From the title one could conclude that the entire magazine is dedicated to these two ships. That would be incorrect! The book also covers the IJN Yuikaze, USS Ticonderoga, IJN Noshiro, Ice Breaker Shirase AGB 5003, JMSDF PG-824 Guided Missile Patrol Boat, JMSDF Defense Ship Akizuki, IJN Tanker Ashizuri, IJN Hiryu, S-100 German fast Attack and a section on the old Monogram/Revell 1/506 USS New Jersey! Eleven of the models are in 1/72 scale, two are in 1/350^th and another in 1/72.

Since the text is entirely in Japanese, so unless you read kanji the magazine is only for the pictures. But there are a lot of pictures and much useful information to be gained from them. Some of the ships are both photo essays of the model and the building process; others are of just the finished model. All of the models are stunning in detail and appearance, the model of the Hiryu especially so.

Model Art Magazine is a monthly magazine that covers aircraft, armor, ships and car modeling. Model Art started releasing magazines in 1966 and has evolved from there over the past forty six years.

The February issue starts off with a report from the 2013 Tamiya fair. Some of the kits on the horizon are a 1/6 Harley Davidson FLSTFB Fat Boy Lo, 1/72 Mitsubishi A6M3/3a Zero Fighter Model 22 (Zeke), 1/35 Ford GPA with engine, 1/35 German Horch Kfz. 15 "North African Campaign", 1/48 Russian 1.5 ton Cargo Truck Model 1941, paintbrushes and tools. Also included in the first few pages is a page dedicated to the Eduard 1/72 Mig-15 in Czechoslovakian in Service Dual Combo and the Eduard aftermarket sets that could be used with it. Another page covers an auto show and then the next installment of I.J.A/N. Airplane Illustrated. This month’s installment covers torpedo sighting devices. They use photos of the actual units and drawings in the article.

Good tools make modeling easier, and every modeler needs several types of tweezers and the toolbox. Plusmodel is now offering tweezers designed for the modeler.

Flat Tip tweezers are very useful tools when handling plastic bits and decals. The key factor with Flat Tip tweezers is that the jaws are parallel and “meet” when closed without any overhang or gap between the jaws. We’ve all seen “inexpensive” flat tip tweezers that, from the get-go, display a gap. The Plusmodel Flat Tip Tweezers, # 026, come out of the package with a perfect “bite”. These tweezers close and grip well.

Crossed Tweezers are closed “at rest” and open when squeezed. Crossed Tweezers are excellent tools used to grip and hold small parts. The Plusmodel Crossed Type Tweezers, #021 has pointed tips (some Crossed Tweezers are engineered with flat tips) and can pick up very small items, holding them firmly but gently.

Note on MSRP: Primer is $10.85, Thinner is $8.95.

AK Interactive is clearly one of the specialty brands in the world of modelling. From high quality finishing and weathering products to high quality primers, they are all about “the perfect finish” for your model.

The grey primer is an excellent all-round primer, which provides a smooth coverage to plastic parts and it airbrushes really well. Their thinner, to be used sparingly from my own experience as I had a few runs, improves airbrushing quality and it can be used to thin paints from other brands, like Tamiya, Vallejo or Lifecolor paints. I’ve personally tried with Tamiya and it thinned and improved the flow of the paint like a charm.

A killer paint job starts with a good surface and a good surface finish is prepared for painting by the use of a good primer. Give these products a try and you won’t be disappointed. I know I will be using them in a regular basis.

AK Interactive has a selected set of pigments (sold individually) known as the “AK Pigment Colors. There are 9 colors and they are the most used pigment shades for weathering models.

You still can get some other specific shade for that special project you have in your workbench, but most of the time, those 9 colors would suffice. (You can see the full list at https://ak-interactive.com/product-category/paints/ak-weathering-paints/).

This series of colors are bottled in larger (35 ml) flip-top bottles with the expectation of being used as “regular” weathering supplies.

One of them is the “dark steel” pigment, which will find its way into many vehicles, armor, ships and aircraft workbench. It is very finely grinded and it can be applied with an old paintbrush.