Reviews of products for scale aircraft models.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$13.95

Over the past couple of years, Trumpeter has released four new MiG-29 “Fulcrum” kits, the Model 9.12 Fulcrum A, the Model 9.13 Fulcrum C, the Model 9.51 Fulcrum B trainer to the Model 9.13 MiG-29 SMT. While there are some significant differences between the various versions of the Fulcrum, the landing gear is essentially the same on all four of these variants.

Earlier this year Scale Aircraft Conversions released a replacement set for the Trumpeter MiG-29 kits. The set is comprised of five parts, two main landing gear legs, a two-piece nose strut, and the nose strut retraction actuator. As with many other SAC sets, the first step is to remove the slight mold/cast seam on each of the parts. I first scraped the seam down using a Xacto blade, then I polished each part using a wire wheel in my battery operated Dremel tool, at low speed. This results in a smooth, shiny finish on the parts and highlights the excellent castings.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Twobobs Aviation Graphics
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$14.00

I’ve always thought the F-5 Freedom Fighter was a sexy little airplane. And with a neat paint scheme, it is even cooler. Two Bobs has dabbled into these markings with this release.

The adversaries of VFC-111 and VFC-13 sport some of the camouflage schemes that many potential adversaries would fly in.

Typical of all Two Bobs releases this one comes in a ziplock baggie of 6x9 inches. The decals themselves are printed by Microscale so you know they are thin, opaque and in register. This sheet features three aircraft, one from the Sundowners and two Fighting Saints. There are stencils for each aircraft and decals for CATM AIM-9 markings.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$64.95

Thanks once again to Eduard for providing a copy of one of their sets for IPMS USA to review;

They continue to support us and ask for feedback and it’s great to be a part of the process. Also, thanks to Dick “Monty” Montgomery and our fearless leader Dave Morrissette for ordering the set for the review.

From Eduard’s website, the following individual part number sets are included in this Big Sin Set; beside it are the title and Standard Retail costs, and then the overall “savings” of purchasing the “Big SIN” with all three smaller sets in it is at the bottom:

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$44.95

Let me begin by stating that the folks at Tamiya did a fantastic job with their release of an F-14A last year in 1/48 scale. The all-new kit is one of, if not the best Tomcat in this scale, with the typical engineering that applies to everything Tamiya produces. With that being said, some modelers want to add just a little something more to their projects, and once again Eduard comes to our assistance with the release of a cockpit set for the Tamiya kit. Everything that you would want or need up front is contained in one package with both resin and photoetched parts being included. I would highly recommend this set to any modeler who feels the need to have the extra detail in their Tomcat’s cockpit.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$7.95

The Bf-109F had three different types of seats throughout its development. One being the early style similar to the style of seat in the Emil but completely different. It was more representative of the style of seat used in the Bf-110. Then the seat moved towards what we are familiar with but with a different backplate. This was short lived and the familiar backplate that would be in the Gustav was the final version.

With the release of the Bf-109F-2 from Eduard, they have added this early style of seat. Some of the most famous aircraft, such as Galland and Molders, have the early style of seat.

Review Author
Phil Peterson
Published on
Company
Iliad Design
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$12.00

Iliad Design’s latest 72nd decal sheet covers 4 Dakotas that flew with the Air National Guard

The Puerto Rican Air Guard is represented by the attractive white over aluminum scheme. This one includes the stars and bars on the fuselage as well as the National Guard badge on the tail. This scheme is from post 1961.

The other three aircraft are all in natural metal finish and date from 1947-1948. We have Virginia, Nebraska and New Mexico National Guards.

The Virginia bird has the legend “The Old Dominion” above the fuselage windows while both the Nebraskan and New Mexican ones have State markings instead of fuselage stars.

All the main markings including Stars and Bars are included.

The Albuquerque club usually has an award for the best New Mexican aircraft and this last scheme would look great on either the Airfix or Italeri kits.

Review Author
Phil Peterson
Published on
Company
Iliad Design
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$12.00

Iliad Design is a Canadian company that not only makes decals but also offers aircraft colour charts and books.

As the name of this sheet implies, this is the third in the Stars in the Sky series. While the names might not be as recognizable as the first two sheets, the choices for the marking are very diverse.

We have two WWII bombers, a Korean War fighter and a fast jet. So who is up in this latest offering?

First up is a British Lancaster II flown by Robert Clothier, a Canadian actor. This would be a lovely option for that very nice Airfix kit.

Second is an AU-1 Corsair flown by Baseball player Jerry Coleman. Jerry flew this bird in Korea while serving with the US Marines.

Our third offering is a F-4C flown by Pop Singer Dean Paul Martin. Martin was a Captain with the California Air National Guard when he was killed flying this Phantom during a snowstorm.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$4.95

Packaged in a typical Brassin blister pack are these little gems. Let’s face it, one of the issues with plastic parts is the requirement to clean up the molding lines on a part. Even the finest kits in the world have them. It is a function of the molds and injection process. Cleaning up these parts is a requirement. If the part is small or fragile it is a pain in the seat pan. Resin parts can work around this and provide even more detail. Again, that is just a function of the material.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$4.95

If you are like me, I can become ham handed when modeling and anything sticking out will get knocked off. The Eduard BF-109F/G is a perfect example. Eduard molded the pitot tube on the wingtip and sometimes I knock it off. Well, you can use the kit supplied extra pitot tube or you can elect to use the Brassin one. The Brassin pitot tube is significantly better and easier to clean up. There are no mold lines which must be cleaned up on the plastic piece.

There are three pitot tubes on the pour block. They are simple to remove. Also remove the little tip at the end and it is ready to use. You will have to drill a hole in the wingtip. The pitot tube angles down slightly. Attach with super glue and you are ready for paint.

While designed for the Eduard kit these pitot tubes can be used on any 1/48th scale Bf-109F/G/K kit. I used mine on an Eduard and a Zvezda kit with no problems.