Rod Lees
Reviews By Author
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Halifax B Mk. III interiorPublished:
Thanks to Eduard for providing more of their excellent aftermarket parts for IPMS USA to review, and to IPMS leadership for sending it to me! This set vastly improves the appearance and detail of Revell’s 1/72 halifax B III. The kit consists of all the requisite improvements for the forward crew section on the Halifax: a new pilot seat, seat harnesses, instrument/control panels, engine throttles and control levers, radio and bulkhead details, and sidewall details. This set is simple to use and improves the kit cockpit with little fuss. The parts are not self-adhesive, so there is a need to use your favorite cement/glue to attach things. I use Gator Loups’ polyurethane “Gator glue” for the instrument lamentations, and superglue to attach everything else. Using a… more |
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Trainers No More: Trojans at War: T-28B/C/D Trojans in the Vietnam WarPublished:
AoA (Angle of Attack) decals: Initially focusing on Marine Air, AoA now branches out to other services and nationalities, in this case the T-28B/C/D, armed COIN (COunter INsurgency) ground attack aircraft…We sincerely appreciate their sending IPMS/USA their latest releases for review! (…and the usual thanks also to IPMS USA Reviewer corps leadership for providing me them to review) This sheet Follows AoA’s standard of releasing several interesting subjects with ability to model at least two aircraft; in this case, decals for 18 different aircraft are provided. Printed by Microscale, the colors were aligned and spot-on; density was not a problem, and unlike other aftermarket decals, were very flexible. As much as I like a certain other company’s products, they… more |
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Dassault Mirage III - Pitot Tube (with adapter for Italeri kit)Published:
The master metalworker of Poland, Piotr, just keeps cranking these things out… THANKS VERY MUCH for sending IPMS USA another of your growing line of turned metal Pitot tubes, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it on to me to review…. This is the now-expected, much improved upgrade to the kit plastic. Consisting of 1 metal pitot tube and a radome adaptor directly replacing the kit pitot probe, this is an easy addition to improve the longevity of your kits’ appearance… The usual warning about being careful with the needle-like probe applies. The Mirage III pitot tube is a multiple- angle, different diameter item; look at the finished product to get what I am saying. There is just no way for us mortals to turn a needle into a tube looking like this with the… more |
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Harrier GR Mk.7/9 Exhaust NozzlesPublished:
THANKS VERY MUCH to our friends at Eduard for providing IPMS USA another of your huge line of resin aftermarket kit improvements, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it on to me to review…. This is a simple upgrade to the kit plastic that makes a HUGE difference in the blood pressure of the builder. The Hasegaga GR7 and 9 kits’ Harrier hot and cool air exhaust duct nozzles are molded in halves, with an almost-impossible-to-fill centerline assembly seam. These Brassin nozzles come complete as single-cast, seamless ducts with all the appropriate depth and detail we have come to expect from Brassin. The nozzle vanes themselves are EXTREMELY thin and look like the real thing. I mounted the nozzles’ by their pour stubs to a stick with superglue to my… more |
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Sniper ATP for Harrier GR.9Published:
THANKS VERY MUCH to our friends at Eduard for sending IPMS USA another of your huge line of resin aftermarket kit improvements, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it on to me to review…. This is a specialized iteration of the Sniper targeting pod as carried by the Harrier Mk 9. Included in the set are the pod body, forward sensor section, three clear resin parts ( three protective glass fairing covers), and a photoetch set with four brackets and two different end plates. Also included are two separate resin sets of delicate but strong sway braces, and a separate block resin bracket for a different lot number of pod. There is also a decal sheet to finish off! Detail is fantastic; the avionics cooling scoop is hollow, and the pod fore/aft… more |
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AIM-9B SidewinderPublished:
Sincere appreciation to Eduard for providing IPMS USA yet another review item, and to the IPMS reviewer corps leaders for sending it to me! This set is part of Eduard’s expanding range of aftermarket accessories to use on various aircraft. In this case, you receive four missile bodies with aft fins already cast in place, a set of forward fins (16 total), and four clear resin seeker heads. Also included is a set of resin ground-protective end caps which can be placed over the seeker heads, and a decal sheet to handle all four missiles. There is also a brass etched set of missile nozzles. A word on the detail: FANTASTIC! These are the first AIM-9’s I’ve noted that have all three rail mounts in place between the fins; the rollerons are extremely well done, and the rest of… more |
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F-104 Starfighter Landing Gear (Ita)Published:
Thanks to Ross at SAC for yet another outstanding metal gear set. IPMS USA continues to appreciate the support! In this case, I purchased the gear, because I really needed it. This set is, again, a simple drop-in replacement gear for the new 1/32 Italeri F-104C. This is the logical follow-on kit to the previously released F-104G/S, and this kit is great. A bit expensive, but the decal sheets are huge Cartograf items with several options. The basic plastic and the few add-ons like the gear was worth my money. The SAC set contains the entire main gear beam strut area as one unitary item, and a nose gear. Both are perfectly cast and directly upgrade the kit parts. Installation is easy. Use superglue and press the SAC gear in place. They fit perfectly, and impress… more |
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F-105 Tan Canopy FramingPublished:
The advance THANK YOU to Furball aero design for sending IPMS USA these decals, and the fearless leaders at the reviewer corps for allowing me once again to do a review! Every once in a while a product comes along that makes you wonder “why didn’t someone do this before?” In this case, framing on F-105’s is the subject. I have struggled myself to paint the framing on canopies. Anything below 1/48 scale, “forget it”, and even then when it was attempted by yours truly, well, it was really awful. Because it’s so noticeable around the focal point of a model, the cockpit, office, whatever, it generally became an exercise in frustration. These new decals by Furball, however, take care of the problem. You get two sets of decals: one designed for the F-105D single-seat… more |
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Hawker Hurricane Landing Gear (Fly)Published:
Product provided by: Ross, CEO of SAC The metal gear company strikes again! Thanks to Ross at SAC for sending us another of your expansive line of metal landing gear, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it to me. This is becoming a theme; a SAC upgrade to the basic kit plastic! The set consists of 5 parts: Two main struts and side braces, two main strut drag braces, and a one-piece tail wheel fork. The FLY models Hurricane is a magnificent bit of modeling fun. It is limited issue, short run-design, with resin, plastic that (for the most part) fits with precision (no alignment pins), only needing a bit of practiced hand to construct. I had a few areas requiring putty, but really must rave about one part: the main gear wheel well. This is a… more |
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MBD3-U6-68 Multiple Bomb RacksPublished:
Спасибо! THANKS VERY MUCH Mikhail and Victory models for importing and distributing these sets, and also sending IPMS USA another of your growing line of resin accessories for Russian/Soviet aircraft. Much thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it on to me to review…. A word about customer service; Mikhail, the Proprietor of Advanced Modeling, provided Dave Morrissette with reference pictures of the actual MER installed on three aircraft; it looks like Sukhois and one TU-22m; Dave then forwarded to me. THAT saved me a lot of time on correct colors. Most excellent service Mihail! This Multiple Bomb Rack (MER) set is a simple, extremely well-done example of resin casting with the end result of vastly improving the current injected molded kit weapons carriages on… more |