About the Company

DXM, which stands for Double Excellent Models, was started by a group of modelers in Taipei, Taiwan. The group started manufacturing decals in 2010 covering a broad range of aircraft, including an extensive list of Japanese air command meets.

What’s on the Sheet?

This sheet covers fabled Grim Reapers squadron of VF-101,, previously of VF-52. This is a surprising feat as the Navy usually does not rename squadrons after disestablished units. The Grim Reapers operated primarily the F-14 Tomcat and has recently converted to the F-35C at Eglin AFB Florida. The aircraft covered are as followed:

Airfix originally released this kit back in 1962 and I remember building this as a kid. The re-releases has a new box and Decal sheet but the model its self is un-changed from the kit 50 years ago. Some will find the kit un-refined by today’s standards but to many it’s a classic and should be considered as one.

In the box is:

• 4 sprues molded in light grey
• 1 clear sprue
• 4 Wing halves
• 1 decal sheet
• 1 instruction booklet

The sprues molded in the customary slightly soft grey plastic, the panel lines are raised and all the details are basic. There is some flash but not too much considering the age of the kit. There is no interior to the aircraft but that is the norm for this age of kit and at this scale does not distract from the kit. The clear windows are thick and have a lot of sink marks and I decided to use Crystal Clear on the build rather than use them.

Hasegawa continues to add to their excellent WWII Japanese line with a re-boxing of the Mid-Wing “George”. This limited edition kit (#07378) of the Kawanishi N1K1-Jb Shiden Type 11 Otsu “GENZAN Flying Group” is only the second boxing of the George which allows the builder to do the later variant (Jb) of the aircraft with twin cannons housed in each wing. Earlier Ja versions had the second cannon housed in an underwing tub slung under each wing.

The Jawbreaker Dragster is a Round 2 Models reissue of the old MPC kit. Round2models has recently purchased the rights to a number of old favorite models from the past. Names like MPC, AMT, Hawk, Lindburg, and Polar Lights all live again under this banner. All are friendly reminders of days past, and all share in a certain level of nostalgia. How many times have I said “Gee, I’d love to build that kit again.” Thanks to Round2Models, it’s now possible to build some of these classic kits once again.

The Jawbreaker Dragster is one of those kits. Originally produced by powerhouse MPC back in the day, this kit is a front engine slingshot dragster with a coupe body on the rear. A wing mounted on the roll bar and body work covering the front frame comes from a time when breaking the 200 mile per hour barrier on the dragstrip was considered a major milestone.

History Brief

The Yakovlev Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings. It was extremely maneuverable, fast and well armed plus it was reliable and easy to maintain. The Yak-1 was truly the epitome of a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft. The Yak-1b featured a new bubble canopy with lowered rear fuselage, increased armor, ShKAS machine guns replaced with a single 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Berezin UBS, electrical and pneumatic firing of the weapons instead of the mechanical system, new control stick based on the Messerschmitt Bf 109 design, new gunsight, airtight fuselage, retractable tailwheel, improved engine cooling, and a Klimov M-105PF engine with better low-altitude performance. The "b" was an unofficial designation. After October 1942, all Yak-1s were built to this standard. The first flight (aircraft No.3560) took place in June 1942, with aircraft entering production in August. A total of 4,188 were built.

Eduard has produced this nice photoetch set to add considerable detail to ICM’s Horch 108 Typ 40 WWII German Personnel Car. The set adds much better detail to the light and equipment mounting brackets on the front fenders, the brackets and plaques on the rear doors, the rifle clamps, and many other miscellaneous details.

This is my first experience with Master Box products, which is primarily known for its figures series for military and aircraft models. I decided to step outside my comfort zone and build a subject I don’t typically build. This is the first bicycle model that I have assembled since building the old MPC Schwinn Ten Speed 40 plus years ago! The “Price of War” set is a multimedia kit which includes a figure with baggage accessories and a multi-media bicycle with a separate sprue and PE fret by North Star. The details are etched from brass and given the subject it would have been nicer to have them in stainless steel – more about this later.

While this is the 4th volume in MMP’s “Spotlight On” series, it is the first one I have had the pleasure of seeing in person. This book (and I imagine the others in the series) consists primarily of large, full-page color profiles of the subject matter.

Upon opening the book, one is immediately presented with an introductory page briefly discussing the P-51D’s development (not the P-51 in general, just the “D” model, so the author assumes some general knowledge of the aircraft type). This is immediately followed by over 40 pages of color profiles. At the end of the book is a page showing the general finish of the P-51, and a 2-page section listing P-51 Aces.

Simple but brilliant, Eduard’s pre-cut canopy masks now include a set for Academy’s 1/72 F-4J Phantom II kit.

