1/48 Pitot – AM 48 060, $5.50
1/32 Pitot – AM 32 048, $8.00

Thanks very much to Iwona and Piotr at Master Model for providing us these review items, and thanks also to IPMS/USA for passing them on to me for review.

Like all Master Model (MM) pitot tubes, these are “gems”. I used the 1/48 version to upgrade my Eduard MiG 29 build from earlier this year. At the time of the original build, I ground down a piece of wire for a pitot; didn’t do a great job, but it fit the bill. Now, here comes Master Model with their jewelry-quality brass version. Had to do it!

An instruction card is included as part of the packaging, containing excellent drawings and clear instructions on “how to do it”. Other companies could follow suit…

When I heard Squadron was releasing this book, I just had to get my hands on a copy. During my time serving Uncle Sam, I was in an Air Cavalry unit in Vietnam, the 7/17th Air Cavalry, to be exact. The Aeroscouts were the bravest, toughest, scariest, craziest bad-asses in the unit, going out and picking fights with the North Vietnamese Army on a day-to-day basis. Getting shot out of the sky, then dusting themselves off and going back out to do it again the next day. I wanted to read about them!

Wayne Mutza has written several books on aviation, helicopters, and firefighting, and is well known to modelers through his work for Squadron/Signal and Schiffer Books. Mutza was also an Aeroscout during the Vietnam War, and gives us a good feel for what it was like to strap on an OH-6A “Loach” and fly off into “injun country”. Aeroscouts were the only aviators who fought the enemy face to face.

A "Thank You" goes to Master Models for submitting this item for review and to IMPS/USA for allowing me to review it.

The pitot tube is used to measure flow speed. Attached to an airplane it measures the "flow" of the aircraft through the air – an airspeed indicator. The pitot tube can be mounted on an airplane in a number of places and ways. Most propeller-driven aircraft have them mounted on the wings in some fashion. Most modern day jets have them mounted in the nose. Some are the very tip of the nose. Others are located on the side near the tip. Such is the case of the pitot tube of the MiG-21, the subject of this review.

This Special Edition kit of Academy's B-17G comes in a large [12” x 18” x 2-½”] heavy cardboard box – this helps when storing a large stack of kits (but who has a stack of kits? Certainly not me). Inside, you’ll find a crisply-molded kit with finely recessed panel lines, along with several extra parts which aren’t needed since they’re used on the B-17C and D series.

Besides the early model stabilizers, there are 2 types of props, cowls, top turrets, and nose glass – though not an E model one – and both a Cheyenne and stinger tail gun position.

This special edition has been issued in honor of the 15th Air Force and comes with decals for 5 aircraft: Betty Lou, KWITURBITCHIN VI, Miss Prissy, Sleepy Time Gal, and hell’s angel, all of which are natural metal airplanes. The kit comes with 500 lb bombs and has a detailed bomb bay if you want to pose it with the doors open.

The early Phantoms had their pitot tube and ram air inlet mounted on the leading edge of the tails. It is hard not to break them off, especially when you are sanding the seam line, but now you don’t have to worry about it. Master Model provides you with three milled brass pieces: a pitot tube, a ram air inlet, and the angle of attack probe. Beautifully milled, they are flawless. You get three pieces of brass that require no cleanup. Adding them is as simple as drilling a .8mm and a 1.0mm hole and inserting the brass parts with super glue. The brass parts will provide you with plenty of strength and a realistic finish with no seam or mold lines to deal with.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to Master and IPMS/USA for the review copy and review space.