Rob Benson
Reviews By Author
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Dr. Jekyll as Mr. HydePublished:
Thank you to the crew at Moebius Models – Frank Winspur, Dave Metzner and Bob Plant – for providing this review kit! The opportunity also wouldn’t be possible without the IPMS Review Corps staff, who graciously allowed me to give this one a try. In GeneralAs a rule, when I build a model for a review, I focus on the model itself rather than the subject’s background. However, in this case, many may not realize the source of the kit idea. The idea came from a book, a novella that was authored by Robert Louis Stevenson and first published in 1886. I had no idea that this Scottish author of Treasure Island also penned the inspiration for this kit. While a completely fictional story, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde gave rise to the expression… more |
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F8F-1B Gun BarrelsPublished:
Thank you to David Lajer of Aires/Quickboost and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for the privilege of reviewing this delightful aftermarket resin set. The Hobby Boss F8F kit is wonderful in its own right, but the replacement gun barrels add quite an eye-catching detail in a highly visible part of the kit. A single casting plug with 2 longer and 2 shorter barrels is in the package, molded in medium brownish-gray colored polyurethane resin. The application is very simple; use the appropriate Quickboost barrels to replace kit parts E6 and E5. This is a direct, drop-in replacement; all you need to do is carefully remove the barrels from the casting plug. The kit barrel diameter is 1.92 scale inches and the Quickboost diameter is 1.20 scale inches. While both of the diameters seem… more |
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F8F-1 Bearcat Wheel BayPublished:
Thank you to David Lajer of Aires / Quickboost and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for the privilege of reviewing this delightful aftermarket resin set. The Hobbyboss F8F kit is wonderful in its own right, but replacement of the kit wheel wells with the Aires parts and the other pieces in the set allows a much cleaner and more detailed presentation. The PackageThe set is packaged in a typical blister pack, with a foam insert backing. An engine-mount firewall and cockpit firewall are included, along with two wheel well units and a casting plug holding 6 additional detail parts. The casting detail is very fine and crisp. While inventorying the parts and comparing them to the instruction sheet, I noticed that the 2 rings (RP 3) on the plug were not complete. I couldn’t find any… more |
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B-17G Final Assembly and ConclusionsPublished:
Thank you to Mr. Neil Yan of HK Models and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for the opportunity to review a wonderful new model release in large-scale aircraft. This final installment will describe the surprisingly quick last steps, and my thoughts and conclusions about this great kit. All of the remaining clear parts went onto the model in very much the same way as the previous ones, with only a little flash in a few cases, and nice flush fit. Here, I encountered the first and really only negatives of the kit: both the top turret and the ball turret were a little bit tricky to work with. They both built up into nice assemblies for installation in the fuselage, but the overall very tight tolerances made it hard to get the turrets to pop into place like many other features. I would… more |
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B-17G Nose Section and FuselagePublished:
Thank you to Mr. Neil Yan of HK Models and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for the opportunity to review a wonderful new model release in large-scale aircraft. This next installment is fairly brief and describes the construction of the nose section and the remainder of the fuselage. The bombardier and navigator stations in the nose are well appointed, with a Norden bombsight, a pair of 50-caliber flex guns with ammunition belts, the sight and controls for the chin turret so distinctive for the G models, seats and seat mounts, and navigation table. There is even a lamp for the table! Construction was very straightforward, although installation of the guns was a little tricky. The belts are not at all flexible, but are indeed correctly molded to fit. I elected to glue the belts to the… more |
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B-17G Waist Interior and Fuselage AssemblyPublished:
Thank you to Mr. Neil Yan of HK Models and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for the opportunity to review a wonderful new model release in large-scale aircraft. This next installment covers the waist interior and fuselage assembly, which is from the ring mount around the ball turret through the Cheyenne tail turret, and closing up the fuselage. I originally thought it might be more instructive to work up the armament first, but after reviewing the kit more with some experience, I elected to skip the all of the cool-looking 50s and describe them when they get installed. Instruction steps 15 through 25 are used to construct this subassembly. As I continue assembly, I am more and more impressed by the engineering of this kit. HK has done an excellent job planning the molds. To date, I have… more |
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B-17G Midsection InteriorPublished:
This second installment covers the midsection interior, which is from the aft bulkhead of the bombardier and navigator compartment through the bomb bay and to the ring mount around the ball turret. Instruction steps 1 through 15 are used to construct this mid-section subassembly. I continue to be impressed by the fit and detail of the moldings. Please consider that the associated pictures illustrate in-progress shots. There will be much touch-up, and I was reluctant to get too carried away with painting until I had a better feel for what was visible or need dry-brushing, etc. Following are a few of my observations about the work so far. Pay careful attention to part numbering – the sheer number of parts can be a little overwhelming. It certainly takes a bit of… more |
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B-17G First ImpressionsPublished:
Thank you to Mr. Neil Yan of HK Models and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for the opportunity to review a wonderful new model release in large-scale aircraft. This report is the first in a series of reviews that will highlight the construction of this soon-to-be-released subject. The reviews will cover first impressions, the midsection interior, armament, waist interior and fuselage assembly, nose section, engines, props and undercarriage, major assemblies, and final conclusions. This review series will be a little non-traditional. I will be describing construction from a general target audience perspective. I am not a B-17 expert, just a modeler very excited to tackle this ground-breaking offer. You will hear of my experiences as such a modeler, my thoughts, and my ideas as I go… more |
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Soft Pipes – Materials for Detailing ProjectsPublished:
Thank you to Riich Models, Dragon Models USA, and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for the chance to review this intriguing product. This is really one review of 2 different diameters, and there are 2 other smaller sizes available. Each package contains 5 pieces of soft pipe in about 800 mm (7.75 inches) lengths.
So, like me, I am sure that the title of “soft pipes” caught your eye. These items are not pipes per se, but are solid, smooth-surfaced, very flexible rods that are great imitations of scale pipes, hoses, and so on. The diameters seemed to be uniform throughout the lengths of the rods, although they are soft enough that I found myself flattening them easily with my calipers… more |
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U.S. Guided Missiles, The Definitive Reference GuidePublished:
Thank you to Andrea Lindell of Specialty Press and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me the opportunity to review this truly definitive resource. Author Bill Yenne does not disappoint in the least; rather,he provides a veritable gold mine of data, photographs, and narrative. He provides a wonderful introduction defining what a guided missile is, but also covers early guided missile concepts and development, the evolution of naming conventions, and, of course, the usual inter-service rivalries and territory disputes. For example, the Air Force and Navy viewed themselves as global projectors of air-power, which guided missiles are part of. The Army, on the other hand, viewed such missiles as a logical extension of artillery, whereas the Air Force thought of missiles as bombers! It… more |