Robert DeMaio
Reviews By Author
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Storefront Signage, German BuildingsPublished:
I asked to review these sheets listed as decals on IPMS, listing thinking they were water transfer decals. To my surprise, they are actually dry transfers. Back in the 1970’s, between my aircraft engineering jobs, I had a Civil Service position as a Cartographer, making various maps for my County. I was introduced to dry transfers on the job, using a burnishing stick to place letters and numbers onto Mylar maps. It was nice but you had to line up each character precisely. Fear not, this isn’t the case with these Archer transfers as the signage is already spelled out, properly spaced, and a number next to each signage to be used for a building… more |
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Storefront Signage, French and Belgian BuildingsPublished:
I asked to review these sheets listed as decals on IPMS, listing thinking they were water transfer decals. To my surprise, they are actually dry transfers. Back in the 1970’s, between my aircraft engineering jobs, I had a Civil Service position as a Cartographer making various maps for my County. I was introduced to dry transfers on the job using a burnishing stick to place letters and numbers onto Mylar maps. It was nice, but you had to line up each character precisely. Fear not, this isn’t the case with these Archer transfers as the signage is already spelled out, properly spaced, and with a number next to each signage to be used for a… more |
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Storefront Signage, Dutch and Belgian BuildingsPublished:
I asked to review these sheets listed as decals on IPMS, listing thinking they were water transfer decals. To my surprise they are actually dry transfers. Back in the 1970’s, between my aircraft engineering jobs, I had a Civil Service position as a Cartographer making various maps for my County. I was introduced to dry transfers on the job, using a burnishing stick placing letters and numbers onto Mylar maps. It was nice but you had to line up each character precisely. Fear not, this isn’t the case with these Archer transfers as the signage is already spelled out, properly spaced and with a number next to each signage to be used for a building… more |
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A-26 Invading Esquire Girls Part IIPublished:
Keep them coming, Bombshell Decals! The decals Bombshell produces is what the current industry needs, nose art of pinup girls and nicely done! They inspired our service men under wartime conditions and appear to carry on some sort of inspiration for modelers to recreate these aircraft in miniature. There is absolute minimum flash in these decals. No trimming is necessary but a reminder that they should be placed on a smooth finish, preferably glossy. All the numbers and letter designations big and small do not have flash background extended around the complete decal. The flash is a center band enough to maintain character spacing and alignment distance. There are no signs of color overlap, which makes the decals crisp and clear. This is very obvious just looking at the nose art ladies… more |
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Mitsubishi J2M3 RaidenPublished:
This Japanese design started in 1939 for the Imperial Japanese Navy. The first prototype was designated J2M1, and it took flight in March, 1942. Prior to this maiden flight, the Japanese were well under way to engulfing all of the Pacific countries and had brought the United States into the war. Engine difficulties plagued the aircraft from the start of production in December 1942 with the J2M2 Model 11. 131 were built and deployed to pilots in December, 1943. Many of these were taken off the line were sent backl for testing as engine difficulties became severe in the field. This led to development of the J2M3 Model 21 (307 built) that reflected changes to the armament design. The machine guns were scratched, giving way to two 20mm cannons and two short-barrel cannons in the wings. By… more |
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F4U Corsair Walk AroundPublished:
Since the F4U is one of many of my favorite World War II aircraft, I had to add this one to my collection. I recently purchased one of the latest publications that Squadron Signal did on the F4U Corsair, In Action series number SS1220. Both books complement each other extremely well. The Walk Around series number SS5565 of this aircraft isn’t disappointing in the least bit. It’s perfect for the modeler who wants to detail the Corsair to the utmost. It’s filled with color pictures of every nook and cranny that the photographer can see, eighty pages worth, and no black and white pictures. The only two quarter-page illustrations found are of the three canopy designs and two cowling designs that the Corsair went through. A compliment goes out to artist Don Greer for his cover… more |
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P-38 Lightning In ActionPublished:
I was very impressed by this publication from cover to cover starting with the cover artwork by Don Greer. Though it is published in a Walk Around Series bound book, it follows the In Action format of the airplane’s inception through each production version. The Introduction explains how the Curtiss P-36 Hawk pursuit aircraft became the P-38’s predecessor. Briefly, the Army Air Corps contracted in early 1937 with Curtiss to convert one P-36 to the new turbo-supercharged, liquid-cooled Allison engine. The redesigned P-36 became the XP-37. The Army Air Corps also issued a contract with Lockheed to design a turbo-supercharged twin engine aircraft in June 1937 and thus the P-38 Lightning was on its way to becoming one of the most popular pursuit aircraft of all World War II. Each… more |
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Marauding Esquire Girls B-26CPublished:
Bombshell Decals continue rolling out extremely nice decals! This release of the B-26C Marauders contains decals to build two aircraft except for one set of the National Stars, and one set of standard Curtis prop blade markings. A note explains that two of the Curtis markings would often wear off; therefore enough decals are provided for two aircraft. If you used Bombshell decals already, you will find the same quality in this bag. All the decals have a sheen and easily seen against the flat paper surface. The clear flash around each decal is minimal if you elect to trim them. Veterans of decal applications using gloss surfaces and solvents will probably not trim them. All the numbers and letters have clear film for proper spacing and decrease distortion when applied. There are no… more |
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Ju-87B-2 StukaPublished:
Brief History: The Junker Ju-87 was developed as a dive bomber for a design competition in the United States in the early 1930’s. Ernst Udet was a leading WWI ace who was part of the new Luftwaffe and had a strong influence on the aircraft performance requirements that the companies had to meet. In 1936 three German aircraft companies competed for a dive bomber. The Ju-87 was most impressive, executing an almost vertical dive and pulling out of it with ease. The competitor He-118 had separated from its propeller and gear box, which was the deciding factor to award production for ten Ju-87A-0 aircraft. The B-2 version used the Jumo 211Da engine with a pressurized coolant radiator, larger propeller and rear pointing exhaust stacks to increase speed. A small… more |
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Hawker Hurricane from 1935 to 1945Published:
Editor's note:This publication appears to be superseded by "Hawker Hurricane from 1937 to 1950" with same ISBN Number. The Planes and Pilots book series published by Casemate on the British design and built Hawker Hurricane is number fourteen of the group. This eighty-three page book covers a decade of time, and Mr. Brefford’s attempt to cover reference material to attract both the historian and modeler is well done. He tells how Sir Sydney Camm was appointed Chief Engineer at Hawker and how the Hurricane aircraft became the direct decedent of the Hawker Fury. In just a few beginning pages are details covering the aircraft from design, prototype and beginning operational service status. Nice sharp black and white photos accompany the text including pictures of… more |