The Kit

This kit is pretty similar to my last review of the MiniArt buildings; most of the parts are the same injection molded plastics. However, the parts in this kit are molded in brick red, black, white, blaze orange, and gray. All parts are mostly free of flash, with the small exception of a minor piece of flash next to every one of the connecting blocks, which, if left untrimmed, will skew the walls during assembly. I approached this one with some trepidation, as it is much larger (233 parts). However, in the end it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

Model builders of military vehicles and aircraft have come to rely on Kagero Publications for well-researched reference books. Their Topcolors series provides builders with a pairing of detailed color profiles of specific military vehicles or aircraft in a softcover book packaged with decals needed to reproduce the subjects covered within the publication. Topcolors 12 Eastern Front (Part 1) focuses on the camouflage and markings of (drum roll please…) forty-four different military vehicles that the Polish People’s Army used on the Eastern Front from 1943 to 1945. This 26-page all color book is presented in a larger (landscape) format than most previous Topcolors books and, because of the number of subjects that are covered, it comes with a clear sleeve containing two large-size decal sheets.

History Brief

The T-26 tank was a Soviet light infantry tank, and was a development of the British Vickers 6-ton tank. Many consider it to be one of the most successful tank designs of the 1930’s. With more than 11,000 made, it was the most produced tank of its period.

The T-26 Served in many conflicts of the 1930’s and was used during World War 2. The tank served with the armies of Turkey, China, and Spain. In addition, the Finnish, German, Romanian, and Hungarian armies used captured T-26s.

This volume of the Osprey Duel series follows the series format, comparing two combatant tanks against each other, and in this case focusing on the occasion of the first tank vs. tank battle in history that occurred on April 24, 1918. True to the format, rather than simply describe that historic battle, the author describes and compares both vehicles and the events that both led up to and followed the battle. In drawing perspective, Mr. Higgins reminds us that the Industrial Revolution had already altered warfare into an unimagined horror only writers of a new, ever popular genre, Science Fiction, dared dream. The Gatling gun already had decades of warfare by the time the Great War began in 1914, and had become obsolete then by the improvements of several other manufacturers including Maxim, Vickers, and Lewis. Machine guns turned the war into a grinding stalemate of attrition that baffled commanders on both sides.

The arrival of the Zvezda Bf-109F-4 has been highly anticipated by this modeler. Having built the Bf-109F-2, I was excited about the possibilities. Packaged in an extremely sturdy cardboard locking-lid box, the kit features a beautiful painting of a JG54 aircraft in combat. This is just an exciting beginning to the model.

Inside the cardboard box, you are treated to three large light grey sprues, two smaller light grey ones, and a sprue of clear parts. There are over 200 parts and they are beautifully rendered, although my lower wings were slightly warped. This would be no big deal, as the upper wings would take care of the warp. The detail is gorgeous and perfectly rendered with no flash anywhere. You get parts for the F-4 and F-4/Trop. A relatively complete engine is included, and you’ll have to use most of it regardless if you have the engine cowlings open or not.

History

The Focke Wulf Ta-152H series was the ultimate development of the FW-190 design, and appeared in small numbers right at the close of World War II in Europe. Most of our readers are probably familiar with the history of the type, so I won’t go into many details. Needless to say, the Ta-152H series, which was powered by a Junkers Jumo 213E-1 engine of over 1,700 hp., was as good as any of the piston engine fighters that were operational at the end of the war.

History

This paperback provides specific information on 16 different Messerschmitt Bf-109F’s, mainly those operating on the Russian Front, including views from either side, a top view, and drawings of the undersurfaces of the wings. A short account describing the airplane, its pilot, and any other particulars that might be of interest to modelers is also provided, in both English and Polish.

Decals

There are two decal sheets providing markings for the aircraft in 1/32, 1/48, and 1/72 scales. These are produced by Cartograf and so are of the highest quality. The finish is glossy, so the use of some Dullcote is probably in order. In addition, these sheets have individual markings only, but no maintenance markings, crosses, or tail swastikas, so these will have to be obtained from other decal sheets. Fortunately, these types of decals are readily available from many sources, so you can use these sheets to do all 16 aircraft if you like.

