Scott retired from the commercial nuclear industry with over thirty years of experience in Maintenance, Engineering, and Training. Prior to that he served on two aircraft carriers during his time in the U.S. Navy. He has been building models for over 50 years with his first kit being purchased with money from his grandparents for his sixth birthday. With a stash that consists of more aircraft than anything else, Scott still enjoys building a little bit of everything (including but not limited to tanks, cars, show cars, military vehicles (aside from tanks), ships, figures, real space, and some science fiction), which keeps his stash growing. Scott and his wife Fern reside in southwest lower Michigan, not far from South Bend, Indiana, and have three adult children and currently three grandchildren as well as a small dog and a large cat.
Scott Hollingshead
Reviews By Author
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F-14 Alpha Probe and Angle of Attack ProbePublished:
As a member of the IPMS/USA Review Corps, I have had the wonderful opportunity to review a few items now from the Polish company Master Model. The topic for this review is a new set designed to upgrade your 1/32 scale Tomcat. Unlike most of the sets that I have reviewed, there is no one recommended kit to use these new parts on, so I compared the items to what Revell, Tamiya, and Trumpeter kits offer in plastic. As I have these kits sitting in my stash, I decided to show how all three big-scale Tomcats can be improved with these new parts. Once again, I have fallen upon the opportunity to review something related to my favorite aircraft, the venerable Grumman F-14 Tomcat. When I saw this item hit the review list, I knew that I could make a comparison to several different kits,… more |
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USS Saratoga – Squadron at SeaPublished:
A new item recently sent to the IPMS/USA for review by the folks at Squadron is the fourth release in their Squadron at Sea series, and this edition covering the USS Saratoga (CV-3). The book is dedicated to “the crew of the Saratoga – the Ship of Happy Landings – who helped pioneer naval aviation in peacetime, fought valiantly in wartime, and who brought many of the comrades safely home…” The publication is 160 pages long, and as one would expect from the publishers at Squadron, it is filled with many black-and-white photographs as well as a few color pictures and some color drawings. Author David Doyle once again does an outstanding job of telling the story of the Saratoga, from her beginnings in New York Shipbuilding in Camden, New Jersey, to her current resting place at… more |
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F-102A with Case X WingsPublished:
For those who have been longing to add an early F-102A to their collection, or just a more modern release of a Delta Dagger in 1/72 scale, I would highly recommend gazing in the direction of this new release by Meng. The kit goes together well with only a few minor seams needing a light application of your filler of choice, and will not challenge modelers with some experience in dealing with small parts. Options for this kit include open or closed canopy as well as weapons and landing gear bays, and extended and retracted missile rails. There are also AIM-4C and D Falcon missiles to select from when arming your plane. This was my first experience with a kit by the newcomer Meng, and I will have no hesitation in purchasing their kits in the future. The Convair F-102 design was… more |
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Bf-110C Instrument PanelPublished:
Should you be looking for a little something different to build, I would like to point you in the direction of this one-quarter scale instrument panel that is being offered as a Limited Edition release by the folks at Eduard. The kit assembles with relative ease, and is a good representation of the instrument panel used in the Messerschmitt Bf-110C variant, although the variant is only mentioned once on the side of the box. The needles used in the various gauges are the only tricky items to handle during construction, so this would be a good item for modelers fourteen and up, as the box recommends. Upon opening this kit, the builder will find a one-piece instrument panel along with ninety-nine parts spread across two sprues, all made of a medium gray plastic. In addition, there… more |
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F-14D Super TomcatPublished:
One of the newest additions to the fleet of available 1/72 scale F-14D Tomcats is the offering by HobbyBoss. The kit is comprised of one hundred and six individual parts, and they assemble to make a fair representation of this iconic aircraft that was retired from service in 2006. This kit provides the markings for three different aircraft, representing Fighter Squadron 2 serving aboard the USS Constellation (in both low and high visibility) and Fighter Squadron 31 aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Assembly was for the most part easy, making this a kit that I would recommend for anyone who wants to add a mighty Tomcat to his fleet of aircraft. The Tomcat started as a replacement for the failed F-111B project of the sixties in an attempt to have a shared plane between the United… more |
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F-14 Tomcat Landing GearPublished:
If most of this review feels like dèjà vu all over again, well, it is, sort of. When my HobbyBoss F-14D kit arrived for me to review, included was a set of the SAC landing gear. This is the same product number that I reviewed against the HobbyBoss F-14A, and as the landing gear did not change from the A to the A+, B, and later D models, the set is appropriate for all. I have added comments for actual installation, but otherwise, much is unchanged. The F-14 Tomcat will likely be the greatest fleet defender known by my generation. Although retired now, the F-14 was ready from the start to carry an array of weapons including the AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-54 Phoenix (the ultimate missile in the US arsenal, which is also now retired), various bombs, and an internal 20mm… more |
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F-14A Exterior SetPublished:
Recently, Eduard released photoetched detail sets for the 1/72 scale Hobby Boss F-14A, and these included both an interior as well as an exterior set. Upon opening this set, you will find a single, bare metal fret of photoetched parts along with a single sheet of directions. The items in this set, as one would assume from the title, are made to enhance the exterior of an F-14A Tomcat, and they do this most impressively by adding detail to the landing gear, gear doors, access covers, engine inlets and outlets, missile launch rails, and the missiles themselves. The fret contains 66 numbered items, and like the interior set, some of these items contain multiple parts. As a word of caution, only a couple of the small access panels have additional parts available, so be cautious in… more |
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F-14A Interior Self-Adhesive SetPublished:
Recently, Eduard released photoetched detail sets for the 1/72 scale Hobby Boss F-14A, and these included both an interior as well as an exterior set. Having been fortunate enough to receive both sets for review, I will begin with my evaluation of the interior detail set. Upon opening this set, you will find two frets of photoetched parts, one being pre-painted and self-adhesive, the other being unpainted metal with no adhesive, along with a single-sheet page of directions. This was my first experience with an Eduard self-adhesive detail set, and I greatly enjoyed the encounter. I will mention here that if you are modeling on a budget and needed to choose between the interior and exterior sets, that I would recommend the interior set. The pre-painted, self-adhesive fret… more |
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F6F-3 Hellcat Propeller with ToolPublished:
Attached to the front of the powerful Pratt & Whitney 2000 horsepower R-2800 that moved the Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat was a thirteen foot, one inch Hamilton Standard propeller. This new release from Quickboost provides a replacement for the kit-provided propeller, and is a nice upgrade for the Cyber Hobby kit. The detail set comes with a single runner with the four parts attached, as well as the tool used to set the proper pitch on the propeller blades. If you have some experience in working with resin, this will be an easy upgrade to put to use, and if you have little or no experience with resin, this could be a good item to start with. Packaging for this set is simple with the three propeller blades and hub being attached to a single runner. Also included is the tool that is… more |
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F6F-3 HellcatPublished:
Cyber-Hobby has recently entered the model aircraft community, and their latest offering is that of a 1/72 scale F6F-3 Hellcat. The kit builds up reasonably well, with good fit for most of the parts, and options such as extended or retracted landing gear, open or closed canopy, and extended or retracted wings. Cyber-Hobby also does a nice job of including the markings for six different squadrons, and in the case of VF-27, there are markings for three different planes with the legendary “cat mouth” motif. The kit itself contains 124 light gray parts spread across seven sprues, as well as 5 clear parts on a single sprue and 4 photoetch pieces on a single fret. The directions are on eight pages (a single sheet of paper with three folds), and are printed in black and blue. The kit will… more |