Rod Lees
Reviews By Author
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SAAB 37 Viggen Pitot Tubes and AOA ProbePublished:
Master Models is one of those companies who have stepped up to deliver what we really need; durable, accurate metal pitot tubes and probes for our fast-mover jets. THANK-YOU VERY MUCH for filling the void! The only thing I will say is to be careful with them, as they can turn your house into a doctors’ office for injections in little time! These 3 little (and I mean tiny, miniscule, actually “Scale”) bits are perfect to add to your model. First, they are made of brass, which makes them durable but not “unbendable” like stainless steel or actual needles; they have a bit of “give” when “tweeked”, but return to shape. That means you won’t have the same issues as resin pitot tubes where the cat breathes on the parts and they go flying off into the netherworld! … more |
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Plain Wheels and Offset Tread Tires for MosquitoPublished:
Ultracast is one of those companies that we AMS modelers can’t live without… Thanks up front for this excellent set, and to IPMS USA for sending it my way…Now to figure out which Mossie I’m gonna build… These, like the previous set reviewed a few weeks ago, are simple replacement items for the Tamiya wheel and tire sets in their Mosquito kits. As previously done, I have assembled one of each, the Tamiya kit item on the left, and the Ultracast wheel/tire on the right. Again, small details matter. There are no wheel spokes on this set, but the tire radial lines and it’s excellent “Offset Z” tread stands out. No seam filling; just carefully removing the tire from the pour stub is required. The tire “weight” is simulated in a subtle way, not overdone like others. … more |
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B-57B/G Canberra Landing Gear (Ita)Published:
Thanks again to Ross at SAC for providing IPMS USA this review set, one of what must be by now hundreds of sets he provides for the modelling community. I’m a prolific convert to them! The Italeri B-57 series, released in the late 1980’s, was a serious jump forward for the modeling community. The only other kits at the time were modified from existing British Canberra kits with the “fish bowl” canopy. The introduction of the B-57 with it’s front and back canopy for the U.S. variants was most timely. The only problem with the kit was the nose gear was a bit too far extended for ground operation, as the B-57 has a “nose down” attitude when at rest, loaded or not. In order to correct this, one had to cut part of the oleo out, and re-glue the gear together with epoxy or… more |
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F-15C Eagle Cockpit SetPublished:
Thanks to Aires for this stunning bit of resin; Even though this was a second generation F-15 model from Hasegawa, this kit is over 20 years old and has been in need of an upgrade to the cockpit. Aires provides just what is needed to strengthen the presentation of this model. Once again it is easy to see the level of detail Aires provides; how they do it is beyond my abilities, but they do. The basic cockpit tub is a phenomenal casting; all the required details are there. The same goes for the avionics bay located aft of the cockpit. As a reminder, this aircraft is pre-MISP (an avionics upgrade to bring AAMRAAM and other capability to the jet), so the black boxes and other bits are appropriate for the Icelandic markings. (If I remember correctly from my time at 17th… more |
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Sepecat Jaguar Wheels and Paint MasksPublished:
A quick “thank you!” to Aires for providing us with this set; once again the excellence of your products is readily apparent! This is a very simple swap out for the Hasegawa Jaguar wheels. As you see in the side by side pictures, the outside rim detail is much more refined than the almost 30 year old wheels in the kit. The brake assembly on the back side (which is not on the kit wheels) is just phenomenal for this scale. The masks are olive green and semi-flexible. My past experience with these masks are that they work very well… when you use them correctly! (Mask the tire, not the wheel.) That may seem obvious, but I’m getting older, ya know. I don’t know about the rest of you, but this upgrade is well beyond my ability to reproduce; particularly for the four… more |
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MHU-191 M Munition Transporter with Aero 58 AdapterPublished:
Thanks to Aires for catering to the AMS in all of us; we appreciate your support! This will save a lot of scratchbuilding time for those who are into dioramas or weapons; the MHU-191 M munition transporter with aero 58 adapter is used for transporting weapons; unfortunately I could not find what type of weapon is used with this adaptor; I did find this excerpt from a Naval ordinance Manual: “The Aero 58A skid adaptor holds a single weapon of up to 30.5 inches in diameter; it can be used wihtthe MHU-125/# platform skid and MHU-126/M munitions trailer”. Bottom line: it’s Navy, use it accordingly! An excellent diorama accessory in the Aerobonus range; pretty soon we’ll have to build additions to our homes to handle the miniature flightlines and flight decks we are… more |
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F-35A Lightning IIPublished:
Thanks very much to Model Rectifier Corporation (MRC) for providing IPMS USA this kit. Up front, I determined to send this item as part of an effort to provide some of the “New kits” to our deployed personnel in harms way, through our POC at IPMS USA, and full credit definitely goes to our long-time supporters at MRC. That means this will be an “In-box” review of this kit. I was at Edwards AFB, CA about two months ago and observed (mostly heard) firsthand the test birds flying. Extremely interesting to watch and noisy, as they are claimed to be louder than the F-22 if that is possible! Nonetheless, a great opportunity and I was pleased to actually see them fly. This newest of the stable from Italeri consists of two separate sprues of standard gray Italeri plastic,… more |
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Gloster Javelin FAW 9/9RPublished:
Couple of thank you notes up front; to Hornby for bringing Airfix back from the abyss and turning it around; an Injection-molded 1/48 Javelin is one we could only dream of in the past, and here it is! And to Hornby America, who provided IPMS USA this great model of an iconic British cold war fighter. (And thanks to Dave and Dick for the build opportunity!) The last time I built a “flatiron” as these were called, was the old Dynavector 1/48 vacuum molded kit about 15 years ago. It had a wealth of detail, and was actually very easy to build. The kit is still viable (I have another one sitting on the shelf waiting to e built), but the Injected version is far better in the full-Monty detail realm. The only tricky part was installing the forest of vortex generators on the wings, as… more |
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Landing Gear for Kinetic's Kfir C2/C7Published:
Thanks again to Ross at SAC for providing IPMS USA this review set. Keep the production line up, many of us will continue to buy them! Pardon a quick interlude on the relative merits of Metal gear over plastic. About three years ago I built one of the new 1/32 JU-88 kits on the market. The proprietor of a now-defunct, not-so-local hobby shop asked if I was interested in SAC metal gear for the kit. I said, “naaa”… I was not convinced of the merits. He purchased one of the Junkers for himself, and asked if I would build it for him. “Certainly” says I. The kit, once completed, looked good in the display case in the shop. However, on my next visit in two weeks, there sat the model with a main wheel broken off, and a sad owner. The plastic axle had failed when a… more |
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Spoked Wheels and Block Tread Tires for MosquitoPublished:
Ultracast is based in Canada, and have been around quite a while, providing excellent resin cast items for the AMS modelers among us… With that, extreme thanks to our friends at Ultracast for providing these excellent castings to us, and thanks to the IPMS leadership for sending them to me for review! These are simple replacement items for the Tamiya wheel and tire sets in their Mosquito kits. I have assembled one of each, one from the Ultracast range, and the Tamiya kit items side by side. What first strikes me are the small details; the air inflation stem on the outer portion of the wheel, the increased depth of the Spoke area, and the excellent tread pattern that makes up the tire. And no seam filling! The tire tread in particular is better defined than the kit… more |