Pablo Bauleo
Reviews By Author
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Liquid GravityPublished:
Deluxe Materials is a company I was not familiar with. Deluxe Materials is based out of the Great Britain and it certainly provides with quality supplies to the hobbyists in Great Britain and beyond. Liquid Gravity is a weighting system that can be used for different applications, from preventing a model airplane being a tail sitter, to balancing an RC airplane or even to providing weight to the rolling stock of your railroad layout. I am not sure what metal is used for the tiny little “BBs”, but it is not magnetic and after a few measurements I came up with a density of about 4.15 gr/cm3 (lead has a density of 11.3 gr/cm3 for comparison). Despite the lower density, “Liquid Gravity” it has a great advantage: it is nontoxic. The size of each… more |
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The Pucará StoryPublished:
Mushroom Model Publications released a new book in their “White Series”, devoted to the Argentinean designed and manufactured “Pucará” (“Stone Fortress” in the Quichua native-american language). The Pucara is an indigenous design of a twin ending light attack/COIN airplane. It has seen service in Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Sri Lanka and the UK (captured). The list of countries that explored –and even placed orders- for them is much larger, but for different reasons the export orders never materialized. The book breakdown is, as you can expect, based on the chronology of the airframe: It begins with “Origin and Development”, then moves into “Further Development”, it has a very detailed chapter of the “South Atlantic Conflict” (which includes multiple color profiles… more |
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Perfect Plastic PuttyPublished:
Deluxe Materials is a company I was not familiar with. It is based out of the Great Britain and it certainly provides quality supplies to the hobbyists in Great Britain and beyond. They have created a water washable, fast drying and low odor filler, that is easy to clean up and work with. I had a drop tank with some holes on it that I wanted to fill. I just applied a bit of the filler with a small spatula and after about one minute of drying time, I used a lightly damp piece of paper towel to clean up the excess filler. You can see yourself the great finish it delivered. There is an official video on different applications for this filler at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stLzShlnrEk It is interesting to notice… more |
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P-47D Thunderbolt "Special Italian Campaign"Published:
ReviewItaleri’s P-47D in 1/48 scale is re-boxing the well-known Academy P-47D. If you visit different websites (including Italeri’s), you will see “Photo-etch parts” listed as a part of the kit; however in my review sample the photoetch part was not included. I actually think it is an error on the websites, as there is no reference to the photoetch fret neither in the box nor in the instructions. Once you open the box, you’ll find 5 sprues, plus an extra sprue for the clear parts. There are several options for underwing stores: bombs, drop tanks, bazooka rockets, and HVAR rockets. Just be aware that some of them are for the P-47N and not applicable to the –D mark. You also get an excellent decal sheet with a great selection of markings, two USAAF NMF, plus French and… more |
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P-47D Landing GearPublished:
Scale Aircraft Conversions specializes in white metal replacement parts. Its line of replacement landing gear has been expanded to include a set for the Academy 1/48 P-47D, which has been boxed by Italeri and Eduard too. The set includes 5 parts, two landing gear struts and scissors plus the tail wheel, finely molded in white metal. These parts are drop-in replacements for the plastic parts. You can see from the pictures the parts are very cleanly molded and formed. Attaching the struts scissors is very easily accomplished with superglue as regular plastic glue will not work on white metal. While dry fitting the parts, I’ve noticed that the white metal landing gear struts are molded a little bit shorter than the plastic ones. I was able to tell that when I… more |
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Su-7BKL Air IntakesPublished:
Quickboost is well known for creating nicely detailed drop-in replacement parts to enhance the detail of plastic models. This time around they have released a set of fuselage air intakes for the Su-7 from KP (reboxed by Eduard). The air intakes are perfectly cast in grey resin, with a smooth, bubble-free finish. The molding includes two side walls to prevent accidental damage of the parts while in transit or storage. Removal of the parts should be easy, with either a hobby saw or even by scoring with a #11 blade if you take your time. All the air intakes are hollow and have very thin edges, adding to the scale effect of your model. You can compare the resin parts with the plastic ones. The plastic ones have thick edges and in some cases (like part 119) they are not even… more |
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Mirage III Pitot TubePublished:
Quickboost is well known for creating nicely detailed drop-in replacement parts to enhance the detail of plastic models. This time they present a trio of pitot tubes for the Mirage III, for either the Eduard or the Hobby Boss kit. The pitot tubes are perfectly cast in grey resin, with a smooth, bubble-free finish. The molding includes two side walls to prevent accidental damage of the parts while in transit or storage. Removal of the parts should be easy, with either a hobby saw or even by scoring with a #11 blade if you take your time. This set provides you with spare parts, which is a very thoughtful decision from Quickboost, as pitot tubes are very easily broken off. If you are careful in construction, you have spares for your next Mirage! Perhaps the single… more |
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Mirage III Gun BarrelsPublished:
Quickboost is well known for creating nicely detailed drop-in replacement parts to enhance the detail of plastic models. They have released a set of gun barrels for the Mirage III, for either the Eduard or the Hobby Boss kit. It might be possible to use this set with the Italeri Mirage IIIE, but I am not sure. The cannon barrels are perfectly cast in grey resin, with a smooth, bubble-free finish. The molding includes two side walls to prevent accidental damage of the parts while in transit or storage. Removal of the parts should be easy, with either a hobby saw, or even by scoring with a #11 blade, if you take your time. You can compare the resin parts with the plastic ones provided in the Hobby Boss kit. The main difference you’ll see is the muzzle brake detail and a… more |
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Freight ShedPublished:
Mini Art has been releasing a series of modular buildings in 72nd scale. By modular I mean you get parts for roofs, windows, doors, walls, etc., and you potentially could mix-and-match and make your own building. The modular design allows a significant level of flexibility, but it comes with the price of multiple pieces (perhaps 83 pieces are a bit too many for a building of this size?) and with too many seams. The kit is molded in different plastic colors with the intention of being displayed without actually painting it. I decided to build it that way so you will see what you get if you were to build it out-of-the-box. Upon construction of the building foundation, I found that the wooden planks that form the floor would flex, given how long – and unsupported – they… more |
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Eastern InfernoPublished:
This book is a compilation of 3 journals written by Hans Roth, a soldier with the 299th Infantry Division, attached to the Sixth Army. It covers the period 1941 to 1943. It is an incredible first-hand narration of the life of a German soldier in the Eastern Front. It is particularly interesting as it was written within days of the events being narrated (often on the same day), meaning that the memories were fresh and undisturbed by the pass of time. At the same time, being its own personal journal, censors were not able to edit out parts of the narration, reflecting the exact thoughts of a soldier in the front. There are parts of the book when I almost felt like I was intruding in the personal life of Hans Roth, as he would describe his thoughts about his wife, daughter… more |