Iliad Design continues to add interesting decal sets to their line. They have selected seven unique early Spitfires for their most recent 1/72 set #72009. Any of the markings will make a 1/72 Mk.I (actually, Mk.1a) stand out among the usual fare. Included on a single sheet are markings for:
Every once in a while a kit comes along that you feel you must do, only to be disappointed. This is one of those kits.
I happen to love P-38 Lightnings and “Yippee” in particular. “Yippee” was the 5000th P-38 built, and Lockheed decided to make it special. They painted it bright orange (not red, as many thought). On the bottom of the wing they painted “Yippee” in large white letters. I thought I would love to make a model of this aircraft and when Minicraft released it in Sept. 2012, I just jumped at the chance to review it.
Overview
Since its entry into Navy service in January of 1969, the Hawkeye has been the carrier-borne “eye in the sky” of the fleet. First flown October 21, 1969, the E-2 series has participated in every US combat action since Vietnam. After a rough start due to some teething problems with the electronics on board, the E-2 series is ready to serve into the foreseeable future in the form of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. This model represents the E-2C series serving with VAW 126, The Seahawks. The Seahawks began operations with the Hawkeye back in April, 1969. The squadron has served around the world aboard 8 different carriers. Sporting an upgraded electronics suite and the wicked looking scimitar propellers, the E-2C has a utilitarian look that matches its mission.
The Kit
The 109F variant was the 2nd major design change for this aircraft. It first appeared in 1940, the -2 in April of 1941. The -2 was similar to the -1 with the exception of a better cannon firing through the nose (mg 151/15).
A snap together kit!!! Now, that is my speed! This kit comes in an end-opening box. You are provided with two sprues of grey injected plastic, one clear single-piece canopy, one matte finish decal sheet with markings for two aircraft, and the instructions. The detail was crisp with fine panel lines and no flash. No noticeable pin or sink marks, either.
The Fokker Eindecker is the classic prototype of the single-seat, purpose-built fighter aircraft. Probably everyone knows the basic story, which is simplified and almost mythical in content. The French aviator Roland Garros had deflector plates bolted to the back side of the prop on his Morane-Saulnier monoplane and began shooting up German observation craft in 1915. This drove the German High Command nuts and they were at a loss about how to deal with this. Or so the story goes. It appears that the bullets striking the deflector plates on Garros’ prop knocked it loose enough to kill the engine somehow and he had to put down behind German lines. The Germans asked Anthony Fokker to come up with an answer and he quickly whipped out a synchronizing mechanism, fitted it to a Parabellum LMG-14 machine gun on his Fokker A-II observation craft and, voilâ, the first fighter was born.
Hobbycraft’s Morane Saulnier 406 is not a new kit, but that doesn’t mean that Quickboost has ignored it. The M.S.406 has a large pitot tube. This would be hard to keep round when removing the mold lines. Well, hard for me, anyhow. The gun barrels are again something hard to keep round, let alone hollow out the end. Quickboost does this perfectly in every example that I’ve had the pleasure to look at.
The three pieces are perfectly molded in light grey resin. The gun barrels are hollowed out perfectly, as I said before. The cross section on all the parts is perfectly round. These parts will add to the look of your French fighter. Highly recommended.
Thanks to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for the review copy.
Quickboost has always offered up quick and easy upgrades at a good price. The latest is designed for the Trumpeter F9F-2 Panther but could easily be used on the Monogram -5/-5P. There are three beautifully rendered antennas which do not have mold lines and are perfectly formed and round. The antennas are molded in light grey resin with very small pour blocks that will prove no problem even for a novice modeler dealing with his/her first resin pieces.
Because you don’t have to ensure the roundness of these parts, I find these antenna worth the price of admission. Highly recommended.
Thanks to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for the review copy.
Having built the Eduard Bf-109E, I would have loved to have had the prop hub off my open-cowled model but I didn’t have the means to do it effectively. Quickboost now provides you with a five-piece prop and hub, plus an alignment tool.
Molded perfectly in light grey resin, the props are suitably thin and of the correct cross section. You will need to drill a hole for the prop shaft, but it is not a big deal. The mounting pins for the prop blades will ensure correct alignment of the blades. Then, all you have to do is leave off the prop hub and you can add a new dimension to your 109. Highly recommended.
Thanks to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review this set.
I’ve built two of Eduard’s beautiful Bf-109Es, and in both cases an area that I would have liked to have done better was the intake and the injection cover – the injection cover especially if the engine cover is removed. Both of these parts are folded or joined out of photo etch pieces. Well, unless you are really good with PE, the result may not be as good as you’d like. Now, Quickboost remedies that situation in resin.
Molded flawlessly out of light grey resin are three pieces of resin: the air intake and two covers for the injectors. Both of these items, especially the intake, are much easier than the PE to use and look great. I will certainly enjoy using these pieces over the PE.
If you are like me and prefer resin over PE, you will enjoy these parts as well. Flawlessly rendered and wonderfully detailed, these parts are exactly what you come to expect from Quickboost. Highly recommended.
The MiG-23, NATO reporting name Flogger, is a swing-wing aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the former Soviet Union. It is considered to be a third-generation Soviet jet fighter aircraft. It was the first Soviet Union aircraft to utilize look-down/shoot-down radar and one of the first to be armed with beyond visual range missiles. The MiG-23 was also the first production fighter aircraft to have intakes at the sides of the fuselage. Production started in 1970 with over 5,000 aircraft built.
The design of the MiG-23 was influenced by the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and the General Dynamics F-111. The Soviets required a lighter, single-engined fighter to maximize agility. The F-111 and the MiG-23 were initially designed as fighters, but the heavy weight and instability of the F-111 eliminated it from the fighter role. The Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau kept the MiG-23 light and agile enough to dogfight with enemy fighters.
