History

Derived from the Ki-61 Hein “Tony” the Ki-100 flew for the first time in February 1945 and without the need for the heavy coolant radiator and other fittings required for a liquid-cooled engine, was lighter than the Ki-61-II thus reducing the wing loading. This had an immediate positive effect on the flight characteristics, enhancing landing and takeoff qualities as well as imparting increased maneuverability, including a tighter turning circle. Pleased by the flight characteristics of the plane the model was ordered to be put in production and the first 271 of the airframes were remanufactured from Ki-61-II Kai and Ki-61-III airframes. Later 118 of the Ki-100 II with an ‘all around view’ canopy were produced. The Ki-100 was the Imperial Japanese Army’s last fighter and in the hands of a skilled pilot was more than a match for allied fighters.

The AS.34 Kormoran missile is a German developed anti-ship missile. The Kormoran 1 was originally designed in the 1960’s for use by the German Navy and was flown on the F-104 and the Tornado. It was also used by Italy. The Kormoran 2 was an updated version of the Kormoran 1, using the same missile body, but with updated avionics, an improved and larger warhead and better rocket motor to give it longer range.

This is another nice set in Brassin’s weapons range and for a change it is not a US or Russian weapon. The set includes one missile body for each of the Kormoran 1 and for the Kormoran 2. Be sure to check which one you are using as they are slightly different, primarily in the exhaust/nozzle area and in the fairings along the side of the missile bodies. The larger rocket fins are apparently different as they are numbered differently while the smaller steering fins are the same on both missiles.

The T-10M can trace its history back to the late WWII JS-1/JS-2 heavy tanks. At the September, 1945 Berlin Victory Parade the new JS-3 made its first appearance with a “turtle shell” turret and a “pike nose” front hull that made a worrisome impression on western observers. To keep up with the western powers heavy tank development projects in late 40's, the Russians continually modified the JS tanks up thru JS-7, but done of these went into production. In late 1948, the General Tank Directorate issued an order to develop a new heavy tank that would surpass the performance of the JS-3, but weigh no more than 50 tons. The famous Russian tank designer Zhozef Kotin developed the new design, and prototypes were made in 1949. The military was supportive and the tank was named JS-8. Upgrades lasted a while, and the tank was renamed JS-9 and then JS-10. After Stalin's death in 1953 the JS-10 was renamed the T-10, and by the end of 1953 it went into production.

Background

According to the instruction sheet, Taiga Heavy Industries was commissioned in 2008, by the Ministry of Defense to begin development of the ASF-X, a larger interceptor aircraft with various data collecting devices. The basic design was a canard with swept-forward wings similar to the Russian Su-47 Berkut. The design evolved to one with STOL characteristics as well. The design featured twin engines in the over/under configuration while the wing tips, horizontal stabilizers and jet exhausts turn downward for STOL operations.

I have always liked the look of this British WWI fighter and this kit is the best available version on the market.

In the box is:

• 4 sprues molded in light grey
• 1 film sheet
• 1 photoetch parts sheet
• 1 masking sheet
• 1 decal sheet
• 1 instruction booklet

The sprues are well molded with only very minor flash, well positioned ejector pin marks. The detail is very fine and crisp. The panels are all great. The instruction book is great as usual for Eduard kits. There a few parts on the sprues that are no required for this build and are full defined in the instruction sheet. There are a few optional assembly decisions that you should make before you start and this is based in the aircraft version you want to build. I went with version D.

The Eduard Spitfires have set a new standard in 1/48th scale Spitfires. Eduard’s approach is threefold. One is aimed at the ‘basic’ modeler with their Weekend Edition kits. Then there is the step up with their Profipack kits, a personal favorite. And finally they have all the Brassin items to upgrade along with some separate photoetch pieces.

This set is carefully boxed in a sturdy cardboard box with Styrofoam packing material and parts in a couple of ziplock type baggies so there is no breakage. This set comes with 30 resin parts in light grey resin. All the parts are precisely cast and perfectly formed. There is a fret of photo etch with most of the parts pre-painted. Then there is a small clear acetate or film included of the gunsight reflector. The instructions are included on two sheets with proper diagrams that are easy to understand. Color callouts are on the instructions and reference Gunze colors.

The incorporation of opened gun bays is a nice way to set your Spitfire apart from the crowd and adds to any diorama.

This set allows the modelers build the left and right wing gun bays opened. It allows you to build the Mk.VIII gun bays and the associated armament. There are 20 pieces of resin and a fret of photo etch in the set. Working the set is easy enough. The instructions are quite easy to understand and are illustrated enough for the modeler to reproduce two beautiful gun bays.

I removed the gun covers by chain drilling the panels and sanding back to the panel lines. Adding the photo etch and resin parts was relatively easy. Just remove the parts from the pour blocks, paint and install. It really is that simple. Just follow the instructions. After opening the wing panels the resin piece fits on top of a photo etch bottom quite nicely with no thinning of the wing required and seamless mates up to the plastic parts.

