of their accessory line, making it be an excellent value. The sturdy box includes seven injection molded sprues and 11 vacuformed sheets with parts for 5 different structures, all of them molded in grey. The vacuformed sheets include parts a small building/shop, two sheds and two covered shelters with open sides. There is no interior wall detail, so when you look inside through the windows, you will see the back of the stone walls. Like with any other vacuform parts there are little ‘pimples’ in the surface but you can cut, fill and sand those spots and they won’t be visible in the finished model. The injection molded… more |
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Alpha Jet A/EPublished:
Kinetic has released an all new mold Alpha Jet in 48th scale, which is a welcome addition to the lineup of trainers/light attack airplane kits. Upon opening the box, you will find three sprues molded in light grey styrene, one clear part sprue, a small photo-etch fret, plus decals for three versions. The overall surface detail is very nice, with fine and clearly defined recessed panel lines and rivets. Small parts suffer of a bit of flash, but nothing that 30 seconds with a sanding stick won’t fix. The clear parts are very transparent. The overall kit breakdown indicates that several versions of the Alpha Jet are possible. The box lists A/E, but the instructions also list a B mark. Sadly, the instructions are confusing at times, making it difficult to… more |