Roger Rasor
Reviews By Author
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N1K2-J Shiden Kai (Hasegawa)Published:
Brengun offers 1/32 model builders a way to add a higher level of detail to the already nicely detailed Hasegawa N1K2-J Shiden Kai (Allied name: George). Set BRL 32017 provides about 122 parts on a single photo-etch fret and two on a printed acetate sheet that can be combined to enhance the cockpit and exterior details of the aircraft. The photo below of the instruction sheet shows where the details are to be installed. As can be seen in the photo below of the fret, each of the photo-etched parts is impressive. The detail is very crisp and well etched on nickel-plated metal to add considerably to the cockpit’s detail. This set comes packaged in a clear pouch stapled to a card to protect the fret. A folded instruction sheet, printed on one side, is attached behind the… more |
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Steel Containers - Mars TypePublished:
Hauler Brengun offers a variety of aftermarket detail sets for 1/35 scale. Set #HLU35076 1/72 provides the components necessary to assemble two steel containers used in factories to store and transport any manner of manufactured parts, castings, subassemblies, etc. They would be useful as details for dioramas of industrial models. This set includes two resin castings of the bodies of the containers and enough parts on a single brass photo-etch fret that provides the parts to assemble the 4 corner posts with lifting lugs (see the photo below). The parts are packaged in a clear pouch stapled to a card to protect the resin parts and fret. An instruction sheet is included showing how and where the components are installed. The detail in this set is very crisp. The resin… more |
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Douglas C-47 SkytrainPublished:
In 2014, Airfix tooled a new 1/72 scale Douglas C-47 Skytrain (or Dakota as it is know in the UK) that virtually eclipses Airfx original C-47 kit that was introduced in 1960 and released in various forms eleven times since then. The new kit is superior in all respects (with maybe two exceptions, which will be explained further on) and clearly demonstrates the strides Airfix has made in improving the detail and accuracy of their recent offerings. The kit comes in a sturdy two-piece box with a dramatic box top painting of D-Day C-47 41-2100521 that can be built from this boxing. Inside, there is a sealed poly bag with five sprues containing 126 injection molded parts in medium gray plastic (some not needed for this build) and one sprue containing 19 clear parts. The gray plastic… more |
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Before And Beyond The Niihau ZeroPublished:
If you believe you know a lot about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor but don’t know about the Niihau Zero, you are in the same boat I was in before reading Syd Jones’ book about this obscure episode. During the second raid on December 7, 1941, a flight of A6M2s from the carrier Hiryu made a series of low level strafing runs on Bellows Field. After making what would be his final pass, Naval Airman1st Class Shigenori Nishikaichi was forced to break away from the group and climb to distance himself from the small arms ground fire that had peppered his aircraft. The Zero seemed to be responding to the controls and he was at maximum power but the cockpit was welling up with fumes. He cracked open the canopy for fresh air and was surprised to find he was alone. There were no American… more |
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Windsock World War Centenary Vol.30, No.4Published:
Windsock WWC Winter 2014 is the last issue of Volume 30. Like the previous issues in Volume 30, it provides readers with a variety of expert information on WWI aviation history, aircraft modeling, articles by top-notch aircraft model builders, valuable technical reference material and information on new hobby products related to the Great War. The colorful image on the cover of a Junkers D.1 in flight suggests that an article about an actual aircraft will be found inside, but the subject of the realistic illustration turns out to be a Roden 1:72 scale model found in the Readers’ Gallery that was cleverly staged in a landscape photo via Photoshop. Then, after pages devoted to FRONTLINE NEWS, this issue’s main articles begin with a look behind the scenes at CraftLab, revealing a… more |
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Thomas Morse S-4 Scout: Centenary Datafile 166Published:
In the years between WWI and WWII, moviegoers in America may have thought they were watching wartime footage of aerial dogfights between Fokker D.VIIs and Sopwith Camels in such films as Hell’s Angels and Dawn Patrol. They may have been watching some of the surviving Fokkers, but in all likelihood, the nimble fighters with roundels on their wings were aircraft that never made it into military service during the Great War…instead, they were the small single-seat S4 ‘Scout’ trainers built by The Thomas Morse Aircraft Corporation in 1917-1918 that were considered surplus after the war. Thomas Morse’s Scout probably ranks as the second best known American airplane of WWI…bumped out of the top spot by the venerable Curtiss Jenny. Although built in numbers during the last year of the… more |
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RAF Ventura Mk. IIPublished:
Less than two years after treating the modeling world to a state-of-the-art 1/48 scale Ventura PV-1, Revell has released a second version of the Ventura…the type ordered by the RAF in early 1940. According to Revell’s website there are 142 parts, but I counted 143. A number of them are common with the PV-1 kit, but a number of additional ones necessary to replicate the unique details of the RAF Mk.I and Mk.II are included. Twenty-one parts are molded in clear plastic. They are crystal clear and thin enough that interior details are easily viewed. All of the others are molded in a medium gray. As with the PV-1 kit, all parts are well molded with no flash or severe ejection pin marks to deal with. Recessed details are delicately engraved and a few raised details are nicely represented.… more |
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Douglas C-47 Skytrain PropellersPublished:
Quickboost’s offers a set of detailed propellers to their aftermarket parts line that are to be used to replace the ones found in the new Airfix 1:72 scale C-47 Skytrain kit. The Quickboost propeller set provides separate blades and hubs that feature far better hub detail and more accurate blade shape than those found in the kit. The size and general shape of the Quickboost parts match the kit parts so they are designed to be quick drop-in replacements with no surgery. An alignment tool is included that makes properly aligning and attaching the blades to the hubs almost foolproof. See the photo below comparing them to the kit parts. Like other Quickboost parts, these are cast in a strong, but reasonably flexible, gray resin that is easy to work with. The parts come on small… more |
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SC-250 German BombsPublished:
In this BRASSIN detail set, Eduard provides modelers with a quick and easy way to add a quartet of highly realistic SC-250 (Sprengbombe Cylindrisch 250) bombs to a 1:48 scale German aircraft model. The set includes resin and photo-etched brass parts and a small decal sheet for the stenciled identification. Four resin parts and four photo-etched parts make up each bomb and the decals add all markings needed for finishing the assembled and painted models. This multi-media combination makes into realistic looking miniatures of the real thing. A folded full-color instruction sheet is included that provides all information needed to assemble the parts into highly detailed models of the German general-purpose SC-250 bombs and then paint and decal them. The assembly process is not… more |
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Venturas in Canada 1Published:
Venturas in Canada pt.1 provides complete markings for ten individual Venturas of various marks, and most of the markings necessary for an eleventh subject (Ventura B.II AJ430 as a ski test aircraft) are also included. This decal set depicts training aircraft, test machines, and some early US Navy ‘visitors’ to Canada. The 8-page instruction booklet included in the set explains subject selection was focused on variety as well as available reference photographs. The instructions describe decal application, placement instructions, provide illustrations with painting instructions for all subject aircraft, plus a number of black and white reference photographs. Information in this set's documentation includes the early-production B.II / B.IIA cockpit canopy variation, detail items… more |