Pablo Bauleo
Reviews By Author
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Mirage F.1Published:
I’ll be honest. I’ve never heard of HMH Publications or Duke Hawkings before I had the opportunity of reviewing the first book of this series (Sepecat Jaguar). But I am very glad to have been introduced to them. These books exude quality. The quality goes both on the content that is covered (i.e. level of detail) and the printing. The paper quality is super, with a satin finish. All pictures are in color, with proper exposure and very sharp focus, so all details are crisp. The pictorial book is split in the following sections: Action, Cockpit, Fuselage, Weapons, Maintenance. As you can imagine, the pictures have very descriptive and relevant captions, helping you understand what detail is being highlighted in each image. Not only are you getting all the walk-around… more |
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Sanding Sticks Collection (Multipurpose, Standard and Large Surface)Published:
This review covers the following standing sticks from the AMMO line
All these sticks have the different grits identified by color coding each surface of half-surface. Their size is large enough to fit well and comfortable in your hand. They are flexible, so you can use them in any task that requires following curved surfaces. They are padded (in particular the Large Surfaces one), which means your hand does not need to follow a curved path, the padding of the sanding stick will do that for you. The… more |
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Italian Tanks & Semoventi M-13/40 M-14/41 M-40/41Published:
Italeri has released a brand new mold kit for “Italian Tanks” that can be used for wargaming or as a nice break from more complex builds. In the cover of the box you have both a medium tank and a self-propelled artillery. Be aware that the parts in the kit only allows you to build one. Or if you are a bit creative, to have an interchangeable top and being able to display it as one or the other. Being a brand new mold, the surface finish is excellent and there is no flash anywhere. Being oriented towards wargaming, some of the details might be simplified (like the whole running gear is a single piece) but that adds to the straight and easy assembly component of this kit. Construction starts with the interior, which is actually pretty well detailed for the scale… more |
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Model Aircraft Extra - Building the HarrierPublished:
Model Aircraft Magazine now has a new series on “Building the…” a specific aircraft. The 5th installment of this series covers the Hawker Siddeley Harrier (previous installments cover the Fw-190, Bf-109, P-51, F-4 Phantom). In particular in this issue you have articles covering
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Gloster Gladiator Top Drawings 94Published:
The Top Drawings series specializes in line drawings of a given subject in each booklet. The 94th installment in this series is devoted to the Gloster Gladiator or J8 as was known in Swedish service. This booklet has line drawings (front, back, left, right, top, bottom, plus fuselage contours) for the Gloster Gladiator Mk I, MkII, Sea Gladiator, Mk II Meteo, Mk I Trop, J-8, plus Norwegian and Finnish ski types for the Mk I. In addition to the B&W line drawings, you also get 10 color profiles, in some cases with multiple views (left side, right side, etc.) of the same aircraft. Markings are for British and Finnish service. The booklet also includes a brief description on the overall history of the aircraft and each line drawing has an explanation… more |
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3.7 cm Flak 18/36/37Published:
The “Camera On” series focuses on ‘lived in’ images of a specific subject. The subject in this case is 3.7 cm Flak 18/36/37, but the real value of this book is the images of its crew, their uniforms -sometimes even in civilian clothes-, the locations where the pictures were taken, the equipment -and litter!- around the gun emplacement. The book is divided in the following sections
Each section has dozens of pictures, some of them show a close up of the weapon (with very good detail for your model), most of them show the crew around the weapon… more |
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PZL TS-11 Iskra R NovaxPublished:
The Single Series of Mushroom Model Publications focus on a specific airframe, sometimes even down to a specific mod or variant of an airframe, as in this case. The booklet includes line drawings of the PZL TS-11 in both 72nd and 48th scale, some drawings (probably from some technical manual) with details on the wings and airbrakes, plus a nice walkaround -in black and white) of the airplane. There are a few color pictures showing the cockpit and electronics, plus a 4-view very attractive color profile. I’m glad the booklet includes color pictures of the cockpit and electronic bays, as those colors are the hard-to-research. External colors are easier to research and even depend on the specific airframe you are modeling. You can see a short… more |
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Medium Tank M3 Lee / M3 GrantPublished:
The Topdrawings series specializes in line-drawings of a given subject in each booklet. The 92nd installment in this series is devoted to the Medium Tank M3 Lee/M3 Grant as known in UK service. This booklet has 4-View for the M3A1 early, mid and late production, M3A2 with welded hull, M3A2 with GM 6046 engine (modified rear part), M3A3 with welded hull, M3A3 late production series, M3A4 with Chrysler engine, M3A4 final production series, M3A5 with GM engine, and the M3 Grant (UK) modifications. In addition to the B&W line drawings, you also get 11 color profiles, in some cases with multiple views (left side, right side, etc) of the same vehicle. The booklet also includes a brief description on the overall history of the AFV and each line drawing… more |
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Bf 109F-4 with German Ground PersonnelPublished:
ICM Holdings has re-issued their 1/48 Bf 109F that has been around since the mid 2000s. After these years (review is written in 2020) the molds are showing their age a tiny bit. There is some minor flash in some parts, but nothing that a few minutes with a blade and a sanding stick cannot correct. The airplane itself comes in 3 grey sprues plus a clear sprue and it includes a full engine and a cowling that can be displayed open. In addition, this particular boxing includes a set of 7 figures in summer uniform plus a dog. I believe this is the first time this figure set has been released and the sculpting of the figures is outstanding. I’m not an expert on uniforms, but I think you get 3 officers and 4 enlisted personnel. The assembly of the model follows a typical… more |
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Tru-Color Paints for Eduard P-400Published:
I have heard of Tru-Color Paints probably 18 month ago by now and since then I had the chance to review a few different colors and coats from them. They have an extensive line of railroad and car paints and they are continuously expanding their military line (aircraft, naval, armor). This time, thanks to the kind support of Tru Paint to IPMS/USA I was able to use them for the review of an Eduard P-400 Profipack (model kit review elsewhere in this website). As I was doing a review of paints, I decided to go for a P-400 which was assembled from parts of different airplanes and sported a mix of USAAF and RAF colors. This is not a specific set for the P-400 (Tru-Colors has a few packs of paints). It was more like I was able to “make my own” set of paints. Below is the list… more |