Paul Mahoney
Reviews By Author
|
Japanese Experimental Transport Aircraft of the Pacific WarPublished:
The very first thing I would like to say about this excellent book is that the title does it a disservice. This book does a great job covering ALL transport aircraft of the Japanese Army and Navy Air Forces during the Pacific War. In fact, out of the thirteen chapters in the book, only three are devoted exclusively to experimental aircraft. This book is hardbound and comprised just under 250 pages. Production quality is quite high, and there are photos and nicely-done color plates throughout the book. In terms of content, the first few chapters describe the history of transport aircraft in both branches of Japanese service, beginning in the 1920s. An entire chapter is dedicated to Paratroop and Special Forces operations. Following this are chapters on experimental transports,… more |
|
Model Art Modeling Magazine, #836, January 2012Published:
Although I am quite familiar with Model Art Publications “Specials”, covering a variety of subjects, this was my first time looking through one of their standard magazines. I say “looking through” because the entire publication is in Japanese which I, unfortunately, do not know how to read! Despite my linguistic challenges, I think this is a magazine that can be quite useful to just about any modeler. It covers the range of plastic modeling topics from aircraft to ships, armor, vehicles, and even buildings. The page size is slightly smaller than the standard magazine in the US or UK, but all the pages are of glossy, high-quality stock. Pages are full of photos (of both models and the real items). Contents of Issue #836 are as follows:
|
|
Pacific P-51 Mustang Decals, Part 1Published:
This is the first release in Kagero’s new Red Series. From what I understand, the Red Series will consist of decals accompanied by 8 pages of color instructions. Although I have the 1/48 scale sheet for review, it is available in 1/72 and 1/32 as well. The decals and accompanying booklet come in a re-sealable plastic sleeve, which is useful for storage purposes. The booklet itself is indeed 8 pages (including front and back cover), and is printed on high quality, thin (think good quality magazine) paper stock. Good quality color printing has been used throughout. The cover page has a dramatic in-action painting of Mustang #1 on the decal sheet. The interior 6 pages cover the individual subjects of the decals (see below). The final (back) page has 3 small profiles of the… more |
|
Fw-189A-2 Detail SetsPublished:
The entire crew area of the Focke Wulf 189 is housed under a greenhouse, and thus is highly visible. While Great Wall’s 1/48 kit is very nicely detailed and actually does include some photoetch, these Eduard sets augment the kit’s interior in a meaningful way.
Eduard’s #49565 is the complete interior set, comprising 2 frets – 1 in full color and with self-adhesive backing, and a 2nd with additional interior details. The Zoom set contains just the colored, self-adhesive fret (Fret 1). All the pieces on both sets have Eduard’s typical sharp details. Fret 1 contains seatbelts, rudder pedals, and all the instrument panel/console surfaces, as well as various… more |
|
Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki Decals Part 3Published:
This is one of three new sheets Lifelike Decals has released covering the Ki-44 Shoki. In looking at Lifelike’s website, I see most of their decals are available in 1/72, 1/48, and 1/32, but these sheets appear to be only available in 1/48 as of now. Clearly, a lot of time and effort has gone into the research on this sheet. Ten different references books are listed and cited throughout the individual aircraft descriptions. This particular sheet covers the markings of 4 different “Shoki” aircraft, 3 Ki-44 II Hei versions and one Ki-44 II Kou version. The recommended kit is by Hasegawa, although I’m sure they could be used on the old Arii/Otaki kits. The 4 markings are as follows:
|
|
Bf-109F ExhaustsPublished:
Quickboost has now added resin exhaust pipes specifically for the Zvezda 1/48 kit of the Bf-109F to their line. As with all their releases, this is meant to be a drop-fit replacement, so there are several 1/48 Bf-109F exhausts now available from Quickboost, each designed to fit a specific kit. The Zvezda kit of the 109 differs from other manufacturers’ releases in that it includes a full engine (among other details) and has individual exhaust stubs. So the Quickboost exhaust designed for any other kit (molded as a single bank of stubs) certainly would not ‘drop-fit’ into a Zvezda model. What you get in this set is one pour-stub containing 2 rows of 6 individual exhaust pipes. This is nicely protected on either end by a small wall of resin. Casting, as is the norm with… more |
|
F6F Hellcat HeadrestsPublished:
One of Quickboost’s latest products is this set of three 1/48th scale headrests for the F6F Hellcat. Although the recommended kit is Eduard’s, I’m sure this would easily work on Hasegawa’s kit or even the old Arii/Otaki (or even the Monogram if you are feeling adventurous or nostalgic!). As best I can determine, the middle headrest on this set (with the narrower width) was for use in the -3 (and early -5) Hellcats that carried the small windows aft of the pilot. The other two headrests without this narrower section are identical except for the size of the headrest padding. The molding is very crisp and in a grey/green colored resin. The accompanying drawing of the set, along with photos on the web, shows that a vertical ‘bar’ should be present on the sides of the pour… more |
|
Spitfire Seat with Safety BeltsPublished:
Quickboost has now added a Spitfire seat to their ever-growing line of ‘drop-fit’ resin accessories. This one comes with a harness molded in, and should be applicable to any but the very early and very late models of the Spitfire. As with all their products (at least, all that I have seen), the molding is extremely crisp and leaves little to be cleaned up. The belt detail looks very good, and has clear distinction that should make painting this fairly easy. The seat has a nicely-molded adjustment lever on the right side that also has very nice details. There are no flare cartridge holders present at the front of the seat – something that some Spitfire seats did have. The cushion on the backrest portion of the seat does have a nice (to me) textured look. I didn’t get the… more |
|
Luftwaffe Viermot Aces 1942-45Published:
Osprey’s latest book in their “Aircraft of the Aces” series, number 101, covers the Luftwaffe Aces that were primarily engaged against the US (and to a lesser degree, British) heavy bombers attacking the Third Reich during World War II. This book is limited to covering pilots that became aces, shooting down 5 or more “Viermots” (short in German for “four motors”). For some reason, only day fighters are covered in this book, although the British bombers operating at night were also mostly four-motored. Perhaps this is because there has already been an Osprey volume dedicated to German nightfighter aces? In any event, this book chronologically covers the daytime fighter defense of the Third Reich, interspersing a general overview of the Luftwaffe’s doctrine at any given point in… more |
|
Decals for Bf-109G-10/14Published:
This is the 2nd “book” in this series. It has an ISBN number (978-83-61421-54-2), but it really is not a book. What you get is a shrink-wrapped folder (made out of glossy, stiff stock) that contains a large set of decals and 4 separate sheets approximately 8 ¼” x 11 3/4” in size (which I understand is “A4” size in Europe). Each of these sheets has glossy, high-quality printing on both sides and is of nice, thick stock. The first sheet shows all stencil markings on a set of generic Bf109G-10 line drawings (stencils are shown in their respective colors, where appropriate). The verso of this sheet has the requisite “book” publishing information, as well as RLM color chips (printed, not painted chips) with matching FS numbers. Also on this side are 9 line drawings of… more |