Rod Lees
Reviews By Author
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Wheel, Tire, and Canopy Mask SetPublished:
First up, a "Heavy duty" THANK YOU to the Furball Aero Design team for this Mask set, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it to me to use and review…. As always we appreciate the generous support of our smaller companies who provide us great things we never knew we needed or could use, but now find harder to do without! Masking of canopies before airbrushing is one thing I still do the hard way; apply tape, burnish down with a toothpick, and cut around the canopy. Either kabuki paper tape or Scotch magic frosted tape have been my standard mask for years. I have tried masks from vinyl from other companies, and have had limited success, mostly because they tend to be in flexible, too stiff, aggressively stick to the plastic when I don't want, and don't when I do,… more |
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Mirage IIIC Landing Gear (Ita)Published:
Once again, extreme appreciation and 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 the standard SAC upgrade to the kit plastic. The set consists of 11 parts: Two main struts, two main strut actuators, and the remainder builds up into the detailed nose gear assembly of strut, nose gear fork, and steering actuators with shimmy dampers. The SAC solution for stronger gear; superglue the upper strut and lower fork together, let it cure. The shimmy damper arm and the damper itself are cemented to the strut, and the extension/drag brace is glued into place. Then carefully glue the whole thing into the nose gear well. To finish after installation, spray with… more |
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MiG-31 Foxhound Landing Gear (AMK)Published:
Once again, extreme appreciation and 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. And a special note on SAC customer service: Ross’ manufacturing team noted they had some “short shots” on their nose gear, whereby the axle itself was missing on one side. Ross offers a replacement to anyone who purchased the set with this minor defect, free of charge. GREAT service! This review set was one of those, and I noted it only when I opened the package. This is the standard SAC upgrade to the kit plastic. As provided, AMK’s kit is, well, an example of how kits should be. Accurate and tight on construction, it almost clicks together (and in some places it does). The Complex… more |
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MiG-31 Metal Landing GearPublished:
Once again, extreme appreciation and 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. And a special note on SAC customer service: Ross’ manufacturing team noted they had some “short shots” on their nose gear, whereby the axle itself was missing on one side. Ross offers a replacement to anyone who purchased the set with this minor defect, free of charge. GREAT service! This review set was one of those, and I noted it only when I opened the package… This is the standard SAC upgrade to the kit plastic. As provided, AMK’s kit is, well, an example of how kits should be. Accurate and tight on construction, it almost clicks together (and in some places it does). The Complex… more |
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B-29 Superfortress Engine CarsPublished:
Product provided by: The reviewer while trolling the internet, and his wallet Metallic details is a new company to me. Based in the Ukraine, I found them while searching for 1/48 engines for my Monogram/Revell (Now Revell) B-29 builds. They have a VERY comprehensive and growing catalog of items for armor, aircraft, cars, they are obviously growing! When I received the package about two weeks after ordering (that’s REALLY good delivery time given today’s worldwide issues) I was impressed with the quality of what was provided, read on! First in hand were the engines. These are not just resin copies of the kit items, but new and improved engines with finer detail around the valve pushrods, etc. They also incorporate deeper chin intake ducts, and an ignition tube… more |
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P-38M .50 cal Brownings & 20mm Cannon Tips with Flash HidersPublished:
Master Models once again provides IPMS USA with examples of machine-shop excellence… We are extremely thankful to Piotr for providing examples of his work to review. As you can see by the product photographs, these .50 caliber browning machine gun barrels are exquisite works of art. Designed to fit one of the two 1/32 Lighting models currently available, this nine-part set provides four different length .50 caliber barrels, and one 20MM cannon barrel; all have flash hiders integrally-machined in place, and represent the armament as used on P-38M night-fighter variants of the Lightning. Unlike set 086, this one does not have separate cooling jackets or barrels, so it is a simple finish and install set to replace the kit items. I do not have a night fighter conversion for the 1/… more |
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P-38 Late Armament .50 cal Brownings with Covered Cooling JacketsPublished:
Master Models once again provides IPMS USA with examples of machine-shop excellence… We are extremely thankful to Piotr for providing examples of his work to review. As you can see by the product photographs, these .50 caliber browning machine gun barrels are exquisite works of art. Designed to fit one of the two 1/32 Lighting models currently available, this nine-part set provides four different length .50 caliber barrels, and one 20MM cannon barrel as used on later variants of the Lightning. Unlike set 086, this one does not have separate cooling jackets or barrels, so it is a simple finish and install set to replace the kit items. I used one of these barrels to replace the shortest barrel on my lighting nose, because the perforated one disappeared into the recesses of my… more |
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P-38 Early Armament .50 cal Brownings w/ Drilled Cooling JacketsPublished:
Master Models once again provides IPMS USA with examples of machine-shop excellence… We are extremely thankful to Piotr for providing examples of his work to review. As you can see by the product photographs, these .50 caliber browning machine gun barrels are exquisite works of art. Designed to fit one of the two 1/32 Lighting models currently available, you receive four different length .50 caliber barrel assemblies, and two separate types of 20MM cannon barrels which were utilized on some variants of the Lightening. What is really impressive about this set is you are provided with the drilled cooling jackets, which I challenge anyone to do at home with tubing and your personal micro drill set! I know I can’t… so this is one area (of several) where Master Models’… more |
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F-16 Static DischargersPublished:
Thanks to Piotr at Master models for providing these incredible static dischargers to improve our models, and thanks to IPMS Reviewer Corps leaders for sending it to me… What is in the packet: an instruction sheet, and 14 very-tiny, jewelry-quality Static dischargers used on most F-16’s. Static dischargers are frequently molded on our models. And we modelers, being who we are, frequently break them off during construction. I personally remove them and install replacements or the kit items at the end of the build. Sometimes I won’t even bother; they are just fragile or are just way out of scale. Here is where Master’s turned metal items shine… As on my recently-reviewed Sukhoi 1/48 dischargers, these little 1/32 jewels for the F-16 are great. They have the proper… more |
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Mosquito Armament and Pitot TubePublished:
Thanks to Piotr at Master models for providing these incredible items to improve our models, and thanks to IPMS Reviewer Corps leaders for sending it to me… What is in the packet: a detailed instruction sheet, four .303 Machine gun barrels and cooling jackets/spring mounts, with flash hiders, four 20MM cannon barrels, and one turned metal pitot tube. These are simple replacement items for the kit barrels; they provide a better appearance than the kit items, and are well worth investing in for installation Replacing the kit .303 gun barrels is easy; carefully cut off the kit barrels, drill holes for the metal barrels, install the spring assemblies then the metal barrels, then slide the cooling jackets over the barrels. The flash suppressors then are cemented on… more |