History

Chocks act as a safety device when placed under the wheels of a parked aircraft. This prevents the aircraft from rolling, especially when unattended or during an engine run-up.

Items in the Box

The units were resin cast material – white in color. One-page plans, good format.

Construction

The assembly is very basic. The cord or rope supplied looked large to me, so I used a thinner cord. (Thread: standard brown).

Finish and Detail

Used Floquil reefer yellow. I used black striping on one set of chocks. On the remaining two sets of chocks, I used the decals supplied on the instruction sheet.

Conclusion

With a slight modification, the units went together well. These units can be assembled by any inexperienced modeler. I wish to thank Profimodeller and IPMS for allowing me to review this kit.

If you are looking for a head-scratching challenge…this is the kit for you. Cyber Hobby’s new 1/72 scale kit of the Aichi D3A1 Type 99 Val is guaranteed to provide you with hours and hours of the same kind of entertainment you anticipate when buying a die-cut puzzle...but, this one carries a MSRP of $41.75.

The colorful box top painting shows a pair of wartime Vals about to deliver their payload, and the many state-of-the-art CAD illustrations and profiles on the other box panels suggest this is the best kit to reproduce the aircraft in miniature. I had hoped I would get to review this one and soon learned why my mother often said, “Be careful what you wish for.” A good-looking model is certainly possible, but only if you have reference material to consult, and begin the project with the knowledge that the guys at Cyber Hobby may have thought they were working for a puzzle company.

AIRfile’s Operation Overlord provides a detailed description of the “Distinctive Markings” carried by Allied aircraft in Northwestern Europe. Volume One is dedicated to RAF and Commonwealth aircraft, with USAAF machines to be covered in a later volume.

The production and research quality of this book is first-rate. Stiff card covers enclose over 70 glossy pages printed on thick stock. Full-color profiles are present on almost every page.

The first section of this book covers those “Distinctive Markings” carried by RAF aircraft during the portion of the War prior to the invasion of Europe. The specific markings carried by British aircraft are described and illustrated. General RAF markings practice (such as the ½-black undersides used for recognition from the ground) is covered. Also, of particular interest, markings relating to specific aircraft such as the Typhoon and Mustang are shown.

First, I owe an apology to you and to Dragon for my delay in building and reviewing the “…best dive bomber the Navy ever flew but also the last.” That final assessment came after a difficult start in replacing the Dauntless, “one of the most popular aircraft ever to fly.” In fact, when the first squadrons conducted trials aboard the Essex CV-9, “…the ship departed for the war zone with SBD Dauntlesses instead.” In trials aboard the second assigned carrier, the second Yorktown CV-10, “…the results were so disastrous that the ship’s Commanding Officer, Captain J.J. ‘Jocko’ Clark, stated that the aircraft’s only value was as an anchor.” Though the Helldiver could carry a heavier payload and was faster than the Dauntless, and ongoing improvements ironed out its shortcomings, it became a great aircraft with the moniker the Big Tailed Beast or simply, the Beast. The Helldiver’s combat debut was on November 11, 1943, when VB-17 attacked the Japanese island fortress at Rabaul.

Creators

• Twobobs Decals, http://www.twobobs.net
• TwoMikes Resin

From Bob Sanchez at Twobobs Decals and Mike Reeves at TwoMikes Resin comes an instant classic – the IPMS/USA 2012 Nationals OPFOR Super Pack. Why list the Nationals? This item was only offered at the Nationals and sold there. A few were sent out afterward, but as of now, this item is gone, never to be released as a package again.

Let's open the tube and see what's inside. First, there is a comprehensive 24-page color book detailing the OPFOR program of Adversary and Aggressor aircraft programs, TOPGUN, and the history of the entire program. There are also full-color diagrams and painting instructions for the remainder of the contents.

First up is four resin pods including: