Reviews of products for scale miscellaneous models.

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$19.95

This is a Brassin resin set to make 8 American Vietnam War Era M16 rifles in 1/35 scale. This was the most common rifle used by the Americans and it comes in two variants (4 of each) plus 4 magazines.

The set contains the following sets:

  • 8 x resin M16 rifles (4 of each of the two variants)
  • 4 x resin magazines
  • 1 colored photoetch sheet
  • 1 instruction sheet

The resin parts are very clean and no flash. The resin base part is easy to remove. The photo etch parts form the straps for the rifles and comes in three parts each. There is also a mix of dark and light colored straps for variation.

The parts assemble very easily and give a very realistic rifle when complete. They are idea for adding to figures, as stowed equipment or for dioramas.

Summary

This is a great set for adding very detailed rifles to any model that needs it. I would recommend this set to everyone who has this kit.

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$19.95

This is a Brassin resin set to make 8 Russian AK 47 rifles in 1/35 scale. This is the most widely used assault rifles in the world.

The set contains the following sets:

  • 8 x resin karabiner 98k’s
  • 4 x resin magazines
  • 1 colored photoetch sheet
  • 1 instruction sheet

The resin parts are very clean and no flash. The resin base part is easy to remove. The photo etch parts form the straps for the rifles and comes in three parts each. There is also a mix of dark and light colored straps for variation.

The parts assemble very easily and give a very realistic rifle when complete. They are idea for adding to figures, as stowed equipment or for dioramas.

Summary

This is a great set for adding very detailed rifles to any model that needs it. I would recommend this set to everyone who has this kit.

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Tru-Color Paint
MSRP
$5.69

I have heard of Tru-Color Paints probably a year ago by now. They have an extensive line of railroad and car paints and they are continuously expanding their military line (aircraft, naval, armor). I’ve heard good things about them and I was interested to try them out. But honestly, the price was putting me off a bit. When I had the opportunity to review a few free samples, I jumped to it.

This review covers Tru-Paint TCP 1445 RAL 7021 Dunkelgrau, TCP-1446 RAL 7028 Dunkelgelb #1, TCP-1447 RAL 7028 Dunkelgelb #2, TCP-1448 RAL 7028 Dunkelgelb #3, TCP-1449 RAL 7028 Dunkelgelb #4 and TCP-1449 RAL 7008 Gray Green.

Review Author
Blaine Singleton
Published on
Company
Tiertime
MSRP
$499.00

If you have ever been interested in 3D printing, then this printer will get you started. 3D printers take a plastic filament material and melt it into an extruding nozzle, then ejected on to a moving build plate forms an object, so as the material cools it hardens. 3D printers can use several materials to melt plastic and create objects of different plastic type materials.

I have no experience with 3D printing but have always been intrigued about the idea.

I have experienced times when a special tool or part would be good to have, but there is nothing available. Now if I think about the part I can design it and at the same time learn a new skill of 3D printing. I will be honest and say the kicker for designing a part was the last time I knocked over my Tamiya cement bottle and said to myself, I wish there was something I could put the bottle in to keep from tipping it over. Guess what my first design and project was with the 3D printer.

Book Author(s)
David Campbell
Review Author
Michael Reeves
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$29.00

From the Publisher’s Website:

Operation Torch, launched on 8 November 1942, landed Anglo-American forces in Vichy-controlled Morocco and Algeria to create a second front against the Axis forces in North Africa, catching Rommel's German and Italian forces in the claws of a giant pincer.

Book Author(s)
Gareth Williams; Illustrator: Johnny Shumate
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$22.00

Gareth Williams has been a curator at the British Museum since 1996, with responsibility for British and European coinage, about AD 500 to about 1180. Within this area, he specializes in Anglo-Saxon and Viking coinage. Much of his work focuses on the use of coinage as evidence within broader historical and archaeological studies. Gareth has authored at least fifteen books and led several projects at the British Museum, with a "Viking Voyages" exhibition that recently finished a run from March 2015 through February 2017. He has been actively involved in historical re-enactments. Check him out at the British Museum.

Review Author
John Noack
Published on
Company
Xuron Corporation
MSRP
$19.95

Our good friend and supporter Abby Robey of Xuron supplied several new tools to us for review. Up first is this sprue cutter. Like all of Xuron’s tools, this is a finely crafted tool that will deliver years of service if properly used. That means plastic only – the fine cutting edges are shaped to deliver a near-flush cut on soft plastic – use them on metal and you’ll damage that edge.

I did a test cut on a standard sprue runner from the Eduard Spitfire I’m reviewing – take a look at the results in photo 3. Even on a relatively thick piece of styrene, the tool delivers a near-perpendicular cut through the runner. Moving on to “normal” usage, I removed one of the horizontal stabilizers from its tree – note (photo 4) that the resulting cut is almost perfectly flush. Cleaning up parts is my least favorite part of building; these cutters will reduce the magnitude of that tedious task. Highly recommended!

Review Author
John Noack
Published on
Company
Xuron Corporation
MSRP
$45.00

Here’s the second review of some new tools from our friends at Xuron up in Saco, ME.

The Photo-Etch Tool Kit consists of three discrete tools:

  • Model 9180ET Professional Photo-Etch Scissor
  • Model 450 Tweezer Nose Pliers
  • Model 575 Micro Bending Pliers

I’m currently working on an Eduard Spitfire in 1/72 scale with some incredibly tiny p/e parts, several of which have found their way to carpet heaven. Using the tweezer pliers to hold parts, and the extremely sharp scissors to cut them, I’ve eliminated the problem. Figure X shows the results of cutting the cockpit armor plate part off the p/e fret – almost no cleanup required. A couple of swipes with a sanding stick while holding the part with the tweezer nose pliers and I am done.

Highly recommended as an alternative to hours spent under the workbench searching for bits of brass! Thanks go out to Abby at Xuron for the opportunity to review this tool set

Book Author(s)
Author: Robert Forczyk Illustrator: Adam Hook
Review Author
Mike Lamm
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$24.00

Osprey’s Campaign series of books is a well-established line covering some of the more famous campaigns in military history. The series started 29 years ago with the Normandy landings and with this installment, Smolensk 1943 being one of their latest releases.

Review Author
Randy Bumgardner
Published on
Company
Tru-Color Paint
MSRP
$5.69

Tru-Color paint was started in 2008 when Rick Galazzo and Scott Cohen, armed with a desire to improve the Accupaint formulas, set about to formulate a new model paint. Both gentlemen have extensive experience formulating commercial paints, so they brought their knowledge and experience to bear in the model world. The goal was to produce a paint that was a solvent-based formula with a quick drying time and a glossy finish. The result of their efforts is Tru-Color paint.