Pat Villarreal
Reviews By Author
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Basic Colours, Volume 1Published:
Green Stuff World is a company based out of Spain. It specializes in the design and production of tools, paints, and other related products for modeling, crafts, and war games. Green Stuff World has provided IPMS/USA an eight (8) bottle acrylic paint set for review. In the BoxThe paint set contains eight (8) 17ml bottles with nontoxic water based acrylic paints. Inside each bottle is an agitator ball to help mix the paint when shaking. The following colors are provided:
This… more |
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Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning IIPublished:
A new tooled kit from Tamiya. It is the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II in 1/72nd scale. This is one of those “Must Buy” kind of kits. In the BoxOut of the box, this kit has gray sprues labeled A-B, C-D and are connected by a single sprue frame. There are two (2) F sprues for ordnance and wheels. The upper fuselage-wing is on sprue G and the lower fuselage-wing is on sprue G2. A clear sprue labeled E has the canopy, EOTS cover fairing, and lights. A pilot figure is included, and ordnance includes two (2) AIM-9X Sidewinder Missiles and four (4) GBU-12 Paveway II Bombs. A large decal sheet is provided for three (3) schemes: USAF 34th FS, 388th FW (June 2022), JASDF 301st FS, 3rd Wing (September 2022), JASDF 302 FS, 3rd Wing (September 2022). For this… more |
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Texaco DoodlebugPublished:
A new multimedia kit from Bregrun. It a 1/72nd scale kit of the Texaco Doodlebug fuel tank truck from the 1930s era. In the BoxThis kit has six (6) resin poured part stubs, 1 photo-etched (PE) sheet, 1 vacuum-formed (VF) clear plastic windscreen with & without frame moldings, and 1 decal sheet. Instructions are printed in black and white on a single piece of paper. Print is on both sides and well-illustrated but not much written commentary. The resin parts are well molded with a few air bubbles that need filling. I used Superglue/Cyanoacrylate (CA) as the filler. The recessed panel lines are well defined and somewhat wide for this scale but acceptable. ConstructionAssembly starts with washing the resin parts in dish soap (Dawn) and warm… more |
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EA-6B ProwlerPublished:
A rebox kit from Platz/Dragon for the EA-6B Prowler in 1/144th scale. For 2022, it comes with new decal markings for VAQ-136 Gauntlets and VAQ-137 Rooks and two (2) kits are provided in the box. In the BoxThis boxing has two (2) complete kits. My sample came with 3 sprues (A, B, F). When comparing the sprue count against the instruction sheet, sprue E was missing (which has extra ordnances). Referencing Scalemates.com, the molds were created in 1994. The plastic is molded in light gray and the sprues are wrapped in clear bags. Parts count is over 61 pieces but only 43 are necessary for this review. There is some flash on the clear parts but minor sanding will remove the excess plastic easily. Instructions are color printed on a single sheet folded over.… more |
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A-4M SkyhawkPublished:
A new kit from HobbyBoss this year is the A-4M Skyhawk with new parts, specific for the “M” version. Previously released HobbyBoss kits are the A-4E & F in 72nd scale. In the BoxThis kit comes with 6 sprues with two (2) brand new ones that are different from previous A-4 kits (A-4E & F versions). New sprues are D and F. Remolded/Common sprues are B, C & G (2X). The plastic is molded in light gray and the sprues are individually wrapped in clear bags. Parts count is over 160 pieces. Most of the parts come from the ordnance sprue, G, which has 45 pieces, each (90 total). Instructions are formatted in a simple booklet format stapled down the center and has 8 steps. Decals represent Low-Vis markings for the following:
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F-104, TF-104, CF-104 Landing Gear (2 sets) (Has)Published:
Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) specializes in white metal replacement landing gear parts for aircraft kits. This review is for the 1/72nd scale Hasegawa F-104 Starfighter from the 1989 original mold and its reissues (which there are several). Two full sets are in the blister pack, so two kits can have metal landing gear. These are drop-in replacements for the F-104 (parts D7, C12, B11 & B12) and TF-104 (parts F15, C12, B11 & B12). Attached pictures are for the F-104 comparison. SAC products are a necessity when dealing with overly heavy builds or for the modeler who wants to keep his/her collection for the long term and don’t want the landing gear to “squat” or misalign over time. Also, for aircraft with a tricycle landing gear configuration, it adds more nose weight… more |