Reviews of products for scale figures and diorama models.

Review Author
Fred Wilms
Published on
September 19, 2012
Company
Plusmodel
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$20.70

History: The workshop crane was used in most machine shops or automotive shops, both military and commercial. It primarily was used to handle items up to 1,000 pounds in load.

Items in the box: The model is made from cast resin parts – grey in color. One fold-out instruction page, well presented. A metal chain for the hook is provided, as well as a small decal sheet.

Construction: Assembly started with the base, then the trunk, lifting arms, braces, and last, the lifting piston. Some small modifications were made to the crane. I substituted the pins with straight pins, cut to size. The wheels were made with thinner sheet plastic, as the original wheels were too thick for the yokes. I also used railroad bolts for the dolly. As illustrated, the box or load, an extra feature, mostly for effect. (Not supplied in the kit).

Review Author
Roger Carrano
Published on
February 3, 2020
Company
Master Details
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$19.95

Master Details sells all different kinds of products which are manufactured in the USA. These guys have just about everything for our hobby. Some of their products are figures, diorama supplies, paints, glue and tools, but this review is about their 1/32 U.S. Army Air Force Fighter Pilot figure from mid- to late-World War Two, dressed in cold weather gear. Master Details has designed the pilot figure for a P-38, P-40, P-47, and U.S. Spitfires which flew with the USAAF service. I feel that this pilot can be used in any aircraft of the U.S. as long as the diorama is not depicted in a hot climate.

Review Author
Don Norton
Published on
September 8, 2012
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$13.95

The Soviet Army of World War II included over 800,000 women. Initially, they were used in administrative and support roles, but by mid-war they had assumed roles as snipers, combat pilots, and tankers. 89 of them would receive the highest military honor, the Hero of the Soviet Union. This kit depicts women during the early stage of the war and provides all the fixings for a mini-diorama.

Included are four figures: an angry male NCO, a standing female NCO, a seated female, and a female standing and holding a samovar. There are a pile of useful extras: a table, a bench, two poles holding a wash line of women’s lingerie, a portable record player, and the samovar.

A samovar is a type of urn used in Russia to heat water for tea. The coals are placed inside a pipe that heats water in the surrounding bowl. Samovars can be made of bronze, brass, copper, silver, or gold, and are very ornate.

Review Author
Robert DeMaio
Published on
February 3, 2020
Company
Archer Fine Transfers
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$6.95
  • Transfer Sheet # AR35364B (black lettering), Price $6.95
  • Transfer Sheet # AR35364W (white lettering), Price $6.95

I asked to review these sheets listed as decals on IPMS, listing thinking they were water transfer decals. To my surprise, they are actually dry transfers. Back in the 1970’s, between my aircraft engineering jobs, I had a Civil Service position as a Cartographer, making various maps for my County. I was introduced to dry transfers on the job, using a burnishing stick to place letters and numbers onto Mylar maps. It was nice but you had to line up each character precisely. Fear not, this isn’t the case with these Archer transfers as the signage is already spelled out, properly spaced, and a number next to each signage to be used for a building address. But before you rush out to purchase these, read on carefully, for there are issues.

Review Author
Robert DeMaio
Published on
February 3, 2020
Company
Archer Fine Transfers
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$6.95
  • Transfer Sheet # AR35365B (black lettering), Price $6.95
  • Transfer Sheet # AR35365W (white lettering), Price $6.95

I asked to review these sheets listed as decals on IPMS, listing thinking they were water transfer decals. To my surprise, they are actually dry transfers. Back in the 1970’s, between my aircraft engineering jobs, I had a Civil Service position as a Cartographer making various maps for my County. I was introduced to dry transfers on the job using a burnishing stick to place letters and numbers onto Mylar maps. It was nice, but you had to line up each character precisely. Fear not, this isn’t the case with these Archer transfers as the signage is already spelled out, properly spaced, and with a number next to each signage to be used for a building address. But before you rush out to purchase these, read on carefully, for there are issues.