What’s Inside

You get 1 large fret and a 5-page instruction sheet. The instructions take you in order from the front of the aircraft to the back. Starting with the oil cooler intake, supercharger intake, bomb rack fittings and, if you use it, the flame dampener. Next up are the underwing radiators, and there is some minor surgery required. Be careful not to take too much off, but also make sure you take enough off or the pieces will not fit right (It really is a fine line and one that I crossed on one section). There are 5 pieces for the forward part and 3 for the rear and it is VERY delicate. Of the 8 folds I had to make, 6 of them broke off. I recommend that the screens be placed on before adding the flaps. Trust me, it will be easier.

History

There was considerable industrial collaboration between Germany and Japan before and during World War II, and the fact that the Germans were able to send complete aircraft to Japan after Pearl Harbor was surprising, especially since they almost had to be sent by submarine. During 1941, the Japanese Army received 5 Bf-109E-7’s, and these were thoroughly tested by the Army, who did not select the type for production, but they did use the DB-601 engine in its Kawasaki Ki-61 “Hein” (Tony) fighter of 1942. These aircraft were delivered in standard Luftwaffe camouflage, were marked with standard Japanese Hinomarus, and lacked at least wing armament and pilot armor. From available photos, it is not possible to tell whether the aircraft retained their fuselage-mounted machine guns. However, the spinners were the type which equipped engine-mounted cannon-armed fighters, so the question of cowl machine guns is not possible to determine.

The Messerschmitt Me-410 was a German heavy fighter used by the Luftwaffe during WWII. The Me-410B-2/U4 was used as a bomber-killer. It was armed with a 50 mm BK5 cannon and employed to combat heavy bombers. Though powerful, the BK5 cannon was found not practical in actual combat operations.

Meng has chosen to offer the Messerschmitt Me-410 as its first kit in 1/48 scale, and it is a welcome choice. The parts are molded in grey styrene, with no flash and exquisite surface detail. Also included is a small PE fret with a few details like seatbelts, radiator grille faces, and gun sight supports. Given the sprue breakdown and some indentation in the bottom wings (to open holes), it’s suggestive that there are plans to release different versions of the Me-410 in the future.

My first impression upon opening the box was that this is a quality kit. My impression after having built it, is that is it a very high quality kit that deserves to be treated with proper respect.

The old adage Things get better with age may old true to a number of items but this is definitely not one of them. This kit started life way back in the old days! It was part of the Max Peerless line and was hitched to their 15CWT and released as kit 3508. Then, Italeri released the gun as a 6 lb. Gun M-1, kit 323. That version included a nice base with fence and ammunition and ammunition crates. Testors added their name to the box and titled it Anti-tank Gun M-1 and changed the kit number to 781. This latest incarnation by Zvezda is nothing new, neat, or improved. It is just the gun. It has suffered from time, as the kit has never had the molds touched up or maybe even redesigned. The parts are riddled with ejector pin sink holes and raised bumps, as well. Some are located on parts that the builder will damage trying to remove them. The most noticeable of these are located on the outside portions of the trailing arms and the outside faces of the gun shield.

The Jan/Feb 2013 issue of Windsock Worldwide is the first issue of Volume 29, and it continues to deliver the best all-around information about modeling WWI aviation subjects to be found in any publication. The images on the cover clearly indicate that this issue focuses heavily on aircraft recently kitted by Wingnut Wings, but be assured, the publication does not slight other WWI aviation subjects.

Inside, the first regular column, the Reader’s Gallery, presents photo coverage of a 1:6 scale electric-powered flying model of a Hansa Brandenburg D.1, and a Wingnut Wings RNAS Sopwith Pup. Then, following Front Line News and Logbook Entries (that reviews three new titles), Lance Krieg continues his WWI Modeling Master Class with Chapter Eight: Details (Part 3), providing more invaluable advice on creating and adding a wide variety of small details important to any model.