Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
October 30, 2014
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$13.00

Anyone who has tackled the old Trumpeter MiG-15 or MiG-17 can tell you that these are not models that fall together easily. They are quite challenging and need quite a bit of care to achieve something reasonably accurate. However, since they don’t typically cost an arm and a leg, they can be fun to tackle. Personally, I like the challenge.

Review Author
Greg Wise
Published on
October 31, 2014
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$26.50

The Product

My sample arrived in the standard blister pack commonly associated with Aires brand resin sets. Its contents were well protected and intact. This multi-media set is comprised of cast resin parts, a photo-etch fret and a small printed acetate film featuring the instrumentation dials and gun sight reflector glass. The small blue fold out instruction sheet is clearly printed and easy to understand. The resin parts have delicate details and look very nice. They include: a seat, seat back pad, oxygen bottles, radio set, armor plate, internal structures, complete sidewall replacement panels, flare gun, control stick, gun sight and forward instrument panel structure. The photo-etch fret is equally as nice and it includes; instrument panel face, complete seat harness, trim wheels, lots of levers, rear view mirror, rudder pedals with straps, charging handles and other nostalgic items.

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
February 10, 2020
Company
Revell, Inc.
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$26.99

This is a tough kit to assemble. Not that it's difficult, but the parts are rough, fit loose, and require a lot of cleanup of flash and ejection pins. Several of the parts have a copyright date of 1973 and the years have not been nice to this kit. The kit has some interesting detail, particularly on the engine and its internal compliments, but the molding has lost a lot of detail. There’s lots of flash to clean up and some of the ejection pins are almost big enough to have their own part number. The part fit is loose and difficult to align correctly.

The kit has options for three different versions: street, Roth, and a drag version. Kit includes choice of three different engine intakes and has opening doors and trunk lid.

From Revell’s website:

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
October 31, 2014
Company
SBS Model
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$38.10

This is not the first turret conversion I’ve dealt with for the ubiquitous Russian T-72 tank in 1/35th scale. Dragon Models, which was one of the first companies to come out with something resembling a real T-72 tank in this popular scale, even at the time realized that the turret was an extremely elusive shape to model accurately, and almost immediately released their own resin revision. I don’t pretend to be an expert on modern Soviet armor, so this review is going to be mostly based on my observations about this specific kit and what it offers.

This specific version of the turret depicts the T-72 turret as it was modified in preparation for the stand-off armor bricks that were to be added later. It featured the much thickened front cheeks as well as the moving of the smoke grenades to a plate on the left side of the turret. It also has passive armor “blanketing” over a good portion of the turret – an especially hard modification to scratch yourself.

Book Author(s)
Bohumir Kudlicka and Radoslaw Szewczyk
Review Author
Tim Wilding
Published on
October 31, 2014
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$45.99

“The 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen was a German mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, the armed wing of the German Nazi Party that served alongside but was never formally part of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Formed in 1941 from Volksdeutsche (ethnic German) volunteers and conscripts from the Banat, Independent State of Croatia (NDH), Hungary and Romania, it fought a counter-insurgency campaign against communist-led Yugoslav Partisan resistance forces in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia, NDH and Montenegro. It was given the title Prinz Eugen after Prince Eugene of Savoy, an outstanding military leader of the Habsburg Empire who liberated the Banat and Belgrade from the Ottoman Empire in the Austro-Turkish War of 1716 1718. It was initially named the SS-Freiwilligen-Division Prinz Eugen (SS-Volunteer Division Prinz Eugen). This lavishly illustrated book tells the story of this unit and its operations.

Review Author
Eric Christianson
Published on
October 31, 2014
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$70.00

Dragon Models offers a complete lineup of the Pz.Kpfw. III family tree in 1/35 scale, including several kits released in this past year alone. The subject of this review is the Pz.Bef.Wg. III Ausf J from their Smart Kit series. Pz.Bef.Wg., short for Panzerbefehlswagen, identifies the vehicle as a specialized command tank, containing long range radios.

The Pz.Bef.Wg. III Ausf J

The Panzer III was a medium-class tank that, at the outbreak of WWII, was designed to be the primary platform of the all-conquering panzer divisions. With the advent of more heavily armored and up-gunned enemy tanks, the role of the Panzer III became secondary to that of the Panzer IV, and its production finally ceased in 1943.

Review Author
Eric Christianson
Published on
October 31, 2014
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$69.99

The M6

The M6 Heavy Tank was designed and produced in small numbers during World War II, but never saw combat. By 1942, three prototypes were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The prototypes differed by power plant, transmission and hull assembly method - one had welded hull and two cast hull.

However by the time the M6 was ready for production, the Armored Corps had lost interest in the project. The advantages the M6 offered over medium tanks were offset partly by the shortcomings of the design. By the end of 1942, the Armored Corps were sure that the new M4 Sherman gave adequate solution for the present and the near future.