Rob Benson
Reviews By Author
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Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster Snap-TitePublished:
Looking at the BoxAustin (age 7): I think the kit looks pretty neat and stuff, awesome. I like the pictures on the sides. It was made in 2011 by Revell Snaptite. Rob (actual age 53, behavioral age debatable) : The box is 9.5 x 6.75 x 4.5 inches and is lavishly illustrated. The Diablo is described as “a wild and fast mid-engine exotic sports car with four-wheel drive.” I wince at the thought of working on a 5.7 liter engine with 48 valves. I guess if you can afford one of these cars, you can afford a mechanic and the insurance. Opening the boxAustin: The plastic cover thingee was easy to take off. The lid was easy to take off. The tires are black and are rubber, I think. They were loose in the box. There are bodies and other things like blinkers… more |
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EA-6B Prowlers, USN VAQ-135 and VAQ-137Published:
The decal set consists of one 4.75 x 7.5 inch sheet accompanying by a color glossy 8.5 x 11 inch instruction and placement page in a ziplock plastic bag. I always appreciate the resealable bags, for storing unused decals afterwards and protection from coffee. The decals themselves were printed by Cartograf. Markings for two aircraft are provided, BuNo 162224 of VAQ-135, and BuNo 163527, VAQ-137. Very well-done and unique unit art is included for each aircraft, as well as numerous decals for some ECM pods and drop tanks. The formation light panels appear to be a reasonably accurate color. Unfortunately, there are only formation lights for one aircraft. Consider this if you actually are going to build both aircraft off this sheet. General and detail side views of both are included, and… more |
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EA-6B Prowlers, USMC VMAQ-3 and VMAQ-1Published:
Thanks to Gary Newman of Squadron/Signal and IPMS/USA for allowing me to review this decal sheet. The decal set consists of one 4.75 x 7.5 inch sheet accompanying a color glossy 8.5 x 11 inch instruction and placement page in a zip lock plastic bag. I always appreciate the re-sealable bags, for storing unused decals afterwards and protection from coffee. The decals themselves were printed by Cartograf. Markings for two aircraft are provided, BuNo 163030 of VMAQ-3, and BuNo 161242, VMAQ-1. Very well-done and unique unit art is included for each aircraft, as well as numerous decals for the ECM pods and drop tanks. The formation light panels appear to be a reasonably accurate color. Side views of both are included, and there are two general top and detail views. FS colors are… more |
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Russian Akula II Class Attack Submarine "K335 Giepard"Published:
Thank you to Alain of Dragon Models USA and John of IPMS for allowing me to review this kit. It really is an honor to critique a new model and share the fun with the greater modeling community. Bronco Models chose to represent the K335 Giepard, one of the three Akula II submarines constructed by the Amur Shipbuilding Plant Joint Stock Company at Komsomolsk-on-Amur and by Sevmash at the Severodvinsk shipbuilding yard. Research sources are somewhat ambiguous, but generally agree that the Akula II class is a lengthened and improved Akula class, incorporating quieting technology. The K335 name appears as “Gepard” in some references and “Giepard” in others. One member of the class, the Nerpa, is reportedly leased to the Indian Navy. The first member of the class, the Viper, is… more |
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US Submarines 1900-35Published:
Thanks to Sara of Osprey Publishing and to IPMS USA for giving me the opportunity to review this wonderful book! Osprey continues their well-established historical narrative format in the New Vanguard series with US Submarines, 1900-35. This is a significant development era of the US Navy, a transition from the “novelty” submersible ships to a legitimate weapon. Book chapters describe genesis of the US submarine force, early design development, the need for new technologies, naming of submarines, and early operational accounts. The book is a paperback, on heavy pages, which successfully withstood a coffee spill by the reviewer. There are many vintage B&W photos and line drawings throughout, supplemented by numerous color renderings of boat designs, propulsion… more |
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The Modern Super Hornet Guide, The Boeing F-18E/F & EA-18G ExposedPublished:
Thanks to Jake of Reid Air Publications and to IPMS USA for giving me the opportunity to review this astonishing book. I do not use the term astonishing lightly. I have quite a few built-up F-18A and later models in my collection, dating back to a highly modified and corrected Testors F-18 in 72-scale, ca. 1982. I swore at the Italeri kit, released and built about 9 or so years ago in 48-scale. I started research on an EA-18G recently. Every single question, concern, and nagging detail consideration on any Super Hornet kit I’ve wrestled with is answered by this book. A modeler in research mode will find answers less in the chapter text, but more in a very thoroughly documented or captioned series of photographs, often referencing back to page numbers in the text. Reproductions… more |
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F-5 Pitot tubesPublished:
Thanks to David Lajer of Aires, and to IPMS/USA for giving me the opportunity to review this sweet little detail! I recommend it highly. These pitot tubes are cast in pale tannish gray resin, with three tubes protected by casting sprue on three sides. This arrangement will provide the modeler with enough nose tubes for three planes, or in my case, enough for one plane and two mistakes. The shipping package is reseal-able, so you can keep the extra tubes secured. There is little to say about these elegant little tubes, after all they are pretty small. But I micrometered them and they are well with scale tolerances. There is a little bit of variability in the length of the real thing anyway, so this is a minor consideration. More importantly, having this small detail… more |
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Windsock Datafile, Caproni CA.3 at War, Volumes One and TwoPublished:
Thanks to Ray Rimmel of Albatros Productions and to IPMS/USA for giving me the opportunity to review these two wonderful volumes! These wonderful publications by Gregory Alegi address a little known aspect of early WW1 aviation, the development of early heavy bombers. The volumes are actually the 3rd and 4th Caproni volumes authored by Mr. Alegi, but recent access to privately held papers in the Caproni family collection allowed updated and improved description of this unique aircraft. The Caproni Ca.3 had an impressive (for the time) 22.2 m wingspan, 11m length, an empty weight of 2300 kg, and could stay aloft for 4 hours. The bomber’s ceiling was 4500 m, but it would take 48 minutes to reach that altitude! The aircraft was a twin-boom design with… more |
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Combat Carriers, USN Air and Sea Operations from 1941Published:
Thank you to Amberley Publishing and the hardworking duo of John Noack and Dave Morrisette for providing this book to enjoy and review! Martin Bowman has earned an excellent reputation as an aviation historian. Combat Carriers continues this legacy with a wonderful series of chapters detailing important events related to carrier aviation since the start of World War II. The table of contents is paraphrased below:
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Birds of PreyPublished:
The concept of the UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) is not a new concept. But UAVs have been hot-points in the news from many parts of the world over the last decade. “Birds of Prey” is an absolutely fascinating, current, and in-depth description of the wide variety of these vehicles. The author skillfully intertwines factual information with almost "Tom Clancy" descriptions of combat action. The huge variances in the size, style and missions are covered extremely well. To put the size variance into a modeling perspective, the smallest winged UAV, the Scan Eagle has a 1 inch span in 1:48 scale! Compare this to the Global Hawk Block 20+vehicle with a wing span of 32.5 inches in the same scale. I did not verify the details presented throughout… more |