Thanks first to Judy and Jerry Crandall of Eagle Editions for providing IPMS USA these great decals; as fellow IPMS members, we always appreciate your support by providing us review items!

If you have never used Eaglecal decals before, now is your opportunity. The Revell Uhu is an absolutely fantastic build, and the kit decal sheet is comprehensive. However, Eaglecals has decided to provide more options, as usual…and very well done indeed they are!

Three aircraft are included in this decal sheet: an He-219A-0 (which will require a bit of antenna scratchbuilding on the Revell kit to depict the additional radar array), an He-219A-7 with a bit of different camo on the upper side (RLM 76 mottling over RLM 75, with RLM 76 lower surfaces), and an He-219A-2 with RLM 76 uppersurfaces, RLM 75 mottling, and satin black undersurfaces.

No introduction is needed for the subject that would carry these wheels! The B-17 has long been a favorite among modelers, and many remember Shep Pane’s diorama using the Monogram B-17G. Revell also released the B-17F, and now both molds have long been reissued many times. Needless to say, it’s still the only game in town for a quarter-inch scale B-17, and overall is still accurate in shape. However, the finer details show their age.

Eduard has been releasing lots of very useful resin upgrades that can add a little extra life to some older kits. These new resin wheels for the B-17 are no exception, and are little jewels to support your detailed B-17 project properly.

History

The Nakajima Ki-44 “Shoki”, code named “Tojo” by Allied intelligence during World War II, was rather unusual by Japanese standards, since it violated the traditional Japanese design emphasis on maneuverability at the expense of nearly every other performance attribute. Appearing shortly after the Ki-43 “Oscar”, the Ki-44 stressed speed, heavier armament, and rate of climb over other factors, and was intended as a high speed interceptor. The first flight was in 1940, and by 1941 several prototypes had been tested, these eventually being sent to China and later Southeast Asia for combat evaluation. Initial response by Japanese Army pilots was negative, but after they became familiar with the type, they achieved some successes, resulting in further production of the type. Production models were equipped with more powerful engines, and the type entered service as the Type 2 Single Seat Fighter, Model 2, or Ki-44-II Otsu, with four 12.7 mm machine guns.

Scale Aircraft Conversions makes various landing gear sets out of lead-free white metal. Some come with the wheels attached if needed, like this set for the Buccaneer, where the kits wheels are molded onto the struts. Others might have the wheel bay included to help with added weight, but most only come with the new landing gear struts. I had the Airfix model so I don’t know how the CMR wheels are molded.

The detail of the metal parts is much crisper and looks flawless. The advantage to these parts is their strength and that they won’t warp under the kit’s weight over time. They will also hold up well while you work with them – no accidentally snapping them apart. To attach the new landing gear, you will need to use CA glue. On their web site they recommend a thicker gap-filling CA glue so that you can position them the way you want and then use an accelerator to bond the parts instantly.

Introduction

As a long time fan of the original Star Trek TV series (I watched it during its original run on NBC), I remember anxiously waiting for the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979. After seeing how far Hollywood had come with special effects on the Star Wars series, I thought The Motion Picture (TMP, in fan lingo), with its great story lines and history, had the potential to be a great movie. Then, there in the opening sequences, were the three Klingon K'T'inga ships on the big screen with all the additional hull detail, approaching the big, unknown cloud-ship. Shoot first, ask questions later, right? Klingons...