Eduard’s BigSin set for Tamiya’s 1/72 Block 50 F-16CJ includes seven sets previously issued individually, creating a wonderful update set for the kit. The set includes resin replacements for the wheels, the ejection seat, the exhaust nozzle and open speed brakes. The set also includes two frets of photo-etch (one for the interior and one for the exterior details), a complete canopy mask set and a fret of prepainted remove-before-flight tags. As the sets were previously released individually, combining them into a single set results in some duplication, which is not a bad thing if you have another Tamiya F-16 kit in the stash.

This is a beautiful book with very nice illustrations of David Kimble’s cutaways, step-by-step descriptions on how the cutaways are made, and descriptions of the engineering of the vehicles.

David Kimble is in engineer turned illustrator who grew up in Southern California racing, and eventually became known for his cutaway automotive illustrations. In the introduction Kimble states that the purpose of this book is to answer the question “how do you do it”, to which he usually responds “a little at a time”. This book for the first time describes his approach to illustration and the techniques on how his work is done, plus some of the stories behind the illustrations.

First launched in 1991, the SHINKAI 6500 is a manned submersible that can dive to depths of 6,500 meters (20,000 feet). Operated by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Shinkai has completed over 1300 deep dives in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans, as well as the Sea of Japan.

In 2012, the vessel underwent a major upgrade, including conversion from a single aft prop to two thrusters and the addition of one more horizontal thruster for maneuverability. Hasegawa offers the kit with two build options to reflect the original and upgraded version of the submersible. To clarify the build process and the differences, the instruction sheet includes complete build sequences for each version. It's worth taking the time to go through the instructions – particularly since other sub-options are offered within each build – to end up with the configuration you've chosen.

Airfix continues to impress everybody with the increasingly detailed and high quality of their products. This is a great gift set that can be made and used in a very detailed diorama of a typical RAF World War 2 airfield during the period of the battle of Britain.

In the box is:

• 1 Hawker Hurricane Mk.I - L200 x W255; Pieces 127
• 1 Albion AM463 3-Point Fueller - L118 x W45; Pieces 113
• 1 Bedford MWD - L89 x W41; Pieces 95
• 10 x Ground Crew Figures and Accessories - H38; Pieces 108
• 12 x acrylic paints
• 2 x brushes
• 2 x poly cement
• 1 decal sheet
• 1 instruction booklet

The kits are all bagged individually which helps with assembly; the sprues are well molded with no flash.

Tsesarevich (Russian: Цесаревич) was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Russian Navy, built in France at the end of the 19th century. The ship's design formed the basis of the Russian-built Borodino-class battleships. After repairs were made following the Russian-Japanese war, most of the small-caliber guns (47mm and 37mm) were removed. Tsesarevich was not very active during the early part of World War I and her sailors joined the general mutiny of the Baltic Fleet in early 1917.

This Master Model set provides you with 20 barrels: Four machined aluminum 305mm/40 (12”) barrels; twelve machined brass 152mm/45 (6”) barrels; two 47mm (1.85”) Hotchkiss Gun barrels; and two 37mm (1.5”) Hotchkiss gun barrels and a single page instruction sheet. As you can see in the comparison photo below, the improvements are most noticeable in the muzzle ring of the twelve 152mm barrels due to the limitations of injection plastic molding.