This is another excellent kit in the Hasegawa Machinen Krieger series. The kit is not too difficult to assemble, so beginners can enjoy the modeling experience. More advanced modelers will enjoy building another unique machine in this series, and the creativity allowed in finishing and weathering the machine.

Background

The Maschinen Krieger Story (excerpted from Wikipedia)

A nuclear World War IV in 2807 kills most of Earth's population and renders the planet uninhabitable. Fifty-two years after the war, an interstellar union called the Galactic Federation repopulates the planet and sends colonists to the surface.

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. 69 parts make up this set; you can assemble three MER from it, with options for either early “unbraced” rack attachment, or later externally-upgraded braces for the rack.

It’s simple to use; I removed the aft pour stub, drilled a hole in the back to use a wire to hold the rack for painting, (the actual rack has a recess, which doesn’t need filling when finished) Rattle-can for primer and final finish, and it was ready to detail up and install.

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 is a basic replacement of the Tamiya kit Seat harness with a better item. The Tamiya seat belts are steel, and a bit difficult to bend into position. You also have to paint them; not so with the Eduard set! Pre-painted, easy to install, and looks fantastic in the end.

Careful installation paid off; I just followed the kit instructions, painted the plastic, and then installed the Eduard harnesses. Nothing difficult; just take your time and they fit great. See the pictures!

The usual 10 of 10 for subject and performance on this simple set, well done Eduard!

Wanting to make your P-51D just a bit different by showing the elevators in action? Aires has come to the rescue with a beautiful set to replace the horizontal tail surfaces for the North American P-51D Mustang. There are no supplied instructions; you simply swap out the kit provided plastic parts with the new Aires replacements. These Aires parts are specific replacements for the kit parts found in the Tamiya series of P-51D kits.

Aires has molded the stabilizer and elevator perfectly in light grey resin with no apparent bubbles. The Aires stabilizer and elevator are supplied on a single resin sprue with thin resin attachments to the parts that should minimize any cleanup.

Roy Sutherland has been around for a bit, providing resin details we never knew could exist, but now do because of his commitment to improving basic products. This set is one of four that I used on the new (but old) Revell B-1B… they are in Roy’s “Barracudacast” resin accessories branch of his company. On to the review!

This set is comprised of four sets of exhaust augmentor tubes, four augmentor flame holders, four sets of exhaust nozzles without turkey feathers, and three sets of support arms sufficient to detail all four nozzles. It is relatively simple in concept, but requires some mastery of measurement, plastic removal on parts, and care with removal of the support arms from the casting block. Roy also offers PDF instructions for those who need larger versions on his website.

History

The British 6 Pounder Anti-Tank gun was manufactured in the US, in 1942. In early 1943, the US Army adopted it for their use and called it the 57mm Anti-Tank gun M1. The version adopted for the army was modified and supplied to the army with a modified towing hitch and “Combat” wheels. Most branches of the US Army considered the weapon as too heavy and it was also hampered by the lack of ammunition. In 1943 only simple armor piercing ammo was manufactured. It wasn’t until late 1944 before adequate AP ammunition was made available. The M1 could penetrate 75mm of armor angled at 30 degrees at a distance of 3000 meters. In spite of the shortcomings, by early 1944 the M1 had become the standard towed anti-tank gun of the US Army Divisions. The prime mover for the M1 57mm was the Dodge WC-63 and the White halftrack. Over 10,000 M1’s were built for the US Army and 4,242 for the British Army. The M1 was also used by the Free French and Russian armies.

Roy Sutherland has been around for a bit, providing resin details we never knew could exist, but now do because of his commitment to improving basic products. This set is one of four that I used on the new (but old) Revell B-1B… they are in Roy’s “Barracudacast” resin accessories branch of his company. On to the review!

This set is comprised of eight Main wheel and tire assemblies, and two Nose wheel and tire assemblies for the B-1B. Sidewall letterngdetail is provided, and the tread is fantastic and deep like the actual high-speed radials used on the Bone. The original release of this kit back in 1983 contained styrene wheels with rubber tires. We know how well that works over time… so did Revell… so about 10 years or so ago, a couple of re-releases before this one, a set of styrene tire halves were provided to replace the rubber versions. Problem was, they weren’t accurate, being more balloon-like with almost no tread. Sometimes ya can’t win as a manufacturer.

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 anniversary 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:

History

The P-51 Mustang is probably the most well-known fighter aircraft ever built. Originally designed to fill an order from the British government, the P-51 was built by North American Aviation. The first examples did not show much promise until a switch was made to the Rolls-Royce engine. By 1944, the skies over Europe were dominated by the allies thanks to fighters like the P-51.

This kit was my first experience with a product from Orange Model, and to my knowledge, this was the first kit that they introduced, at least it was the first one that I noticed. This was actually a fun kit to build, as the engineering was on par with some of the manufacturers known for kits that are nearly flawless to assemble. The plane itself built up with very few issues, the tow tractor that was included provided some challenges with the small parts, and photoetched items, and the photoetch tie downs require the most experience to complete. If you are interested in adding a 1/72 scale copy of the US Navy’s newest jet to your collection, this is currently the only one available, and it is a great kit.

Plusmodel has recently released some interesting 1/35th scale diorama accessories. The Fordson N-big Tractor is another one of them. It is an entire kit and has to be one of the best if not the best resin kit I have built. The parts were flawlessly cast with little to no flash. The fit was exceptional.

From the instruction sheet: Fordson tractors were produced in Cork, Ireland. The first of them, Fordson N-Big left the plant in 1927. In 1933 the production was transferred to Dagenham in England and this factory produced 136,000 units so the type became the most common tractor in the U.K. during WWII. It was powered by a 4-cylinder diesel or petrol engine, both of 4.4 L (267 ci) with app. 25 HP power.

The Panzer III was one of the two work horses of the German Wehrmacht , together with the Panzer IV, serving on all fronts during the Second World War. And while the modeler has been well provided for when it comes to the later models (Ausf. E onwards) of the Panzer III, the earlier versions have been sorely neglected. Until now: Miniart of Kiev, Ukraine has announced that they will be doing the Panzer III Ausf. B, C and D in 1/35th scale. If the Panzer III Ausf. C kit under discussion today is anything to go by; we are all in for a real treat.

Scale Aircraft Conversions has released replacement landing gear for the Wingnut Wings 1/32 Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a “Hisso”. The supplied items include two main gear legs and the main gear axle. All three parts are loose in the blister package. You will need to remove the metal sprue from the main gear legs.

This replacement set will provide stronger landing gear that won’t sag over time, and are somewhat adjustable if necessary to obtain proper alignment. Even with zero previous experience in using white metal parts, this set will provide an upgrade that most modelers will have no problem installing. Scale Aircraft Conversions does not use lead in their white metal mix, so the builder does not have to be concerned with that perceived hazard.

History

First flown in February 1933 as the Kawanishi “J” type floatplane, it was accepted by the Imperial Japanese Navy in May 1934 and given the designation “Type 94 E7K1 Reconnaissance Seaplane” and 530 of all types in the E7K series were built. The first versions were powered by a 600 horsepower V-12, liquid cooled engine. In 1938 the aircraft was re-engined with a radial engine and was known as the E7K2. The E7K was constructed of welded copper/steel tubing and was fabric covered and the floats were of all metal construction allowing it to operate in heavy seas and was viewed as the best of its type as it was able to stay aloft for up 12 hours. The E7K type stayed in frontline service up to 1943 when it was relegated to second line duties.

Thank you to Tamiya, Inc. for providing this excellent kit for review and to the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me to document my build experiences. Sharing this review with the scale modeling community would not be possible without the exceptional support of the IPMS Reviewer Corps. Thank you everyone!

The Mosquito is one of my favorite aircraft with its underdog success story and stunning operational history. Tamiya’s representation of the fighter-bomber version of the Mosquito is superb. Please refer to an earlier IPMS pre-build review of this kit that describes the richness of the kit parts, decals, photo etch materials, instructions and research documents.

Geoff Stunkard provides an insight into his decades of experience as a photographer, writer and editor. If you have ever lifted a copy of Mopar Muscle magazine, you know who he is. Currently he is the owner of Quarter Milestones Publishing based in Johnson County, Tennessee. Geoff Stunkard has delivered what is perhaps the definitive history of the development and racing of the Chrysler 426 Hemi engine.

Geoff Stunkard traces the history of the Hemi engine’s development at Chrysler, from the first Hemi installed in the Republic XP-47H in 1945 to the last in 1969, the A279 project. Of course, Chrysler’s merger with Germany’s Daimler-Benz AG in 1998 has since resurrected the Hemi for street and competition, but Geoff Stunkard focus for this book is the first and second generation Hemi engines.

SAC has been around for a few years, and to my mind fills a serious need for models. As kits get more expensive, they have more detail, weigh more, and you have more invested in it. Plastic landing gear is not such a great idea in this case

This set adds structural strength to the huge Revell B-1B. It also prevents the model from taking damage as simply as plastic or resin gear would. And face it, with all the resin I just put on this kit, it needs metal gear

Now, I know many have not or will not build this kit. It’s huge. It has presence. And it’s an accurate rendition of the “Bone” .For the most part. But with work, it looks great when complete. This model is now on display on the overhead desk of my pod in our B-1/B-52 System Program office, and has garnered a lot of attention…

Roy Sutherland has been around for a bit, providing resin details we never knew could exist, but now do because of his commitment to improving basic products. This set is one of four that I used on the new (but old) Revell B-1B… they are in Roy’s “Barracudacast” resin accessories branch of his company. On to the review!

This set is comprised of nine antennas for the most recent upgrades to the B-1;

Preparation is simple; soak for a while in a cleaner like automotive spray tire cleaner (I used “bleach-white”), 409, or whatever, to get rid of the silicone mold lubricant that is inherent in resin casting. Run an old tooth brush over all, rinse fully with water, then allow to dry.