I want to start the review by saying this is my first journey outside my comfort zone of building aircraft, so keep that in the back of your mind. What may be very obvious to the hard core figure modeler may not be to me. Anyway, the Moebius figure is a wonderful representation of Scarlett Johansson, AKA “The Black Widow," as she appeared in the Iron Man 2 movie. The kit is touted as being for ages 15 and up and is presented in 23 pieces molded in a fleshy-colored polystyrene. The base of the kit is a nice representation of a simple tile floor. The various figure parts are generally broken into halves and are assembled as such. Like building an aircraft, it seemed necessary to plan out how far to take the figure before painting the parts. My logic path led me to think it would be a trade-off between masking for the painting process and working on filling the seams. So here we go.

The numbers: 11 sprues with 412 parts, 17 of which are not used, and two options for tracks, vinyl and link-and-length injected plastic. Due to the fact that a couple of the sprues are duplicated, several of the smaller parts, like lifting hooks, have extras included, which is nice considering the carpet monster in my house is always hungry.

A nice feature is the box, as shown in the photograph. The box art (separate photo included) is nice and will be a help in deciding which way the tracks run, but the box is very sturdy and will be re-used at my house for spare parts.

The plastic itself is very nicely detailed; seams are reasonable and there is no flash. The number and placement of injector pin marks are about what you’d expect, mostly hidden on the inside. The injected tracks have some that will have to be dealt with if you choose that option. Purists will want to thin the hull fenders, and it is an easy job due to the engineering put into this kit.

First delivered to combat units in the fall of 1917, the Spad XIII was a refinement of the successful Spad VII design, featuring increased power and armament. Within months of initial delivery, 15 of 16 operational American pursuit squadrons had transitioned to the legendary French-built fighter. One of those squadrons was the 94th Pursuit Squadron, to which America’s leading ace of The Great War, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, was assigned.

Eduard’s most recent release of the Spad XIII depicts an early production configuration. The kit includes color instructions and marking guide, markings for 5 aircraft (3 French, 1 British, and 1 Italian), a fret of photo-etched details, a set of masks, 3 sprues of the customary beige injection molded parts, and a single small clear sprue with 3 windscreen options.

During the last desperate days of the Third Reich, the Germans had many armor projects under development and design. Some were prototype test vehicles and some just concepts on the drawing board. These have shown up recently as a spate of new kit releases for armor modelers, very similar to the Luft ’46 kits that have been coming out for years for airplane builders. This kit from Trumpeter was a design by Krupp/Ardelt, mounting the powerful PAK-43 anti-tank gun on the Hetzer chassis, combining a hard hitting gun and a highly mobile, lightly armored vehicle with limited crew protection.

Osprey Publishing continues expanding its New Vanguard series. This is installment #187 and it focuses on the Japanese Light Cruisers (the 5,500 ton class). Even when the title refers to the WWII period, the book covers the development and modifications to that class since the early 1920s.

The Light Cruisers were designed and launched as Destroyer Flagships or Submarine Squadron Flagships. As such, aerial reconnaissance, anti-aircraft protection, and space for squadron staff were specific requirements in this class, in addition to the standard offensive armament consisting mainly of torpedo tubes.

As it played out, by the onset of WWII, several of these ships were outclassed – both in speed and offensive armament – by the destroyers they were supposed to lead. Therefore, several ships in this class were converted into other roles, which they performed well, but were not outstanding in them, either.