I’ve always been interested in self propelled flak guns, whether on a truck or tracked vehicle. Maybe it’s the interesting combination of equipment that makes some very unique looking vehicles. For several years I had the old Italeri sWS kit hanging out in the closet, along with some various details with the idea of building it someday. Lo and behold a new company, Great Wall Hobby, comes on the scene with all-new tool sWS. I hedged my bets and figured they would eventfully release some of the self-propelled flak halftracks based on the sWS. Sure enough, I didn’t have to wait long!

Eduard continues to lead the pack in taking older kits and upgrading them with PE and resin upgrades. In this case, we have the Academy MiG-29A, which in its own right is an excellent kit, with several items added to bring the basic kit to the next level. In this case, Eduard’s own PE instrument panel and detail set, combined with their in-house “Brassin” resin upgrades. Oh yeah, there is also one outstanding decal sheet included with no less than five variants to finish your model; Two Soviet, one Polish, one Czech Republic, and one Iranian. All are in register, and make for quite a variety of color schemes. The decals also include a comprehensive stencil suite, including missile and launch rail details. Outstanding!

Moebius Models continues their run of hits with the brand-spanking new Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. For those of you not around for the last 20 years, Elvira is a character played by Cassandra Peterson who is a valley girl-talking, smart-mouthed movie host for those awful yet loveable horror movies. I love her style and panache and when the kit came out, who could not want to review it?

The kit was sculpted by Adam Dougherty. Actually, kit is an understatement, as it is a complete diorama. The kit consists of over 60 parts, including a carpet (with the carpet monster peaking out from underneath the corner), a full sofa, Elvira herself, and her dog Gonk, along with a rat, skull, and skeletal hand. I built the kit in parts and will cover the review the same way.

Introduction

The Grumman F6F Hellcat series was one of the most important U.S. Navy carrier fighters of World War II, with the first F6F-3 production models appearing in late 1942. Powered by a P.W. R-2800-10 radial engine of 2000 hp., the fighter was powerful, heavily armed with six .50 cal. machine guns, well protected with armor and self-sealing fuel tanks, and fast, 335 mph. at sea level and 376 mph. at 17,300 ft. Although it could be out-turned by the Zero, its main adversary, it held virtually every other advantage, especially since by the time the Hellcat came into service in 1943, many of the highly experienced Japanese pilots had been lost in combat, and their replacements were poorly trained compared to the American pilots, who entered combat with roughly four times the flying time of their Japanese counterparts.

OK, what does an airplane guy know about tanks? Well, let’s see – they make great targets and make a mess of a training area. Truth be told, I did win a trophy at the Nats for a tank. Surprised? So was I. As an airplane guy I always wanted to build some tanks, in particular German tanks, but for the longest time it was the zimmerit that prevented me from buying them. Then it was all the aftermarket stuff to make the kit “correct.” Thankfully, Dragon has started retooling their kits to make them more accurate, and they contain aftermarket stuff right in the box. On top of that, they priced their new kits, with all the aftermarket, at the same price as their previous releases. Then they added zimmerit on the appropriate kits. I couldn’t think of any more reasons to not buy these kits. Of the last 20 kits I’ve bought, no less than 12 have been Dragon tanks. I feel so dirty.