F-Toys/Platz have been producing small-scale (1/144th) aircraft kits for a few days now and originally released their F-16 kit in 2015. This latest iteration has new parts and decals that will allow you to build an F-16C with conformal fuel tanks. The new parts, in a soft resin, are those tanks and decals for a test bed aircraft stationed at Eglin AFB circa 2001 and another assigned to the 14th Fighter Squadron at Misawa AFB, Japan.

The kit comes in an open-ended box with some extra bits that will allow you to build several different configurations should you so choose. At the very least you will have some excellent parts (various under-wing stores) for the spares box. There is even a pilot figure. Another nice addition is an alternative vertical stabilizer with the braking parachute housing.

Hobby Boss first released their new-tooled F4U-1A Corsair back in 2012. Thirteen years later in 2023, after numerous reiterations and re-releases, they have produced a 2 in 1 release with extra parts to provide a kit of the -1A and -2, respectively.

Construction, as is the norm, begins in the softly detailed cockpit. There is no provision for any type of seat harness, so I used a set from a Warbirds Decals sheet. Overall detail in the cockpit is soft, and the instrument panel decal is lacking in detail.

Step 2 has the modeler construct the engine, replete with a full exhaust collection ring and exhaust. The instructions are confusing in this step (as with many other steps), so the fitting of the exhaust system was done by trial and error. Parts of this subassembly are nicely detailed, such as the exhaust system & transmission housing, while the cylinder heads are soft.

Ammo is a company founded by Mig Jimenez and based out of Spain. It provides products for the modeling community by way of paints, weathering effects, tools, and various modeling merchandise. Ammo has provided IPMS/USA a twelve (12) bottle acrylic paint set for review.

In the Box

The paint set contains twelve (12) 20 ml bottles with nontoxic and odorless water based acrylic paints. Inside each bottle is an agitator ball to help mix when shaking. These paints are presented in a new clear container featuring a new cap that can be opened and closed with one hand. The following colors are provided:

Strictly speaking, the name of this kit is incorrect. Grumman didn’t build the FM-1 – Eastern Aircraft did. Additionally the FAA option in this kit features Normandy Invasion special recognition markings for June 1944, by which time the type had become the Wildcat Mk.V, and not the Martlet.

Such pedantry aside, this is a nicely packaged re-issue of Tamiya’s well-received F4F-4 Wildcat kit of 1994 – was it really that long ago?! – featuring some new parts and some modified parts.

History

Over the years, much interest has been generated in the conflict between the Japanese, Chinese, and Russians begun by Japanese aggression in the area of northeastern China. By 1939, Japanese and Chinese air forces were actively engaged in a struggle for aerial superiority. While the Chinese had no aircraft industry to speak of, the Japanese were producing airplanes that compared favorably with those of the Americans and Europeans. The Japanese Army, for example, were producing airplanes which were extremely maneuverable, mainly because they were lightly constructed, had minimal armament, and had no armor protection. An example of this design philosophy was the Nakajima Ki-27, code named “Nate” by the Allies, which had a 780 HP Nakajima He-1b radial engine, and two light .30 cal machine guns mounted in the fuselage. The prototype first flew in 1936, and production models were operational by 1938.