Ron Bell
Reviews By Author
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M-46 Patton TankPublished:
The KitRemember these? This kit is from the dawn of armor modeling in the 50's. Aurora had a series of 1/48 tank kits that included the Stalin III, Chi Ha, M-109, Swedish “S” tank, Centurion, M-70, and Churchill, none of which would be modeled in any scale for literally decades. This is the Atlantis re-release of the M-46 Patton. There are 127 parts, including four crewmen. The tracks are of the rubber band type, but have decent detail, especially given the age of the kit, join together and fit well. The overall kit detail is on the sparse/simplified side and the turret MG is cartoonish, but over all it does look like a Patton. The lifting eyes are given as rings that you fit into slots in the turret and hull whereas in real life they are more inverted “U”… more |
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The ColosseumPublished:
The KitThis is one in a series of architectural models that Italeri is producing. Kudos to them for doing some really different things in modeling, with their Leonardo Da Vinci line and now this architectural one. No number of parts is given, but my guess is around 60 or so, most of those being the columns at the top. The parts are sharply molded in a light tan plastic with good detail. Included is a sheet of images of statues that are cut out and glued to the interior of the outer wall parts so that they show through the arches, which is a neat effect. You also get a few gladiators, a lion and what I think is a bear, but in 1/500 scale, they are pretty tiny and painting them is a challenge. You get a booklet about the colosseum with its history in Italian and… more |
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Blenheim Mk IV Mask Set for Airfix Kit (new tool)Published:
One of the bug-a-boos of a lot of aircraft models for me is all that glass that needs to be masked in order to paint. I’ve read several tutorials and tried lots of methods, but it’s all tedious and with my skill level brings about at best mediocre results. Then along comes pre-cut masks and my life is changed. Eduard’s mask sets are precisely die cut on the same sort of masking tape/paper that Tamiya produces. It yields a sturdy product that doesn’t tear easily and can bend and stretch some to get a perfect fit. The instructions consist of a map of the sheet of masks and a picture of the part to be masked with lines indicating what masks on the sheet go where on the part. You’ll need a new #11 blade to slip under a corner of the mask to get it off the backing paper, then either… more |
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Blenheim Mk IV Exterior Detail SetPublished:
Airfix has released two 1/72 Blenheims, a Mk I and a Mk IV, and Eduard makes several detail and masking sets for both. The subject of this review is their exterior detail set for the Mk IV. Most of the “true” exterior parts are mostly access hatches and panels that are glued to the exterior skin of the aircraft. These are simple to deal with; however, they do stand proud of the surface, which is probably not accurate. The only way to avoid this would be the route out the appropriate space under each and inlay the PE part but unless you have a teeny-tiny router, that’s not going to happen, so you have to live with it. There are also a few parts to detail the crew hatch on the top of the fuselage just in front of the top turret. The next group of parts consists of detail for the… more |
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The Forgotten War of the Royal Navy - Baltic Sea 1918-1920Published:
From its title, this book purports to be about the Royal Navy, but only a minority of the text is devoted to that service. There is no mention of it at all until page 34 (Out of 144 pages total, or roughly almost 25% of the way through the book), where the fate of some submarines sent to the Baltic in 1915 is covered in one paragraph. The Royal Navy then does not re-appear until page 46. While some Royal Navy ships, primarily light cruisers, destroyers, torpedo boats and submarines, were involved in the fighting in this area during the post war period, the part they played was small, usually only involved a few ships and would only merit a footnote in most histories. One interesting aspect is that the HMS Vindictive, a cruiser converted with a “flying off deck” was deployed to the area… more |
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British Nuffield Assault Tank A.T.2Published:
The VehicleIn order to break into the fortified zones on the European continent, the Allies anticipated needing a new class of vehicles, assault tanks, which placed maximum armor protection at a higher priority than mobility. Nuffield responded with 18 separate designs (AT1 through AT18), each design larger and heavier than the last. The AT 2, the subject of this kit, was never built, but served as a stepping stone to the eventual development of the AT 16, or Tortoise, two of which were built, but the war ended before they were needed. Don’t be fooled by what looks like a turret on this vehicle. It’s actually a fixed superstructure such as on a Sturmgeschutze. In the AT 2 version, it mounted a 95mm howitzer. The KitThis was one of the nicest cast… more |
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ZZ Top EliminatorPublished:
The KitThe Eliminator was built for the rock band ZZ Top and has been featured in many of the band’s videos. It’s a sleek hot rod made from a ’33 Ford Coupe in bright red with the ZZ Top logo on the side. The Revell kit of this car is faithful to the original with decals for the side logos and logos even molded into the valve covers and air cleaner on the engine, which is nicely detailed and with the addition of an ignition system would display very well with those logos highlighted in red. The interior consists of a seat, nicely detailed dash and steering column with the floor pedals molded into the floor pan part. Details of the upholstery are given in decals, which adds a nice touch. There are 70 parts in total molded in red, clear and chromed and four nicely detailed… more |
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Frog Penguin Model Kits, 1936-50Published:
Frog was one of the first manufacturers of all plastic model kits in the world, pre-dating most U.S. companies by almost 20 years. Unlike other manufacturers, they did not start off building toys or other items, but rather their first product was the “Interceptor”, a rubber band powered model aircraft. It was distinguished by two things. One is that when those gliders you knew as a kid were being made of balsa wood, the Interceptor was metal. The other is that you did not launch it or throw it, it took off from the ground. Mr. van Lune goes into an extensive discussion of this aspect as it led to the company’s name, FROG, which in various legends came from Flies Right Off the Ground. Mr. van Lune is obviously devoted to Frog model kits and in this case the Penguin line of Frog… more |
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Davinci Leverage CranePublished:
The KitThis is the latest in Academy’s “DaVinci Series”. They are models based on sketches of some of the inventions of this amazing man. All are molded in a vinyl-like soft plastic that facilitates the press fit of the components as no glue nor paint is required. All are ingeniously engineered to go together easily and to function smoothly. The subject of this review is what is called a “leverage crane”. It is a system of levers, gears, wheels and ratchets that transfer linear energy into rotational energy driving a winding mechanism used to lift a heavy object, in this case a ball bearing incased in a plastic cube made to look like a large weight. There are 33 pieces, including a length of thread to tie the weight to the winding shaft. There is no flash and the… more |
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M4 Sherman TankPublished:
The KitWhen I saw that this kit was available for review, I just had to do it. It was the first model I ever built on my own. My grandfather bought it for me and I built it at his kitchen table with a tube of Ambroid glue that got all over everything, but I loved it. The model, not the glue. That tank saw many a battle on my bedroom floor and in the back yard for that matter. Can’t remember how it met its fate, but I think it just plain wore out and fell apart. But all that’s neither here nor there, so on to the review. First released in 1956 (!) this model was Revell’s first foray into the military vehicle area, to be followed by a T-34, M-56, a jeep, a 155mm Long Tom and high-speed towing vehicle and two sets of soldiers. Unfortunately, at the time, none of them… more |