Pablo Bauleo
Reviews By Author
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Bf 110 Instrument Panel – Limited EditionPublished:
Czech manufacturer Eduard has a great reputation for its aftermarket instrument panel and now it provides the modeler with the ultimate instrument panel: the ¼ scale Bf 110 instrument panel. This kit was first available as a bonus for the Bf 110 Royal Class edition and now it is been released as a ‘stand-alone’ kit in a Limited Edition format. You get a whole instrument panel, a sprue full of bezels and levers, two sprues of clear parts, two fret of pre-painted PE and a set of vinyl instrument faces. Plastic parts are molded in very accurate colors. Still I’ve decided to paint the instrument bezels in black and the back of the instrument panel in RLM 66. The instructions consist of 13 steps, basically one step from beginning to end for each instrument or set of… more |
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Soviet PAG-14 Airfield PlatesPublished:
ICM has a growing line of 1/72 soviet jets and now it is providing modelers with a simple and cost effective way to enhance how to display our models: PAG-14 Airfield plates. I must confess, I don’t know anything about those plates nor I was able to find any online reference so I cannot speak as to their accuracy. You get 32 individual plates, each one with dimensions of 82 by 27 mm. The plates have some nice texture which gets highlighted with either a wash or drybrushing. The parts have medium size attachment points to the sprue (typical of ICM) and some sanding is required to clean up the parts. There are no decals nor instruction provided with this set, but the back of the box includes some recommended paint color and a generic configuration for the plates. Of… more |
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P-47 Thunderbolt "Bubbletop"Published:
Kit Review The P-47 “Thunderbolt” went through a major design upgrade in 1943, when its canopy and back fuselage was modified to be a “bubbletop”. Based on the information in the book the ‘inspiration’ for this modification was the RAF Hawker Typhoon. This book covers all the “bubbletop” production variants from P-47D-25 to the final version, the P-47N, including all the related prototypes. The first section of the book is dedicated to technical details on each prototype and production variants. There are plenty of historical pictures for each variant including foreign operators and post war operators and even a few historical color pictures too. The second part of the book is a “walk around” of different P-47 preserved in museums. The walk… more |
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Domestic AnimalsPublished:
The domestic animals set is a welcome addition to the 1/35 scale diorama, adding some more every-day objects (or animals) to the traditionally military-focus aspects of dioramas. Master Box has released a single sprue of 26 parts containing two cows and one goat. The box shows two goats, but it is just two suggested painting options. The sprue attachment points are medium sized and some part preparation and cleaning is needed. Care is needed when removing parts from the sprue as to avoid damaging detail. Overall detail is good, with clearly detailed faces, eyes and ears. You can even see the ribs in the cow sides. The goat hair might be a bit overdone but that makes painting and washing easier. The parts have no locating pins and there are some mold lines that need to… more |
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Kevin Dallimore's Painting and Modelling Guide Master ClassPublished:
Kevin Dallimore’s book might be the one-stop shop for the figure painter. It briefly covers the basics of figure preparation and painting (showing step-by-step pictures of the 3-color method) on the first 30 pages and then dives into different painting styles and projects. Some of the techniques described in the book include: 5-color method, dry-brushing; diluted washes; non-metallic paint for metallic looking finishes; textured leather; ancient shield painting; skeletons and more. The above techniques are applied to a wide range of subjects, from Napoleonic figures, to Ancient Romans, Sci-Fi, Fantasy figures (Orcs of all kinds and colors), WW2 paratroopers, Old West characters and animals. Step-by-Step pictures clearly explain and show how to achieve realistic finishes by… more |
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Su-7 "Brassin" SeatPublished:
Czech manufacturer Eduard keeps expanding its Brassin line of aftermarket details this time with the release of the ejection seat for the KP Su-7 in 1/48th scale. A while back Eduard re-boxed the KP kit adding some aftermarket goodies, including this seat. The seat is now available as a stand-alone upgrade for those that already have the KP kit in their collection. In my opinion, the seat is the weakest point of the whole (original) plastic cockpit and Eduard is offering us the solution. Eduard provides you with 2 exquisitely molded resin pieces and a pre-colored photo-etch fret for seatbelts and other minor placards and color details. Construction is very simple and straightforward: I’ve soaked and air dry the resin pieces in bleach (to remove any… more |
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53 StormoPublished:
Given the tactical organization of the Regia Aeronautica during World War II, this book covers the story of all the different Gruppi that were part of the 53 Stormo during World War II. The Regia Aeronautica organized their units in the basis of a Squadriglia, (Squadron) with strength of 9 to 12 airplanes. Two or three Squadriglie would form a Gruppo (Group) and two or three Gruppi would form a Storm (Wing). Often there would be autonomous Gruppi and sometimes even Squadriglie assigned to different front or sector. The Gruppi described in this book are the 150 Gruppo “Gigi Tre Osei”, 151 Gruppo “Asso di Spade”and 153 Gruppo “Asso di Bastoni”. Also 157 Gruppo was… more |
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Jagdgeschwader 400Published:
The Me-163 Komet is the only rocket-powered aircraft ever seeing combat. The whole combat history of this unique point-defense interceptor is covered by this book of the Aviation Elite Series as it only served with JG400. The book is structured in five chapters, the first one covering the Me-163 development and the following four covering the operational service of 1.Staffel, 2.Staffel, I.Gruppe, and II.Gruppe respectively. It also has a series of appendixes covering unit organization, selected biographies, operational flight logs for each Me-163 and a very interesting appendix regarding the armament, including the use of SG 500 Jägerfaust, a recoilless mortar-style weapon which was fired vertically. A very interesting feature of the book is that includes ample… more |
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Romanian Fighter Colors 1941-1945Published:
The Romanian Air Force in World War II saw extensive combat in the Eastern Front against the Soviet Air Force and against the USAAF and RAF in home defense roles. Later, in late 1944 Romania changed sides and saw combat against the Luftwaffe. This book covers all the fighter aircraft in the Romanian Air Force during World War II. The fighter aircraft inventory included British, German, Polish, and locally designed airplanes, plus captured soviet airplanes, yielding to a rather varied set of camouflage styles. Specifically, the book covers the Hawker Hurricane, Bf 109E and 109G, He 112, Bf 110G, PZL 11 and PZL 24, IAR 80/81, plus captured Mig-3, I-16 and Fw-190A/F. The book has chapters for each aircraft type in detail, including a brief history of the aircraft service in… more |
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Advanced Modeling Skills; Salt Chipping & Water Diorama (3-disk set), Instructional DVDPublished:
Matt Swan keeps providing us with more modeling blessing on the 4th installment of his instructional series. The scope of this set is water dioramas and salt chipping technique. The subject is a 1/48 Tamiya Rufe and a nice beach scene, including everything you can imagine, even scale fish in the water! Towards the end of his 3rd set, Matt shows how to build some simple bases to display your model. This time he goes into town showing step-by-step how to create a base, a sandy beach, foliage and more importantly: water. That is not all, as he will build a Japanese float-plane and show how to replicate paint chips using the ‘salt chipping’ technique. Before showing how to build a diorama, Matt devotes some time to cover the tools and materials needed… more |