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.