Hot on the heels of Zoukei-Mura’s new Ki-45 Late comes the Ki-45 Early edition. Giving you two choices of the Early type of heavy fighter the Ki-45 Toryu Kai Ko or Kai Hei. As with all ZM kits this one has a full interior and you have your choice of clear fuselage (to show off all the interior details) or gray plastic fuselage. The box is jammed full of both gray and clear sprues and it comes with a 59-page instruction book.

First up for the build is choosing which variant you want to build. I chose to go with the Ko version, in the instructions this would be option A. I chose this version for two reasons. The alligator type paint scheme and the two machine guns in the nose as apposed to the one cannon.

IPMS/USA appreciates the opportunity to review this periodical and report on the content!

OK, I am one of “those guys” who really enjoys reading periodicals/magazines. They provide a method to weed out the potential poorly manufactured models out there (a rare occurrence these days with modern molding techniques) and highlight the benefit of a given kit. A win for me as I therefore know of and don’t buy poorly executed plastic. And if I do, it’s because it saves me a lot of scratch building. Plus, I learn a lot of technique and history from modeling. What is not to like?

Scale Aircraft Conversions specializes in white metal replacement parts. Its line of replacement landing gear has been expanded to include a set for the Trumpeter 1/48 Sea Vixen.

The set is including 7 parts covering the main landing gear struts and fork. These parts are drop-in replacements for the plastic parts. Considering the size of the Sea Vixen, investing on a sturdy landing gear is likely to be a good idea.

You can see from the pictures the parts are very cleanly molded and formed, without any visible molding lines (typical of plastic parts).

In addition to the listed advantages, when using white metal landing gear you can always ‘tweak’ the landing gear strut for an improved alignment of the parts, which again in a large model airplane is an extra advantage.

Recommended to modelers of all skill levels.

I would like to thank Scale Aircraft Conversions and IPMS/USA for the review sample.

This book is the seventh book in Ginter’s Naval Fighters series and looks at the 23 Marine Corps units that flew the A-4C/L Skyhawk. The book opens with a brief discussion of the development of the A-4C as an all-weather version of the Skyhawk and some of the structural changes that were made to accomplish this. While the A-4C was intended as an interim design, 638 aircraft constructed.

Overview from the Publisher

Su-24 (Fencer) is a Soviet jet bomber with variable-geometry wings. The aircraft was supposed to be a response to the American F-111, and therefore it's structurally similar. Su-24 can operate in any weather conditions, also at night. It was designed to carry tactical nuclear as well as tactical weapons.

In the 1960s, the military command of the Soviet Union set requirements for a new attack aircraft that would be able to operate despite strong anti-aircraft defense of NATO troops. The aircraft was expected to fly at low altitude at a high speed. Initially, it was based on Su-7 and Su-15 airframes, but due to the decision to use a variable-geometry wing, it was necessary to build a completely new structure. Variable geometry allowed to achieve high speeds while maintaining good takeoff and landing characteristics. This is how Su-24 was born.