Since man’s first coordinated attempts to go airborne for the purposes of warfare (balloons used for artillery spotting in the Franco/Prussian War of 1871), opponents have speedily attempted to counter the aerial threat with ground based anti-aircraft weapons. And when the pace of war sped up, so the need for mobile AA weapons increased. During the opening phases of WW2, German ground forces enjoyed air superiority, and the need for mobile AA equipment was not a high priority. But by 1943, it became clear to German commanders that mobile AA weapons to keep pace with and offer protection for their mechanized units were required. Two existing tank chassis were used to provide the bulk of the Flakpanzer weapons, those being from the Panzer 38t and the Panzer IV vehicle series. The first Panzer IV chassis vehicle was the Mobelwagen, or “Moving Van,” initially mounting a quad 20mm Flak gun unit, but for the production series of vehicles, mounting a single barreled 37mm Flak 43.

This little set is designed as a drop-fit to replace the plastic machine gun barrels on any Italian 1/48 scale aircraft kit that was armed with the Breda 12.7mm machine guns.

Master Model provides a pair of gun barrels, each comprised of 2 pieces: a perforated jacket and the gun barrel itself. The brass is extremely cleanly cast, with full perforations in the jackets and a nice open muzzle on the barrels themselves. No cleanup of these parts will be required. The brief instructions show the barrels are to be inserted into the jackets, then placed onto the model in the appropriate location.

This fine metal pitot tube is from Master Model, based in Poland. For those of you who have never heard of the company, they produce finely machined gun barrels, pitot tubes, and the like for aircraft, and also have a great line of metal gun barrels for ships in all scales.

This particular part is a single milled pitot tube for the nose of the Trumpeter Su-27 or Su-30. Adding it to the kit requires nothing more than gluing it in place. I have included a picture comparing the kit piece to the Master Model piece and the Zactomodels piece. I have also added the Master Models pitot to my kit nose (which is the replacement nose from Chris Wilson and Zactomodels) – the fit is perfect.

Highly recommended! This is a great replacement for the kit part (much less clunky) and is stouter than the resin piece from Zactomodels. My thanks to Master Model and IPMS/USA for the chance to review it.

This book looks at the only enemy aircraft actually to drop bombs on the continental United States, the Kugisho E14Y “Glen”. We are given the history of its development and its technical details, as well as the details of the two bombing missions over the Oregon coast and other operations across the Pacific. It should be noted that the Japanese were the only nation to use submarine-based aircraft in any quantity.

This book begins with a discussion of the first Japanese experiments with submarine-based aircraft, as well as the aircraft preceding the E14Y in service. A nice overview of the E14Y follows, with discussions of its operations for the IJN. One thing of interest is the joint operations of both Japanese and German submarines from the base at Penang (part of modern Malaysia). It even appears that there was a possible exchange between the Axis powers with an E14Y being traded for an Arado Ar-196.

Kitty Hawk Models continues their great releases with an F-35B Lightning II. The F-35 is a development from the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) program and is a short/vertical takeoff and landing plane with bomb, cannon, and missile capability. This version, the “B”, is designed for use by the US Marine Corps and various overseas navies. It does not include a tail hook or foldable wings like later versions.

The kit itself is in dark gray plastic with no flash and excellent panel lines. There are six sprues plus separate parts for the upper and lower fuselage and a forward cockpit piece. There is also an excellent clear sprue which is very thing and crisp. Last are two decal sheets and the instructions.

The Henschel Hs-129 was a purpose-built ground attack plane which was designed for destroying tanks and attacking enemy emplacements. It wielded several versions of a 30mm cannon and had an armored cockpit and engines to allow for close air support of troops.

Hasegawa has reissued its excellent Henschel Hs-129B-2 kit with the needed decals to make two winter camouflage schemes. The kit comes with nine gray sprues and a clear sprue and a new set of decals. There is also a small poly cap sprue which is used to hold the propellers onto the engine faces. The panel lines are great and the kit is flash free.

