As a Cobra pilot on the border in Germany during the cold war, the Mi-24 Hind was the boogieman. It is one big ugly and deadly helicopter. I’ve always wanted to fly one.

The Hind has sported some very colorful paint schemes, especially since the end of the cold war. Big and ugly can become somewhat beautiful when you put a nice paint scheme on them they become less ugly, kind of like putting lipstick on a pig.

The latest offering from the Hungarian company, HungAeroDecals, covers four Mi-24V Hinds in Hungarian service. The decals are printed on a 2 ½ x 4 7/8 (6.5 x 12.5cm) printed by BOA Agency so you know they are very thin, opaque and react well with setting solutions. Just make sure that you use plenty of water to slide them on. The instructions are on a single sheet of A4 paper with full color side view drawings of both sides of the four aircraft. Other than notes on the countries of the aircraft there is no other information on these aircraft or units.

UMM-USA is distributing a very neat model detailing item produced by HGW Models: riveting decals. To be completely honest, I don’t know if this set should be called a decal; it is more like a “wet” transfer than a traditional decal, but more on that later.

This set, for the 1/48 Tamiya P-47D Razorback, provides an easy way to add raised rivet details to the surface of your model. Arriving in a simple bag package, you get two sheets of continuously printed decals for a single Razorback. Note that I mention that they are continuously printed, as you will have to cut and trim each section before application.

The KH-25ML is a Soviet/Russian LASER guided surface to air missile, designated AS-10 Karen by NATO. Its primary use was/is against hardened targets like fortifications, bunkers, or armor. In Afghanistan Su-25 crews started employing the weapon in the mid-80s to try to collapse cave entrances used by the Taliban. The CEP is cited at 4 meters. In addition to the Su-25 other Soviet era strike aircraft such as the MiG-27 Flogger, and Su-17M and Su-22M Fitter carried the weapon. These aircraft used nose mounted optical target tracking sensors with boresighted laser designators, for self-designation. While superseded by newer weapons, it can still be found in the inventories of many former Soviet states, Warsaw Pact countries and client states.

Aerobonus latest release is an oil draining cart used as a catch basin for motor oil. The set consists of eight resin parts and a decal sheet. The parts are in typical gray resin and are flawless. Parts removal is easy with careful trimming needed on the cart body and handle. Take your time and use a razor saw. A light sanding and you are good to go. The wheels are tiny as are the bolts to hold the handle. Be careful and things will clean up quickly.

I did notice one problem and that is the two bars that extend out of the front of the cart to hold the handle. Mine were broken off so i sanded them smooth and made a new set with strip in less than five minutes. Aires has protectors built into the casting block to prevent this but it didn't work in this case.

The Douglas TBD-1A was a one-off aircraft built to compete for a Dutch requirement in 1939 for a float plane bomber, the Netherlands being blessed with a vast inland sea from which to operate. The Dutch were not interested and the aircraft was sold to the Navy for testing at Naval Air Test Center (later this center would outgrow NAS Anacostia and NAS Patuxent River would be built). The Navy had no need for a float plane version of it carrier aircraft, yet the Navy found the TBD-1A to be a stable torpedo and bombing platform, with the oversized floats only diminishing air speed by 20 knots. So theTBD-1A was reassigned to Experimental Squadron Two (VX-2) at NAS Quonset Point in Rhode Island (part of the 1st Naval District) where it would support the Newport Torpedo Station in the testing of aerial torpedoes. Since it was a float plane and could be closer to the action, the aircraft operated from an air facility at the south end of Gould Island in the Narragansett Bay off Newport, RI.