Phil Peterson
Reviews By Author
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Miss Kitty Bust, “Lady Furry”Published:
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 |
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British Vickers Machine Gun with CrewPublished:
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 |
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British QF 2-Pounder Anti-Tank GunPublished:
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 |
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M61A1 Vulcan 20mm Rotary CannonPublished:
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 |
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Israel’s Front Line ArmorPublished:
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 |
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Thunderbird 1Published:
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 |
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Long Range Desert Group Patrol CarPublished:
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 |
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Swordfish Mk.1 ExhaustPublished:
Quickboost continues to release replacement parts for new kits as they come out, this time it is updated exhausts for the new Airfix Swordfish. A quick comparison between the kit part and the resin parts show the new items have more of an oval exhaust point where the kit piece looks more round. You get 2 exhausts in the set which can be helpful if you have one of the older Matchbox/Revell versions as those kits only come with the later exhaust. Or you can save the other one for the new floatplane version Airfix is releasing shortly. Overall a nice, quick update to help make a good looking kit that much better. Many thanks to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for the review item |
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RCAF Sunderlands Decals - Canadians in Coastal Command #2Published:
The Sunderland is one of my favorite flying boats. There is something about the Flying Porcupine that just makes me go cool. I even got a chance to see one at Fantasy of Flight during the Nationals even though it had been converted to a passenger version. This new sheet by Aviaeology covers markings for 3 of the Mk.III versions as operated by the RCAF in Coastal Command. All 3 aircraft scored U-boat kills. They all wear similar schemes of white fuselage sides and undersides and either Dark Slate Grey and Extra Dark Sea Grey upper camos or the later version with just Extra Dark Sea Grey. The instruction sheet is in black and white and gives profiles and upper views of all 3 aircraft. The decals consist off fuselage codes and serials for all 3 aircraft but only 1 set of… more |
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Bofors Anti-Aircraft Gun CrewPublished:
Since I had picked up Bronco’s lovely little 40mm Bofors gun, I jumped at the chance to review the separate Gun Crew set. Unfortunately for me, they are dressed in more European Theatre uniforms (and possibly early war) while I plan to make my gun one based on Malta, so hopefully Bronco will do a Middle Eastern uniformed crew set in the near future. That said, let’s take a look in the box and see what we got. There are 6 figures in the kit, which seems a pretty standard crew for the gun, but it could go up to 8 men. The figures come in 8-11 parts including helmets and gas mask bags. While I have seen a few pictures of crews wearing the gas mask bags, most of the shots I have seen show the crews without these. This wouldn’t be an issue except the straps for the bags are… more |