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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A-4 Skyhawk Landing Gear (HB) (for 1/48 Hobby Boss)Published:
Scale Aircraft Conversions now has over twenty-seven years of experience supplying resin and white metal parts to model builders, and their product listing continues to expand. This is the ninth landing gear set from SAC that I have reviewed, and once again, they have provided an excellent metal option for kit-supplied landing gear. This set is intended for the 1/48 scale A-4 Skyhawk that was recently released by Hobby Boss (kit 81764). The purpose of this replacement set is to provide stronger landing gear that is adjustable if necessary to obtain the proper angles. Even with no previous experience in using white metal parts, this set will provide an upgrade that most modelers will have no issue installing. The beauty of the white metal used by Scale Aircraft Conversions for… more |
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F-14A Cockpit SetPublished:
Let me begin by stating that the folks at Tamiya did a fantastic job with their release of an F-14A last year in 1/48 scale. The all-new kit is one of, if not the best Tomcat in this scale, with the typical engineering that applies to everything Tamiya produces. With that being said, some modelers want to add just a little something more to their projects, and once again Eduard comes to our assistance with the release of a cockpit set for the Tamiya kit. Everything that you would want or need up front is contained in one package with both resin and photoetched parts being included. I would highly recommend this set to any modeler who feels the need to have the extra detail in their Tomcat’s cockpit. Upon opening this set, you will find 31 gray resin parts, one clear resin part… more |
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Seatbelts USN WWII fighters STEELPublished:
If you want to add some great looking seatbelts to your next U.S. Navy fighter of the Second World War, you need to look no further than Eduard. This is my second review of Eduard Steel seatbelts, and I am still amazed at what the company is producing in photoetched products. The belts are easy enough to install for those with some photoetch experience, the only challenging part is installing the clasp on the left side seatbelt, but I would still highly recommend this set! The single photoetch fret for this release contains four full sets of seatbelts, which are pre-painted in khaki and green (there are two sets in each color) along with leather pads and clasps. The lap belt attaching to the left side of the seat (if you were in the seat) receives the leather pad and the clasp… more |
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F-14A Weapons SetPublished:
If you prefer the added level of detail provided by aftermarket resin items, Eduard has recently released a set that you will love for arming your F-14A Tomcat. Consisting of the AIM-9G/H Sidewinder, AIM-7E Sparrow, and AIM-54A Phoenix, this Big Sin set provides four of each missile in glorious resin detail. I would highly recommend the set, and if you have some experience fitting resin parts, and working with fine decals, you should have no problem building and marking these missiles for your Tomcat. The Phoenix has always been of interest to me as the missile was developed from the AIM-47 Falcon, which was being designed for use on the A-12 version of the SR-71 that never entered service, and the F-108 Rapier, which also never entered service. The start of the AIM-54 project… more |
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German Submarine U-Boat Type VIIC/IXC 'U-Boat Aces Part 2' (Limited Edition)Published:
One of the latest releases from the folks at Hasegawa is a re-release of the waterline Type VIIC and IXC U-Boats in a limited edition form that includes photoetch parts and decals for the markings of four “Aces”. The kit includes four submarines in all, two of each type, as well as the bow and stern sections of two sinking merchant ships. Basic assembly is quick and easy, but installation of the photoetch railings requires removing the kit’s plastic representations and forming the metal replacement parts, which could challenge less experienced modelers. I would still highly recommend this kit to those interested in adding some small U-Boats to their collection. The Type VIIC was the most produced submarine for the Kriegsmarine with some 572 being built during the war as a short… more |
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F-16 Pilot Seated in A/CPublished:
Are you looking to add a little life to your 1/32 scale F-16 Fighting Falcon? If so, you may want to consider the latest release in this scale from the folks at PJ Production. This is the third PJ Production figure that I have had the pleasure of reviewing, and like the other two, assembly was easy, with minimal part clean-up being required. The detail is reasonable for this scale, and the figure can be used with the Tamiya, Hasegawa, or Academy kit. The only modeling skill required involves painting a figure; otherwise, I would recommend this as an item manageable by modelers of nearly any skill level. There are a mere six parts for this particular figure, consisting of the body, arms, two optional heads, and a piece of tube for the oxygen mask. I found the resin easy to work… more |
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Littoral Combat Ships LCS-2 & LCS-4 Aerials, Masts, and Gun BarrelPublished:
For ship modelers looking to improve the look of their USS Independence (LCS-2) or USS Coronado (LCS-4) in 1/700 scale, the folks at Master Model now offer a set that includes aerials and a replacement gun barrel that look fantastic. The folks at Cyber-Hobby/Dragon did a great job of representing the kits in plastic, and these brass detail parts add a very nice touch. Modelers with experience handling small items should have no issues with utilizing this set. All of the items in this kit directly replace kit-provided parts, specifically parts 10, 26, 28, 31, and the gun barrel on part 27. All of the aerials will mount directly in place of the plastic ship parts, and the gun barrel will just require removing the plastic barrel and drilling a 0.3 mm hole to accept the replacement… more |
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F-14A Seatbelts STEELPublished:
Eduard never ceases to amaze me with their innovations when it comes to adding details to our projects. Just three short years ago, I reviewed fabric seat belts for an F-14A ejection seat, and now the company has released a new line of steel PE parts. I would highly recommend this set to folks wanting to dress up the “bang seats” of their Tamiya F-14A, but this offering should also work on other kits in 1/48 scale. This new detail recommends the 1/48 scale F-14A kit from Tamiya, so I put that kit to use and built up the GRU-7A ejection seats in order to conduct this review. The set consists of a single photoetch fret that is pre-painted. If you take your time and follow the instructions, a very nice set of seatbelts will result and will improve the appearance of your ejection… more |
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F-14A Grilles - TamiyaPublished:
Eduard has once again raised the bar for the detail industry with the addition of their steel photoetched parts. This particular set is to add or replace grills on the Tamiya F-14A kit, but the items should work on other 1/48 scale Tomcats as well. I would highly recommend this set to folks wanting to add additional grill detail to their Tomcat. Along with some other recent Eduard releases for the 1/48 scale Tamiya F-14A Tomcat comes a set to dress up the various grills found on the plane. I found the ones located on the underside of the aircraft, inboard of the engine intakes, truly unique as they include what appears to be a fan under the grill. While most of the grills are simply installed over the existing kit grills, which make installation a snap, the aforementioned… more |
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Fokker Dr. 1 EnginePublished:
One of the latest releases in the rapidly expanding line of Brassin products is a beautiful representation of the Fokker Dr.1 nine-cylinder Oberursel engine. Consisting of three resin parts and a single photo-etched part, the engine builds up quickly, and will make a great addition to your 1/72 scale triplane! As mentioned, there are three resin parts in the set, which consist of the engine itself, firewall mounting plate, and a single part that has the intake shaft, magneto, oil pump case, and spark distributor, all molded on. The ignition wires are contained on a single photoetched fret. I found the construction of the engine relatively easy, but on my sample, the opening in the firewall mounting plate and attachment area for the intake shaft and other components did… more |