The Kit

The kit for the Cobra can only be built as a stock vehicle. Representing the first generation of Cobras, it’s very highly detailed, being a true representation of the full-size car. The instructions are easy to read and the drawings are well detailed. All parts are called out by number, and there is a paint scheme included for all the parts.

Eduard has given us several MiG-21 offerings, which allows us to build just about any MiG-21 in any country’s service. Right after their release of their MiG-21 in Czechoslovak service, they released this decal sheet that is just stencils in Czech. And there are a bunch of them. I started to count them, but gave up. There are 132 different stencils, and there are anywhere from two to eight of each of them. Markings are included for all of the pylons and external tanks, as well. Even though the markings are tiny, when you put them under magnification, they are readable. And, they are super-thin. You can barely see the carrier film.

A 5.7” x 8.2” placement chart is provided and it will cause you to go cross-eyed trying to follow the tiny lines and numbers. These are very high quality decals, and are highly recommended.

My thanks to Eduard for the review sample and IMPS/USA for the review opportunity.

One of my favorite aircraft to model is the MiG-21. The airplane was the most important fighter of the old Soviet Union for many years and was exported virtually around the world. The number of interesting color schemes abounds.

We have all seen a great number of reviews of impressive parts from Master Model and have purchased a few, so I jumped at the chance to review their new MiG-21 Pitot Tubes. The subject of this review is a solid, milled replacement for the plastic pitot tubes from Fishbed D and F models. These MiG-21 PF and PFM models were a part of the second generation Fishbeds and were widely exported.

The attached photo shows a comparison of the Master Models part against an old Airfix MiG-21 model. A day and night difference. The instruction sheet does a great job of showing how to modify the kit to accept the Master Model part, how to align the new part, and how to paint it.

Along with several other photo etch sets made for detailing the Kinetic EA-6B and A-6E kits, Eduard offers this wing fold enhancement. Though the kit detail of the wing fold is adequate, this set definitely fine tunes the whole mechanism and lends a lot of detail. All together, there are 66 pieces of photo etch detail, all of which must be folded at least once, most twice. Removal of four tabs and four hinges on each kit wing gets the process started. These are replaced with three dimensionally-etched hinges and rib detail which, when painted and dirtied up, will give a great depiction of the real thing. Each wing also gets a very delicate manifold and plumbing piece. All of these are etched in the light gauge steel that Eduard sometimes uses, so they are a little more stiff that the normal photo etch, which is great for this application.

My thanks to Eduard for the review sample.

Having built the Academy Special Edition 1/72 Helldiver a couple years ago, I jumped at the opportunity to review the new Cyber-Hobby Helldiver. The kit represents a slightly earlier Helldiver, with one of the most noticeable differences being the solid dive flaps. When the kit arrived, I was very impressed. The molding was well done, with crisp detail and no molding flaws. The kit is the high quality we have come to know from Dragon/Cyber-Hobby.

When I first heard this was coming out, I just couldn’t wait. It is such a unique and interesting piece of US military history, and personally one of my favorite tanks ever built. When it was announced that IPMS had received one for review, I was certain it would be requested instantly. Now, whether it was overlooked, or whether everyone simply wasn’t as eager as me to build this beast of a kit (or didn’t have the space to display it), it hadn’t been claimed. So I jumped at the chance to review it. Oh, what a build I was in for…

The Parts

Upon opening the box, the modeler will find two frets of detail parts, six vacuformed parts which assemble into the ruined building, and one part, the base, representing the street, sidewalk, and a small pile of rubble that fell from the building in the process of becoming…ruined.

The detail parts are injection molded. Included in the detail parts are parts for:

• A short length of wrought-iron fence (not shown on the box art)
• A street lamp (visible on the box art)
• A main door and framing parts for the door frame (visible on the box art)
• Set of window frames, window shutters, and framing materials for the windows

MiniArt usually includes detail parts that are generic in nature and can be added to other structures, or added to the simulated pile of debris on the base.

