Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
September 2, 2015
Company
AOA Decals
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$21.00

Modelers everywhere clamored for years when Trumpeter announced the release of a 1/32 A-6 Intruder. When it did arrive, the kit was very nice and has been virtually ignored by decal manufacturers everywhere…until now. AOA Decals has released the first of its sets designed for the Trumpeter 1/32 A-6A Intruder. AOA indicates that the reason the company formed was to fill the large void in decal coverage of Marine Corps Intruder accomplishments during the Vietnam War.

There are a couple things that hit you when you first open the package. First, the number of options is staggering - 23 marking options of 14 different aircraft. These include:

Book Author(s)
Andy Evans / Gary Hatcher
Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
September 3, 2015
Company
SAM Publications
MSRP
$15.25

I have several of the Modeler’s Datafiles and they are great reference books so I was looking forward to this one on the British Phantoms. I do have to say that some of the Datafile facts do need to be checked as I have found small errors in a few of them but not enough to detract from the benefit of these books from being a great addition to any reference library

As soon as I started to flick through the book I was impressed. This book has all the information a modeler needs to build a British Phantom, including a kit listing, a decal listing and an accessory/conversion listing.

The table of contents is as follows:

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
September 3, 2015
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$62.00

This is a nice kit that is fairly simple to build, yet ends up with a model with good detail. The 3 additional figures have the added benefit of creating a vignette right out of the box.

The kit is a rebox of the Italeri kit to which Tamiya has added three figures, motorcycle, weapons set, and an updated decal sheet. The main kit is the original Italeri issue on four light brown sprues. Tamiya has added three separate sprues for the German Infantry Equipment Set B, the three figures, and the motorcycle. There is also a small fret of parts B37 & B38 that apparently replace the original parts.

The Italeri sprues have good detail with minimal flash, but there are some mold seams. The dark yellow Tamiya sprues have a little better detail, also with minimal flash and a view mold seams. The photoetch fret includes some mesh grills and lots of straps and buckles.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
September 4, 2015
Company
AOA Decals
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$19.00

AOA Decals has released its first 1/72 scale sheet which is a scaled down version in many ways of the 1/32 scale sheet. AOA indicates that the reason the company formed was to fill the large void in decal coverage of Marine Corps Intruder accomplishments during the Vietnam War.

There are a couple things that hit you when you first open the package. First, the number of options is staggering - 64 marking options of 45 different aircraft. These include:

Book Author(s)
David R. Higgins; Illustrator: Johnny Shumate
Review Author
Marc K. Blackburn
Published on
September 4, 2015
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$18.95

Osprey is a publishing house in the United Kingdom that should be familiar to most modelers, historians, and military history buffs. Osprey continues to expand their product line and one of their newest series is combat. The books examine the relative strengths and weaknesses of two adversaries across the historical timeline, from ancient empires to modern conflicts. This particular volume turns its attention to the Vietnam War. Rather than examine the entire conflict, this volume examines the critical years of 1967-68, through the eyes of the United States Marines and the North Vietnamese Army.

As with all Osprey series, regardless of the topic, they follow a particular format. For the combat series, the chapters are organized as follows:

Review Author
Bill Kluge
Published on
September 5, 2015
Company
Aoshima
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$214.99

The Ship

The Kongo class of battlecruisers was Japan’s attempt to acquire or build their first super-dreadnaughts. Designed by the British, the Kongo herself was launched from the Vickers shipyard in 1912, the last major vessel of the Japanese Navy built in a foreign yard. She underwent major reconstructions from 1929-1931 and again from 1935-1938, the last time so much so that she was reclassified as a fast battleship. During the Pacific War, she participated in early South Seas operations off Malaya and the Philippines. Her class’s high speed made them ideal carrier escorts, and Kongo served that function during the IJN’s Indian Ocean carrier sweep, the Midway operation and the action off Santa Cruz.

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
September 6, 2015
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$26.00

Tamiya’s Separate Track Link Set is a direct replacement for the vinyl tracks supplied in their new kit of the Panther Auf. D. Although the kit tracks are really quite nice in terms of detail and are glue-able with standard modeling adhesives, the separate track links feature open teeth and really permit adjusting the sag over the wheels that are such a distinctive feature of the Panther tank.

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
September 6, 2015
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$6.75

This is a review of the photoetch accessory package associated with Tamiya’s kit of the Panther Auf.D, kit number 35345. This kit includes all six engine grill covers as well as a redundant machine gun targeting ring which will certainly come in handy in other builds.

The photoetch grilles can be placed on the base Panther kit with no modifications to the kit whatsoever. The fit is terrific and they add immensely to the final look of the model.

My thanks to both Tamiya/USA and to IPMS/USA for a chance to add these nice additions to my Panther Auf.D kit.

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
September 6, 2015
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$15.50

This is a review of the metal gun barrel set accessory package associated with Tamiya’s kit of the Panther Auf.D, kit number 35345.

This accessory package comes with both a plastic sprue containing a detailed breech for the 75mm main gun as well as the metal barrel that is a direct replacement for the plastic barrel supplied in the basic package.

The breech assembly is made up of 14 detailed parts including the scope and coaxial mg breech as well as parts to create the geared elevation system within the turret. There is also a single leftover piece that implies that this accessory kit may be for more than one make of Panther. The gun barrel is beautifully turned in aluminum and is a direct swap-out with no modifications necessary.

Review Author
Gordon Miller
Published on
September 6, 2015
Company
Round 2 Models
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$23.95

This proved to be a fabulous kit with both the tilt front end 1940 Willys Coupe as the subject matter, and the nostalgia provided with arguably the most beloved and popular individual of The Three Stooges, Curly Howard, as the backdrop. I was so impreesed with the car itself. It went together so seamless, without any fitting problems whatsoever. This particular Willys Coupe can only be built the way it is depicted on the box top artwork.