all 2014

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
Mirror Models Ltd.
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$15.95

The kit is a 1/35 model of a USA Kellogg Air Compressor used during and after WWII. The kit makes a nicely detailed little accessory for dioramas or vehicles. This kit is from Mirror Models, Ltd. Of Ireland, who produce plastic model kits and accessories.

The compressor kit contains two full models in the package, and comes on two sprues of taupe or a gray/tan plastic. The plastic seems a little soft. Many of the parts are quite small and have very fine detail, such as the pulleys and drive belt, part K15. Some of the parts have fairly large sprue connections that require care removing them from the sprue and need some extra cleanup. The sprue connectors seem large but the actual connection points are fairly thin.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Aerobonus
MSRP
$9.50

Thanks to Aires for providing IPMS USA this set of diorama items for review… We appreciate your support, and thanks to IPMS USA leadership for allowing me to review this item.

One area that seems to have been lacking in the modeling world are diorama accessories. Oh sure, you can get deceased cows, dogs, humans, burned-down buildings… but “where is the aircraft support equipment”? For sure there are some companies out there who deliver, but… we need more!

Enter Aires Aerobonus…. Continuing their esoteric addressing of what can be done with resin casting and a bit of effort…

Review Author
Greg Wise
Published on
Company
Trumpeter
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$49.95

History Brief

The Westland Whirlwind was a British heavy fighter. Designed by Teddy Petter from the RAF's specification drawn up in 1937, the Westland Aircraft Company produced a single-seat, twin-engined monoplane, prototype which flew on 11 October, 1938 with Whirlwind production starting early the next year.

It was the RAF’s first single-seat, twin-engined, cannon-armed fighter and a contemporary of the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane. The aircraft’s small tube fuselage with its 'T'-tail was an advanced design for its time and the entire plane was built of stressed-skin duraluminium2. The pilot was seated in one of the first 'bubble' type canopies, giving the pilot an almost 360 degree view, and the low forward position of the wing gave the pilot excellent visibility.

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/6
MSRP
$375.00

Part 1 of the Tamiya Fat Boy review describes the background of the Fat Boy motorcycle and the Tamiya kit contents. This Part 2 Review describes the assembly of the Tamiya Fat Boy kit.

This is a fantastic kit! Not only is the Harley Davidson Fat Boy an iconic motorcycle, assembling this kit is one of the best modeling experiences I've ever had! The engineering and detail is phenomenal, the fit and finish of the parts are excellent, and the assembly, while complicated, goes together very well. The kit is a joy to build!

Background

The Harley Davidson Fat Boy is the latest in Tamiya’s series of 1/6 scale motorcycle kits. This is a large, multimedia kit with plastic, metal, rubber, diecast, and photoetch parts. This review also includes Tamiya’s Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Lo Detail Up Parts Set, item 12655 (MSRP $96.00).

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Gator Masks
MSRP
$5.00

Gator Masks had a happy accident. Gator glue ordered the wrong products when planning to make a batch of their regular “Gator Grip” glue and accidently made a thinner product, which like the original glue. Gator glue is water based and non-toxic. After testing the new thinner product, they decided to add this “happy accident” to the catalog as the “Thin Blend” version of the Gator glue. This product is called “a perfect blend for Photo Etch”.

So I tried the thinner Gator glue with some PE seatbelts and a scrap piece of clear plastic and this is what I’ve discovered: