Phil Peterson
Reviews By Author
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Fine Brass ChainPublished:
Czech Master Kits, known as CMK, is one of the prolific model companies out of the Czech Republic releasing full kits and aftermarket parts for aircraft, AFVs, ships, figures, and more. This includes a series of brass chains which are listed as Fine (72nd scale), Medium (48th) and Coarse (35th). This review covers the Fine version of these products as I build mostly 1/72nd scale kits. What you get is a very nice chain in brass that is 30cm long (almost 12 inches). The links are 2mm long and 1.2mm wide. The quality is high. You can either use the chain at its full length or cut it into smaller sizes for different uses. I took pictures of the chain in comparison with my most recent review builds, a 1/76th scale M3… more |
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M3 Half TrackPublished:
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 an MPC release in their Battle of the Bulge Historama kit. Fast forward 45, cough, years later and Airfix is rereleasing 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 a M3A1 during Operation Overlord. More about… more |
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US Light Tank M3 Stuart Late ProductionPublished:
When I was younger my comics of choice were of the Military persuasion and one of my favorites was The Haunted Tank which initially featured an M3 Stuart blowing away Tigers with it’s 37mm. I didn’t realize the issue with that but I loved the stories and so started my love of the Stuart. As I got older I turned to more history books and read about the Honey used by the British in the desert and the US in Tunisia. When the new Tamiya kit showed up it just had to be built even though I haven’t built a 35th scale tank in, cough, 40ish years. This is the second version of the Stuart that Tamiya has done and thankfully they have done a completely new tool for this kit which gives some lovely detail. There are 183 parts in green plastic, 4 clear parts, 2 rubber tracks and… more |
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Corsair: Vought's F4U in World War II and Korea - LEGENDS OF WARFAREPublished:
I really like the LEGENDS OF WARFARE series of books. These 9” by 9” hardback books cover aircraft, armored vehicles and ships in 112 pages filled mainly with good sized pictures. This one is on the F4U Corsair from prototype through WWII, Korea and afterwards. There is a quick introduction followed by chapters on each of the production versions, in this case, the prototype XF4U-1, the F4U-1 “Birdcage”, the -2 nightfighter, -1A with the raised canopy, the 20mm armed -1C, the -1D which was the most common version used during WWII, -4, -5, AU-1 ground attack version, -7 used by the French Navy, and the F2G. Each of these chapters has a quick one page of info and the rest of the chapter is filled with pictures showing variations, production lines, detail pictures,… more |
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F-15 in ActionPublished:
I have been buying Squadron/Signal In Action books since they first hit the market back in 1971. They have always been an affordable way to get info regarding the subject that is helpful for the model builder and historian. This is the third issue devoted to the F-15 Eagle. I did get the first version which was number 24 but it is buried in the library someplace so this review will not be a comparison. Aren’t you all lucky. David Doyle had done almost 100 books for Squadron continues the success of the series with a very informative and covers the full history of the Eagle from development through the Strike Eagle. The book follows the tried and true style of the In Action series with a small bit of written info followed by tons of pictures with great descriptions.… more |
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P-38 Lightning, Vol.1 - Legends of WarfarePublished:
If you know me, you know that one of my all-time favorite aircraft is the P-38 Lightning. Flown by America’s top two scoring aces and used in the famous mission to get Yamamoto (also a good book) the Fork-tailed Devil has always been high on my list and I have built numerous kits over the years. This Legends of Warfare book continues the formula of a 9” by 9” hardback book with 112 pages with photos big enough to show details. The Legends format is used with an introductory chapter followed by a chapter on each version. These cover the XP-38, YP-38, P-38, P-322 an export version, D, E, the F-4 photo reconnaissance version, F, G, F-5A and H. The later models will be covered in Volume 2. Each chapter has a quick one page of info and the rest of the chapter is… more |
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B-52 Stratofortress: Boeing's Iconic Bomber from 1952 to the PresentPublished:
The LEGENDS OF WARFARE series of books are very nice. They are 9" by 9" hardback books that cover aircraft, armored vehicles and ships in 112 pages filled mainly with good sized photos. While the B-52 was named the Stratofortress pretty much everyone calls it the BUFF or Big Ugly Fat Fellow (cough). Ok, maybe that last F stands for something else but this is going on a family friendly website. This book follows the normal Legends format with an introductory chapter followed by a chapter on each version. They are the XB-52. YB-52, B-52A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H. A couple of the A models and a B model were modified and used by NASA to drop different projects with the most famous probably being the X-15. While developed for the Cold War the B-52 thankfully never dropped an… more |
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Republic F-105 ThunderchiefPublished:
While the F-4 Phantom is the plane many people think of when they think of the Vietnam War, the F-105 Thunderchief is the one that has always interested me more. Designed to deliver a nuclear weapon in a bomb with a low-level toss bombing attack it instead found itself conducting the majority of the strike bombing missions over Vietnam. Known as the Thud, a description of it’s gliding capability or lack thereof, the 105 would not only drop iron bombs on target but also shoot down its share of Migs and knock out SAM sites in the Wild Weasel mission. This 160-page softback book covers the F-105 in full detail from history of the design, it’s different versions, a short time as a Thunderbird and its missions in Vietnam. It also provides all the technical information anyone who… more |
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B-25C/D Landing Gear & BallastPublished:
The B-25 came into the public eye in a big way when a guy named Doolittle lead an attack on Japan not long after Pearl Harbor giving America a major morale boost. This year Airfix released a new kit of the C/D version of the Mitchell and it looks like a very nice kit. Scale Aircraft Conversions continues to release new landing gear sets trying to keep up with the plethora of new kits coming out from all manufacturers. This set comes not only with replacement parts for all 3 gears in the new Airfix kit but also replacements for some of the floor and bulkheads in the nose to assist with trying to keep this bird on all three legs. The parts are direct replacements for the kit parts. There are the usual mold lines to clean up just like on the kit parts. The… more |
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Phantom FG.1 Landing Gear & Ballast (Airfix)Published:
The Spey engined Phantom did stellar service for both the RAF and Royal Navy. Airfix finally released a new kit of the FG.1 version and while it is missing a few details, it builds into a neat model. Once again Scale Aircraft Conversions has released a new set of landing gear specifically for the Airfix kit. The Airfix kit gives multiple options for the landing gear as the British naval Phantom had an extended nose gear to help it get airborne off of the smaller decked British carriers. Airfix’s design breaks the nose gear into two parts. Normally SAC does direct replacements for the landing gear based on the kit parts but in this set they cast the nose gear so it is one main piece. The extended gear will need the scissor added which might be a bit tricky. This should make for… more |