Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing - Tatiana's Vanship and Fam’s Vespa

Published: May 17, 2014
Company: Hasegawa

I like sci-fi and weird designs, so this Hasegawa Vanship, from their Creator Works series, was right up my alley. I had never heard of this model, however after a quick Google search, I found out that it’s the “fighter” ship for a hotshot pilot from the 2011 anime series Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing, a follow up to the 2003 anime series, Last Exile. I did find the series on Comcast’s Infinity and watched a couple episodes to try and get some context. Obviously, I need to see the rest of the series but the first few shows were good, so when I get time I’ll finish the rest.

Moving on to what is in the box, you get 82 parts for the Vanship in red, grey and clear plastic and 32 pieces for the Vespa in light grey and clear. The parts are cleanly molded with no… more

City Building

Published: February 3, 2020
Company: MiniArt

MiniArt is probably better known for their 1/35^th scale building and diorama sets but they also have a growing number of building kits in 1/72^nd scale.

One nice thing about their 72^nd scale kits is they depict buildings without any battle damage so are great for not only military dioramas but civilian ones as well.

Another main difference between their 35^th scale and 72^nd scale kits is the smaller scale includes all injection molded parts making them a bit easier for your average modeler to get a quality finished product.

So, the City Building depicts a building that would fit into most European cities and would look particularly good in a World War II up through a modern day diorama. The kit comes with 183… more

Knight Rider, K.I.T.T. Knight Industries Two Thousand

Published: July 2, 2013
Company: Aoshima

So what would be cooler than having your car talk to you, be bulletproof, and able to drive itself? Well, if you were Michael Knight, not much…and while he drove several different versions of KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand), the original from the first season of the show was always my favorite.

I don’t build many car models, but when I do, they usually were involved in some movie or TV show. So when KITT came up for review, my hand also came up. I am not sure if this is a re-release by Aoshima of a previous kit as I remember KITT kits from years ago, but if it is a re-release, it is a good one.

The kit includes 95 plastic parts in black, tan, chrome, aluminum, clear, clear red, clear orange, and tinted black colors. There are also 4 rubber tires, 4 polyethylene… more

Miss Kitty Bust, “Lady Furry”

Published: December 18, 2021
Company: Morland Studios

Lady Furry is a one-piece resin bust that is 100mm tall, or approximately 1/17th scale. The kit comes with two metal hoop earrings that can be added to her but does not include a plinth for display. There are no color suggestions for the kit.

First off, let me warn you, I am not a figure painter…yet. I have been trying to improve this side of my modeling skills, as I want to do some dioramas. I have a few large-scale figures under my belt, namely Spiderman and Green Lantern. Painting them is about as far away from painting Lady Furry as possible, but sometimes, it helps to step out of your comfort zone. Boy, is it chilly out here.

The initial step was to clean up the casting. There are a couple blocks under the front of the figure around the hand area, and these were… more

British Vickers Machine Gun with Crew

Published: February 10, 2013
Company: Zvezda

This is another kit designed for Zvezda's war-game "Art of Tactic". This time it is a Vickers K machine-gun with a crew of 4, used by the BEF in France in 1940.

There are 25 parts including the gun, 4 crewmen, a base, and a flag piece for the game, as well as a movement card. Most of the parts make up the crew, with only 4 parts for the gun, and one of these includes the arm of the gunner. It is the usual snap-together kit made out of their usual softer plastic. The parts can be trimmed with a sharp knife but cleaning up the mold line on the figures is difficult. Tamiya liquid glue was used to help keep things together.

The kit crew consists of a sitting gunner firing the gun, a loader with ammo can and belt of ammo, the gun commander who is lying down looking through… more

British QF 2-Pounder Anti-Tank Gun

Published: February 10, 2013
Company: Zvezda

Zvezda has brought out another anti-tank gun for their war-game "Art of Tactic". This time it is the British version used by the BEF during the Battle for France.

The kit contains 22 parts for the gun, 9 parts for the 2 crewmen, a base, and a flag piece for the game, as well as a movement card. The kit has the same snap together construction as the other guns in this series and is made out of some type of softer plastic than regular injection kits, but not as soft as other figures. The plastic can be trimmed with a sharp knife. I did resort to Tamiya liquid glue for some parts to make sure nothing falls off later on. One of the parts for the gun is an optional carriage to display it in travel mode behind a vehicle.

This one was a little harder than the other AT guns I… more

M61A1 Vulcan 20mm Rotary Cannon

Published: December 11, 2012
Company: Master Model

The word Vulcan conjures different images for different people. If you are into Roman mythology, you think of the God of Fire. If you like the show Star Trek, Vulcan is that red planet Spock calls home. But if you are in the US military or build models of those vehicles, Vulcan is the 20mm Gatling gun that is so deadly on the battlefield.

First used in 1959, the M61 has adorned most of the US aircraft from the F-104 to today’s F-22. Its 6,000 rounds per minute can chew up enemy targets, and it has also been used by the Navy in the Phalanx CIWS system and the Army as the M163 Anti Aircraft weapon.

So if you want to model an F-16 showing off the gun, or you have one of the many gunship kits to build, Master Model now has an aftermarket set for the ultimate detail. The kit… more

Israel’s Front Line Armor

Published: December 5, 2012
Book Author(s): Ofer Zidon
Company: Wizard Publications

There’s Merkavas and Pumas and Magachs, oh my.

I have been a fan of the Israeli military for many years but have concentrated my interest on the 1967 and 1973 wars. Their ingenuity regarding their armor and aircraft make them more interesting than German Panzers, in my opinion.

This is the first book in a new series by Wizard Publications (Israel) on IDF Armor. Wizard has done many books on the Israel Air Force and it is nice to see them take up the armor side.

This softcover book is full of full color pictures of the modern Israeli armored fighting vehicles starting in the late 80’s on up through 2011. This time frame covers a change in tactics from the wide open killing grounds of the Sinai to the towns of Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. To meet these challenges,… more

Thunderbird 1

Published: November 19, 2012
Company: Aoshima

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

This countdown started each episodes of the British Supermarionation show Thunderbirds. I remember watching this and other Gerry Anderson shows when I was a wee lad. I, of course, watched them for the very cool models.

Thunderbird 1 was always first on the scene to check out what rescue equipment Thunderbird 2 would need to haul in. It was piloted by Scott Tracy. The launch sequence for TB 1 was my favorite, blasting off from its underground hanger through the pool area.

Aoshima has rereleased their 1/144th scale kit and it is probably the best rendition of this machine on the market. It is not one of the many “toy” versions with the pull back wheels but an actual scale model consisting of 50 silver plastic parts and 6 plastic bars which… more

Long Range Desert Group Patrol Car

Published: September 17, 2012
Company: Dragon Models

I have always loved reading about the LRDG and SAS during the North African campaign during WWII. Their ability to make long treks across the desert, attack the enemy at their bases, and return was just amazing.

Finally, a kit has been released in 1/72nd scale of the LRDG’s main mode of transportation, the Chevrolet Model 1533X2 30 cwt 4x2 truck. So let’s take a look at it.

With Dragon’s penchant for slide molding I had high expectations for this model. While there is some great detail molded in, there are a few areas that are lacking, and even some flash and injection pin marks. First up is the wheels, which the box top takes pride in showing a separate wheel being inserted into the tire. Inside the box is a different story. The wheels are one-piece and they do give a… more