It is no secret that I love the Zvezda Bf-109Fs. They are remarkably well-engineered kits and the most accurate Fs on the market. There are only two pieces of aftermarket that I use for them, Vector’s correction set and the Eduard Zoom set.

This Eduard Zoom set includes a single fret of self-adhesive pre-painted photo etch. The components are all for the cockpit area. The amount of detail that Eduard puts into the instrument panels and placards is amazing, far superior to anything I can do with a paint brush. A clear acetate piece is included that has the gunsight reflectors on it.

The instructions are straightforward and easy to understand.

I was given Minicraft’s B-17G for a review. Just as I was about to start the project, I was at IPMS Las Vegas “Best of the West” contest, and found a set of 1/144 decals for the B-17G. The decals included in the kit were perfectly OK, but the subject matter of this sheet made me drag out my wallet and buy it.

The first plane on the sheet is “American Beauty”, 2S*G. A friend and co-worker of my father was the top turret gunner and flight engineer on this aircraft. So it has a personal connection to me.

THE DECAL

The decal sheet itself is very good. When you finish cutting out the decals for one aircraft, you still have a solid sheet, not something that looks like a lace doily. Good planning on their part, and I appreciate that.

The subject matter of the other three planes is also very interesting – “Little Miss Mischief” of the 91st Bomb Group, “My Devotion” (an F model) of the 351st BG, and the famous “A Bit o’ Lace” from the 427th BG.

Master-Model has produced replacement AOA probes and a pitot tube for any 1/32 F-16 kit. The metal replacements are a simple drop-in for the kit’s plastic parts. The supplied items include two AOA probes and one pitot tube. There will be no modification required for the installation of the replacements other than a slight drilling out of the pitot receiving hole to accommodate the replacement’s larger base (at least on my Academy kit’s nose cone). You will have to use CA or epoxy glues to secure them, of course.

A side-by side-evaluation (see photos) indicates a replacement of superior detail that will provide a more accurate representation of these tiny exterior details.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to Master Model and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for the opportunity to review these items.

Intended for the Kinetic 1/32 scale Hawk 100 trainer kit, this SAC replacement gear set includes a nose gear, right and left mains, and the two main retract struts. The 5 metal landing gear pieces are finely cast and are made of a soft white metal which cleaned up in quick order with a file and a Flex-I-File. They’re the same length as the kit’s gear, but are slightly thinner in diameter. You’ll need to use the kit’s plastic part # D-38 to complete the nose gear. There are no instructions, so I just followed the kit's instructions.

The kit’s nose gear has two halves in order to get the nose
wheel in place, but the SAC metal one is in one piece. To get the wheel in, I bent the nose fork open, snapped in the wheel, then squeezed the fork back together. The main wheels fit fine on the struts and everything fits the airplane's mounting points.

OK, it’s a 1/144 B-17G. I have 1/144 B-17Gs in the stash from Crown, Revell, and Academy/Minicraft. Nevertheless, I’ve never gotten around to building any of these, so this one is the first of several B-17Gs I’ll be doing as I get around to it.

First reason to like this kit – they’ve completely redone the clear parts. Trust me, this mold has been around the block a few times, and these clear parts are much better.

Second reason – the decals. Cartograf makes excellent decals, and Minicraft gives you markings for two pretty interesting B-17Gs.

The Aircraft I Built

This B-17G is not done with the kit decals. Just before I started this project, I attended IPMS Las Vegas “Best of the West” contest at Henderson, NV. I picked up a set of Kits-World decals for the B-17. The provided decals would have been just fine, except one of the aircraft on the sheet has a personal connection.