Pat Villarreal
Reviews By Author
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B-26C MarauderPublished:
ICM has reboxed its B-26 line of Marauders and now offers a B-26C variant. From the instruction’s history, the “B” variant was built in Middle River, MD (near Baltimore), and to expand production capacity during WWII, the “C” variant was built in Omaha, NE. Physically, they look virtually identical. The other ICM B-26 variants (B, G, & F) have been reviewed by fellow IPMS-USA reviewers and can be viewed at these links: https://reviews.ipmsusa.org/review/b-26b-marauder https://reviews.ipmsusa.org/review/b-26b-marauder-0 … more |
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MiG-35 Fulcrum-F Landing Gear (for 1/48 Hobby Boss)Published:
Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS Reviewer Corps with a set of 1/48 scale metal landing gear for Hobby Boss’s MiG-35 Fulcrum-F. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties. The metal pieces are packaged in a clear blister package with cardboard backing. No instructions are provided by SAC. The metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for parts C8, A31, A29 (nose wheel), C28 (LHS MLG), and C27 (RHS MLG). Note that the oleo parts (D27 & D28) are molded into the main struts. The metal used is malleable and has some give to allow for any minor bending if needed. Seam lines will need to be cleaned up prior to painting, just like the plastic kit parts. For painting, I recommend… more |
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Su-17M4 Fitter K Landing Gear (Hobby Boss)Published:
Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS Reviewer Corps with a set of 1/48 scale metal landing gear for Hobby Boss’s Su-17M4 Fitter-K, which will also fit on the Su-17UM3 Fitter-G. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties. The metal pieces are packaged in a clear blister package with cardboard backing, and no instructions are provided. The metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for parts C2, D12, D13, D32 (nose wheel), E20 & E2 (LHS MLG), and E21 & E1 (RHS MLG) for the Hobby Boss kits. The metal used is malleable and has some give to allow for any minor bending if needed. Seam lines will need to be cleaned up prior to painting, just like the plastic kit parts. For… more |
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MiG-21F-13 Landing GearPublished:
Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS reviewer corps with a set of 1/48th scale metal landing gear for Eduard’s MiG-21F-13. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties. In the PackageThe metal pieces are packaged in a clear blister package with cardboard backing. No instructions are provided. Review ProcessThe metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for parts F16, F17, F15 (Wing MLG), F18, F33, & F34 (nose wheel). Note, part F34 is molded in with F18 to reduce parts count and make assembly less complicated. The metal used is malleable and has some give to allow for any minor bending if needed. Also, seam lines will need to be cleaned up prior to… more |
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A-10A/C Thunderbolt II Aces II Ejection SeatPublished:
ResKit has provided the IPMS reviewer corps with a new 3D resin printed Aces II ejection seat for the A-10A/C Thunderbolt II in 1/48th scale. In the Package and Product NotesThere is one 3D printed resin seat packaged in a small but very sturdy cardboard box. It is printed with a sturdy travel frame along with foam inserts for extra protection. A small decal sheet is provided for the stencils and a well-illustrated instruction sheet for paint and decal placement. Review ProcessRemoval of the seat starts with cutting away the protective frame. Then carefully removing the support piers. The printing is so fine at the contact points that no sanding was necessary to clean up any support nubs. After that, a primer base coat of Tamiya XF-66 thinned with… more |
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Vampire F.3 Landing GearPublished:
Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS reviewer corps a set of 1/48th scale metal landing gear for Airfix’s Vampire F.3/FB.5/FB.9. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties. In the PackageThe metal pieces are packaged in a clear blister package with cardboard backing. No instructions are provided. Review ProcessThe metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for parts C8, C14, C26 (nose wheel), C29 & C30 (main landing gear for F.3), and C27 & C28 (main landing gear for FB.5/FB.9). The metal used is malleable and has some give to allow for any minor bending if needed. Also, seam lines will need to be cleaned up prior to painting just like the plastic kit… more |
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Silver SpitfiresPublished:
Iliad Design has provided IPMS/USA reviewer corps with a wonderful decal set for the WWII Supermarine “Silver” Spitfires in service for the Royal Air Force, USAAF, and RAAF. There is no specific mention of a preferred model company for this decal set. This 1/48th scale decal sheet covers five schemes:
In the PackageThere is one decal sheet and one page… more |
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U-2R Senior Span Landing GearPublished:
Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS reviewer corps a set of 1/48th scale metal landing gear for Hobby Boss’s U-2R “Dragon Lady” Senior Span. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties. In the PackageThe metal pieces are packaged in a clear blister package with cardboard backing. No instructions are provided. Review ProcessThe metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for parts E8 (tail wheel), E14 & F22 (nose wheel), and E7 (wingtip “pogo” wheels). The metal used is malleable and has some give to allow for any minor bending if needed. Also, seam lines will need to be cleaned up prior to painting just like the plastic kit parts. For paints, use a good… more |
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F4F-3/4 Wildcat Landing GearPublished:
Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS reviewer corps a set of 1/48th scale metal landing gear for the Academy F4F-3/4 Wildcat. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties. In the PackageThe metal pieces are packed in a clear blister package with cardboard backing. No instructions are provided. The metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for parts B4, B17, B23, B33, and B50 and can be referenced in the instructions on step 2. The metal used is malleable and has some give to allow for any minor bending if needed. Also, seam lines will need to be cleaned up prior to painting just like the plastic kit parts. For paints, use a good lacquer-based primer… more |
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F-86A Sabre Landing GearPublished:
Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS reviewer corps a set of 1/48th scale metal landing gear for Clear Props F-86A Sabre. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties. In the PackageThe metal pieces are packed in a clear blister package with cardboard backing. No instructions are provided. However, my review sample did not come with the nose landing gear and came with an extra RHS strut, part H19 (a quality control slip). The metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for parts H19 & H15 (RHS & LHS struts) and the K2 oleo arms are molded with the strut. The nose strut, part K22, was missing from my sample review, but it too should have the oleo arms… more |