Rod Lees
Reviews By Author
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Fw 190A-4 Fuselage GunsPublished:
IPMS/USA thanks the Eduard team once again for sending us this simple, excellent set for the new Eduard FW-190 series. And thanks to Phil and John for obtaining the sets for the team… This set consists of perfectly cast resin parts for the back of the engine, guns, cowl bits, plus a few bits of PE including parts for the armored windscreen and cowl latches. MUCH easier than scratchbuilding! This upper fuselage gun bay set is a simplified version of the advanced set with the engine abbreviated, i.e. just the gun bay parts and engine mount war part of the set, not the whole engine; the accessory section the intake distributor tube are also provided Since I had built the entire “bigger” set earlier, I knew what to expect. The gun bay was simpler, particularly with… more |
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Metal Gear Set for Revell 1/32 P-51D-25Published:
MORE SAC FUN! Yes, the Revell P-51D-5 receives the SAC treatment because it’s a big kit, and Ross and his team came up with metal gear for this kit. Thanks to Phil for sending it and Fearless Leader John for approving my working the set. Included in this set are two main gear, two Oleo strut braces, and a tail gear strut. All replace the Revell kit parts, and fit is just like the plastic except it’s stronger and can be re-adjusted as required. Why is readjustment good? OK, Mustang experts, where does the axle fall on the P-51 and why when the aircraft is on the ground? (Answer: Just in front of the leading edge when looking down). WHY? Because it makes the whole aircraft more stable on takeoff and landing with toe in and proper alignment, and helps the aircraft track… more |
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FW-190A Seat BeltsPublished:
IPMS/USA thanks the Eduard team once again for sending us this simple, excellent set for the new Eduard FW-190 series. And thanks to Phil and John for running the team… This seat harness is simplicity itself. There are four parts. That’s it, four. FOUR-lap belts, and over the shoulder harness. Installation? Carefully bend these durable steel belts into place. No paint flaking, no fiddling with parts that are too small for even surgical standard tweezers to hold. Just install and admire. Far better than tape and paint, the STEEL series seat harnesses should become one of Eduard’s fastest sellers for upgrading kits that don’t have harnesses attached. Competitively priced too! Thanks once again to Eduard and their groundbreaking technology leaps and for keeping AMS… more |
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MiG-25 Foxbat Landing Gear (ICM)Published:
We at IPMS continue to thank Ross and his Team at SAC for supporting the IPMS USA reviewer corps with what has turned into a monthly release schedule with extremely useful and well-thought out landing gear additions for the crowd out here in the modeling world. This review is for the SAC landing gear released for the relatively new 1/48 ICM Mig-25. As to the basic kit, it is well designed and accurate BUT also is not for beginners. A lot of locations are vague on where parts should line up. I have struggled with the afterburner/augmentor petals, and the overall assembly of the basic fuselage. The landing gear is no different, as the angles and installation are to be expected to cause grief. It gets done but prepare yourself mentally and lay off the adult beverages while trying… more |
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Steve Ritchie and Friends Decals (Limited Edition)Published:
IPMS/USA recognizes one of our own, Floyd Werner, for providing this sheet set for review and I personally applaud our reviewer corps leadership, John Noack and Phil Peterson, for sending them to me for review. Floyd is well known for his expertise in the WWII Luftwaffe genre, as well as his personal exploits flying Snakes in the U.S. Army. This sheet was sponsored by Kitty Hawk, the much-maligned (but in my opinion) EXCELLENT company which provides us with products which would NEVER have seen the light unless they took the plunge. So you have to work to make them to personal standard? Huff… part of the price of admission. ( I swear if you give these guys a new, free Lexus they’d complain about the new car smell) To Glen Coleman and Joe Lortie, I don’t know you but owe you guys… more |
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FW-190 Engine and Fuselage Gun Bay for New Tool FW-190A-4Published:
IPMS/USA thanks the Eduard team up front for sending us this absolutely stunning set for the new Eduard FW-190 series. I received this set when difficulty was experienced by another reviewer having some issues out of his control in getting the sets reviewed, so I volunteered and got “The lot”. Hooo boy… Another note: right after I got the sets, I had work and a funeral interfere with MY life, so these took some time to get done; particularly since I was working out of a hotel (as I am now again on OTHER review items) so I’m a bit behind. First off, Eduard has produced some of the best sets, bar none, for the FW-190. In this review I used both the engine sets and the upper gun deck sets; here are my observations. First, the sets fit great. I had a few… more |
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Roden O-2A Skymaster Landing Gear & Nose BallastPublished:
IPMS/USA appreciates the ongoing support from Ross and his team at SAC for supporting the reviewer corps with one more of many monthly releases. These extremely useful and well-thought-out landing gear additions for the modeling community continue to prove their worth. Thanks also to IPMS leadership for sending it for review. This review is for the SAC landing gear released for the 1/32 Roden. When I learned of the O-1 release a couple of seasons ago, I thought “cool, that surely means they are going to invest in on O-2 as well!” I should be named Claire Voiant, because here in our hands we now have finished the triparty of USAF Forward Air Controller (FAC) aircraft; the OV-10, the O-1, and now the O-2. I don’t see Trumpeter jumping up and down to release the two-seat F-100 in… more |
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Metal Landing Gear for the Valom B/RB-45A/C TornadoPublished:
IPMS/USA thanks Ross and his Team at SAC for supporting the IPMS USA reviewer corps with one more of many monthly releases, with extremely useful and well-thought out landing gear additions for the modeling crowd out here in the modeling world. And thanks to IPMS leadership for sending it for review. This review is for the SAC landing gear released for the 1/72 Valom B-45 series. (Yes Mrs Robinson, there was an aircraft named “Tornado” before the “Tornaaaahhhdo” in the European sense.) This SAC gear is extremely simple, much like the kit itself. As a note, the Valom B-45 kits are easier to build than the other 1/72 B-45s out there as well... even though it is also a short run style kit, the quality is much more refined. SAC’s set is comprised of six parts… and are quick… more |
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Bf 109F/G/E Landing GearPublished:
IPMS/USA thanks Ross and his Team at SAC for supporting the IPMS USA reviewer corps with one more of many monthly releases, with extremely useful and well-thought out landing gear additions for the modeling crowd out here in the modeling world. And thanks to IPMS leadership for sending it for review. This review is for the SAC landing gear released for the 1/48 2016 Eduard release series ME-109F and G models. As such, it covers the majority of ‘109s’ available in the current Eduard catalog. I bought several of these SAC sets when they came out, because I found the kit gear did not like handling on the shelf. The tail wheel assembly was the major culprit, and this set fixes the issue by being robust and able to “give” without snapping. It has the added benefit of… more |
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Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-5 Landing Gear (HB)Published:
IPMS/USA thanks Ross and his Team at SAC for supporting the IPMS USA reviewer corps with one more of many monthly releases of extremely useful and well thought out landing gear additions for the modeling crowd out here in the modeling world. And thanks to IPMS leadership for sending it to me to be reviewed. This review is for the SAC landing gear released for the unbelievably huge FW-190A-5 released this past fall. Another simple strengthening opportunity for a heavy kit, with my usual admonition to use metal gear for larger models. Larger models put more stress on plastic than metal. I almost did not purchase the Hobbyboss kit, but the curiosity of what was in it took hold and, well, I have one. The short answer is there is a serious opportunity to… more |