I feel I have to start this review by saying that Eduard, as always, has come out with a fine product and once again has set the bar. I cannot remember any product from Eduard that I reviewed that had nothing but the best to say about it. Minute flaws, yes, but overall always highly recommended.
Numerous experienced Polish pilots served in England, and although they were not technically part of the RAF, they served in special units and distinguished themselves in combat. By the time that the Spitfire XVI was available, the war was nearly over, and although the type was not generally flown in combat (one Polish pilot flew Mk. XVI’s with No. 602 Sqdn.), numerous Polish units operated these aircraft in the immediate postwar years. With the disbanding of the Polish Air Force in Britain in 1946-1947, about 500 Poles joined the RAF and served with various units. The Spitfires were eventually scrapped, and of several that were given to the Polish government after the war for museum displays, none survived. The Communist Government wanted to de-emphasize the role of Poles in the RAF during the war, as there were also Poles flying with the Soviets.
The Fiat G.91 was the winning design in a 1953 NATO competition for a light fighter-bomber. In 1957, it was decided to develop a light attack fighter reconnaissance version of the basic design, designated the G.91R. This version, used by Italian, German, and Portuguese squadrons, had three camera systems fitted in the nose. Variants of the G.91 were produced throughout the 1960s.
Thank you to Bruce Herke of Osprey Publishing and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me the opportunity to review this in-depth and sobering history of the Army Air Corps’ operational role in the D-Day invasion. Author L. Douglas Keeney provides compelling descriptions of the challenges, dangers, and slim survival odds of European air operations.
When Steve Collins and Dick Montgomery announced that the 1/72 T-28B was available for review, I jumped at the chance. I have seen T-28’s flying, at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, when I was there in 1967, and my Guard unit flew T-28s in 1957-58 between the F-51s and the F-84s. Alas, both of these were T-28A’s, not B’s. But when I saw the back of the box, I immediately knew I had to build the one from VT-27, as it was based just down the road at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona, in 1983. Some day I’ll find out what the Navy was doing flying out of DM.
The North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a piston-engined military trainer aircraft used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s. Besides its use as a trainer, the T-28 was successfully employed as a counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft, primarily during the Vietnam War. T-28s were built from 1950 to 1957.
This issue represents a milestone for SAM. This is the inaugural issue for Volume 35. Thirty five years of providing a high quality publication to the modeling community is a momentous event and SAM deserves a “Well Done” for that remarkable achievement.
Even if this issue were not the launch for Vol 35, it would have caught my attention immediately. There, on the cover, is one of my favorite modeling subjects. In any scale, the Ju-87 has always been an enjoyable project for me, and in 1/32nd, by Trumpeter, well, it just doesn’t get any better than that. In 9 pages of richly detailed text, Editor Jay Laverty shares the tools and techniques he used to produce an excellent model of the Ju-87B-2.
Years ago, Eduard produced a photo etch set for the Monogram Devastator that really breathed some life into that venerable old kit. With the release of the new Great Wall Hobby Devastator, once again Eduard comes through with a PE set that pushes detailing well beyond the already superb lever that the kit itself provides. I had hoped to receive this set in time to use it with the GWH Devastator that I was building for IPMS review. As it turned out, the Devastator build was nearly completed before this set arrived. Nevertheless, here’s a rundown of what you get.
This new Big Ed set is a combination of four photo etch sheets and a complete set of vinyl canopy and wheel masks. The Flap sheet has supports, bracing, and flap parts for both the upper and lower wing. This is especially helpful, as there is a noticeable gap created with the joining of the kit’s lower wing to the fuselage. These parts should hide that opening completely.
For decades, the venerable Monogram TBD Devastator was the only kit of its kind available in 1/48 scale, lauded in its heyday for its cockpit and surface detail, as well as the option to pose the wings in either the folded or extended position. Now, Great Wall Hobby has delivered a new Devastator, and like the original release, this second edition is a quantum leap past the old benchmark kit. When first seen, the GWH Devastator was derided as a mere copy of the Monogram version, but close examination reveals that the new kit is several steps beyond its aged predecessor.
Unlike my last review sample of SAC products, this time the USPS did not wreak havoc on the package and all but destroy the contents! They delivered an intact and fully usable set of landing gear.
What you get in the package is a full gear replacement in white metal for both main gear legs and the tail wheel. As you can see from one of the photos, the SAC gear has simplified things by making the compression scissors one piece versus two pieces.
Detail is crisper on the metal gear than on the kit’s plastic parts, as has come to be expected from SAC. The replacement parts are a drop fit with no issues whatsoever. They worked flawlessly and added considerably to the look of the finished model.
The absolute latest in American manned fighter aircraft, Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II is slated to replace aging F-16, F-18, and AV-8B aircraft in the lightweight fighter attack role in the US Air Force and US Navy in the next several years. The land-based F-35A will replace the F-16, the vertical-takeoff F-35B will assume the Harrier's role, and the carrier variant F-35C will take over for the F/A-18. Several other nations, including the United Kingdom, are expected to purchase variants of the F-35 for their air arms. This fifth-generation fighter employs many advanced features, including low-observable (stealth) technology, to ensure its effectiveness in the 21st Century combat environment.
