The US Navy's New Mexico Class and Tennessee Class battleships mounted the 14in/50 rifles as main armament. The Trumpeter/Pit-Road 1/700 kit of the 1941 version of the USS Tennessee provides injected gun barrels both with and without blast bags. The injected barrels are molded in relatively soft grey plastic. Removal from the sprue results in a large attachment point remnant. Additionally, the barrel muzzles are molded solid and the small diameter, in 1/700 scale, makes them hard to drill.

Recently I was given the opportunity by IPMS USA to review Aires Messerschmitt Bf 109G Correct Undercarriage Bay for the 1/48 Eduard 109G series of kits. One of the first things to notice with this product is the excellent presentation of the packaging with the sealed flap on the back of package to allow for easy access to parts.

Upon removal of the resin undercarriage parts you will notice the great detail that we have come to expect from Aires QB products. Once you have removed the undercarriage parts from the resin base you will need to do a little clean-up of the flash with your tool of choice on the openings of the bays (I used the tip of my X-Acto knife). After the flash has been removed they are ready to be glued into the wheel wells of the Eduard Bf 109G.

From the Inside Cover

With their deadly curved katanas, colorful lacquered armor and massive bows, the samurai were the ultimate warriors. Bound by their famous code: bushido, the way of the warrior, they were renowned for their martial prowess and suicidal bravery. In this beautiful new book featuring stunning prints, artwork and photographs, Stephen Turnbull explores their history from its earliest origins, through the Gempei War, Mongol invasions and the Period of Warring States to their tragic demise in the modern period with the Satsuma rebellion of 1877. Examining all aspects of samurai life, their homes and strongholds, beliefs and codes as well as their martial upbringing and equipment, Turnbull clears away the myths surrounding these legendary fighters to tell the complete story of history’s most iconic warrior culture.

PJ Production has jumped in to help 1/48 Mirage III series model builders. This new release provides one Matra AS 37 Martel along with the pylon as 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 Miniatures, 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 rear 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 missile body. Gap filling super glue with baking soda quickly solved the issue.

Meng Models exploded on the scene several years ago and has since built a reputation for interesting subjects and well-designed kits. With the release of a Russian Light Anti-Aircraft gun set, I am sure that their star continues to rise for the scale modeling community. You get four weapons – ZPU-1, ZPU-2. ZPU-4, and ZU-23-2 as well as several of their Chinese equivalents. As part of Meng’s Supply series, this is certainly a welcome addition to those who enjoy modeling anti-aircraft artillery. With sixteen sprues and one fret of etched brass, the parts are well molded. They have taken advantage of advances in molding technology and there are many very small and fragile parts. Take care when you remove them from the sprue. The instructions are in a booklet form and come with color profiles of each weapon. You can choose any color you want as long as it’s Russian Green. There are no decals or clear parts.

Iveco is an Italian truck manufacturer that builds some of the latest trucks and commercial vehicles in Europe. Acitoinox is a truck accessory parts company, and plays a big part in the fancy stripes and mirrored finish stainless steel 40^th anniversary scheme of this subject.

The Iveco Stralis Hi-Way is a re-issued kit with new decals and adhesive “chrome” dress up “stickers”. It comes in a sturdy box that is well sized for the amount of sprues inside. The sprues are mostly individually bagged and protected.

This truck is beautifully detailed with parts reproduced faithfully to the original - outside and inside. I referred to various internet sites for picture references. The plastic is given in approximate colors of black, blue, white and chrome, so it could be built with no painting.

The instructions are well laid out with photo like pictures, a good parts map and paint recommendations.

OK, let’s build this thing!

Eduard continues to amaze with the release of its Bf-109G series of models. They’ve taken the kit and provided you with some impressive detail right out of the box. However, they also have their photo etch line and the Brassin line of resin. It was a natural to add this detail to their kits. The problem was that as you add more stuff the aftermarket stuff would become cost prohibitive. Eduard has an answer for that. They offer options in the BigSin series that bundles some of their sets into a lower cost offering. Same great aftermarket but at a lower cost.