In this case, simplicity of application was demonstrated by 9 year-old Camden as he built his Academy F-4J Showtime 100 for a related IPMS/USA review. In a matter of minutes, the pre-cut masks were transferred to the model canopy and scraps for left-over mask material were used to fill in the holes. Fit of all pieces was spot-on.

The masks adhered well throughout the construction and finishing process, spanning about 3 weeks’ time. At the end of the build, they peeled off with only one slight trace of residual adhesive, which was quickly lifted by the adhesive side of a piece of low-tack masking tape.

This book is a description of the changes in equipment, uniforms, and tactics of the allied troops from the landing at Normandy to VE day on May 8, 1945. Experience, technological improvements, and the seasoning of troops in battle brought about these changes. The book is mostly in text with supporting photos and color plates of soldiers’ uniforms and equipment. The book primarily focuses on infantry, but there are also sections on armor and field artillery. The book emphasizes tactics and use of equipment.

The book has sections on the US infantry, Free French Forces, the British/Canadian Army Group and the British 79th Armored Division.

Background

A variant of the M60 main battle tank featuring a low-profile turret, a 152mm main gun capable of firing conventional rounds, and the MGM-51 Shillelagh anti-tank missile system, the M60A2 was queued up as an interim solution while the MBT-70 was under development. Despite its advanced technology, the “Starship” did not live up to expectations and was eventually phased out of active duty units by 1981.

Osprey is a publishing house in the United Kingdom that should be a household name to the swarms of us. Osprey continues to expand their Fortress series with the 109th book in this installment. The Fortress Series examine the fortifications and defense structures of opposing forces. In this case the Atlantic wall which at the time was the most fortified defense in Europe. This “wall” proved successful in forcing the allied forces to find an alternate route after several scuffles forced them back.

For the Fortress series, the chapters are organized as follows:

Sincere appreciation to Eduard for providing yet another review item, and to the IPMS USA reviewer corps leaders for sending it to me!

This set continues Eduard’s effort to provide modelers with previously unavailable, well detailed resin sets. Consisting of 36 parts, you are presented with six forward bomb casings, six sets of low-drag standard fins, six fuse extenders, six fuses, and two different sets of six forward end caps for transportation or other situations where other fusing is used.

Decals round out the presentation, including yellow stripes for the bomb noses and two types of stencil, yellow and white.

Assembly requires careful sanding of the pour gates after you remove the parts, particularly if you don’t want “wonky” fins. You will have to ensure the fins are also correctly oriented to the mounting lugs on the forward bomb body, as this matters when used on a MER/TER situation. No fin interference!

Osprey Publishing continues to expand its fledging line of “Air Vanguard” titles, with the installment of Messerschmitt Bf 109E-F series.

Like most books of this series, it starts with a brief introduction to the aircraft in question and it quickly delves into the details of the first model, the –E series. It covers the topic in good detail, explaining different subvariants (E-1 to E-8, plus /B and /Z versions) and it also includes the production figures of each subtype.

The next section of the book covers the evolution of the –E into the –F (perhaps the nicest looking 109 of them all) explaining in good detail the wing, engine, cowling, propeller spinner and tail re-enforcements that made this series substantially better than its predecessor.

Team Honda put together an impressive stream of innovative and successful racing bikes in the late eighties and through the nineties. This kit represents the Honda NSR 500 ridden by Pierfrancesco Chili to a sixth place finish in the 1989 WGP500 race.

Plus Models has recently release some interesting 1/35th scale diorama accessories. The Cable Reels – Big are just some of them.

They arrived in a sturdy cardboard container and wrapped in heat sealed plastic. There was no damage to the parts. Parts consisted of wood, fiber board, heavy paper and resin.

Read the instruction sheet before removing the laser etch wooded parts. They suggest that you take tape and tape the inner reel wooded slats together. These parts are not attached to each other and this is highly recommended if not vital to construction.

Once the wooded parts were separated from their carrier a little sanding with an emery board was all that was needed for cleanup.

Background

The F-15 emerged from a design study started in the early 1960s called the FX program. When the missile centered American designs of the late 1940s and 50s proved vulnerable to seemingly less advanced Soviet Migs over Vietnam, and after the unveiling of the Mig 25, the U.S. started a concentrated effort to build the next generation of fighters. Centered around the energy maneuverability theory the new designs would have very high thrust to weight ratios. That’s what the F-15 (and F-14, F-16 and F-18) would eventually achieve. Built around two Pratt and Whitney F-100 engines that allow the aircraft to accelerate in the vertical, the F-15 and associated new generation U.S. fighters outclassed any opposition at the time. In 1976 a specially prepared F-15 called the Streak Eagle broke eight time to climb records previously held by the Mig 25. A year prior the Japanese Self Defense Force came looking for a replacement for their F-104 and F-4s.

