Are you the type of person that likes to go to the end of the book and read the ending first? Well if you are, here is what you need to know before you start this kit:
Seats and seatbelts are the two biggest things that are visible in the cockpit. Eduard has been trying to get the look of seatbelts to look like the real thing with the minimal amount of effort for the modeler. They’ve gone from having unpainted photo etch belts, then they were pre-painted, then there was Fabric and lately the Super Fabric. Well enter the latest addition to the seatbelt line, STEEL.
This set contains EIGHT sets of seatbelts for aircraft such as the Bf-109, FW-190 or Me-262. But what is so special about them? Well to start out the belts are .1mm thick at the thickest, such as areas around the buckles. The ‘fabric’ portion is actually only .04mm thick making this realistically thin and easy to shape. They are slightly weathered to make them less stark.
This is the detail upgrade for Brengun’s Bachem Natter kit, BRP144001 which I have previously reviewed.
The Brengun Natter kit is a double kit, 2 in a box. The PE/resin upgrade also comes as a double set. So you get two sets of rocket motors, and PE for two Natters. I’ve scanned the PE Fret to show the parts are doubled up. It’s also interesting that there are six part number 8’s and five part number 11s. I needed all of these, as they’re VERY tiny and easily lost.
The PE upgrade is for the cockpit, the rocket motor mounts, and some exterior additions.
If you are building a 1/32 diorama of a modern USAF aircraft, this Crew Chief and a roll around tool box would be a great addition. This kit also includes two drills, two slim notebooks, and a PC notebook. If you place this kit next to a 1/32 aircraft, it will make a diorama or a display “come alive”.
Inside the package, you get a Crew Chief figure, toolbox, two drills, two manuals, and a PC Notebook. There are a total of 15 parts that make up this kit, all of which are well molded and have a great amount of detail.
The fit of the parts is excellent, with only a small amount of mold seams, all of which are easily filed and sanded smooth. One big note about assembling this kit – build the toolbox first, and doing that will make it easier to pose the figure in a good position. I guessed the height of the toolbox and assembled the figure first, and when I built the toolbox, I discovered that the figure’s arms were not posed the way I wanted them to be.
Finally, a proportionally accurate ’70 Dodge Charger is available for MOPAR enthusiast in 1:25th scale. This model does the immensely popular Fast & Furious muscle car justice and it’s sure to be a standout on your display shelf.
PJ Production has jumped in to help 1/48 Mirage III series model builders. This new release provides two AIM-9B Sidewinders along with the Aero 3 missile rails and the CES-3 pylons featured on the Dassault fighter. This set is probably focused on the new Kinetic 1/48 Mirage III kits, but it should also work well on the Academy, Eduard, Fonderie Minatures, Heller, and Hobby Boss kits; along with the older ESCI kit that has also been re-boxed by Revell and Italeri.
Notable is the re-sealable packaging that PJ Production uses that makes the parts easy to review and then stuff back into the package securely. You will want to be careful handling the resin fins as their small size makes them an easy sacrifice to the carpet monster. Painting instructions are included with the small instruction sheet. I found several air-bubbles in the resin parts, on the nose and the tail fins. Gap filling super glue with baking soda quickly solved the issue.
The newest in Osprey’s Aircraft of the Aces series is authored by István Toperczer, A Hungarian Air Force flight surgeon. Toperczer, has focused on the Vietnam War, specifically the North Vietnamese side, and has interviewed many of the North Vietnamese leading air aces over the last twenty years in his numerous visits to North Vietnam. He authored Squadron Signal’s “Air War Over North Vietnam: The People’s Air Force” in 1998, followed by Osprey’s Combat Aircraft 25 “MiG-17 and MiG-19 Units of the Vietnam War” and Osprey’s Combat Aircraft 29 “MiG-21 Units of the Vietnam War” in 2001. Schiffer’s hard bound “MiG Aces of the Vietnam War” was published in 2015. Illustrator Jim Laurier, a native of New England, provides the color profiles. Jim has been drawing since he could hold a pencil and throughout his life he has worked in many mediums creating artwork on a variety of subjects.
From the publisher: Once Nazi Germany had conquered Norway in 1940, just a handful of Luftwaffe Gruppen flying Bf 109 and Bf 110 fighters were able to dominate the air in the Arctic Circle. Yet as the dual threats of the Royal Air Force and Soviet air force grew, the Luftwaffe was forced to increase its fighter presence to full Geschwader strength with the formation of Jg 5 Eismeer (ice-sea) in early 1942. The struggle produced some of Germany’s leading aces, with pilots such as Theodor Weissenberger, Heinrich Ehrler, Walter Schuck, Franz Dörr, and Jakob Norz all achieving more than 100 victories.
It is no secret that I love the Eduard Bf-109Gs. While they are state of the art kits there is always something that can be ‘upgraded’. The latest Brassin Upgrade for the Eduard kit is an external drop tank and ETC rack.
Packaged in vacuformed packaging typical of many of the Brassin line, inside of this are two drop tanks and two ETC racks. Molded in light grey resin the two drop tanks represent different configuration tanks. One with crimped end and the other the simplified tank. The ETC racks are beautifully rendered and some of the most accurate racks available on the market. Inside this set is also a set of decals with the stencils in black and red.
What do you do when your kit is too large but your decals aren’t? Well if you are Eduard you offer the decals for sale to go with you newly released Bf-109G. These decals were designed for the Royal Class release of the Eduard 2014 Bf-109G release.
Packaged in a resealable package with card stock support, this 8.5 x 13 inch sheet is printed by Cartograf. There is also a small stencil sheet printed by Eduard. That means that they are as perfect as decals can be. The colors are perfectly in register. The decals are very thin and quite colorful.
The sheet covers SIXTEEN aircraft covering every version from the G-2 to the G-14. It also covers German, Italian, Finnish, Hungarian, Rumanian, and Swiss and aces like Hartmann, Barkhorn, Baer, Trautloft, Schroer and Gabler. The colors range from Natural Metal finish to the standard 74/75/76 to Desert colors of 78/79 as well as the beautiful greens of JG-54.
