SAC produces replacement metal landing gear for many aircraft kits in many different scales. The replacement gear can be a big help in larger, heavier kits that may require lots of weight in the nose area to allow them to sit correctly or for gear that is inherently fragile in its design.

This set is for the newer mold Revell of Germany Panavia Tornado kits (GR.1/IDC/ECR), a great kit by itself, with excellent detail and engineering. The SAC gear, for this application, gives the builder a comparable level of excellent detail (see the side-by-side photo of the assembled and painted parts and try to decide which is kit and which is SAC) and one less step in the assembly process of the main gear legs. The one detractor I found in using the SAC main gear legs is that the attachment block/peg was not properly molded on either gear leg, so proper alignment and location would be left to the Mk. 1 eyeball of the builder.

This is an excellent book that briefly summarizes many of the major campaigns of the Pacific War, and provides detailed descriptions of the significant sea and land battles. The book is 264 pages, plus 56 pages of black-and-white photographs, and eight pages of colored maps of several of the military operations. Each of the chapters are written by different authors and have previously been published as separate titles.

The Forward by Captain Dale Dye, USMC (retired) prefaces the book, describing the war in the Pacific as a dollar job on a dime budget. When the rest of the country was worrying about Europe and Hitler, the fighting men in the Pacific had a perverse pride fighting an obsessive enemy without the publicity that attended allied advances in Europe.

Richard Marmo is publishing a series of ebooks under the name of “The Marmo Modelbulding Guide Series”. This is the 3^rd installment of the series. These ebooks are available in epub, .mobi and/or .pdf format, based on your preferences.

I have read this guide regarding to model math and scale jumping and honestly, I think there is good information on it, but the way it is presented makes it a bit difficult to follow.

The book mainly deals on how to convert scale drawings from one given scale to a different one. This book includes the “Marmo’s Three Laws”. While the name of them is grandiose, they are accurate from a mathematical point of view and helpful to avoid common mistakes.

The J2M Raiden (Allied code name Jack) was designed by Jiro Horikoshi (of A6M Zero fame) and built by Mitsubishi for the Imperial Japanese Navy as a land-based point interceptor. It was designed to counter high altitude bombers. It relied more upon speed, climb-rate, and armament over maneuverability to perform this task. Initial production aircraft suffered from numerous problems with its Mitsubishi Kasei 13 engine, which in turn delayed production until solutions were found. The Kasei 13 was eventually replaced with the Kasei 23a engine on J2M2 and J2M3 production aircraft. The J2M5 Type 33 aircraft, represented by the model under review here, featured an enlarged cockpit and canopy and a Kasei 26 supercharged engine, giving this variant more speed at high altitudes with a consequent lowering of effective range.

Review

Airfix has released a Jet Engine kit, part of their line of “Engineering Models”. This is an interesting kit, as it intends to explain the basics of how a jet engine operates and it introduces the modeler to some very basic electrical skills.

The kit is molded in red, white, blue, clear and silver plastic. It requires no paint and it actually is put together using (dare I say?) screws rather than plastic glue! It even provides you with a screwdriver.

There are about 50 parts which are well molded and the parts themselves require little clean up before assembly. The instructions guide you through the electrical connections of a handle, starter button and mini-electric motor/blower which actually spins the engine.

Revell’s PBY-5A Catalina has been around for 20 years now and I’ve seen quite a few built. It looks large and impressive when finished. The kit comes in two styles - the “-5” which has no wheel wells, and the “-5A” which does. Eduard has released sets for the PBY-5A which allow improvements to the entire airframe. This set (#49697) addresses the cockpit and interior.

The set comes with two beautiful photoetch frets. One is colorized and includes a multi-part instrument panel, a full set of seat belts, and various panels and boxes for the cockpit. The second is not colorized and includes replacement parts for the cockpit floors, the nose gunners floor, replacement rudder pedals and linkages, ammo storage racks for the waist gunners area, and again, various boxes and panels.

The F-16 Falcon has been around for quite a few years now and it never ceases to amaze me just how many new and interesting ways they have found to mark it. Caracal Models has produced decals for one very interesting and cool set of markings. This sheet provides markings for the specially decorated 2014 flagship F-16C (87-0247) belonging to the 482FW based at Homestead AFB. Complete markings for the spectacular shark decoration and stenciling is provided on the decal sheet. The toothy mouth even sits next to the intake!

Inside the package, you get an excellent reference-sheet indicating just which F-16C to use (Block 30 with GE Engine and a MCID big mouth intake), color call-outs and stencil locations, and the web site for location of the masking templates if you might prefer painting the markings.

