VF-154 Black Knights - USN F-4J Phantoms in the Vietnam War & Cold War

Published: April 2, 2022
Company: AOA Decals

The United States Marine Corps were a major operator of the F-4 Phantom during the Vietnam war flying both the B and J versions.

AoA’s very comprehensive set covers six Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons with more than 15 possible schemes. There is also a full set of stencils included for one aircraft.

The squadrons are:

• VMFA-115 Silver Eagles which include some neat looking metallic eagles
• VMFA-212 Lancers
• VMFA-232 Red Devils with their distinctive squadron markings
• VMFA-314 Black Knights
• VMFA-323 Death Rattlers which also includes helmet decals
• VMFA-334 Falcons

There are left side profiles and top views for all aircraft and multiple pages for the stencils which cover all sides of the aircraft… more

Operation Crossbow 1944 Hunting Hitler’s V-weapons

Published: April 1, 2021
Book Author(s): Steven J. Zaloga
Company: Osprey Publishing

Operation Crossbow was the Allies attempt to destroy Hitler’s new Vengeance weapons, the V-1 and V-2. This book focuses on the bomber campaign rather than the defenses deployed in England to counter the attacks.

The usual soft cover book consists of 94 pages filled with Mr. Zaloga’s usual well documented and written information. There are lots of photographs of not only the allied attacking aircraft but also the German weapons and their launch sites. The photos are supported by some colored artwork, drawings, diagrams, and charts and tells the story in a fitting manner.

The book contains an Introduction and Chronology chapters before giving the Attackers and Defenders Capabilities. The Campaign Objective is followed by the bulk of the book in the Campaign chapter. An… more

Republic F-105 Thunderchief

Published: March 27, 2021
Book Author(s): Dennis R. Jenkins
Company: Specialty Press

The Republic F-105 Thunderchief was designed to deliver a tactical nuclear weapon against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. However, it gained it’s fame over the jungles of Vietnam where they flew 159,795 combat missions from which 334 failed to return home.

This hard cover book contains 300 pages and 575 pictures in black and white and color. It covers the full history of the plane from preliminary designs and competitors through the Vietnam War, and ending with the Thud Out which was flown at Hill AFB, Utah, about 45 minutes north of me.

The chapters are broken down mainly by version with Chapter One covering the development and the YF-105A. Chapter Two takes a look at the initial Production version, the B model, and it’s brief usage by the Thunderbirds. Chapter… more

25PDR Field Gun & Quad

Published: March 15, 2021
Company: Airfix

I built a lot of Airfix armor in my youth but never had this one before. Airfix has rereleased this kit as part of their Vintage Classics series and the kit is unchanged from the original 1963 molds except for newer decals.

There are 71 parts molded in a dark green plastic but there are no clear parts. There is very little flash which is nice but there are some seam lines that will need to be cleaned up, especially if you decide to use the crew. More about them later. The color scheme is shown on the back of the box and represents a vehicle of the 6^th Armoured Division probably in Italy though it is not spelled out.

The interior is pretty basic but does include seats for 6, steering wheel and a driver. The body goes together quickly, and the fit isn’t too bad… more

U.S.S. Defiant NX-74205

Published: March 15, 2021
Company: Polar Lights

If you are reading this review I am guessing you know what Deep Space Nine was and the Defiant but just in case, the Defiant was a prototype vessel designed for Star Fleet to battle the Borg. If you need more detail there is plenty on the web. The Polar Lights kit continues their series of 1/1000^th scale snap-together Star Trek universe ships. The kit has 27 parts including 13 in clear plastic and their normal 3 part stand. It also includes a plethora of decals to cover the panel colors so you don’t have to paint much other than the base color.

Construction is quick with little to hinder smaller hands from getting the ship ready for combat faster than you can say “Today is a good day to die”. There are a couple of smaller clear pieces representing the Phasors (I… more

Berlin Wall

Published: November 16, 2021
Company: AFV Club

Those of us of a certain age remember well the Berlin Wall and what it stood for and probably still remember when it was torn down in 1989. Those of you who are younger may never heard of it. If not, it is worth an internet search.

The kit has already been reviewed here and a very nice job was done so I went for a less weathered look, partly to be different and partly because I haven’t decided how I want to display it yet. It yearns for a vignette or diorama setting.

The build is pretty simple. There are 3 sections of wall each made up of 3 parts. There are also 3 pieces to place on top of the wall… more

Horten Ho 229 Set, Part 2

Published: May 14, 2020
Company: Zoukei-Mura

This is the 72^nd scale build from this box. John did the 1/144^th scale one a bit earlier.

Zoukei-Maru are known for very detailed kits with interior parts in 1/32^nd and 1/48^th but this is the first time they have delved into the smaller scales, and on this 72^nd scale kit they have decided to go for the full interior structure as well.

While I haven’t seen any of their larger kits in detail, I was a bit disappointed in the molding of this kit. There are lots of molding seams and bits of flash throughout this kit. While that isn’t a real problem, as it cleans up easily, it was just something I was not expecting.

One other thing that caused me and my fat fingers issues was trying to… more

M3 Half Track

Published: January 24, 2021
Company: Airfix

When I was around 10-11 years old I got into a small scale armor kick. The local shop carried Airfix kits and I built a lot of their kits at the time. The first time I built the M3 Half Track it was a MPC release in their Battle of the Bulge Historama kit.

Fast forward 45, cough, years later and Airfix is re-releasing many of their kits under their Vintage Classics range. The kit appears to be the exact same plastic first released in 1966 including the 1 Ton Trailer. The kit includes 54 parts molded in an OD plastic. There is a bit of flash but what would you expect from a set of molds almost older than me. The kit includes some nice detail, a driver and one of the nicest small scale .50 caliber machine guns. Decals are included for an M3A1 during Operation Overlord. More about… more

P-40 Wheels - Cross Tread

Published: April 27, 2019
Company: CMK

Czech Master Kits, CMK, have released a really nice P-40N kit recently and a ton of aftermarket items for it and other P-40 kits.

This set is one of several replacement tire kits and features the cross thread pattern which resin is probably the best medium to capture this detail.

The set includes two main wheels and tires with alternate hub detail parts. The cross thread pattern is really well done and I could not find a molding blemish or bubble in the castings. These are direct replacements for the kit items.

These wheels will really add detail to one of your P-40 builds. Just make sure to check your references to make sure you use the correct hub and type of threads.

Thanks to Special Hobby and IPMS/USA for the review kit.

P-40N-5 Through N-40 Seats

Published: April 24, 2019
Company: CMK

CMK, Czech Master Kits, has released several resin seats designed to fit their numerous P-40 kits. This one is designed for their new P-40N. The set includes 1 part, the seat. This is a direct replacement for the kit part. The detail is crisp and it should look nice settled in the cockpit. There are no seatbelts molded onto the seat so you can easily use your favorite option.

This is another quick and simple addition to your P-40N.

Thanks to Special Hobby and IPMS/USA for the review kit.