all 2014

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Aerobonus
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$10.00

To start, my thanks to Aires for providing IPMS/USA with this figure to review! One of six in this review series, each shows a passion and dedication Aires have to providing the finest resin products. We appreciate your support, with the usual nod to IPMS/USA leadership for allowing me to review these figures.

Produced under the Aerobonus branch of Aires, this particular figure is a USAF maintainer in Vietnam with equipment appropriate for the 1965–1973 time period. The casting has outstanding detail and fidelity, and it consists of three resin parts (main body, left and right arms). The figure is wearing the “campaign” hat with the edges folded up, a standard issue set of two-piece fatigues, and a holstered .45-caliber pistol and cartridge belt. He is in a standing position, bent over as if picking up, or about to pick up, something like a box. Also included with the figure are painting instructions in color!

Book Author(s)
Jeremy Harwood
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
Company
Zenith Press
MSRP
$25.00

Signal was a propaganda publication by the German Wehrmacht stylized after Life magazine and published from 1940–1945. It was aimed at those in occupied, neutral, and allied countries, but it was never sold in Germany itself. Published in almost 30 languages, it was even available in the USA until December 1941! The magazine was kept under the control of the army and thus was independent of the Nazi Propaganda Ministry. This did not prevent it from being a propaganda laden publication. While it chronicled the conditions faced in combat by Germany and her allies, it also had a strong political message advocating for a “united Europe” under the “New Order” and for supporting the fight against the communists—even highlighting those former enemy combatants that chose to fight for the Nazis!

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Furball Aero-Design
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$15.99

Wolfpack issued their 1/48 T-38 kit to nice reviews, and Furball Aero-Designs has issued a sheet of 11 mostly-white Talons. Included are 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" sheets in color with profiles of the planes as well as color call outs and decal placements. The last side has stencil placements with top and bottom shots. The decal sheet is the same size and is beautifully printed by Cartograf. Included are the stencils and marking for two aircraft.

The markings included are all USAF and are:

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$4.50

This boarding ladder is one of those spiffy little accessories which can add a lot to the presentation of a model. In this case, it’s being added to an old Attack kit of a Pakistani Shenyang JJ-5 trainer (based on the MiG-17).

I cut the ladder itself loose from the PE sprue, and I also cut out the ladder pads. These are very tiny in 1/144, so be really careful.

I bent the sides of the ladder using a “high-tech” tool, namely a pair of “duckbill” pliers. The pliers have a decent grip and good straight sides. I took a photo of the ladder with one side bent, then the other. I spent a few minutes getting the sides trued up and made sure the ladder steps were square with the side rails.

Once the ladder was trued up, I applied a spot of thick CA to one of the ladder pads and touched the ladder top to the CA. I then trued up the pad with the ladder top. Same with the other ladder pad.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$12.00

First: Thanks to Aires for providing IPMS USA this really fantastic item to review! We appreciate your support; thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for allowing me to review this item.

This upgrade consists of two parts; the swing boom which sets the radome away from the aircraft, and the actual radome itself. A note about what this is; the Airborne Early Warning Sea Kings in the Royal Navy were a stop-gap measure to provide additional radar early warning to the RN fleet of impending low-level cruise missiles or fighters attacking the fleet during the Falklands/Malvinas war in 1982. Their intent was to stand off a distance from where the ships were and provide the outer net of warning.

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: