Dora Wings is a relatively new company with a number of low-pressure injection mold releases. I contacted them and we were fortunate to receive two new kits - a P-63E King Cobra (reviewed elsewhere on this site) and the iconic Gee Bee R2 racer. There’s plenty of history to be found regarding this little bumblebee of an airplane - maximum sized engine stuffed into the smallest possible airframe - so let’s get right to the build.

Kit contents include a very nicely detailed P&W Wasp radial, a very complete cockpit section (most of which becomes invisible under the tiny canopy) and a sheet of crisp p/e detail. A single sheet, 4 sided color instruction sheet includes a painting guide, and a sheet of masking media is included to allow you to recreate the scalloped paint scheme.

The AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) is manufactured by Raytheon Company and gives a precision strike, launch and leave capability. The JSOW has a stand-off range of around 12 miles when launched at low altitude and around 70 miles when launched at altitude. The weapon weighs around 1,000 lbs. and has different payloads depending on which variant it is. The AGM-154A carries 145 BLU-97 sub-munitions and is used to attack fixed and moveable soft targets such as parked aircraft, trucks, APCs and surface to air missile sites. The AGM-154C is equipped with a 500 lb. blast/fragmentation/penetrator warhead and is used to attack fixed point targets such as buildings and hardened tactical targets. The JSOW uses a global position/inertial navigation system for guidance and the C model has a terminal IR seeker. Over 400 JSOWs have been used in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq since it entered service in 1999. (US Navy Fact File)

For the last several years, Airfix has transformed itself. They have been releasing a plethora of new kits that are heads and tails above the kits that we all put together as kids and young adults. The Avro Shackleton under review is further evidence of Airfix moving forward into the 21st Century. In 2015, Airfix released the Avro Shackleton MR.2. In 2017, Airfix released the Avro Shackelton AEW.2. This kit continues their current trend of crafting exquisite kits with modern molding technology and engineering. The plane had a long service life and pedigree according to the blurb on the instructions, “Developed from the Lincoln bomber and sharing with it the DNA of the famous Lancaster [bomber], the Avro Shackleton enjoyed a long career with the RAF, first as a maritime patrol craft and then as the RAF’s primary AEW (Airborne Early Warning) aircraft . . . . the AEW.2 version remained in service until 1991, the MR.2 was phased out in favor of the Nimrod in the 1970s.”

The one thing all Japanese fighters in WWII had in common was a radial engine, except for one plane, the Ki-61 Hien which the allies named Tony. This was powered by a licensed built version of the Daimler-Benz DB601 and not only faced the allied fighters of the day but also had the performance to get to the B-29s altitude.

Tamiya released a new tool of the Tony in 1/48th scale back in 2016 and now has finally shrunk it down to my preferred scale of 1/72nd and a beauty of a model it is. The 45 grey and 3 clear parts are beautifully molded with fine scribed details. The low parts count leads to a quick build. A lovely cockpit is included and the wheel wells look nice. Markings are included for 3 airframes. One from the 19th Air Group in Luzon, Philippines, 1945 and two from the 244th Air Group based in Japan. More on these in a minute.

The GBU-12 is an American laser guided bomb consisting of a 500 lb. Mk. 82 bomb combined with a laser tracker and fins for guidance. First entering service in 1976, it was used extensively in Operation Desert Storm by US F-111’s, F-15E’s and A-6E’s. F-111’s used it to great effect in hunting down and destroying Iraqi armor (tank plinking). After Desert Storm it has been used extensively in Afghanistan and other conflicts.

The set consists of four resin bomb bodies with the tail fins and nose guidance sections molded as single pieces except for the seeker head and photo-etch nose and aft guidance fins. Two options are provided for the seeker head, one with the seeker head exposed and the other with the plastic ground cover in place. I choice to use the heads with the cover installed as I plan on displaying the bombs on a parked, but armed aircraft.