Rod Lees
Reviews By Author
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Metal Landing Gear for B-17GPublished:
Thanks to Ross at SAC for sending us improved metal landing gear for the new tool 1/72 Airfix B-17G, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it to me…. Another of SAC’s expansive line of white metal upgrades to the basic kit plastic! The set consists of six parts: Two set of main gear struts, two extension support struts, and two-part tail gear for the kit. Not much to say here; build your kit, leave off the kit gear, and install the SAC gear. Paint, add the painted wheels and tires, and you are done. The mains are simply dropped in place with superglue, and the side supports glued to the other extension side support. Same process with the tail gear; the main offset axle and mount are cemented with superglue to the other side strut, and installed in… more |
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Vietnamese SPADS (1) VNAF AD-6/A-1H Skyraiders in the Vietnam WarPublished:
AoA (Angle of Attack) decals: Been around about a year, and now we know they are focusing on Vietnam War subjects … We sincerely appreciate this new decal manufacturer sending IPMS/USA their latest releases for a review! (…and the usual thanks also to IPMS USA Reviewer corps leadership for sending these my way...) This sheet is could easily be used on several models if you have a garage or basement totally dedicated to 1/32 models AND are independently wealthy to purchase several A-1’s in this scale… A few airframe stencils in included for one model, along with national insignia. This sheet focuses on the main markings for the aircraft, particularly since several of these SPADS were repainted with camo and as such did not receive replacement stencil markings. … more |
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Mig 21 in Czechoslovak Service Dual ComboPublished:
As usual, IPMS USA are eternally grateful to Eduard for kindly providing yet another magnificent example of their new items to review, and to the IPMS USA reviewer corps leaders for sending it to me. Eduard are rightfully proud of their Mig 21 series; the 1/48 kits are the best in the market, and cover the majority of the available Migs in service. This particular boxing is of their new 1/144 dual kit featuring eight Czech-marked examples with nose art, display schemes, etc. Bare metal, brown and green over gray, winter camo, all are there. The whole kit exudes quality and value. All through the build I was thinking “This is fun and I don’t want to screw it up!” Contest models coming out of this region contain some of the finest details out there in my opinion, and I… more |
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Metal Landing GearPublished:
Thanks to Ross at SAC for sending us improved metal landing gear for the massive Boeing 777, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it to me…. This is ‘du rigeur’ SAC white metal upgrade to the basic kit plastic! The set consists of 9 parts: Two main struts, two strut retraction cylinders, the nose gear, retraction arm, and a drag brace, and two centering and leveling cylinder assemblies for the main trucks. The landing gear on the 777 is a monster in real life; it has six wheel/tire assemblies on each wing, and is quite a piece of kit for supporting this highly-successful airliner and cargo hauler. On the kit, it makes sense to have similar strength. For 1/144 scale, it’s a big model. Zvezda’s plastic is pretty strong, but the SAC gear makes it better…… more |
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A-37B Dragonfly AntennasPublished:
THANK YOU to our friends and suppliers at Aires/Quickboost for another improvement set, in this case for the Trumpeter A-37 Dragonfly. And thanks also to the reviewer corps leaders for making them available for my review. This set takes the kit components and improves them by directly replacing the kit parts with fine, pressure-molded resin parts. These are very thin and fragile! Included are six antennas; two VHF blades, two Glideslope blades, one UHF blade, and one Omnidirectional antenna blister. Remove the parts from their pour stub, and superglue in place. These fit in place of the kit items, no additional sanding or kit plastic removal required. Quick and improved kit appearance with scale size and thickness. The kit parts are good; the Aires parts are… more |
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A-37B Dragonfly Control LeverPublished:
THANK YOU to our friends and suppliers at Aires/Quickboost for another improvement set, in this case for the Trumpeter A-37 Dragonfly. And thanks also to the reviewer corps leaders for making them available for my review. This set takes the kit components and improves them by directly replacing the kit parts with fine, pressure-molded resin parts. These are very thin and fragile! Included are four control columns with much refined, thin columns, better boots at the bottom, and the control grip actually looks like the real thing, fantastic! The kit items are REALLY clunky and don’t look like they should. QUICKBOOST fixes that as shown in the side by side photos. Remove the parts from their pour stub, and superglue in place. These fit in place of the kit items, no… more |
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L-19/0-1 "Bird Dog"Published:
Roden’s 0-1 was developed “Under the radar” for many of us; we learned in early announcements of its forthcoming release, and due to world events were concerned that we might never see the kit released. However, the kit has finally appeared, and we now have a large-scale bird dog in hand. Roden has reputation for developing kits that others won’t… and this kit is one of them. For all of us who clamor for “our favorite” or “why don’t they just make” in conversation, remember hundreds more will not be interested. In the case of the bird dog, is there a market base supporting the expense of the mold making and sheer monumental effort involved? Hopefully, the answer is yes, because Roden is on a streak. Their 1/144 C-141B answered the call from modelers on a manageable scale, and… more |
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L-19/O-1 Bird Dog Landing Gear and Engine Supports for RodenPublished:
Product provided by: Ross, CEO of SAC Thanks to Ross at SAC for sending us another of your expansive line of metal landing gear (with extra bits for the engine mounts, nice!). Thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it to me. Once again, a SAC upgrade to the basic kit plastic! The set consists of 5 parts: Two main struts, one tailwheel leaf-spring strut with tail wheel fork, and two engine mounts. Roden kits suffer from one problem; the soft plastic used is just not up to the task of holding up a model. In this kit’s case, it is worse because the gear is already spread at an angle like the majority of Cessna products, which means the real thing is a shock absorber (try landing on one with too high a sink rate and be bounced back in the air, experience… more |
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DOGS OF WAR (1) US Army/USAF O-1 Bird Dogs in the Vietnam WarPublished:
AoA (Angle of Attack) decals: Been around about a year, and now we know they are focusing on Vietnam War subjects … We sincerely appreciate this new decal manufacturer sending IPMS/USA their latest releases for review! (…and the usual thanks also to IPMS USA Reviewer corps leadership for sending these my way...) This set is extremely useful in that it includes a bunch of USAF and US Army stencil and non-stencil markings, in both blue and black, in this case sized for the Roden 1/32 O-1/L-19. You have many options for use, and these are well researched and provide (1) different choices for YOUR model, and (2) provide an alternative to the (frequently) not-so-good kit decal performance. A set of airframe stencils in included for one model, along with national insignia.… more |
Jet Fighter Pilot with BA-22 ParachutePublished:
Product provided by: Master Details via the reviewer’s wallet Master details produces and distributes an expanding range of pilot figures and details for 1/32 scale projects; for now their focus is on the HK B-17, but they have other items in their lineup including an HE-111 Cockpit for the massive Revell kit. In this case, the pilot figure is an early Vietnam-era U.S. pilot with four different heads cast in metal (One with just the helmet and chin strap, one with the visor up and oxygen mask in place, and one with the visor down and oxygen mask in place, and one with visor down and no oxygen mask), an oxygen hose for the mask in metal, and seven resin body parts including two legs, and four separate arms, with a torso. The kit also includes a unit… more |