Review Author
Robert DeMaio
Published on
September 4, 2012
Company
Archer Fine Transfers
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$6.95
  • Transfer Sheet # AR35366B (black letters), Price $6.95
  • Transfer Sheet # AR35366W (white letters), Price $6.95

I asked to review these sheets listed as decals on IPMS, listing thinking they were water transfer decals. To my surprise they are actually dry transfers. Back in the 1970’s, between my aircraft engineering jobs, I had a Civil Service position as a Cartographer making various maps for my County. I was introduced to dry transfers on the job, using a burnishing stick placing letters and numbers onto Mylar maps. It was nice but you had to line up each character precisely. Fear not, this isn’t the case with these Archer transfers as the signage is already spelled out, properly spaced and with a number next to each signage to be used for a building address. But before you rush out to purchase these, read on carefully, for there are issues.

Review Author
Don Norton
Published on
August 28, 2012
Company
Plusmodel
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$17.99

Here’s another unusual subject from our friends at Plus Model. This kit features an M1941 U.S. tent stove and various accessories. The box contains 11 grey resin parts, a small length of fine wire, and a fret of photo etched brass with 3 parts. There is also a simple instruction sheet. I found no pinholes or imperfections on any of the parts.

The M1941 Tent Stove was a light, portable unit that could be fueled with wood or coal, and an accessory kit could be added allowing it to use liquid fuel such as kerosene or diesel. It was used in large tents and bunkers and was very popular with the troops. Even today, these stoves are offered on web sites and at surplus stores to outdoorsmen who use them in cabins.

Review Author
Don Norton
Published on
August 28, 2012
Company
Plusmodel
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$4.99

Plus Model has made a living providing us with little odds and ends of resin to liven up our modeling projects, and this is just such an item. From their Easy Line, the six pieces in the poly bag require minimum work. Molded in gray resin are a table top, 4 legs, and a 3-legged stool. The table is like a kitchen table, with drawers for utensils. It would seem a better choice for a seat would be kitchen chairs, but these are available as a separate kit.

The stool in my sample had all three legs bent over, like someone had taken the stool out of the mold and popped it right in the bag. Looked like a spider that had been stepped on. This would be my first challenge, and after sawing off the resin plug from the stool top, I held the stool under some hot water from the tap. Like a miracle, the legs softened and they straightened out.

The table legs were not a tight fit, so I used 5-minute epoxy. This gave some wiggle room to make sure all legs were aligned.

Review Author
Jack Kennedy
Published on
August 23, 2012
Company
Ultracast
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$18.00

This is the sixth Ultracast figure I have had the honor of reviewing and I can honestly say that each one is better than the last. This figure of a Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot is no exception.

It is sculpted by my friend Mike Good. He has a world reputation as a sculpture of pilots in every scale, and I believe I have painted every one of them.

This piece is cast in hard tan resin in five parts that fit perfectly. The engineering is superb in that the pieces are pegged in such a way that there is no way to fit them wrong.

After removing the casting blocks and minor cleanup of seam lines, I assembled the parts and mounted the figure on my favorite working block, a medicine container. I like this method because it affords me a surface to hold onto once the figure is CA glued to it, and after the painting it is easily removed from it.

Review Author
Ben Guenther
Published on
August 21, 2012
Company
Plusmodel
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$22.60

Plus Model has provided the armor modeler with a finely cast and detailed model of a German power generator used in WWII.

A quick check on the internet found that the Plus Model generator is in fact the Breuer WG3000 (3kw) generator. This generator delivers 3000w/220v/13.6a and uses a two-cylinder horizontally-opposed four-stroke engine that makes 17hp at 1,500 rpm. It was about as large as they came that used a skid; any larger and they were mounted on a frame with wheels, to be towed. The Plus Model rendition contains 24 resin parts, a photo-etch sheet (made by Hauler) with 21 p.e. parts, and a short length of copper wire.

The parts came bubble-wrapped inside a small cardboard box, but mine had 5 pieces broken off the casting sprue. Checking the small two-sided instruction sheet, I was able to identify the parts. Only one was broken badly enough that I had to make a new piece out of some styrene strips, but this wasn’t a problem.