Pablo Bauleo
Reviews By Author
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Vampire FB Mk.9Published:
Upon opening the box, you will find 3 grey sprues, plus one clear sprue, instructions and a medium size decal sheet stencils included, for two finishing options, one in overall high speed silver and a camouflaged one. The part count is, relatively speaking, low with a total of 59 parts. The only real assembly option is the external tanks type, either conformal tanks from the Mosquito or drop tanks. You have to either choose which one to install or to fill in the holes in the lower wings. Perhaps the “main” issue with this kit is that the Vampire Mk.9 had an asymmetrical wing root (to accommodate an internal AC unit), but the plastic parts have symmetrical wing roots, making the kit a Mk.5. Personally, I am not all that worried about that, but some modelers might… more |
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Chieftain Main Battle Tank: Development and Active Service from Prototype to Mk. 11Published:
This book covers all the Chieftain versions from prototype to mark.11 – that means all the main battle tank versions of this significant AFV from the cold war. The only versions not covered are the special mission vehicles, like the bridge layer and recovery vehicle that are based on the Chieftain chassis. The book was written by Robert Griffin, who has served in the Chieftain for several years and can provide first-person impressions on its performance and spice up the reading by adding details of crew living conditions in the vehicle. The book’s breakdown covers:
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Me-410 Landing GearPublished:
Scale Aircraft Conversions specializes in white metal landing gear replacements for scale models. This was the first time I’ve used one of their replacements and I have to say that it was very easy to use them and that I like it a lot. This aftermarket set is designed to be a drop-in replacement for the Meng Messerchmitt 410 landing gear. You don’t need to modify any parts to make them fit to your airplane. The fit is perfect and the breakdown of the parts mimics the breakdown of the plastic parts. The replacement landing gear has good surface detail, very similar to the level of detail of the plastic parts. The white metal parts are actually very easy to work with. I did not need to clean any seams on my parts, nor modify them in any way. They took Model Master Enamel… more |
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Messerschmitt Me-410B-2/U4Published:
The Messerschmitt Me-410 was a German heavy fighter used by the Luftwaffe during WWII. The Me-410B-2/U4 was used as a bomber-killer. It was armed with a 50 mm BK5 cannon and employed to combat heavy bombers. Though powerful, the BK5 cannon was found not practical in actual combat operations. Meng has chosen to offer the Messerschmitt Me-410 as its first kit in 1/48 scale, and it is a welcome choice. The parts are molded in grey styrene, with no flash and exquisite surface detail. Also included is a small PE fret with a few details like seatbelts, radiator grille faces, and gun sight supports. Given the sprue breakdown and some indentation in the bottom wings (to open holes), it’s suggestive that there are plans to release different versions of the Me-410 in the future. My… more |
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M8/M20 Walk AroundPublished:
I have always admired armored cars crews. I think their vehicles are fast enough to get themselves in trouble, but not armored enough to get themselves out of trouble. The M8 started its life as a “tank destroyer” vehicle. Very quickly, it was realized that the 37mm cannon wasn’t enough to take out a tank, and the vehicle got re-assigned mainly to cavalry and reconnaissance units. The M20 is a spin-off of the M8, based on the same hull but with a different top and used, for the most part, as a command vehicle, fitted with different radios and a folding map board. The book is profusely illustrated with over 250 photographs, a dozen line drawings, and six color profiles. The drawings are very helpful in learning to distinguish the features of M8 vs. M20. Almost all… more |
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Gladiator vs. CR. 42 Falco (1940-41)Published:
Osprey Publishing continues to expand the Duel Series with the 47th installment of this collection, Gladiator vs. CR.42 Falco. This book has the typical sections of the previous books in the series – i.e., Development, Strategic Situation, Combat, Statistics, and Analysis and Aftermath. The book is well written and incredibly well researched. The main adversaries fought each other in what some historians would consider secondary theaters of war. However, those theaters expanded from sand dunes of North Africa and the Mediterranean to the green fields of Eastern Africa and into the Middle East and Iraq, certainly an area much larger of than the main theatre of operations of WWII. The authors delved into the RAF and Regia Aeronautica doctrine of the pre-war years… more |
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Italian Medium Tanks (1939-1945)Published:
Osprey Publishing continues expanding its New Vanguard Collection. This is the issue 195 of this line and it is devoted to the Italian Medium Tank. The book sections covers the characteristics of the Medium Tanks (M 11/39, M 13/40, and M 14/41), plus a brief section on the Heavy Tank (P 40). It also includes the self-propelled guns that were based on the above-listed chassis. Later in the book there are two sections devoted to Italian armor in combat (both with the Italian Army and under German service). It finalizes with a brief chapter devoted to camouflage and markings and a section on surviving vehicles at different museums. The Italian Medium tank design during WWII was greatly affected by the military thinking of the pre-war years. During the 1930s, the Italian Army… more |
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Seafire Mk.Ib – Limited EditionPublished:
The Seafire Mk.Ib was basically converted from the Spitfire Mk.Vb. The kit follows the heritage of the actual subject, being a “regular” Hasegawa Mk.Vb with a resin plug for conversion into a Seafire Mk.Ib. Be aware this model is a conversion; that means you will have to cut and replace some parts of the plastic fuselage with the resin replacement parts. But as conversion goes, this is an easy one to get your feet wet in the world of conversions. The boxing includes decals for 4 different finishes on 3 different airframes. The instructions only list 3 camouflage styles, but actually there are markings provided for two different finishes (blue gray/green/sky) of the same airframe (MB 345), before and after being assigned to the HMS Formidable. The other two finishes are for a… more |
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Il-2 Sturmovik Single Seat Ski VersionPublished:
Academy has re-boxed the rendering of the Il-2 originally released by Accurate Miniatures in 1997. The box shows a “Mold by Accurate Miniatures” on the cover, so no doubts about it and that is a good thing. The Accurate Miniatures Il-2 model is a nice one that is now available again in the market. This boxing has decals printed by Cartograf, including seatbelts and instrument panel details. A bonus you get in this boxing is that all the standard parts for the landing gear with wheels are included, in addition to the landing gear with skis. So, you can build either version (wheels or skis) with the parts in the box. Construction of this kit, like with most aircrafts, begins with the cockpit. It is nicely detailed, with raised detail that makes dry-brushing simple and… more |
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Wessex UH.5Published:
The Wessex family of helicopters has always been popular among modelers. There has been only one kit in 1/48 before and it has been out of production for a few decades, so this newly molded kit is certainly creating some positive ripples in the modeler community! Italeri brings a brand-new mold of the Wessex UH.5. Surface detail is good, with most of the detail being recessed, but in some areas –where it should be – it is actually raised detail. The kit includes 4 sprues, nylon mesh for the intakes, and a small photoetch fret for cockpit detail plus some external detail, too. Clear parts are very transparent, but a bit thick. Decals are glossy and allow you to finish your model in 4 different finishes, either in Royal Air Force or Royal Navy service. Construction begins… more |