Loon models (Roll Models brand) has added an aircraft seat to their 1/72 aircraft accessory line. This one is for the Messerschmitt Bf-109 B-E. Loon models doesn’t specify a kit for this seat, but it will have to be a kit that has a cockpit in it and it can’t be one that has a huge seat in it, like some of the older kits have. While I was looking through my stash for a kit that would be good for this review I compared the Loon seat with and an old Revell kit, an old Hasegawa kit, and an Academy kit. I picked the Academy kit of the Bf-109E because the seat was comparable to the size of the replacement. The older Hasegawa kit was out because the seat was molded to the floor, it would work but I didn’t want to cut out the seat. The older Revell kit had an extra large seat that was reminiscent of an old BarcaLounger and had a piece of the back hull molded to it
October 2010
A Brief History
When first produced, the Vickers-Armstrong “6 ton” light tank could not find acceptance with the British Army because the 2 small turrets on the tank were fitted with machine guns only. The tank was later modified into the “B” version that had a 47mm gun and the turret was moved to the right side due to traffic in England being left-sided.
The Model
Upon opening the kit box, there are 12 sprue trees in a bag, some vinyl treads and a small decal sheet. The smaller parts trees are lettered with numbered parts. The largest tree is not lettered but the parts are numbered. There is no parts layout diagram. Marking options are for a Mk. F and B version in Bulgarian Army colors, 1938, in what looks like Panzer gray or a Mk. F version for a British Army training unit, 1939, in a dark earth color. There appears to be no decals for the British version but turret decals are provided for the Bulgarian version.
Based on the chassis of the ubiquitous GAZ Soviet “jeep”, the BA-64 served in various incarnations throughout most of World War II. Used primarily for scouting and liaison work, the two-man vehicle was robust and durable, if lacking somewhat in creature comforts. It soldiered on after the war, being supplied to various Warsaw Pact countries during the early stages of the Cold War.
This book covers the navalized Bf-109 variant; the Bf-109T or “Toni” as it was called by her pilots. There are three main chapters which cover everything from design through its combat history. There are not many books covering the 109T (long out of print ‘Sea Eagles’ is the only one that comes to mind) so this is a most welcome addition.
The need for the Bf-109T was linked hand in hand with the building of Nazi Germany’s only aircraft carrier; the “Graf Zeppelin”! This ship had many trials and tribulations during its build and these only further muddied the 109T’s development.
History and Performance
The Jagdpanther was based on the Panther chassis, using the engine and drive train, and mounted the 8.8 cm Pak 43/3 (L/71). The end result was probably the best tank killer the Germans fielded during World War II. 392 of these vehicles were produced from January 1944 until March 1945. The Jagdpanther had a weight of 46 tons, could reach a road speed of 45 km/hr. The main armament had 57 rounds on board with 3,000 round for the bow mounted machinegun. A crew of five manned the vehicle. The majority of the Jagdpanthers served on the Eastern front, with the greatest number on the West Front serving in the Ardennes Offensive.
This kit provides aircraft and markings for two Tornado F.3s, in markings for 111 Squadron’s 90th anniversary, 1917 – 2007.
The Aircraft
The Tornado F.3 is called the ADV by the other operators of the type: Italy and the Royal Saudi AF. It has 80% parts commonality with the attack/recce versions of the Tornado. For the RAF the mission is long endurance combat air patrol.
111 Squadron has flown Bristol Scouts, F.2Bs, S.E.5s, Nieuport 17s, 23s and 24s, Snipes, Siskins, Bulldogs Gauntlets, Hurricanes, Spitfires 1, 2, 5, and 9, Meteors, Hunters, Lightings, Phantoms, and Tornados. They are scheduled to transition to the Eurofighter Typhoon in 2010.
History
With the German invasion of Russia in 1941, StuG.III crews experienced a very unnerving surprise when they discovered that their stubby KwK 37 L/24 75mm guns were no match for the numerous and heavily armored Soviet T-34 and KV tanks – except at uncomfortably short ranges.
The solution was to replace the short L/24 gun on the StuG.III Ausf.E platform with the longer barreled KwK 40 L/43 75mm gun. In doing so, the newly designated StuG.III Ausf.F became a truly effective dual-purpose infantry support and tank killing weapon.
First Look
Initially released in the early summer of 2009, this kit is the first in the Cyber-Hobby “Orange Box” series. The concept of this series is pretty simple: Package an older Dragon armor kit with a set of figures and one or two upgraded “add-on” items from their more recent releases and sell it at an affordable price, relative to the prices of new release kits.
Kit
The kit is made up of injection molded gray plastic parts. All the parts were numbered and bagged, matching the corresponding numbers on the assembly instructions located on the back of the box. The details were in excellent condition, with no defects. Minimal or no flashing on the details and a small sheet of brass etched details.
I have a few Airfix and Hasegawa Marauders is my stash. I am always looking for eye-catching decal options in addition to the supplied kit options. Superscale have issued decal sheets featuring the B-26 in the past, many of which are no longer in available. Even with these decal sheets the Marauder has not been served well in 1/72 scale and the schemes are sometimes boring. Iliad design usually produce decals sheets for more exotic types in 1/48 scale, but recently they have been tapping into 1/72 scale market and one in their new range is a sheet featuring the B-26. Five options are included in the new decal sheet. They are:
Fine Molds continues their series of finely detailed ship accessories with this weapons set of small caliber anti-aircraft guns. The 13mm gun, which was based on a Hotchkiss design and originally imported from France, was one of the two primary light automatic AA guns used on IJN warships (the other being the 25mm Type 96).
This boxing includes two each of two different sets of weapons. Fret A contains two twin 13mm guns and two pedestals for them, along with one each single mounted Vickers machine gun and one single mounted Lewis machine gun. Fret B contains one single quad 13mm unit and one mount, plus four single mount 13mm guns. In total, the box includes two quad mount 13mm, four twin 13s, eight single 13s and two each of the Vickers and Lewis guns. All of the parts are exceptionally well molded with extremely fine detail. There’s practically no flash on any of these tiny parts.