Delta One has been producing some unique decals, especially for the Bf-109. So that means that I had to check them out. This particular sheet covers the Yugoslav Air Force Bf-109s in service from 1945-53.

This sheet comes in a ziplock baggie that contains an eight page booklet with history and line drawings for the subject aircraft. There is a little history on the 109 in Yugoslavia. There is also a brief description of each aircraft including the colors and historical use.

Decals are provided for six aircraft, four G-6 aircraft and two UMe-109, which is a version of the G-12. The profiles have both side views, top view and a partial bottom view. The aircraft are interesting with some unique paint schemes. The actual decals are on 3 x 3 inch sheet. They are printed in perfect register, thin and with good color saturation.

The Heller Mirage IV is a slightly older kit, but still the only option in town. The Mirage IV has its refueling boom off of the nose so it sits out there just waiting to be knocked off or bent. Enter Master from Poland.

Why do would you want to use the Master turned metal part? Well there are numerous reasons. The first, and most important, is that turned metal is stronger. Another reason is that you don’t have to worry about the mold line or keeping the round cross section all the time worried about losing detail. These reasons are enough for me to use the metal parts.

Packaged in a Ziploc bag, this set is a single piece of machined aluminum. The refueling boom is perfectly rendered and captures the shape of the tube and probe. This set is simply a replacement of the kit boom. You may not even have to drill the hole unless you accidentally filled it with slurry of plastic while gluing the nose.

Neil Robinson takes his second go around as interim editor and comes up with a second great issue. While the previous formats have been consistent, this interim issue is a collections of great articles and two aviation in profile and all the expected news on new releases and current in stock materials. There is also a really nice review of the Nuremberg Show Report.

The first article is an excellent upgrade of Revell's 1/72 Halifax built as a 6 group RCAF Halifax B.II Series IA built by Tony O'Toole. Changes include filling in some windows and reconfiguring others along with using a Freightdog set. The results are superb. Bonus real pictures and a history of the plane were included.

Andy Scott builds Revell's wonderful 1/48 Ventura as a Mark II. Alley Cats OOP blistered canopy was used to replicate this mark. Other changes include his method to fill the correct lines and Ultracast wheels were used.

Continual thanks to one of our steadfast IPMS supporters, Ross at SAC, and to IPMS leadership for providing the set to me for review. Yes, it’s metal gear time again!

This set is the usual drop-in replacement for the Hasegawa series 1/48 P-40 warhawks. Parts include two main gear struts with torque links integrated, two side braces, retraction arms, and a tail gear. The tail gear is particularly welcome, as it is a typical offset one-arm tail gear, prone to damage from shelf abuse, moving models while dusting, or the occasional home pet attack.

Not much to say: Build the kit, then install the gear when you want. In this case, I assembled the airframe, and installed the gear so the kit would have something to stand on while I painted it. The pictures speak for themselves; the metal gear is a direct replacement for the kit items and fit with no problem.

I’ve built three of the Eduard Bf-109s and absolutely loved the finished product. Is it over-scaled? Slightly. Get over it. It is a nice 1/47th scale model. I can’t wait for their reengineered one too.

That said there are a lot of really nice things to do with the kit. The rear bulkhead is a separate item added when the fuselage halves go together. This little gem of resin has the bulkhead with the access door closed. This part is properly proportioned and has the proper relief of the door. Adding it to the model will be easy enough and the part is a direct replacement for the kit part.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Aires and IPMS/USA for the review copy. You can get yours directly from Aires at https://www.aires.cz/en/ or at your local hobby shop or online retailer.