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May 2012

Cover

Airborne
Book Author(s)
Neil Williams
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
May 26, 2012
Company
Specialty Press
MSRP
$18.95

This book is a collection of flying stories and not about paratroops, as some may infer from the title. The author has an impressive resume, to say the least! He has served as a test pilot, RAF pilot, movie and demonstration pilot, air show pilot and won the British Aerobatic Championship 13 times, so he knows what he is talking about.

Box Art

Hawker Hunter Pitot Tube
Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
May 26, 2012
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$5.50

Model-Master’s line of aftermarket detail parts now includes a 1/48 scale turned brass pitot tube designed to enhance any 1/48 Hawker Hunter (currently, that means an Academy or recently released Italeri kit). It is one of those small items that will dramatically improve the appearance of the finished model, something that becomes quite obvious when the metal part is compared to the injection molded kit part. Placing it next to the kit part clearly illustrates how much the injection molded plastic part is bulked up for manufacturing…resulting in something that is thicker than it should be. The photo below of the nicely tapered Master-Model metal part next to the kit part on the sprue demonstrates how much thicker (and shorter) the kit part really is.

Me-509 Landing Gear
Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
May 26, 2012
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$14.95

The Parts:

This product contains 9 pieces cast in white metal which replace the struts and gear for the Bronco kit. Please note that I did not use the Bronco kit for this review. I used, instead, the Hobby Boss Me-509 kit, # 02849. The Bronco kit was not “in my stash” but the Hobby Boss kit was readily available.

The molding is clean, with no “step” along mold release points. One of the support arms had a small amount of “flash” on it. This small piece of metal was removed with an Xacto and sanded very gently with a nail file.

Assembly:

Even though the Bronco kit is the recommended “mate” for this SAC product, I found that the parts would also fit into the Hobby Boss kit without any problems. Some caution is wise when handling the retracting struts….the change in diameter between extending rod and the main strut reveals a potential weak point on this part.

Painting: