Paul Dunham
Reviews By Author
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WWII British Army 30cwt 4x2 G.S. TruckPublished:
The model represents an Austin 30cwt truck in common use with U.K. forces during WWII. I assume that Airfix couldn’t get a license to use the “Austin” name on the box-top. The kit comes in a big, sturdy, and colorful box. Included inside are two parts trees of tan plastic, a piece for the hood, a tree of clear parts, a small fret of photo-etch, decals, and instructions. The trees are bagged to prevent loss of parts. The clear parts and decals are separately bagged to prevent damage. The hood (maybe I should call it a ‘bonnet’ since it is a British truck?) does not come attached to a parts tree, so make sure that you find it before throwing the bags away. The instructions are printed in a 15-page 8 1/2” by 11” booklet. Assembly illustrations are clear and easy to follow. Painting… more |
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WWII British Royal Navy Aviation Paint SetPublished:
The Ukrainian kit manufacturer ICM has recently expanded their catalogue to include a range of acrylic paints and varnishes. In this review, I try out ICM’s paint set intended for WWII Royal Navy aircraft. The set comes in a small rectangular box with examples of the included colors printed on the front and a painting guide for a Royal Navy Sea Gladiator on the back. The set includes five 12ml bottles of paint and one 12ml bottle of satin varnish. The bottles are open-topped (no dropper-tips).The undersides of the lids have a raised ridge that does a pretty good job of keeping the paint from getting on the threads of the lids. The included bottles are:
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Gloster Sea Gladiator Mk.II With Royal Navy PilotsPublished:
ICM first issued a Gloster Gladiator in 2019 and a Sea Gladiator in 2020. For 2024 the Sea Gladiator has been issued again with a set of three Royal Navy figures included. Except for the figures and the box art, this new kit is the same as the 2020 Sea Gladiator kit. The kit includes six trees of grey plastic parts, one tree of clear parts, decals, and instructions. The new figures in this kit are a standing pilot in flight gear, a pointing officer, and a sailor holding a paint can. The parts for the figures have some minor flash but are otherwise well-molded and detailed and have and well-sculpted faces. The instructions for the figures are a single sheet with a parts map and color key on one side, and an illustration of the completed figures on the other. The color key… more |
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Studebaker US6-U3Published:
Although not as famous as the U.S. Army’s GMC CCKW ‘Deuce-and-a-half’ the Studebaker US6 trucks were historically important trucks in their own right. Over 200,000 were built by Studebaker and Reo, with the vast majority of these trucks provided as ‘Lend-Lease’ to the Soviet Union and other allies. Although not ‘standard’ in the U.S. Army, many trucks were used by the U.S. Army Corps of engineers and transportation units in building and using supply routes such as the Alaska-Canada Highway, the Ledo Road from India to China, and the Persian Corridor from the Persian Gulf to the Soviet Union. (Tankograd Technical Manual Series #6037 and Wikipedia). ICM first issued a Studebaker US6 back in 2007.This issue of the kit is a mix of parts from previous issues and some parts newly… more |
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P-40K-1/5 Warhawk 'Short Fuselage'Published:
Special Hobby’s short-fuselage P-40K kit was first issued back in 2018. I am glad to see it re-issued in 2023 (you can never have too many P-40s). The kit includes three runners of gray plastic, one of clear parts, a resin antenna and mount, decals, and instructions. Runner ‘B’ has lots of parts for other P-40 versions, so be careful that you use the correct ones. The parts and decals are individually bagged to prevent damage or loss. The kit comes in a sturdy top-opening box, so it should be safe from crushing even if it winds up at the bottom of your stash. Markings are provided for three U.S. and one Soviet P-40. Color call outs are provided for Gunze Sangyo Mr. Color and Aqueous Hobby Color paints. The instructions are well-illustrated and easy to follow, but I did find some… more |
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Panzer IV/70(A)Published:
Tamiya’s new ‘Panzer IV/70(A)’ kit depicts a late war German ‘stopgap’ design attempting to mount a high-velocity L/70 75mm anti-tank gun on a minimally modified Panzer IV chassis. The resulting vehicle had a taller profile than most other turretless Panzer IV and III types. Since this is a late-war vehicle, the lack of zimmerit is appropriate. The kit includes individually bagged sprues. As one would expect from a modern Tamiya kit, the parts are crisply molded with very faint mold parting lines. The lower hull front, sides, and bottom are molded in a single piece. The new lower hull mold is made by modifying Tamiya’s Panzer IV J mold with new components to depict new detail on the sides. The lower hull tub shows copyright dates for both 1994 and 2023. The drive sprockets,… more |
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Quake Crackle Creator TexturesPublished:
Ammo’s “Quake Crackle Creator Textures” are a line of thick acrylic paints formulated to dry with cracked surfaces in order to simulate terrain such as dried mud or cracked pavement. Quake is available in five colors: Crackle Base (white), Old Blacktop (black), Scorched Sand (tan), Baked Earth (brown), and Dry Season Clay (red-brown). I’ve tried the first three colors in this review. The product comes in 40ml plastic bottles. The screw-caps are nearly as wide as the bottles and have prominent ridges, so if you get paint on the threads, you can still get the bottles open. Quake can be applied to dioramas or figure bases with a brush or palette knife. Quake achieves its cracked surface by having a high rate of shrinkage as it dries. I experimented by applying Quake to various… more |
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Moss ProductsPublished:
Ammo’s line of Moss products is intended to help modelers simulate natural textures such as moss and lichen on their miniatures. The Moss products are a very finely shredded material that can be glued to surfaces to add the color and texture of tiny plants. Moss is available in ten colors that include a variety of greens and browns. The Moss comes in 35ml plastic jars. For this review I tried Ochre Moss, Bracken Green, and Sea Moss. Each Moss product is dyed a uniform color but they are easily mixed together to add variety. The product generally has a very fine texture but I did encounter a few clumps up to about 2mm in size. These clumps are easily broken up if not needed. Ammo recommends their “Ultra Glue” AMIG2031 for attaching the Moss. I didn’t have this glue but I found… more |
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Mig-23BN Flogger HPublished:
This kit is a cooperative effort between the companies Platz and Italeri. The kit contents are well protected in a sturdy top-opening box. The plastic parts are provided by Italeri and are the same as in many Italeri boxings of the Mig-23. The kit includes four sprues of parts in light gray plastic, a clear sprue of canopy and landing lights parts, decals, a sheet of pre-cut masks, instructions, and four-view painting/decaling guides and decals to build either a Soviet or North Korean option. The plastic parts provided by Italeri were first issued by ESCI back in the late 1970’s. The design and detail of the plastic parts reflect the standards of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Interior detail is sparse and exterior detail is depicted by fine raised panel-lines. Sprues C and E provide… more |
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Military Miniatures U.S. Infantry Scout SetPublished:
Tamiya’s new 1/35th scale figure kit “U.S. Infantry Scout Set” includes plastic parts for making five U.S. army WWII infantry figures. The kit comes in a 10” by 6” by 1 1/2” top-opening box. The box contains four sprues of plastic parts, a double-sided instruction sheet, and water-slide decals. Sprue CA and sprue CB provide the weapons and accessories. The weapons included are: an M1918 BAR with choice of open or closed bipod, an M1 carbine, two M1 garand rifles, an M1A1 thompson, two bayonets, three knives, and six hand grenades. There are enough entrenching tools, canteens, and helmets for each figure. The helmets are molded with the straps pulled up over the brims. Two of the helmets have mesh coverings molded on. Sprues X and Z provide the parts for the meaty bits and figure-… more |