First off, the MENG D9R kit is a beast, but it’s a beautiful piece of modeling goodness once you get going. The Big Ed photoetch (PE) set that Eduard has designed for this kit is an exceptional addition. There are some rather tedious steps involved if you plan to use the entire set of PE, but it isn’t out of reach if you’re patient and pay attention to what you’re doing. The set consists of three separate smaller sets: 36265 Exterior, 36268 Interior (color), and 36270 Cooling Slats. In part one of this review, I will focus on the cooling slats and interior. I’ll follow this up with the exterior set in part two.

Introduction

"…roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need any roads…"

-Emmitt "Doc" Brown

The "Back to the Future” (BTTF) movie franchise began in 1985 with the release of the first movie. The film series featured the adventures of Marty McFly as he traveled back and forth in time in a Time Machine built by wacky scientist Emmitt “Doc” Brown. Brown had built that first plutonium-powered Time Machine creation from a vintage DeLorean sports car. At the end of the first movie, just when you thought the timeline had been restored and all was well, Doc Brown pops out of a worm hole in a newly modified, flying Time Machine, digs through the trash to find vegetable remains and banana peels to fuel the new ‘Mr. Fusion’ power cell and tells Marty that the timeline of the future has been disturbed and that “…something has to be done about your kids!”

If you are like me you were excited when Revell decided to re-release their 1/72^nd scale F-101B Voodoo.

Pavla has released this full replacement cockpit in resin. The set has a new cockpit tub, two ejection seats with molded belt details, new instrument panels, a control stick, rudder pedals and a new cover for over the front instrument panel. Also included is a three piece replacement strut to display the canopy opened. Thirteen parts in all.

The instructions indicate which parts of the kit cockpit need to be removed from the fuselage for the new cockpit to fit. There is also some painting information but it isn’t very detailed and you will want some additional references.

The Revell kit comes with decals for the instruments and I may try to use them to add to the resin parts. The new ejection seats look fantastic and much easier than fitting the multiple piece kit parts and adding details.

If you are looking for something to build quickly, which I find relaxing after a particularly challenging build, you may want to consider this recent release from Fujimi.

Late last year, Fujimi re-released this combination kit of the I-15 and I-46 submarines, so I jumped on the opportunity to build these two boats once again, but with roughly twenty years of advancement in my modeling skills. The fits are good overall, making this a fun kit for both beginners and more experienced modelers with an interest in 1/700 scale WWII subjects.

The NEO line is Iwata’s entry-level airbrush and is advertised as ideal for first-time airbrush users. Per Iwata, “Think you want to give airbrushing a try? Not sure you want to spend much to get started? The NEO is perfect for you…. AND you’ll have a great first experience! Iwata-Medea designed the NEO for the first time user.”

The Basics

The TRN1 is a gravity-feed, dual-action, internal-mix, pistol-grip brush. The paint cup is removable, and two sizes (10cc and 2cc) are included. The needle is .35mm. No air hose is included.

Impressions

This is the first-pistol grip airbrush I’ve used, and I was surprised by how immediately it felt ‘right’ in my hand. It’s heavy enough to feel solid, but no too heavy to feel cumbersome. It is nicely balanced, so I was able to get comfortable with it in short order.