Reviews of products for scale aircraft models.

Review Author
Doug Cole
Published on
January 20, 2024
Company
Brengun
Scale
1:144
MSRP
$5.73

The Item

If you want to bring your Mark I Hawker Tempest Mk.V aircraft kit to the next level, this excellent canopy set is just the thing for you. This crystal clear vacu-formed canopy provides an excellent viewing piece for the cockpit area

Adhesion can be done in a variety of ways including thin cements, paint, or even floor polish, depending on the part’s requirements.

All-in-all this set will definitely enhance the appearance of your Mark I Piper L4 Cub Grasshopper kit.

The Subject

The Hawker Tempest Mk.V was a British fighter aircraft that was primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War.

It was developed from the Hawker Typhoon, and intended to address the Typhoon’s unexpected deterioration in performance at high altitude by replacing its wing with a thinner laminar flow design.

Review Author
Doug Cole
Published on
January 19, 2024
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1:48
MSRP
$19.99

The Item

If you want to bring your 1:48 scale Curtiss SNC-1 Falcon II Aircraft model kit to the next level, this excellent white metal cast detail set is just the thing for you. This 14-piece complete gear set with struts not only provides sturdy, fully detailed parts replacements, but they are specifically designed to fit the attachment points of the Dora Wings model.

Remove the parts from the casting stubs so as to avoid bending them. As with other SAC sets, there are minimal casting seams on the parts that will need to be removed. Simple scraping, filing, or sanding makes for easy clean-up. After removal from the casting stubs, the parts can be carefully polished with a rotary tool brush, then primed and painted. Because of their malleable nature the parts can be gently bent for a proper profile and perfect fit

All-in-all this set will definitely enhance the appearance of your Dora Wings Curtiss SNC-1 Falcon II Trainer.

Book Author(s)
Richard A. Franks
Illustrators: Richard J. Caruana, Juraj Jankovic, and Jerry Boucher
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
January 13, 2024
Company
Valiant Wings Publishing
MSRP
$53.00

Valiant Wings Publishing was founded in 2010 under the guidance of Richard A. Franks and Mark Peacock. Valiant Wings has released several series of primarily airplane monographs [Airframe & Miniature, Airframe Album and Airframe Detail series] with the first Airframe Album dedicated to the Heinkel He 219 ‘Uhu’ released in 2012.

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
January 10, 2024
Company
ICM
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$113.00

ICM has provided this great new release for review, in 1/48 scale model of the Ki-21-Ib Sally Japanese Heavy Bomber from the early years of WWII. The Sally first flew in late 1936 and went into production in 1938 with both Mitsubishi who designed it and Nakajima. This version is the second production version and was widely used over China and for bomber crew training in Japan.

  • Six light gray sprues
  • One clear sprue
  • One decal sheet
  • One instruction guide

The detail quality is excellent in every way with this kit.

The assembly is quick and easy.

The assembly starts with left hand side of the main fuselage. There are few ejector pin marks that should be filled/cleaned up on both halves of the fuselage.

Book Author(s)
Theo Van Geffen, Gerald Arruda
Review Author
Damon Blair
Published on
January 7, 2024
Company
Key Publishing Ltd
MSRP
$25.00

Republic’s F-105 Thunderchief (also known as the Thud) was developed in response to a requirement for a fast, single-seat fighter aircraft capable of carrying an atomic weapon. With an internal bomb bay loaded with an atomic weapon, the F-105 initially stood alert in Europe, under the control of the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). A short time later, F-105s sat on alert in the Pacific Air Force (PACAF), stationed in Okinawa and Korea. The F-105 soldiered on for just over a decade after the Vietnam War, before being retired from service.

With 150+ photos spread over 96 pages, this book emphasizes the Thud’s pre-Vietnam and post-Vietnam service. There is a brief development overview of the Thud, and a chapter on the Thud’s service in the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), with squadrons and missions, including the “Victor Alert”, standing nuclear alert.

Review Author
Bill Kluge
Published on
January 7, 2024
Company
Lifelike Decals
Scale
1:48
MSRP
$10.99

Lifelike Decals has released this sheet of decals for Zero fighters to correct what it describes as erroneous sizing of Hinomarus in some manufacturer’s kits. Their website states:

We noticed that some Zero kits decals etc. do not have correct size Hinomaru marks, so we released “Hinomaru for Zero” sheet separately.

The Hinomarus come it three distinct types - with the white surround (both wide and thin); without the white surround; and with green overpainted surround, with enough Hinomarus for a half dozen different aircraft. The decals are thin, with minimal carry-over of the carrier film (approx. 1mm). They come off the paper quickly, were easy to adjust into place, and reacted well to Solvaset decal softener to conform to surface bumps and panel lines. Printed by Microscale, they are all in perfect register.

Review Author
Bill Kluge
Published on
January 7, 2024
Company
Lifelike Decals
Scale
1:48
MSRP
$19.99

These two new A6M decal sets from Lifelike represent a bonanza of marking options for the Zero builder. Part 1 (48061) contains markings for 14 aircraft: 5 Type 21s; 2 Type 22s; 4 Type 32s; 2 Type 52s and 1 A6M2-N Rufe. The specific aircraft include:

Review Author
Rick Reinert
Published on
January 4, 2024
Company
Hobby Boss
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$53.99

Introduction

This is a new tooling of the Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIC introduced in 2023. This is the second of four planned releases by Hobby Boss of their Hurricane series. The following comes directly from their website:

The Hawker Hurricane was a combat aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s, designed by the British aircraft manufacturer Hawker Aircraft Ltd. The Hurricane was one of the principal combat aircraft that defended the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain. This fighter plane played a pivotal role in the Second World War, primarily serving with the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force and Soviet Air Force. The Hurricane was mass-produced, with over 14,000 examples manufactured from 1937 to 1944.

Review Author
Chris Martin
Published on
January 4, 2024
Company
AOA Decals
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$27.00

Summary

This updated 1/48 decal sheet supersedes 48-006 and now includes additional options from 32-023 (VA-65) and 32-027 (VA-75). Five Navy squadrons are covered with multiple options for each squadron.

New full airframe data/stencils provided for one aircraft; however, additional data/stencil sheets are also available to purchase separately, see 48-023.

Decals also included for MERs and fuel tanks.

What’s in the Bag

7 total double-sided 8½ x 11 glossy sheets

  • 1 introductory sheet
  • 3 sheets for stencil placement
  • 2 sheets with upper surface views
  • 3 sheets with side views
  • 1 sheet with accuracy modifications for the Hobbyboss kit
  • 2 sheets with marking notes for each scheme

Three decal sheets

Review Author
David Horn
Published on
January 1, 2024
Company
Werners Wings
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$20.00

Werner’s Wings has been around for some time and is known primarily for rotary wing subjects offering resin, 3D printed details and decals in 1/32, 1/35, 1/48 and 1/72nd scale. Their attention to detail rivals all other resin and decal companies on the market and that can be attributed to the owner, Floyd Werner, who retired from the US Army as a Cobra attack helicopter pilot and continues flying the Cobra with the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation. Thanks to Floyd’s personal experience with rotary aircraft and his connections in the aviation community, reference material he uses can be trusted to be the most authentic.