Academy did a fine job packaging this kit with parts bagged and contained in a sturdy box. Academy is very clear in their instructions to examine the parts (before opening the bags) and contact them if you find any missing or damaged pieces. My kit was complete so let move on. The next thing I noticed was the fact their seemed to be several turrets and hull top pieces. More than what is necessary to build a single Tiger I kit. In fact there are 3 turret tops, two pairs of turret sides, 2 hull top parts sets, 2 glacis plates, 2 pair of fenders and a few extra wheels. I’m not a Tiger expert so I’m not sure what the differences are between Early, Mid and Late but it is obvious this kit covers more than one tank. Included with the styrene parts are a set of photoetch grill covers and a photo etch zimmerit application tool. The kit uses a rubber band track system and what is really cool is the fact the decals were printed by .

Caracal Models second release for the ICM 1/48 C-45 Expeditor covers this plane in service outside the United States with a total of five sets of markings. Inside the package, there is a seven page booklet which has full profiles of each plane (left and right as well as top and bottom), a page of color call outs and the cover showing all five variations.

The five options are:

In one of the latest additions to the Hasegawa line of modern military jet aircraft comes the venerable A-10C in a special release that includes markings for Fighter Squadron 184, the “Flying Razorbacks” as depicted on the box top. Also included are markings for the 163rd Fighter Squadron, the “Blacksnakes”, who operate out of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The kit builds up reasonably well, as I have often found to be the case with Hasegawa products, and will make a fine addition for those wanting to add an updated Warthog to his or her collection.

For those of you who might be skeptical of building a snap tite kit (too easy, not detailed enough, kids toys) this would be the perfect opportunity to put your uncertainty aside and try one out. I had some reservations myself but after watching my 18 year old son bang one of these out in a weekend and it looking purely awesome on the shelf, I though I could do no worse.

I chose to build mine as a representation of the Las Vegas Metro Police Departments Ford F-150. Truthfully they do no currently have any Raptors in inventory but I thought this would make a great fantasy vehicle that is oh so close to the real thing. Included is a picture of the patrol unit I was trying to emulate. Being as such I need to add a few things to the model like light bar, radio, shotgun, push bumper, donuts, etc. The decals I made for the unit where done on the laptop and printed with an HP printer on clear decal stock. Obviously none of these items came from the Revell kit.

When the United States first started its bombing campaign in North Vietnam, it discovered that its ability to combat the sophisticated air defense system was very limited and early on it became apparent that the AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile had a number of serious limitations, particularly in its range, small warhead and limited seeker. In effort to overcome some of these limitations, the Navy worked with General Dynamics to develop an air-launched version of the Navy’s RIM-66 Standard surface-to-air missile. By using an existing missile platform, development proceeded fairly quickly and the result was the AGM-78 Standard ARM (anti-radiation missile). Early versions of the AGM-78 were actually outfitted with the same seeker head as the Shrike, but as the Standard ARM had a much larger warhead, a larger engine and a gimbaled seeker head, it was more flexible and effective than the Shrike.

Growing up along the Central Coast of California it was common to see Woodies for all types throughout town, at the car shows, school parking lots, and definitely at the beach. They were as familiar as the Volkswagen Vans and Chevrolet Corvairs. Not as frequent as Volkswagen Bugs or Ford Mustangs. I always thought of them as beatnik wagons as those that drove them seamed a little disheveled looking.

AMT Round 2’s re-release of the 1941 Ford Custom Woody is a valued addition for those modelers who prefer the quieter and more functional hot rods of the time. Face it, not too easy to haul 2 surf boards 30 miles up the coast to your favorite break in the back of a Ford 1929 T bucket. Panel wagons and Woodies were the main ride for the surfer beach bums of the 60’s and 70’s.

Dmitry Khazanov is a widely respected Russian researcher of Soviet aviation in World War 2. He is the author of more than 20 books and numerous articles about Soviet military aviation. Dmitry Khazanov, joined by co-author Aleksander Medved, and illustrators Jim Laurier, Gareth Hector, Andrey Yurgenson present a depiction of the each side’s aircraft and the environment they engaged each other in.

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter inflicted a tremendous beating on the VVS’ early Yakolev fighters early on, taking full advantage of Germany’s combat hardened pilots. Many of Germany’s scoring aces benefited from the Messerschmitt’s technical superiority over the overweight and underpowered Yak-1. Eventually the tide turned as the VVS gained experience, improved their tactics and upgraded their aircraft. Dmitry Khazanov paints a detailed portrait for mastery over the frozen skies of the Eastern Front between the Bf 109 and the Yakolev fighters.

I don’t usually build aircraft which do not have propellers but I like Airfix models and I like the Harrier. It’s an incredible bit of engineering that allows a jet to hover like a helicopter! So, when Hornby-Airfix provided this kit as a review sample to IPMS/USA, I jumped (no pun on the phrase Jump-Jet intended) at the opportunity build an Airfix Harrier.

