Rod Lees
Reviews By Author
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Douglas A-1E "Fat Face" Skyraider ConversionPublished:
IPMS/USA extends extreme gratitude to Paul and Susy Fisher for sending us this excellent set to upgrade the Trumpeter AD-2/6 or A-1H to an A-1E Hallelujah! WE HAVE A LARGE SPAD! And thanks to Phil and John for graciously allowing me to review this set. On the “be patient” side of the ledger, Paul and Susy have had some misfortune by being located in Paradise, California. Although they lost most all their manufacturing capability and personal possessions, they are still here with us, and my last note from him showed he’s temporarily out of the business until they can recover with a new place. I expect they will be back. On to modeling: This shall be a basic review of the set as received and built so you can see what is in the box. The kit I received contained one… more |
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BIG ED Set for ICM HE-111H-3Published:
IPMS/USA again thanks the Eduard team for sending us more of their prolific output targeted toward improving already great kits. Thanks to Phil and John for obtaining the sets for the team. Eduard is a company that has truly come of age. They seem to go from one success to another, and there is not a part of their range I have not used or tried. In this case, I have the “BIG ED” set for the new ICM HE-111H3, and it fills a major niche. Thanks to Eduard and the IPMS USA team for joining forces to make sure I have this set on my workbench! In the “Big Ed” format, Eduard provides one each of the following photoetch frets:
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Wellington Mk. Ia/c Landing FlapsPublished:
IPMS/USA again thanks the Eduard team for sending us more of their prolific output targeted toward improving already great kits. Thanks to Phil and John for obtaining the sets for the team… This set for is for the Wellington Mk 1/b Flap and is the now-expected as a norm high-end upgrade to the 2018 release of the new-mold Airfix 1/72 Wellington 1a/c. I consider this an EXPERT level of detail, and I failed BUT read on… I primer painted the unpainted fret, in retrospect, not smart, as the superglue tended to not bond the paint as well as the actual metal. I don’t have a good option here, as the glare and requirement to cover up the brass color will come up and require priming after the build. Sigh. Of course, if I had not kept having the tweezers wick up the superglue,… more |
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Wellington Mk. Ia/c Cockpit InteriorPublished:
IPMS/USA again thanks the Eduard team for sending us more of their prolific output targeted toward improving already great kits. Thanks to Phil and John for obtaining the sets for the team… This set is a now-expected high-end upgrade to the 2018 release of the new-mold Airfix 1/72 Wellington 1a/c. Included are color fret elements including the instrument panel, interior control and indicators, and various bits and bobs that make up a British design from the 1930’s. The Airfix Wellington is part of the new Airfix from Hornby, and has been profusely reviewed elsewhere. It is an excellent kit, only requiring a bit of care in lining things up when… more |
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Tu-22M3 NK-25 ExhaustPublished:
IPMS/USA gladly welcomes the return of the Advanced Modeling/Amigo team for sending us this new-technology set; their lineup continues to grow! And thanks to Phil and John for obtaining the sets for the team… Advanced Modeling/AMIGO (Hereafter referred to as AM for simplicity) is a Russian company specializing in modern Soviet and Russian aircraft accessories; their first items released a few years ago were weapons, and they have recently branched out into other items, in this case, an upgrade to Trumpeter’s 1/72 Tu-26M3 NK-25 Bomber kit exhaust, augmentor tubes, and afterburner nozzles. AM’s accessory shows the extent 3-D printing has improved the appearance of our available aftermarket… included are 11 resin parts: Exhaust augmentor tubes with excellent cooling liner… more |
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BL 755 Cluster BombsPublished:
IPMS/USA thanks the Eduard team once again for sending us this simple, excellent set for use with many UK fighter aircraft. And thanks to Phil and John for obtaining the sets for the team… An extremely simple, but useful upgrade of any kit utlizing these unique cluster munitions. Consisting of four bomb bodies with fins cast in place (THANK YOU EDUARD), and four sets of fusing windmill vanes. I have only seen one or two sets of these bombs in plastic from modeling companies, and usually these wind vanes are molded as circles. Yep, circles. Kinetic’s bombs have actual vanes, but they are subject to the limits of plastic injection; the resin on Eduard’s set is far better! These vanes look the part and are delicate but take the minor sanding of the backside to remove the pour stub… more |
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AN/ AAQ-28(V) Litening podPublished:
IPMS/USA thanks the Eduard team once again for sending us this simple, excellent set. And thanks to Phil and John for obtaining the sets for the team… An extremely simple, but useful upgrade of any kit needing this pod. Consisting of a resin main body, a resin seeker head, and two different tail vent plates in Photoetch, I had this one knocked out in a couple of hours. First is minor prep; removal of the seeker head was simple, and the same for the main pod body. Careful use of thin superglue ensured the end plate stayed in place, and the seeker head just snaps into place. I primer painted the body after attaching the end plate, and the same for the seeker head. I then painted the pod and head with gunship gray 2 from Tamiya’s rattle can. Leaving it for a couple of days… more |
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B-47 "Horse Collar" JATO SetPublished:
IPMS/USA extends extreme gratitude to Paul and Susy Fisher for sending us this excellent item to upgrade the Hasegawa 1/72 legacy kit B-47 into a combat-ready aircraft with RATO. And thanks to Phil and John, our leaders in the IPMS reviewer corps, for graciously allowing me to review this set… It’s not every day I look at a resin upgrade and go “I wonder what else I can do with this?” Fisher’s 1/72 B-47 RATO Horse Collar and bottles are one of these items. First, it’s a really simple upgrade. One world-famous Fisher single-piece resin casting that fits on the model without major cursing and sanding, and add-ons that make the final product look really great, in the form of 27 RATO Bottles. If you want to see how a B-47 operates on RATO (Rocket Assisted Take Off, or “… more |
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Spitfire Mk IX Cockpit DoorPublished:
IPMS/USA thanks the Aires team once again for sending us this simple, excellent item for use on a kit, in this case, a Quickboost spitfire pilot entry door replacement for the new-mold Revell 1/32 Spitfire Mk V through IX. And thanks to Phil and John for obtaining the sets for the team… This set consists of one detailed entry door and a crowbar. The door is detailed enough you can leave the crowbar out (which I understand was a frequent option) if you so desire. The door contains frame and latch details, the torque tube with detailed U-drive section, and stringer detail. Simplicity is the byword… leave on the pour stub, spray with your favorite lacquer primer, then paint with interior green and carefully weather and wash. Remove from the pour stub CAREFULLY, as the… more |
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Spitfire Mk IX Exhaust - Oval OpeningsPublished:
IPMS/USA thanks the Aires team once again for sending us this simple, excellent item for use on a kit, in this case, a Quickboost engine exhaust replacement for the new-mold Revell 1/32 Spitfire Mk V through IX. And thanks to Phil and John for obtaining the sets for the team… This set consists of two exhaust banks. This set is the oval/round openings version, and is perfectly designed to install in the Revell new mold 1/32 Spitfire Mk V through IX series. Why buy? The kit items come in halves, split down the middle, and therefore have an almost impossible to fill seam which destroys the detail. Uhg. Enter Quickboost... The castings are perfectly formed, and have excellent weld detail along with deep exhaust throats. All you have to do is Primer, Paint on… more |