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.