Distinctive of the Mig-23 interceptor were the large white R-23 (NATO AA-7 APEX) missiles that it carried close to the fuselage. To me, with the large fins, they seem more menacing than the US Sparrow missiles. Now that there is a decent model of the Mig-23 available in 1/48 it is nice to see the aftermarket manufacturers step in and provide more realistic ordnance options. Even though the Trumpeter kit provides R-23 it is nice to see the variants and detail offered by Plus Models. In this case these are the infrared seeking R-23T missiles.

Deluxe Materials is a company I was not familiar with. It is based out of the Great Britain and it certainly provides quality supplies to the hobbyists in Great Britain and beyond. They have created a water washable, fast drying and low odor filler, that is easy to clean up and work with. I had a drop tank with some holes on it that I wanted to fill. I just applied a bit of the filler with a small spatula and after about one minute of drying time, I used a lightly damp piece of paper towel to clean up the excess filler. You can see yourself the great finish it delivered.

There is an official video on different applications for this filler at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stLzShlnrEk

It is interesting to notice that among the alternative uses of this filler, it is possible to apply it with a syringe to make weld beads in armor vehicles. I would have never thought of that!

David Doyle has produced a fine reference on the M561 Gama Goat. This is just in time for us to use to super detail the latest offering from Tamiya. The front and back covers feature the excellent art of Don Greer.

The book begins with coverage of the Meili Metrac and the Clark Flex-Trac. There are pictures of both these vehicles undergoing field testing. The Gama Goat was designed by Roger Gamaunt and licensed to Chance Vought who proposed it to the military in 1961. It was rejected. By 1963 a contract was awarded. The vehicle was tested in Thailand, but was never used in Vietnam. It saw action in Grenada.

The EQ2050 Meng Shi (also known as Dong Feng Armour) is the 1.5 ton capacity, four-wheel drive troop/cargo carrier truck developed and built by Dong Feng Motor Corporation (DFM). The vehicle was based on the General Motors High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) with some minor modifications. This would definitely explain why it looks so similar. According to Chinese media reports, the military version WQ2050 is made with 100% Chinese made parts.

Like its hardtop predecessor (HobbyBoss 82468), this is another new kit from HobbyBoss! HobbyBoss has really been cranking out the wheeled and tracked vehicle kits in the last couple of years. These are not kits that other companies are releasing but new and previously unreleased kits. HobbyBoss now has three vehicles based on the Dang Feng 1.5 ton chassis.

Thunderbirds are GO!!!!! For those of my generation, that was a great call tag! For the younger crowd, I am sure they have still heard about International Rescue. Gerry and Sylvia Anderson created one of the greatest series ever to be broadcast! There were only two 50 episode seasons created. However, those two seasons spawned two movies and tons of different merchandising items to include plastic and die-cast models. Bandai, Imex and Aoshima are the ones I can remember. I have seen several others over the years adding their twist to the old classic which just proves the greatness of the original models used in the series.

Aoshima’s website is not super user friendly but as near as I can tell they offer at least 12 different Thunderbird models. Six are part of their MINI series and six in their other line. The mole has currently two different versions in their inventory. One of the kits is in 1/72 and I believe is a copy of the older Imex kit and this other MINI mole.