Reviews of products for scale aircraft models.

Book Author(s)
Tom Womack
Review Author
Jim Maas
Published on
December 3, 2023
Company
McFarland Books
MSRP
$39.95

Eighty-some years after the fact, we are still learning about the Second World War, in all its global aspects. One neglected area, handsomely remedied in English by this book, is the role to the Netherlands East Indies Naval Air Service during the Japanese onslaught into the area we now call Indonesia. This book is doubtless the ultimate study on the subject, at least in English. And what a far-flung topic it is; the numerous islands of the Netherlands East Indies covered an area wider than the Continental U.S. and nearly as deep.

Review Author
Rob Booth
Published on
December 3, 2023
Company
Brengun
Scale
1:72
MSRP
$6.50

Brengun Models is a scale model and detailing parts manufacturer located in the Czech Republic. Their lines include limited production run multi-media kits and exquisitely detailed photo-etched, turned brass and white metal replacement parts for aircraft in the most commonly produced scales.

Brengun has produced a set of WWII German Antenna to fit any appropriate1/72 scale Luftwaffe aircraft kit. The package contains FuG-10, FuG-101 and FuG-227 arrays, as well as an FuBi-2.

Review Author
Rob Booth
Published on
December 3, 2023
Company
Brengun
Scale
1:72
MSRP
$9.00

Brengun Models is a scale model and detailing parts manufacturer located in the Czech Republic. Their lines include limited production run multi-media kits and exquisitely detailed photo-etched, turned brass and white metal replacement parts for aircraft in the most commonly produced scales.

Brengun has produced a set of FuG-200 Antenna to fit any appropriate 1/72 scale Luftwaffe aircraft kit.

Book Author(s)
Adrian M. Balch
Review Author
Paul Mahoney
Published on
December 2, 2023
Company
Guideline Publications
MSRP
$26.00

This series has been around for many years, and they still continue to come out with new volumes, sometimes of little-covered subjects such as this one.

This is a softcover publication, with 44 pages in a nice, high-quality semi-gloss finish and a stiff outer cover. Publishing quality is first-rate, as is the content itself.

Review Author
Michael Reeves
Published on
November 29, 2023
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$16.95

This Scale Aircraft Conversions release for the Meng 1/24 kit is a replacement set for the plastic struts that are the kit parts. I am not an expert on the Fokker Dr. 1a by any means - but there is a definite size discrepancy between the kit parts and the white metal parts in the conversion set. The white metal parts are noticeably longer than the kit parts as you can see from my photos. I am not sure which is more accurate - but I can at least say they got the shape dead on from the kit parts and the width is pretty similar.

Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
November 29, 2023
Company
David Doyle Books
MSRP
$18.50

David Doyle is well known to historians and modelers alike, with over 200 books to his credit. His Legends of Warfare series covers many of the important machines used in warfare. This latest volume is for the Grumman F8F Bearcat. The F8F was the last and ultimate of the Grumman propeller driven fighters. Too late for combat in WWII and with the dawn and superiority in speed of the jet, the Bearcat order was cut down considerably. The only combat was while serving with the French in Indochina. Like its contemporaries, the Sea Fury, and the La-9/11, the F8F was fast and maneuverable. And like the sea Fury it survived because of that speed and maneuverability making it a favorite on the air show circuit and air racing.

The book is broken down into an introduction and two chapters. Chapter one covers the F8F-1 and Chapter two covers the F8F-2.

Book Author(s)
Matthew Willis
Review Author
Andrew Manriquez
Published on
November 29, 2023
Company
Key Publishing Ltd
MSRP
$34.95

In 1940, the British Air Commission (BAC) approached U.S. aircraft manufacturers about purchasing aircraft, particularly fighters. Curtiss presented their model 81 and planned P-46 which the BAC later ordered 480 model 81s and 960 P-46s. Lockheed presented their YP-38 prototype. North American Aviation (NAA), who as of yet had little experience with fighters, drew up a proposal for a fighter that they insisted was to be at least as good as the P-46. The BAC required assurance for NAA’s claims and that each aircraft be less than $40,000 each. Eventually the BAC ordered 400 of NAA’s fighters, even before a design was presented. The company's lead structures engineer recalled that Edgar Schmued had given the subject of a single seat fighter a great deal of thought in the previous years, called the P-51. NAA’s design team and Schmued were determined that the aircraft would be cutting edge. By the end of 1940, the first prototype, called NA-73X or XP-51, was ready for flight.

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
November 29, 2023
Company
ICM
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$79.99

ICM has released another combo aviation kit, this one including the ubiquitous Tiger Moth training aircraft and their RAF cadets figure set.

The DH. 82A Tiger Moth is perhaps one of the most common light aircraft in the world to this day and really needs no introduction. First beginning production in 1931, it served as the main basic training aircraft for the Royal Air Force well into the 1950s, and was exported to more than 25 other air forces during that time. Now in demand in commercial venues, it continues to fly all over the world to this day.

The Airplane

This is actually the second iteration of this famous aircraft in 1/32nd scale, the first being the venerable Matchbox variant, which came out in the 1970s. This version featured a host of special features, including floats and the Canadian enclosed cockpit variants. Although ICM’s kit doesn’t feature all of these options, it has much more refined details as befits a kit of the 21st century.

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
November 29, 2023
Company
ICM
Scale
1:24
MSRP
$61.99

I was in college when Revell first released their 1/32nd scale rendition of the AH-1G Cobra Helicopter gunship, at that time being actively used in the Vietnam conflict. I am forced to admit that I was enamored with the sleek and deadly look of this machine, and the fact that Revell had released it in my favorite scale only made it more desirable.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
November 29, 2023
Company
Brengun
Scale
1:72
MSRP
$6.60

This set supplies drop-in replacement wheels for 1/72 F-16 C/D Block 40 and later kits.

As you would expect from Brengun, the wheels are very finely cast featuring realistic tread pattern, raised lettering and other markings on the sidewalls and sharply detailed brake pads and wheel hubs. I compared them to the wheels of a Tamiya F-16CJ kit and as shown in the photos, the detail on the Brengun parts is a vast improvement over the kit wheels. Each tire also has a flat spot to simulate the weight of the aircraft on the tires, however, it is not overdone so that the tires look flat.

I painted the wheels Tamiya NATO Black and the rims/brake pads Tamiya Flat White, with a black wash to bring out the details. I used a white colored pencil to highlight lettering and markings on the sidewalls.

The wheels have round mounting holes on the back side, so they should be adaptable to just about any 1/72 F-16C/D Block 40 and later kit.

Highly recommended.