Caracal Models has scaled down their 1/48 T-45 series into 1/72, which can fit the Testor’s/Italeri version of the kit. The decal set comes with five options, which are:

When the United States first started its bombing campaign in North Vietnam, it discovered that its ability to combat the sophisticated air defense system was very limited and early on it became apparent that the AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile had a number of serious limitations, particularly in its range, small warhead and limited seeker. In effort to overcome some of these limitations, the Navy worked with General Dynamics to develop an air-launched version of the Navy’s RIM-66 Standard surface-to-air missile. By using an existing missile platform, development proceeded fairly quickly and the result was the AGM-78 Standard ARM (anti-radiation missile). Early versions of the AGM-78 were actually outfitted with the same seeker head as the Shrike, but as the Standard ARM had a much larger warhead, a larger engine and a gimbaled seeker head, it was more flexible and effective than the Shrike.

The Mk. 20 Rockeye II (also known as the CBU-100 cluster bomb) is an American designed cluster bomb. The Rockeye II is intended for use against armored targets and each canister includes 247 anti-armor bomblets. The Rockeye was first used in Vietnam and has been steadily modified and improved over the years since. The Rockeye was used extensively by American forces in Desert Storm to attack Iraqi vehicles.’

The GBU-10 weapons system consists of a Mk.84 2,000 lb. bomb coupled with a laser guidance system. The Paveway II guidance system replaced the Paveway I system beginning in the early 1970’s and features a simpler but more reliable seeker and pop-out wings in the tail fins to increase the bomb’s performance.

The AGM-88 HARM (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile) was developed to replace the AGM-45 Shrike and the AGM-78 Standard ARM. Unlike the Shrike and the Standard ARM, the HARM was designed from the outset as a SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) weapon, not an adaption of an existing weapon. The HARM system includes the missile, the LAU-118 launcher and HARM specific avionics in the launch aircraft. HARM has the ability to detect, acquire and select a radiating threat and once launched operates in a “fire and forget” autonomous capacity, freeing the launch aircraft to maneuver or to attack another target. The HARM proved its lethality during operations over Iraq during both Desert Storm and Desert Fox. It was used by the F-4G, A-6, A-7, Tornado and the EA-6B and is currently carried on the F-16CJ, F-18A/C/D/E, EF-18G and other aircraft.

Thanks to Round 2 models for sending us this “blast from the past” kit, and leadership for generously firing it my way to relive what could have been for a very young modeller…

First, this is a BIG model. A yard’s worth…(36 inches)… Suitable for R/C (Many have tried and succeeded), display (with work) or free-running (for those with big enough pools… it’s too easy to lose a non-controlled ship in a local pond).

The box art is an attention-getter: using the original 1964 box art is a great idea; nostalgia sells. (Yep, I was six at the time when I first saw this kit). It was what got my “COOL MODEL” factor spun up. (For those interested, I saw this kit at “Who hobbies” in Rapid City, South Dakota, where my father was stationed at the time as a missile support helicopter pilot flying H-19’s and later UH-1F’s out of Ellsworth AFB… that’s another story, as that hobby shop is, last time I checked, still in business!)

I am a “History of the Battle of Britain” enthusiast, and as an offshoot of that enthusiasm I am a follower of all things “RAF”. When given the opportunity to review Guidelines Publications new “Camo & Markings” book I jumped at the chance.

As an enthusiast of the “historical aspect”, I found this publication to be superb. As a scale modeler I found this book to be an excellent reference for colors and markings of the RAF. You will not be disappointed!

The Kit

This review covers the Battlestar Galactica Viper Mark II (2 Pack) 1:72 Scale Moebius Model Kit #957. A new release, this model should be readily available at most outlets. These are resized versions of the original 1:32 scale model. Moebius designates this as a Skill Level 3 kit for modelers 12 years and older. It includes two main trees containing most of parts for each craft. It is molded in white styrene with a transparent canopy, display stand, waterslide decals and an extensive instruction manual.

There are markings for different craft in the decal sheet. I have to give Moebius Models credit for releasing this model and to IPMS for providing the review sample.

History Brief

The iconic T-34 medium tank has certainly left its mark in the pages of history. It’s one of the highest produced and longest serving tanks of all time. Identifying T-34 variants can be frustrating and complicated. There were several differing turret castings between factories. New features were commonly added in the middle of production runs while other features were deleted. In addition damaged or older tanks were rebuilt or retrofitted and the addition of newer-model equipment and new turrets was a common practice. Our sample tank is from factory 112 located in Gorki. It appears to be a late version with a ‘mushroom’ type turret featuring early or late style copula and venting arrangements options.

This set replaces parts A8, B11 and B12 from Kitty Hawk Kit number KH80115. The detail quality is to the normal high standard of the Quickboost products. As usual there is no flash or other imperfections. The parts, once removed from the mold base, are ready to install. The parts will make a great improvement on the kit parts, which have no fine details as these do. A great price for such fine additional details for this kit.

Thanks to Aires/Quickboost for providing the review sample.