History

The Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik has the distinction of being produced in the largest numbers of any combat aircraft anywhere in the world, and its developmental history is well known to most modelers and historians. Conceived in 1938 as an armored, close support and anti-tank aircraft, its designers wanted the plane to be a two-seater with a rearward firing machine gun for defense. Politicians changed the design, however, replacing the rear gunner with an additional fuel tank and more protective armor. Although the center section of the aircraft was essentially an armored shell, the wings, rear fuselage, and tail unit were made of wood.

Master Model is a company that makes turned brass aftermarket parts, specifically pitot tubes, refueling probes, gun barrels, and antennas.

The first thing I would like to point out is how good the packaging and instruction sheet are. The packaging consists of a zip-lock type bag while the part is in a smaller bag, keeping it from moving all over and getting lost as you work. The instruction sheet is very clear and easy to understand, detailing a mere 3 steps. Cut off original part, drill a hole (0.8 mm), glue in the new metal part. Just be careful drilling the hole, especially in 1/72. The bottom of the sheet has a 1/72 scale template of the barrel spacing on the wing. I just laid the wing down over it and adjusted the distance as I glued the barrels in with CA.

Quickboost has added the gun barrels for the Airfix A-4B to their line of resin aircraft accessories. This latest addition is molded in a grayish resin – smooth, seamless, and bubble-free. They are easily removed from the mold block, taking only a couple swipes with a saw blade to remove.

Comparing the Quickboost gun barrels with the Airfix barrels, you can see that the Quickboost barrels are more to scale and have the ends drilled out. If you tried to drill out the Airfix barrels, you would have quite a job ahead of you and could possibly destroy one or both.

I very highly recommend this product if you want a really nice and detailed set of gun barrels. All that you need to do is cut off the molding block and drop them in place with a little CA glue. It’s a very easy upgrade to do.

I would like to thank Quickboost and IPMS USA for the chance to do this review.

Model Art Modeling Magazine is one of the finest periodicals on the market. Each issue is a gold mine of high quality illustrations and imaging. In the case of this publication, the entire magazine focuses on the Bf-109F.

The book features six sections, each focusing on a different aspect that is of interest to a hobbyist.

Color profiles

Some of the profiles featured color call-outs, identifying the RLM colors, by RLM number, being displayed. These profiles are also quite detailed as to markings, including some stenciling, that one will find on the airframe.

As with most kits, the Hannover CL.II’s instruction book focuses first on assembling the cockpits, and the assembly sequence, although involved, is very straightforward. But, before anything is assembled, the instructions guide the builder to paint the sidewalls and all of the various cockpit components according to the color callouts provided on pages 4 thru 7. Because there is much to be seen in the Hannover’s cockpits, painting the small details will require some time and patience. However, I personally found the experience to be both educational and enjoyable. In my opinion, building a first Wingnut Wings kit probably will prove to be a very different experience for model builders who are accustomed to assembling other mainstream plastic model kits. Looking inside a WNW kit box, a builder will find both a plastic model kit and an education rolled up in a brilliantly engineered package.

The Jaguar GR.1/GR.3 is Kitty Hawk’s second release of the Sepecat Jaguar in 1/48th scale. There are many things in common with the first release. The molding is very well done, and the plane has a great shape. One thing off the bat you will need to watch for is the instructions. In my booklet of instructions (which have great color views of the entire plane and all schemes and the weapons), steps 19 and 20 were missing. These steps involve adding the wings and tail parts, as well as the location of several parts on the bottom and top. A quick e-mail to Kitty Hawk and they forwarded the missing steps – I have scanned them and attached them here. The second problem with the instructions is that several of the parts were very difficult to place and the directions were a little vague. A few brief internet searches, and these were resolved.

The Squadron In Action series was started in 1971. This series covers the development, testing, and production of aircraft, armored vehicles, and ships. The focus of this book is on the C-17 Globemaster III.