If most of this review feels like dèjà vu all over again, well, it is, sort of. When my HobbyBoss F-14D kit arrived for me to review, included was a set of the SAC landing gear. This is the same product number that I reviewed against the HobbyBoss F-14A, and as the landing gear did not change from the A to the A+, B, and later D models, the set is appropriate for all. I have added comments for actual installation, but otherwise, much is unchanged.

The Yak-38 Forger was considered by many to be the Soviet Harrier. Like in the West, Soviet aircraft design bureaus were fascinated by the potential of VSTOL aircraft and undertook their own developmental efforts. The Forger was borne out of a requirement for a VSTOL fighter for the Soviet Navy to take to sea on the Kiev Class ships. The Kiev Class was technically not an aircraft carrier, but instead described as a heavy anti-submarine cruiser and, later, a tactical aircraft-carrying cruiser. The Forger was used both for air defense and in a short-range anti-ship role. Unlike the Harrier, the Forger did not survive the Cold War. The plane was functionally obsolescent and work was well underway on its replacement, the Yak-141 Freestyle, when the collapse of the Soviet Union heralded the retirement of the Kiev Class and the need for a VSTOL fighter.

History

The USS Ingersoll was Spruance-class destroyer commissioned in April, 1980. During her short career, the Ingersoll was involved in a collision with a Pakistani oil tanker in the Straits of Malacca. Even though the Ingersoll was one of the newest ships in class, it was one of the first decommissioned. The Ingersoll was sunk as a target in July, 2003.

The Delta III class Russian submarine was first commissioned in December, 1976. There were a total of fourteen produced. As of 2008, six Delta IIIs were active. The model in the box seems to be just a generic representation of the Delta III submarine verse a specific vessel.

The Kits

The Ingersoll kit appears to have been a combination of kits that Dragon had produced. Included in the kit were a USS Ticonderoga plate and several deck options that were not used.

Introduction

Let's start with a little word equation: U. S. Navy + the mid-70's + F-4 Phantoms = Colorful Aircraft, and that's what this decal package is all about. Every option provided reflects a Phantom in hi-vis markings from the 1970's, a time of colorful U. S. Navy aircraft.

• Spitfire Decals Part 3, 72-023, $18.00
• Spitfire Decals Part 4, 72-024, $18.00
• Hurricane Decals Part 1, 72-025, $18.00

The first Lifelike Decals sheet, Spitfire Pt. 3, provides decals for four Mk. V aircraft, and historical backgrounds for each aircraft. The aircraft depicted are:

1. Spitfire Mk. Vb, AD196, Sgt. Jack Evans, No. 71 (Eagle) Sqdn, Debden, Aug. 1942
2. Spitfire Mk. Vb or Vc. Serial unknown, F/O James Montgomery, 4FS/52 FG, USAAF, Sicily, 1943.
3. Spitfire Mk. Vb, EN824, P/O John Yarra, No. 453 (Australian) Sqdn., Martlesham Heath, December, 1942
4. Spitfire Mk. Vb, ER821, F/L Neville Duke, No. 92 Sqdn., Libya, 1943.

There are enough roundels for one RAF and one USAAF aircraft, although the other markings are provided for all four aircraft. You’ll need extra roundels for this one.

For those who stay up on the latest US Navy aircraft, we have all heard of the evolution of the classic Hornet into the all new F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet. As with any aircraft, it’s undergone several updates even within its short service thus far. One of the areas that has been updated is the infamous Environmental Control System (ECS) exhaust. Several iterations of design have been tried before the exhaust ports settled on the BARD stacks. With the early vents came insulation blankets installed behind the vents as a stopgap solution to the skin damage that was happening aft of the vents. Now, all Super Hornets from Lot 28 and up have the newer stacks built in during assembly, with modifications starting to be retrofitted on earlier jets. Several kits have hit the market within the last several years, some better than others.

