Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
December 28, 2013
Company
Squadron Products
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$16.00

Superscale continues its excellent decal releases with a set for Trumpeter's 1/32nd scale A-6 with this release of markings for the A-6A for the VA-115 Arabs. VA-115 transitioned to A-6's during the 1967-70 time frame and these marking represent the Arabs on board the USS Midway in 1973. Specifically, the markings are for build number 156995. The color scheme for the plane was gull gray over white with the tail in black and green cap, rudder in white and green tips and fins to the fuel tanks. The radome was tan also.

This set includes a single sheet with all the markings needed to represent this build. Stencils will come from the kit. national markings are included and the decals are well printed with great registration. The printing was done by Cartograf and is superb. Instructions are in full color and give paint colors in name and FS numbers which is great. A reference list is also provided showing appropriate books that can be used.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
December 28, 2013
Company
Squadron Products
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$16.00

Superscale continues its releases for Trumpeters 1/32nd scale A-6 with a marking set for the VA-95 Green Lizards. VA-95 has been active/inactive many times flying Skyhawks, Skyraiders and the Intruders. The decals here represent the Green Lizards during August 1974 aboard the USS Coral Sea. There are several great web sites dedicated to VA-95 and a quick Google search will find them with lots of photos.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
December 28, 2013
Company
Squadron Products
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$12.00

Superscale initial release for Trumpeters 1/48th scale A-3D-2 with a marking set for the VAH-1 "Smokin' Tigers". Looking at the Internet, there are some great pictures of the Skywarrior in these markings especially on a cruise on the Internet.

The decals come in a single sheet. The sheet contains the markings for the kit including some of the major stencils. The sheet has great registration and color and are printed by Cartograf in Italy. The markings are distinctive with a large red flash on the side and great tail markings. Decals are provided for one airframe, build number 138932. The kit has a great color scheme with the gull gray over white being the primary colors. The nose and the leading edge of the tail is black. The engine parts are metallic titanium and gunmetal. The paint scheme is in full color on a single sheet and has references for those wishing further reading.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
December 28, 2013
Company
Plusmodel
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$31.50

Plus Model out of the Czech Republic makes great diorama accessories and kits. I state that upfront as more people need to hear about these great items. This kit is a European style hay wagon in 1/35 scale. the kit is entirely resin with 25 gray resin parts and a small piece of wire. The parts molding is excellent with wood grain molded in subtly to the parts. As with any kit, each part will need cut from its pour block and cleaned. The parts are well done but it pays to take care here. I used a fine razor saw and cut the parts loose and scraped/sanded away the molding lines. Once done, I washed the parts in dish soap and warm water in case there was mold release and the parts were ready for assembly.

Book Author(s)
Carl Molesworth
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
December 29, 2013
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$18.95

This book is number 11 in the Vanguard series and covers the later short nosed variants P-40D through P-40N. The book begins with the beginning of the end. By that I mean it shows the 15,000th Curtiss fighter built, a P-40-N-CU festooned with the emblems of each nation that flew them and a red, white and blue striped tail. This was the beginning of the end as around one week after this picture was taken a P-40 production ceased and the plants were shut down. And though Curtiss had tried throughout the war to design and produce new fighters as well as into the early years of the jet age, they would never again build another production fighter designed in house.

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
December 29, 2013
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$29.95

The AFV

The PanzerKampfWagen IV Ausf H was designed to be an improved version of earlier PZKw IVs. The 75mm KWK/40 L48 main gun was supposed to be the same 50mm gun used in the IV Ausf F, but the shock of discovering how hard it was to deal with the Russian T-34s and KV-1s necessitated the upgrade to a 75mm gun. The particular version in this kit has the standoff armor (Schűrzen = aprons). The standoff armor is to protect the hull from shaped-charge weapons like the bazooka or Panzerfaust. The boxart shows extra tracks carried on the front glacis plate, but these are not included in the kit.

Review Author
Joe Porche
Published on
December 29, 2013
Company
Monogram
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$24.95

Prior to its arrival I did some research for my review of this kit and I came across a statement on a social media site. “My best piece of advice when you go to the hobby shop to buy this kit? Three simple words, BUY A CASE!” Made me laugh. When the kit arrived and I opened the box I thought “BUY A CASE.” Well that was short lived. Maybe just a few. Upon further examination I found that this is the “Sizzler” kit first engineered during the 60s, just newly scaled down to 1/25th.

Still though, fans of early drag racing (early50s to late 60s) are going to love this kit. The instruction sheet points out 6 different variations to the model. By my calculations there are well over 576 possible combinations to this kit. I can see others kit bashing different motor combinations, various wheels, wings and all sorts of crazy ideas.

Parts count:

Review Author
Mark Aldrich
Published on
December 29, 2013
Company
Value Gear
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$11.50

“Any Army Any Era!”……This is the Battle Cry for Steve Munsell of ValueGear. A Daytime Dad and nighttime casting machine. After reviewing the Wooden Crates 3 set and knowing I still had two more reviews to accomplish I figured I would send Steve an email and get some personal knowledge and thoughts. He considers himself a so-so modeler and started ValueGear simply because he got tired of seeing the same pieces used over and over again by the mainstream cottage industries in their stowage set. I also learned that he is no longer in Ireland but right here in Sunny Arizona. Hopefully he will pick up so more U.S. Distributors for his fine products.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
December 30, 2013
Company
Plusmodel
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$31.50

Plusmodel out of the Czech Republic continues its great diorama accessories this kit of a European style wagon with a wooden tank in 1/35 scale. the kit is entirely resin with 27 gray resin parts and a small piece of wire. The parts molding is excellent with wood grain molded in subtly to the parts. The base of this kit is similar to the hay wagon in its undercarriage with the base and tank included. As with any resin kit, each part will need cut from its pour block and cleaned. The parts are well done but it pays to take care here. I used a fine razor saw and cut the parts loose and scraped/sanded away the molding lines. Once done, I washed the parts in dish soap and warm water in case there was mold release and the parts were ready for assembly.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
December 30, 2013
Company
Plusmodel
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$18.60

This kit from Plusmodel are two sorted waste containers for recycling...modern garbage cans! This would fit great into a modern diorama. The kit comes with 10 resin pieces, a small photoetch fret with four pieces and a small decal sheet. It makes two containers.

Construction is simple. Remove the pour spout from the container and the base. and glue together. There are three parts glued to the top and then the photoetch covers. These are excellent with one part being the flaps to push in the recycling and then a ring securing it. It did take some putty on the side of the main container at the mold lines but one application and a quick sand and done.