Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
November 1, 2013
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$40.00

We at IPMS USA are truly blessed to have the passionate detail experts at Eduard providing us their latest releases. We appreciate your support, and thanks also to the IPMS reviewer corps leadership, (Steve, Dick, and Dave) for having confidence in my abilities to deliver the goods on this most daunting task!

Over the next few weeks, I will be reviewing some of the primary Eduard sets for HK (Hong Kong) Models’ 1/32 B-17G. I refer to this effort as a “metal storm” because there are at least a thousand little bits and pieces in these sets that I will attempt to do justice to without making a “dog’s breakfast” of the parts. I think I’m up to it, so let’s move on.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
November 1, 2013
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$20.00

Part 2: Continuing the saga of the new Eduard parts for the HK B-17; again, extreme thanks to Eduard for providing these sets for IPMS USA to review!

This set is a basic but necessary item to complete the HK Models B-17G. This set contains one color fret of PE to cover the requirements for seven separate seat arrangements within the kit: the pilot and co-pilot seatbelts, the bombardier and navigator seats, and the seats in the radio operator’s compartment.

As you can see by the set, when used on the pilot and co-pilot seat, the “almost operational” level of detail is there. I will note the appearance on the other seats when I get to those particular parts of the aircraft. These harnesses have stitching, male and female buckle components, release levers, leather pads, and tightening straps. Stellar in appearance is a nice phrase for these belts; they take a bit of time, but add more than sufficient, convincing detail to these most visible areas.

Review Author
Greg Wise
Published on
November 2, 2013
Company
AZ Model
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$20.00

History Brief

By June, 1967, Bell Helicopters delivered the first AH-1G Huey Cobra. The Snake, as she was also known, was the genesis, the initial production model gunship for the US Army’s attack helicopter fleet. It was flown by a crew of two, one pilot and one co-pilot/gunner (CPG), sitting in what is now the classic gunship tandem step-up configuration. The overall design was conventional; it was derived from the Bell UH-1 Huey. They basically slimed it down and added stub wings with hard points while keeping the aft empennage and the two-bladed tail rotor. It also retained the large 44’ diameter main two-bladed rotor. The Snake sported an M-28 chin turret with optional 2 × 7.62mm (0.308 in) multi-barrel miniguns, or 2 × M129 40mm grenade launchers, or one of each. It was powered by one 1400 shp Avco Lycoming T53-13 turboshaft.

Review Author
Joe LoMusio
Published on
November 2, 2013
Company
Meng Model
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$50.00

Background

The French Renault FT-17 can claim the distinction of setting the standard for tank design for the entire Twentieth Century. By the end of 1915, Jean Baptiste Estienne, General of Artillery and a specialist in military engineering, realized that artillery could be mounted on tracked armored vehicles. This vision led him to create the French tank arm. He is considered by many in France to be the Père des Chars (Father of the Tank). Some early companies approached by Estienne produced medium size tanks – the Schneider and the Saint Chamond. Estienne believed, however, that a light tank was needed, and approached Louis Renault in July, 1916, who then developed the FT-17. Innovative in its design, the FT-17 featured the first rotating turret, along with a rear engine compartment and front driver compartment, and only weighed around 7 tons. Early FT-17’s were armed with an 8mm Hotchkiss machine gun, and later designs carried the 37mm Puteaux canon.

Review Author
Chad Richmond
Published on
November 2, 2013
Company
ICM
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$37.99

The Type IIB U-Boat was used throughout World War II as a coastal patrol boat, and only twenty were made. Since it could not operate very far from its home port and carried very little armament, it was used to train new crews and prepare new Kapitans for their commands. Surprisingly, most of the Type IIB losses were from the Kapitan scuttling the boat. The first Type IIB was launched on June 29, 1935. It was interesting doing research on the boats that are referred to on the instruction sheet and finding out that markings and specific details of many of the U-boats are not readily available, and in some cases are best guesses.

Book Author(s)
David Baker
Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
February 3, 2020
Company
Quayside Publishing Group
MSRP
$28.00

Those of us of a certain age remember April 13, 1970, as a “worst nightmare come to reality” day. On that day the crew of Apollo 13 radioed those famous words, “Houston, we’ve had a problem.” The mission ended with the successful and safe return of the astronauts, and gave the world an iconic moment revealing just how dangerous space flight can be.

The author of Apollo 13 Owner’s Workshop Manual is Dr. David Baker, who worked for NASA during the Gemini, Apollo, and Shuttle programs. Dr. Baker was part of the team within Houston Mission Control throughout the Apollo 13 mission and, therefore, speaks with a considerable authority. He has written more than 80 books on spaceflight technology, and this is his fourth Haynes manual, following the NASA Mars Rover Manual, International Space Station Manual and NASA Space Shuttle Manual.

Review Author
Randy Robinson
Published on
November 3, 2013
Company
Aoshima
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$44.95

Lamborghini introduced the Aventador in 2011 as the replacement for the Marcielago. Aoshima introduced its 1/24 scale version in 2012 and the model is every bit as cool-looking as the real thing. Aoshima accurately captured the stealth jet fighter proportions of the one-to-one car.

The model comes packaged in separate bags for the different trees. The body parts are molded in white plastic, the interior parts in gray, and the chassis in black. The wheels, headlight/taillight bezels, exhaust, and a couple of other pieces are molded in a satin chrome finish. There are painting mask for the windshield and side windows, and all of the clear parts are packaged separately. The taillights are molded in clear red, so no painting needed. The instruction sheet, mostly, is clear and easy to follow.

Review Author
Mike Van Schoonhoven
Published on
November 3, 2013
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$17.50

This is Model Art Magazine’s special quarterly issue that focuses on naval subjects. As with the regular Model Art Magazine, this is printed in Japanese with some English subtitles. This special ship model edition focuses on the "Chitose Japanese Navy seaplane carrier type".

This issue starts off with detail drawings of the IJN seaplane carrier Mizuho. They cover such items as the anchor, vents, cleats, portholes and the trim over them, armament, linoleum decks and how they were secured, and armament – very valuable information for modelers. Next is a one-page article on new items that are coming out.

Review Author
Joe Koenig
Published on
November 4, 2013
Company
Bronco Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$48.99

What’s in the box? The kit consists of close to 300 parts in olive-colored plastic (not all parts will be used), eight clear parts for periscopes and headlight lenses, one PE fret with 49 parts (again, not all will be used), one decal sheet for five different vehicles, and a twenty-page instruction book on glossy paper. All parts are very crisp with no flash or knock-out pin marks that will be visible in the end, just the usual mold lines and attachment points to clean up. I suggest that you be careful when removing the parts as many are tiny and may end up in the carpet monster. One standout feature is the one-piece idler wheels, truly a remarkable slide molding that captures all the detail.

Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
November 5, 2013
Company
Hobby Boss
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$17.99

History

The Petlyakov Pe-2 (nicknamed Peshka – “Pawn”) began life in 1939 as a high altitude fighter project, designated VI-100. It was designed under very unusual circumstances, as the design team which included both Vladimir Petlyakov and A.N. Tupolev had been swept up in one of Stalin’s paranoidal purges, and both were imprisoned as “threats to the state.” However, they managed to begin design work during 1939, producing a high altitude fighter prototype by the end of that year. Later, when the Russians discovered that Germany didn’t have any high altitude bombers, the fighter project was canceled.