Douglas A-4K Kahu Skyhawk Conversion

Published: December 15, 2022
Company: Barracuda Studios

Roy Sutherland of Barracuda Studios is back… and this time with a totally unexpected item; a 1/32 A-4 “kahu” Upgrade for your Trumpeter A-4 to turn it into a New Zealand bird.

Anyone who has been around the modeling community for a while should be familiar with Roy and his company. Well researched and flawlessly executed resin, decals, and other items for (Is it 20 years?)… This set is… more

A-4 Skyhawk Intake and Exhaust Set

Published: December 15, 2022
Company: Barracuda Studios

Roy Sutherland of Barracuda Studios is back… and this time with a totally unexpected item; a 1/32 Exhaust and intake set for your Trumpeter A-4.

Consisting of four printed resin items, this one is truly necessary for tightening up a neglected area of many models.

The exhaust turbine section has the four support blades and centerline flow bullet molded as one piece. Easy to… more

A-4 Skyhawk 300 Gallon Droptanks

Published: December 15, 2022
Company: Barracuda Studios

From Barracudacast’s website:

“The Aero 1D 300 gallon tanks were widely used, and were carried in this configuration by all variants of the Skyhawk as well as the F4D Skyray. This set consists of a pair of highly accurate and detailed 3D printed droptanks, complete with separate shackles for mounting to pylons. Drop tanks are printed hollow, so they will not weigh down an… more

P-51H Mustang Landing Gear (Mvit)

Published: December 13, 2022
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

This is the SAC gear is made with the brand-new Modelsvit P-51H. This was the last in the Mustang line, and essentially was a totally different aircraft; in outward appearance the lineage was there, but new wings, fuselage, cowling, combined with sub-parts of the previous P-51D tooling, led to a faster aircraft, with a bit more performance. Unfortunately for it, the Jet age had arrived, and as… more

XA2D-1 Skyshark Landing Gear & Wing Folds for Clear Prop

Published: December 10, 2022
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

SAC is an interesting company; started around the year 2010 or so, they continue to provide model landing gear and other stress-handling parts in a world that some would say at the time “has no place for them here”. I differ in this view, one of their first sets was for the Italieri S-3 Viking, and I learned they had released a 1/32 set to replace the Revell JU-88 plastic set that was… more

Tiny Tim Rocket Set for Late WWII Aircraft

Published: September 8, 2022
Company: Brengun

Brengun/Hauler provides the modeling community with items considered perfect for limited run production. In this case, who would have thought the much-vaunted but not really that effective unguided rocket weapon, affectionately called “Tiny Tim”, would end up as an available add-on?

A logical development of 5” unguided rockets employed by Navy and Marine aircraft in the later portion… more

Avro Vulcan B Mk.I Landing Gear (Replacement for Airfix, 2021 Mold)

Published: September 6, 2022
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

Here we are with one more of SAC’s white metal replacement to improve the longevity of the models we slavishly spend so much time and cash on. In the case of the new-tool 2019 release Vulcan, it’s a LARGE model and the metal replacement is a good idea.

How do I know this? Wellllll, back in 1984, around May, I had purchased the then-new Airfix Vulcan in 1/72 scale as my first… more

Mig-27,Mig-27M Flogger D/J Landing Gear

Published: August 20, 2022
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

Once again SAC comes up with a solution to the problem of failing Plastic Landing gear on a “different design” landing gear situation.

The idea of “dead cockroach” landing gear is not new; it is a solution to a problem aircraft designers have had to deal with for years. My personal favorite are all the Cessna’s (Cardinal and Skymaster come to mind) which had the gear partially extend… more

AMMO Paint Set - Cold War Soviet Fighters #1

Published: March 5, 2022
Company: AMMO by Mig Jimenez

FIRST THINGS: THANK YOU to Mig Jimenez and his team for supporting IPMS USA and the reviewer Corps. We collectively advance when we work with Manufacturers who have the dual goal of (1) customer satisfaction and (2) having a great product. Read more anon…

OK I have to confess, I have used some MIG products in the past, and was impressed (Metallics), but had not used “standard” coatings… more

SBD-3 Dauntless Canopy Vacform (Brengun Kit)

Published: February 18, 2022
Company: Brengun

One other little detail Brengun does well is VACFORM canopies for their models. In this case, you get two types of canopy closed or open.

Use a REALLY new #11 blade, ceramic since the old style won’t do anything but bend. Use your favorite cementing method. I use blue-light clear cement, it works great and doesn’t cloud the plastic.

I painted the canopy with acrylic, and then… more