Bf 109 E3/4/7 Landing Gear

Published: June 18, 2013
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

Scale Aircraft Conversions specializes in white metal replacement parts. Its line of replacement landing gear has been expanded to include a set for the Tamiya 1/48 Bf 109E3/4/7.

The set includes 3 parts, two landing gear struts and 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… more

USAAF National Insignia June 1943 – January 1947

Published: June 6, 2013
Company: SuperScale International

Squadron and SuperScale have released a decal sheet, #481266, with USAAF national insignia for the period June 1943 to January 1947. This decal sheet does not include the red border around the circle and bars. As such, I believe the markings are only valid from September 1943 until 1947, not from June 1943 as listed in the decal sheet title.

The sheet includes decals for scale… more

B-25G “Shark Mouth”

Published: June 6, 2013
Company: Academy Models

Academy continues to re-release the Accurate Miniatures series, which in my opinion is a very good thing. Despite their age, Accurate Miniature molds have very good surface detail and they have held up pretty well. There is virtually no flash at all. I only had to clean up two parts for a bit of flash.

Originally, Accurate Miniature released the B-25G as a conversion set for their early… more

Air Vanguard USAF F-4 Phantom II

Published: May 21, 2013
Book Author(s): Peter Davies
Company: Osprey Publishing

Osprey Publishing continuous to expand the fledging series “Air Vanguard”. This new series is focused on a specific airframe, different versions/models and a brief detail of operational service of the aircraft under scrutiny. This volume (number 7 of the series) focuses on the USAF F-4 Phantom II.

Based on the premise of this series, there are sections devoted to the airframe, engine,… more

Vampire FB Mk.9

Published: May 13, 2013
Company: Trumpeter

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… more

Chieftain Main Battle Tank: Development and Active Service from Prototype to Mk. 11

Published: April 9, 2013
Book Author(s): Robert Griffin
Company: Kagero Publishing

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… more

Me-410 Landing Gear

Published: March 30, 2013
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

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… more

Messerschmitt Me-410B-2/U4

Published: March 30, 2013
Company: Meng Model

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… more

M8/M20 Walk Around

Published: March 19, 2013
Book Author(s): Jim Mesko
Company: Squadron Signal Publications

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… more

Gladiator vs. CR. 42 Falco (1940-41)

Published: January 25, 2013
Book Author(s): Håkan Gustavsson & Ludovico Slongo
Company: Osprey Publishing

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… more