Steve Collins
Reviews By Author
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X-47B Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) - U.S. NavyPublished:
The X-47B is an experimental Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle the US Navy is testing from its aircraft carriers for suitability as a remotely controlled attack aircraft. Apparently, UCAVs are going to be a large part of the future of US military flying. This kit from Platz was described in one of the paper publications as requiring twice as long to paint as it did to build and twice as long as that to decal. I find myself in total agreement with that assessment. The kit consists of approximately 56 parts in a light grey plastic. The parts tree is sensibly laid out and the instructions include a parts map showing all the relevant parts. The kit gives options to build the kit with the wings folded or not and with the ‘spoilerons’ in each wing deployed or not. You also have… more |
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Sd.Kfz.260 Kleine PanzerfunkwagenPublished:
The Sd.Kfz.260 Kleine Panzerfunkwagen is a four-wheeled light armored car used to transport and protect signal units. It had a four-man crew protected by relatively thin armor and a mesh grenade screen, and was unarmed except for the crew’s personal weapons. Approximately 500 of the 260 and the similar 261 were built and used from 1940 till the end of the war. The really significant difference in the two vehicles was in antenna and radio fit. The 260 used a dipole antenna for medium range communications and the 261 used a frame type antenna for long range radio. The kit consists of 94 parts molded in Dragon’s usual medium grey plastic with very fine detail. Of those 94 parts, you’ll only use about 57, since the kit contains parts for an armed and turreted armored car, the Sd.… more |
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British Tank Destroyer Achilles IICPublished:
The Achilles IIC is the British version of the M10 tank destroyer (TD). It was based on the M4 Sherman chassis and mounted the 17 pounder anti-tank gun. The kit is molded in a medium green styrene with some minor flash and a few sink marks, though nothing that isn’t easily removed or fixed. If I counted correctly, the kit contains 339 parts. Yes, 339. In 1/72 scale. The good news is that a lot of the parts are for the tracks, not all parts are used, and there are some useful parts left over to detail other kits. The attachment points are a bit larger than some other manufactures, but can be cleaned up with a bit of work. The tracks are link-and-length. I did a bit of research and found that some earlier UM Sherman kits had incorrect road wheels (six spokes instead of five) and… more |
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F-15C Eifel Eagles DecalsPublished:
Bob Sanchez continues to turn out great decals. This sheet is for F-15C Eagles from Bitburg Air Base in Germany. The markings are on one full and one half sheet printed flawlessly by Microscale. They include markings for jets ranging from 1983 through 1993 and show three different stencil styles and two paint schemes. Markings include squadron and wing commander’s aircraft, as well as an aircraft marked for the US/Germany Tricentennial in September of 1983. Six of the tail numbers shown carry kill marks from Operation Desert Storm in 1991. The instructions include six full-color pages of drawings and pictures of the different aircraft that can be made from these sheets. Markings for 13 aircraft are on the sheets, with sufficient stencils to do one full-color, two subdued, and… more |
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F-16A MLU Danish Air Force Decals in 1/72ndPublished:
Twobobs has released a sheet for those of us who like colorful aircraft, something that will relieve that expanse of grey on grey in the display case. The aircraft catered for on this sheet are two F-16A Midlife Update (MLU) aircraft at Skrydstrup AB of the Royal Danish Air Force. They were painted in special markings to celebrate the anniversaries of the activation of their squadrons. The first, F-16AM Block 10 MLU, 78-0194, commemorates the 60th Anniversary of ESK 727 on 18 June 2010. It has an all orange-red tail fin and fairing with a white cross and a golden lion and golden script showing 1950 and 2010 for either side of the tail. The second aircraft, F-16AM Block 5 MLU (upgraded to Block 10), 78-0187, is marked to show the 50th Anniversary of ESK 730 on 3 March 2006… more |
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F-16A MLU Danish Air Force Decals in 1/48thPublished:
Twobobs has released a sheet in 1/48 scale for those of us who like colorful aircraft, something that will relieve that expanse of grey on grey in the display case. The aircraft catered for on this sheet are two F-16A Midlife Update (MLU) aircraft at Skrydstrup AB of the Royal Danish Air Force. They were painted in special markings to celebrate the anniversaries of the activation of their squadrons. The first, F-16AM Block 10 MLU, 78-0194, commemorates the 60th Anniversary of ESK 727 on 18 June 2010. It has an all orange-red tail fin and fairing with a white cross and a golden lion and golden script showing 1950 and 2010 for either side of the tail. The second aircraft, F-16AM Block 5 MLU (upgraded to Block 10), 78-0187, is marked to show the 50th Anniversary of ESK 730… more |
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North American P-51D/K Mustang & Cavalier F-51D ConversionPublished:
When this book was announced and I looked at the contents, I knew I had to have it. You see, I have am working on a collection of aircraft from the 352nd Fighter Group, the Blue-Nosed, uh, Boys from Bodney. And this book has decals for one of the ones I’ve been unable to find. In fact, the book has decals in 1/32nd, 1/48th, and 1/72nd for four aircraft:
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F-22 Raptor Exhaust NozzlesPublished:
Aires specializes in creating replacement parts for kit items that are either lacking in detail or have detail that isn’t quite sharp enough. This set provides replacement parts for the exhaust nozzles for the Academy kit of the F-22 Raptor. The set is cast in medium grey resin, with no pinholes or miscast parts, along with a nice photoetch sheet for fine parts. The set includes the aft end of the turbine compressors and the afterburner section. The flame holders from the PE sheet are attached to the end of the compressor section, then the afterburner tube is added. The four long triangular pieces are the side pieces of the vectoring nozzles, and the smaller, wider, triangles are the vectoring parts of the nozzles. Each of them receives one of the four “batwing”-shaped pieces… more |
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EA-6B Prowler ICAP-2 (Early) Cockpit SetPublished:
Aires has presented us with another beauty here. I’ve wanted to build an EA-6B for quite some time (I have a bit of a background in electronic countermeasures). The only kit in my chosen scale of 1/72 is the Hasegawa kit. This kit is typical Hasegawa of its era, with finely engraved panel lines, minimal necessary external accessories for the version being done, and not much in the cockpit area. This set takes care of the last part completely. As usual, the set is flawlessly cast in a medium grey resin, with incredible detail just begging to be painted and highlighted. Also included is a photoetch sheet with instrument panels, seatbelts, and other cockpit accoutrements, and a clear acetate sheet with the backing for the instrument panels. When compared with the kit parts… more |
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F-16I Sufa Exhaust Nozzle for HasegawaPublished:
Aires is probably the best known provider of resin aftermarket accessories. Well, they’re certainly the most prolific. And I still haven’t figured out how they make the detail so fine. I’d almost swear they have little one-inch tall guys making this stuff. This set is an exhaust for the F-16I Sufa kit from Hasegawa. The set consists of five finely cast resin parts, two to make up the exhaust petals, one for the exhaust chamber, one for the aft compressor blades, one for the engine ring on the fuselage and one photoetched piece to represent the flame holder of the afterburner. As the attached photos show, the Aires set is much more detailed than the kit part. After removing the pour blocks from the resin parts and the flame holder from the photoetch sheet, the flame holder is… more |