Reviews of products for scale aircraft models.

Book Author(s)
Santiago Rivas
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Hikoki Publications
MSRP
$56.95

This year is the 30th anniversary of the Falklands/Malvinas War, or the South Atlantic conflict, as it has been known. As such, different plastic model kit sets and publications are been released and “Wings of the Malvinas” is among them.

This book covers the air operations from the Argentinean point of view. You can tell this book is a work of love from the author, Santiago Rivas, as the attention to detail is second to none.

The book is divided into 3 parts: The first one covers the path towards the conflict, with a succinct but well detailed description of the long-lasting dispute between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the islands and the events on March, 1982, in South Georgia, which precipitated the war.

Review Author
Clarence Wentzel
Published on
Company
Albatros Productions, Ltd.
MSRP
$11.70

This bimonthly magazine is a must for modelers (and aviation enthusiasts) interested in World War One aircraft. The magazine is published by Albatros Productions Ltd. in the UK, which also publishes the great line of Windsock Datafiles and Specials.

The headline article in this issue covers an in-depth build of the Wingnut Wings kit of the Rumpler C.IV. The author of the article is the editor of the magazine, Ray Rimmel, and he displays an absolute love of the Rumpler C.IV. The article covers 12 pages and includes many little additions, both scratchbuilt and aftermarket, that Ray added to the kit to individualize the model to his preference. Some photos from the article are shown. The basic kit was reviewed in the Vol. 27/6 issue of the magazine which showed how magnificent the basic model can be built.

Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$37.00

Many, many thanks to Danielle Rogers of Revell and to the IPMS/USA Reviewer Corps for allowing me to share my experiences in building a new kit release. It is an honor and privilege!

Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
Company
Lone Star Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$5.00

Thank you Lone Star Models for providing a very timely improvement to an excellent recent kit release. Thank you IPMS/USA Reviewer Corps for once again allowing me to evaluate a cool new product!

This replacement propeller set addresses the incorrectly shaped kit parts that come with the new Revell PV-1 Ventura. The Revell kit is otherwise excellent, but appears to have incorrect propellers. The replacement parts are molded in tan resin requiring little cleanup and prep, and arrived in a small plastic bag with a sheet of instructions.

The detail on the replacement parts is more finely done than the kit parts and the blades have the correct paddle shape I observed in USN photos of the PV-1. The blades are very thin and sharp on the trailing edges. This sharpness is an accurate feature, but requires careful prep. The resulting parts look great, but my clumsy sanding broke one of the blades. CA easily fixed the part and my patience.

Book Author(s)
Steve Ginter
Review Author
Bill Kluge
Published on
Company
Ginter Books
MSRP
$22.95

Coming at a time of rapid technical development in the aviation industry as the United States began to ramp up for its entry into the Second World War, the Northrop BT-1 was truly a transitional and transformative aircraft. Dive bombing was seen as the most potent anti-ship weapon in the arsenal of carrier aviation, and the BT-1 gave the U.S. Navy a sleek new dive bomber that held the promise of more potent things to come. It was the direct predecessor of the enormously successful Douglas SBD Dauntless, with a family resemblance so close that, from certain viewpoints, it was difficult to tell the two apart.

Review Author
Howie Belkin
Published on
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$28.00

Before I dive into this model in detail, let me first state that these 62 grey plastic parts, four clear parts (three if you close the canopy), two poly caps, and decals for three options will produce perhaps the very BEST 1/72 A6M Zero MODEL today’s money can buy, and is possibly today’s very BEST 1/72 WWII fighter kit!

Review Author
Dave Koukol
Published on
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$62.00

Conceived in 1934 to fulfill a requirement for a monoplane interceptor with a top speed exceeding 300 miles per hour in level flight, the Hawker Hurricane became one of the most significant Allied fighter aircraft in the opening years of the Second World War, and served worldwide throughout the conflict with great distinction. Most famously known for its pivotal role in the Battle of Britain, the Mk I variant of the Hurricane served as the numerical mainstay for the Royal Air Force in its defeat of the Luftwaffe during England’s “Finest Hour.”

Tamiya’s recent release of the Hurricane Mk I is a repackaging of the new Italeri kit. Although a nice kit, it is not thoroughbred Tamiya, so modelers should temper their “shake the box and out pops a great build” expectations a bit before diving in.

Review Author
Andy Renshaw
Published on
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$7.00

Master has a whole range of turned and photo etched metal details for aircraft and ships, in all scales. From gun barrels to radar masts, the details are not only more in scale, but stronger than anything in resin or PE, thus resistant to the occasional bump or clumsy hands. This item provides a turned metal pitot tube for the 1/32 F-104.

In the Bag and Installation:

The single-piece turned aluminum part comes in a bag with card hanger. The part is perfect, the correct length, and has the proper shape. A small protruding rod at the aft end is used to insert it into the nose cone of the kit after drilling the correct size hole.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$45.99

Loud “THANKS” to Danielle at Revell for providing IPMS/USA a chance to review this kit! We sincerely appreciate your support and look forward to even more great things from your company… Revell is a stalwart in the industry!

For those of you unaware, the Revell re-release of the venerable (Originally Monogram) B-24J kit is just that… and VERY welcome to those of us who don’t appreciate having to pay internet auction house prices for models. This kit, originally released back in 1976, has been a staple of the 1/48 WWII scene for quite a while. Re-released several times, and modified as a B-24D at one point, this kit is still sought by people like me who really enjoy the genre. Glad to see it back in the fight…