Reviews of products for scale aircraft models.

Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
Company
Airfix
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$24.99

History

The original Blenheim bomber evolved from a Bristol light transport development, probably the first aircraft specifically designed as a high-speed executive transport. Labeled the Model 142 “Britain First”, the airplane was displayed at the 1935 Hendon display. RAF leaders immediately saw its potential as a light bomber, and after protracted development, it emerged as the Model 142M, a mid-wing, three place twin-engine bomber with a crew of 3. Only two machine guns were installed, and a total of 986 Mk. I’s was produced before it was replaced by the Mk. IV model, of which 2703 were built.

Book Author(s)
NA
Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Eduard
MSRP
$26.95

This is an art print poster of the Box art of He 280 kit Eduard released recently.

Summary

This is a fantastic print which I will be framing and placing on my office wall. The print is on high quality paper and has a fantastic image of the He 280 which is one of my favorite aircraft.

Now I have the print I will be also buying the model kit to place next to the print once completed.

I would highly recommend this print and the others in the series as they are of the best quality and look great in a model room, man cave or office.

Thanks go to Eduard for providing this Print to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them

Book Author(s)
Robert Forsyth, Illustrator: Adam Tooby Series Editor: Tony Holmes
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$20.00

Robert Forsyth, born in Berkshire, England, has studied the history and operations of the Luftwaffe since his school days. Based in East Sussex with his wife, he runs an aviation and military publishing business full-time. He has written articles for the magazines Aeroplane , Aviation News, FlyPast, and The Aviation Historian, and is a member of the Editorial Board of the latter publication. He is the author of several hard bound books, including: JV 44 – The Galland Circus (1996), Battle over Bavaria – The B-26 versus the German Jets (Classic, 1998), Mistel – German Composite Aircraft and Operations 1942-1945 (Classic, 2001), Messerschmitt Me 264 Amerikabomber (Classic, 2006, with Eddie Creek); He 162 Volksjäger (Classic, 2009, with Eddie Creek); Heinkel He 111 (Crecy, 2014); Junkers Ju 52 (Specialty Press. 2015, with Eddie Creek).

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$10.71

Anybody who knows me and my modeling preferences know that I am NOT a fan of photo-etch for photo-etch’s sake. Too many model companies have begun including photoetch sheets in their products not because they actually enhance the accuracy and scale of the model, but because it gives them an excuse to jack the price up. This does not make me their friend.

That being said, there are times when nothing but photoetch will do the job. In this case, Brengun has offered a set to model separate landing flaps for the 1/32nd Special Hobby Brewster Buffalo, and what a lovely little accessory kit this is!

The parts come on two separate sheets – one for each wing – and feature not only the flap itself but the interior of the upper wing. They also include a somewhat cryptic instruction sheet to help with assembly. As a technical writer by profession, I can think of a few things that they might have shown differently, but it’s still clear enough to be quite functional.

Review Author
Mike Lamm
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$16.95

Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) produces white metal replacement gear for a variety of popular model kits from a variety of manufacturers. The white metal replacements are normally a one-for-one replacement with the plastic parts provided with the kit. Some landing gear sets consist of the main gear only while others include the nose gear, tail gear and wheels. In some cases, inaccuracies in the original kit gear are corrected, but the mounting points remain identical to the factory parts to ensure ease of use. The quality of the parts is normally spot on, or even better than the kit parts, and since the replacement parts are made of white metal, they provide the additional benefit of improved strength.

Review Author
Ben Morton
Published on
Company
Minicraft Model Kits
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$19.99

The B-24 was produced in greater quantities than any other aircraft in WWII. The B-24D was the early version of the B-24 having served in all theaters of operation. The United States Navy, United States Army Air Force, and many allied air forces units employed the B-24D worldwide.

This B-24 kit from Minicraft features a new 'D' fuselage and greenhouse nose with high quality Cartograf decals. The markings are for two 8th Air Force aircraft that served with the U.S. Army Air Corp.

When you open the box you'll find thirty-eight light gray plastic bits with fourteen clear plastic parts. You won't be using all of them but you can build the model either in-flight or on the ground. If you choose to do the in-flight version (blade-less spinners and retracted landing gear) you'll need to supply your own stand or you can get one from Minicraft for that express purpose.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Werners Wings
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$25.00

IPMS/USA recognizes one of our own, Floyd Werner, for providing this sheet set for review and I personally applaud our reviewer corps leadership, John Noack and Phil Peterson, for sending them to me for review. Floyd is well known for his expertise in the WWII Luftwaffe genre, as well as his personal exploits flying Snakes in the U.S. Army. This sheet was sponsored by Kitty Hawk, the much-maligned (but in my opinion) EXCELLENT company which provides us with products which would NEVER have seen the light unless they took the plunge. So you have to work to make them to personal standard? Huff… part of the price of admission. ( I swear if you give these guys a new, free Lexus they’d complain about the new car smell)

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$10.95

If you want to make life a little easier when masking and painting canopies and wheels, you may want to check out the line of masks produced by Eduard. This particular set is made for the Hobby Boss A-4E (kit 81764), and provides masks for the windscreen, canopy, and wheels/tires. The precut masks are easy to use, so modelers with a little experience placing items in exact locations will have no issues with this set.

After seeing the decals provided at the IPMS Nationals last year, I decided that I needed to add an A-4E Skyhawk to my stash, and being a relatively small plane, 1/48 scale seemed appropriate. Hobby Boss had recently released their kit of the E model, so it was an easy decision when I saw one on the Squadron table. My late father in law was a Naval Aviator, and he flew some A-4 missions in Vietnam, including Iron Hand, so this will a bit of a tribute to him once built.

Book Author(s)
Kari Stenman
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$62.00

Kari Stenman has authored, or co-authored, aviation books for the past 49 years. He ran his own publishing company in Finland, focusing on Finnish Aviation History. Many of them were in his Suomen Ilmavoimien Historia series that were originally in Finnish only, but later re-released with Finnish and English text. including:

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$59.95

IPMS/USA thanks the Eduard team up front for sending us this absolutely stunning set for the new Eduard FW-190 series. I received this set when difficulty was experienced by another reviewer having some issues out of his control in getting the sets reviewed, so I volunteered and got “The lot”. Hooo boy…

Another note: right after I got the sets, I had work and a funeral interfere with MY life, so these took some time to get done; particularly since I was working out of a hotel (as I am now again on OTHER review items) so I’m a bit behind.

First off, Eduard has produced some of the best sets, bar none, for the FW-190. In this review I used both the engine sets and the upper gun deck sets; here are my observations.

First, the sets fit great. I had a few difficulties with figuring out what went where, but was able to overcome and get them installed. The upper MG’s in particular need care in installation, or you can really have them out of whack.