Ray Rimell’s follow up to ‘Hawa’! Volume 1 dives deeper into the Hannover CL. II and its variants. The cover features a Stan Stokes painting of a Hannover in action over the front lines. Ronny Bar contributes nine color side profiles, all up to his normal high standards. Mick Davis grabs the pullout centerfold with general arrangement line drawings of the Hannover CL.IIIa and the Hannover CL. III (Merc.). For those of you that still dabble in that odd 1/72 scale, Mick Davis also provides you with drawings of the same two aircraft. I counted seven color photos of the 180-hp Opel (Argus) motor located at the Science Museum in London. There are also an additional 54 black and white photos and over 150 drawings of the airplane components. Ian Stair provides a 1/48 general arrangement drawing of the Hannover CL. V along with fuselage sections and a few detail drawings.

This is indeed a one of a kind armored vehicle. I think that only a single prototype was ever built. After some successful tests of Grille artillery in the Italian Front a decision was made to test a Flak 37 on a heavily modified Panther chassis. I think it even reached the prototype stage.

When you open the box you will find more plastic than for the average model, as all the parts for the Flak 37 are provided by Dragon Models and the chassis, armored sides and running gear is provided by Bronco. There are over 60 sprues and two small photo-etch frets.

Instructions are very clear, probably CAD line drawings generated from the actual CAD design for the molds. The overall surface detail is outstanding, as the accompanying pictures show. Detail is not limited to the armored vehicle as you also get tarps, bags, helmets and rifles but not figures are provided.

Eduard’s new SUPERFABRIC (the name alone conjures thoughts of Wile. E. Coyote, Super Genius in my mind…) is a new line of seat belts from the ubiquitous aftermarket manufacturer. This latest evolution of scale aircraft seat belts is different from the company’s prior iterations, in that there are no phot-etched parts, and no cutting of materials to use these. They are made from a vinyl like, self adhesive fabric. They are printed in color, and have nice details, consisting of stitch marks and the buckle hardware.

When my set arrived, I eagerly opened the envelope, and gave them the once over, and apart from the above mentioned niceties, something seemed off to my eyes. I double checked the packaging and instructions, and they claimed the appropriate scale is 1/48. I checked again. If these are truly in 1/48, then Imperial Japanese Navy pilots must have been completely covered by their seat belts! They are very much too large.

History Brief

The Mk VIII was the follow-up of the Mk VII without the pressurized cabin and differed little from it’s Mk VII sibling. All Mk VIII Spitfires were built solely by Supermarine. A few early production models had extended wingtips, but the majority had the standard version. There are three sub-variants; the LF Mk VIII for low altitude, the F Mk VIII for medium altitude and HF Mk VIII for high altitude. Each was powered respectively by the Merlin 66, Merlin 63 and Merlin 70 engines.

The Mk VIII served almost exclusively overseas in the Mediterranean, with both the Desert Air Force and the USAAF, in the Pacific with the Royal Australian Air Force and with the RAF in the China-Burma-India theater. After the Mk IX and Mk V, the Mk VIII was the third most numerous operational variant with 1,658 examples.

The kit is extremely well done with all the parts fitting together as they should. Revell even included chain to tie down cars and vinyl tubing to plumb all the hydraulic lines. The decal sheet has several new car window stickers that I thought was pretty neat.

There was very little to no flash on this kit, but the instructions were not very well done. Case in point – part #48, hydraulic line junction box. Instructions call for attaching two (2) to the underside of the frame. No problem there. The problem arise because there are twelve (12) of the part #48 and they’re not shown or mentioned anywhere in the instructions. You need to look at the box cover to discover the placement.

I have to mention that the completed kit is huge and will easily fit 6 cars and maybe even 8.

HOK white was used to paint the chassis and framing while HOK Galaxy grey was used for the ramps. I made the Crazy Auto Transport decals rather than using those supplied in the kit.

Summary

Academy apparently has teamed with Italeri to produce one of the first ‘Calliope Shermans’ to appear in some time. The M4A3 vehicle is produced by Academy, while the T-34 multiple rocket launcher looks like it is from Italeri, based on sprue shots of the rocket launcher parts. As with all of their AFV kits, Academy provides the builder with good value based on fewer parts without sacrificing a lot of detail.

Over the past few years, Master has established itself as a quality provider of turned-metal aftermarket details for ships, armor, and aircraft. Their latest set of new releases cover the F6F Hellcat, providing welcome metal details for three variants in three major scales. The detail set under review today covers the F6F-5 Hellcat’s late armament configuration, six covered .50 cal Browning barrels, in 1/72 scale.

Over the past few years, Master has established itself as a quality provider of turned-metal aftermarket details for ships, armor, and aircraft. Their latest set of new releases cover the F6F Hellcat, providing welcome metal details for three variants in three major scales. The detail set under review today covers the F6F Hellcat’s early armament configuration, six .50 cal Browning barrels with drilled cooling jackets visible, in 1/72 scale.