Scale Aircraft Modelling is an excellent monthly publication focusing on modeling scale aircraft. Averaging just under 100 pages, SAM is filled with build articles featuring some of the newer kits on the market, as well as projects based on old favorites. Printed on glossy paper in full color, this magazine is a treasure chest of information about modeling techniques as well as a great source of information on new products.

The cover article in this issue is entitled, “Kaleidoscope Cod” referring to the Kinetic C-2 Greyhound. Mike Williams does an absolutely stunning job on the C-2. The article includes a list of additional items used in the project, which paints produced the beautiful paint job, and those weathering agents which Mike used. The article is a great resource for anyone attempting the C-2.

Osprey Publishing continues to expand the Duel Series with the 47th installment of this collection, Gladiator vs. CR.42 Falco. This book has the typical sections of the previous books in the series – i.e., Development, Strategic Situation, Combat, Statistics, and Analysis and Aftermath.

The book is well written and incredibly well researched. The main adversaries fought each other in what some historians would consider secondary theaters of war. However, those theaters expanded from sand dunes of North Africa and the Mediterranean to the green fields of Eastern Africa and into the Middle East and Iraq, certainly an area much larger of than the main theatre of operations of WWII.

The Aircraft

SAAB of Sweden built the Draken as an interceptor in the early 60s, with a recon version soon following. The Draken was used by Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Austria. All operational Drakens were retired between 1993 and 1999. There are a few flyable Drakens at the Test Pilot School at Mojave Spaceport in California.

The aircraft in this kit is a pair of Danish RF-35s, the reconnaissance version. The major differences are the nose, which contains the camera suite, and the wingtips and tail top, which are different.

THE KIT

You get the basic Hasegawa Draken fighter kit, which has been out for over 10 years. The additions are a resin camera nose, resin wingtips, and a new top for the vertical stabilizer.

ASSEMBLY

This book looks at all of the piston engine fighter aircraft used by Sweden from 1925 to 1946 and their paint schemes. Each aircraft is covered with many period pictures, some even in color. There is a section on the operational history, a listing of production numbers, as well as a chart detailing the individual aircraft history of all aircraft of each type that served Sweden. Each aircraft section ends with color notes spelling out the colors used for each. While not in FS numbers, these callout will still prove useful to the modeler. The book is more of a history of these aircraft in Swedish service with color information included than it is an in-depth analysis of the colors used on these aircraft.

This set is a single fret of excellent relief-etched material which fixes the seats on the HK Models 1/32 B-25. So, you ask, what’s wrong with the kit seats? Not much, but research does indicate that the co-pilot’s seat was not a full seat like the pilot’s, more of a half seat. The fret includes 35 parts which allow you to build more detailed and correct seats.

Construction will be helped by use of one of the PE bending tools on the market today – I used a Hold and Fold and it is much more precise making the bends than any other way. Also, you will need some plastic rod to construct the seat mounts – two pieces of 1.2mm rod, each 26.5mm long, and for the smaller seat, two pieces of 1.2mm rod each 14.5mm long. I used stock styrene rod from the LHS.

Hasegawa continues to offer easy-to-build Focke Wulf 190s; the latest one is the last short-nosed 190 to be produced during the war, the Fw-190A-9. The BMW-801TS-powered A-9 variant is identified with a larger propeller, an extra cooling fin on the fan, and a bulged canopy. This limited edition release is the basic A-8 kit from Hasegawa with some white metal parts – the cooling fan and a wider chord wooden propeller which are all that are needed to convert the A-8 into an A-9.

The kit is molded in typical Hasegawa quality light grey plastic that is flash free with subtle panel lines. There are four sprues of grey plastic, a sprue of clear plastic, one set of poly caps, and the two white metal parts. I did notice that the wings had three strange holes on the upper surface. These are easily filled. It looks like they are for the stag antler-type antennas, so I’m sure we’ll see more variants.