In 1968, the USAF was looking for a replacement of the C-130. They wanted a medium transport that could carry 67 percent more cargo with STOL capabilities. Two companies stepped up with two designs – Boeing with the YC-14 and McDonnell Douglas with the YC-15. McDonnell Douglas was eventually awarded the contract and thus the C-17A was born.

Through their intelligence gathering operations in the Spring of 1942, the Soviet Military Command became aware that Hitler and the Wehrmacht were planning a forthcoming summer offensive. In order to disrupt the Germans, Stalin ordered Soviet forces, under the command of Marshal Timoshenko, to prepare and launch a campaign to disrupt German plans. The area chosen was the Kharkov sector, the intent being to encircle and destroy the German Sixth Army. However, unbeknownst to the Soviets, the Germans were planning their own offensive in the Kharkov area, code named Operation Fridericus. What started as a promising Soviet push ended up with a German rout of Soviet forces, and one of the Red Army’s biggest defeats of the Second World War.

The Sopwith Triplane was a follow-up to the highly successful 80hp Pup that was widely liked by the young pilots of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). The Triplane prototype was powered by a 110hp Clerget rotary. The prototype was quickly accepted and sent to the front for trials with A Squadron of the RNAS. A Squadron took the new Tripe into combat as soon as it arrived in France. A second Triplane powered by the 130hp Clerget was sent to France in August of 1916. This new highly maneuverable aircraft was an instant hit with the RNAS pilots who had a chance to fly it in combat. Although similar to the Pup, the Triplane fuselage was redesigned for the larger 110hp & 130hp rotary engines. The wingspan was the same as the Pup, but the narrow chord wings allowed better visibility for the pilots. It was more maneuverable than the Pup and had a quicker rate of climb.

A while back, I did an in-the-box review of this kit (click on the link above) that provided the basic info on what's in the box, etc., but I've now completed the model and thought I'd share that information as well.

Out of the box, this looks like a really nice kit and it falls into two categories that interest me, World War I and British ships, so I wanted to build it as well as I could. In addition, I wanted to try out one of those wooden veneer decks that so enhance the appearance of a finished model, and while a kit of this quality can make an impressive model right out of the box, I wanted to add the basic PE railings to finish it off. Conveniently, I was able to obtain both the PE railings and wood veneer deck from the company Artwox.

The usual sincere “thank you and appreciate your providing us cool stuff!!!!” goes out to Hobbico for their continued, unflinching support of IPMS USA. I also am more than pleased to send out appreciation to our team leading the Reviewer Corps – Steve and Dick, glad you stick with us!

A re-release of the venerable Sea King from the Hasegawa stable, this kit provides the additional details to make an HAR. Mk. 5 in the form of the radome on the aft fuselage spine, the ice/sand filter in front of the engine intakes, a six-bladed rotor, and several cast metal parts such as a water-rescue stand for the lower right side under the door, a metal rod next to it (probably a grab-bar for the spec-ops types to hold onto), and metal spike antennas under the lower front fuselage area. There are also flare dispensers included in plastic, along with different antenna arrays for this particular mark.

History Brief

In 1936, the Imperial Japanese Navy requested bid submissions for a carrier-based bomber prototype from Mitsubishi, Nakajima, and Aichi. With Mitsubishi dropping out early, the contest was narrowed down to the two remaining competitors. The Aichi prototype made its initial test flight in 1938 and despite several R&D problems was officially adopted in 1939 over the Nakajima prototype on the merits of its superior speed and maneuverability.

If you are looking for a fun, easy to assemble kit to fill some of your time during the dog-days of summer, I would suggest that you consider looking towards the folks at Dragon and one of their latest releases, a 1/72 scale Flakpanzer that is based on a Panther chassis. Aside from the road wheels, there are a minimal number of parts for this kit, which allows for quick assembly. The fit of the parts presented no issues, and the builder ends up with a nice-looking late-war paper-Panzer. A person with relatively little modeling experience can have very good results with this kit.