This BigSin set offers the new Brassin multi-media cockpit set, fabric seatbelts, and a photo etch set. There is no part of the model that is not addressed. Let me look at each set separately.

Hot on the heels of the release of the new Kinetic 1/48 F-18C, Scale Aircraft conversions has released a set of replacement gear in white metal. The set comprises 12 parts and includes both the main and nose landing gear.

A couple notes on the SAC parts: The kit nose gear leg has several ejector pin marks and the top of the main strut is two parts. The SAC kit has no ejector pin marks and the main leg is a single solid part. You will need to drill out the main leg to attach the top section but that’s simple. Second, that main gear are complete replacement parts, but the nose gear will have to have several parts added, such as the nose gear light and the landing lights.

Master Models is a company that makes turned brass aftermarket parts, specifically pitot tubes, refueling probes, and antennas.

The first thing I would like to point out is how good the packaging and instruction sheet is. The packaging consists of a zip-lock type bag while the part is in a smaller bag, keeping it from moving all over. The instruction sheet is very clear and easy to understand, only needing 3 steps. Cut off original part, Drill a hole (0.3 mm), Glue in the new metal part. Just be careful drilling the hole, especially in 1/72. You have to put each antenna group together which includes 3 parts. Mine got a little bent because of how small they are. I needed to use my visor with the highest magnification. Others will probably have an easier time than me if they are used to putting such small delicate parts together.

Parts Count

• 71 White styrene plastic parts on ten spure with two individually wrapped
• 69 Chrome styrene plastic parts on five spure
• 10 Clear styrene plastic parts on one spure
• 4 Vinyl rubber tires
• 1 5 ¾” x 5 1/8” decal sheet
• 1 16 pages, 24 step instruction booklet

All parts are in separate sealed plastic bags and appear to be free of any flash. The chrome is bright and free of scratches. Clear parts are individually wrapped and appear free of scratches. The molds for the rubber vinyl tires appear to be fresh and without flash or mutation. Of note, the white styrene plastic this kit is molded in is extremely easy to work with; carves easily, sands well and reacts nicely with liquid solvent style glues like Tamiya Extra Thin Cement or Tenex 7. Decals have many options, are crisp printed and covered with protective wax paper.

This kit features three figures depicting Wehrmacht soldiers fighting in the battles around Smolensk and Roslavl in 1941. From the start of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, the German forces army had enjoyed many quick successes and had advanced over 300 miles in less than 3 weeks. However, when they encountered the Soviets in the region around Smolensk, the Germans ran into heavier than expected resistance and were delayed for three months from July to September 1941. Although, the Soviet counterattack failed, and resulted in huge losses, including three Soviet armies, this defensive battle slowed the German advance and showed that a Blitzkrieg to capture Moscow was not going to be as easy as expected.

Recently I was given the opportunity by IPMS USA to review Quickboost's Messerschmitt Bf 109G Exhaust for the 1/48 Eduard 109G series of kits. One of the first things to notice with this product is the excellent presentation of the packaging with the sealed flap on the back of package to allow for easy access to parts.

Upon removal of the resin exhaust you will notice the great detail that we have come to expect from Aires Quickboost products. The molding on the exhaust is excellent and they come off of the resin block with little effort, I tried a couple of different methods of removal, on the first one I removed with razor saw and the second on I was able to score with a blade and remove easily.

Tom Cooper and David Nicolle's Arab MiG series is an incredible history that addresses the Arab air forces of Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria and from 1955 through 1973. Although MiG aircraft dominate the story, all Post-WWII Arab aircraft are included. The authors have been able to access official archives as well as the combatants involved to provide a unique perspective of the Middle East conflicts. Volume one in this series, published November 19, 2009, covered the background of the Arab air forces from 1955 focusing on MiG-15 and MiG-17 fighters. Volume two, published October 19, 2011, addressed the Arab air force supersonic fighters from 1956 through 1967. Volume three in the Arab MiGs series focuses on the Arab air forces in the June 1967 War. Three additional volumes follow in this series, all with the same thick 256 glossy page count. I counted 148 black and white photographs, 28 color pictures, 17 color side profiles, and three maps.