Wojciech Zmyslony and Wojciech Sankowski author the latest in Mushroom Model Publications’ series of aircraft used in the Polish Air Force. This volume’s focus are the piston engine Yak fighters deployed by the ‘People’s Polish Air Force’ during WWII and the late 40s.

The front and back covers are by Marek Ryś of a Yak-1b, one of three aircraft adorned with a presentation inscription.

I counted 177 black and white photos along with 2 color photos of museum aircraft. Thierry Vallet contributes 42 color side views as well as top and bottom views as appropriate. Colors are even called out with Russian AMT and US FS numbers. The great part of these color side views is they are backed up with period photos of the aircraft that is being portrayed. Wojciech Zmyslony and Wojciech Sankowski also include two tables (see below) that detail the date, unit, aircraft, markings, and pilot.

The Table of Contents focuses on the following sections:

The 1966 Chevy Fleetside pickup by Revell was screaming for some old school modifications.

Engine

The 283 ci engine was bored out and I added a high rise manifold with 2 4 barrel carbs and chrome finned valve covers. It’s wired and plumbed.

Interior

Kit interior was pretty basic but that’s the way it would have been in 1966. Door panel and dash engraving was very crisp and easy to detail paint. I tossed the bench seat and added bucket seats and a console. A polished aluminum steering column was made with a gear shifter and turn signal lever added. The interior is also flocked.

Body

Smooth, crisp lines and no flash. Emblems and door handles are provided on the chrome tree. I decided to leave them off for this old school custom. Front and rear pans were rolled and holes drilled for lights. Grill came from the parts box.

This is Ampersand’s first nautical book, a new series that promises to focus on US capital ships of World War II. It follows the format as David Doyle’s “Flying Wings” and “Consolidated B-36” books, but is in hard cover. Ampersand got their start in 1993 when Pat Stansell distributed a free issue of Military Miniatures in Review at the IPMS Nationals in Atlanta. Ampersand joined forces with HobbyLink Japan in 2008 and have continued to expand their military AFV publications ever since.

NEWS FLASH!! If you have one in your stash, throw away that awful old resin 1/48 F-16XL conversion set! You need not wait until you achieve master modeler skills levels to finally attempt the advanced surgery necessary to produce an example of this rare aircraft from those hunks of resin. Skunkmodels Workshop has finally come to our rescue with an affordable, 1/48 scale, injection molded F-16XL.

Two F-16XL airframes were built by General Dynamics in their Fort Worth plant in the late seventies. One single-place and one two-seat example of this truly beautiful airframe were completed. They competed unsuccessfully against the F-15E Strike Eagle in the enhanced Tactical Fighter competition in the early 1980’s, and the two examples were then turned over to NASA for research.

This prop is not included in the Airfix kit. The Rotol prop sports a different blade shape with a wider chord. The spinner is the same as provided in the Aires replacement for the kit part QB72 491 reviewed elsewhere on this site. The spinner puts the joints lines in the right place and in the right scale. Be sure to cut the blades off the casting block to allow the maximum shaft length. The spinner holes go through the part and the long blade shafts help with the alignment of the blades. Check the blades carefully because the leading and trailing edges are slightly different shapes and I managed to put one in backwards. The tool also has a hole to center your drill so you can drill out the spinner for a prop shaft. This part is a welcome addition to an already cool little kit.

Thank you Aires Quick Boost for jazzing up the Defiant.

During the latter years of World War II, the Luftwaffe was scrambling to finds ways to combat the ever increasing aerial onslaught of the Allied bombing campaign. Many solutions were proposed, some very successful, such as the Me 262, while others never left the drawing board. Some very odd proposals actually made it off the drawing board. The Bachem 349 Natter was one of these odd ideas that were actually in the test phase when the war ended.

This set replaces the horizontal stabilizers and elevators of the base kit. While the Airfix parts are certainly nice in their own right, this set allows the control surfaces to be posed and have slightly thinner trailing edges for a more scale appearance. Be very careful trimming the resin away from the mounting tabs and test fit to ensure as close a fit as the kit parts provide. The elevators fit very well into a recess molded into the stabilizers. If you want to have the rear control surfaces offset this is the way to achieve that. Thanks to Aires for the sample of a well done set.

This is direct replacement for the Airfix part. At first glance you might question why a replacement is needed as the kit part is actually very nice. Upon closer examination you’ll see that Aires has spared the trouble of drilling out the exhaust tips to represent the open ends of the pipes. It’s worth the price of admission if you what to avoid that tedious task. The parts are easy to get off the casting block and a perfect match for the mounting holes on the base kit. Aires also makes another set with fishtail ends (set # QB 72 483) reviewed elsewhere in this site that don’t come in the Airfix kit. Thanks to Aires for improving an already great kit.

Academy is one of the most eclectic kit manufacturers on the market. Not only do they make traditional models in a range of scales, they also make educational kits such as this one. It’s nice to see a mainstream company try a variety of strategies to entice younger modelers into the hobby.

The Kit

There are four sprues, all of translucent plastic that are of different colors. The plastic is on the soft side, but certainly strong enough to meet the demands of moving the kayak through the water. For those of us not mechanically inclined, the motor and gear box are pre-assembled, so no fears of trying to trying to become an electrician or mechanical engineer. There is a small sheet of stickers for the little robot man, but that’s about it.

Aires has come to the rescue with a major enhancement to the anti-tank 30 mm 2A42 cannon supplied in the Italeri 1/48 Kamov Ka-50 Hokum kit (tan plastic). Revell has also released the Italeri kit in black plastic with both the Werewolf and Black Shark markings along with more extensive stencils. There are no supplied instructions; you simply swap out the kit provided plastic parts with the new Aires replacements.

When you mention the Vietnam Air War, most people think of the F-4 Phantom or the F-105 Thunderchief, not some slow-moving, single-piston-engined airplane like the O-1 Bird Dog. But this little airplane played a pivotal role in close air support role over South Vietnam. The Model USA kit has been out for some time, but the markings options have been limited until now. Thanks to AOA Decals we now have plenty of marking options.

The Academy F-4 series finally brought the Phantom into the present with regards to mold technology. I’ve said it many times I hate to mask canopies. Eduard’s masks are made out of Kabuki tape which makes them flexible and able to conform to bends in the windows. In my opinion Kabuki tape is the premier masking medium.

This set is designed for the Academy F-4D, but it will fit the Academy or Eduard F-4C as well. You will need to use liquid mask to complete this set. There are 12 masks included in the set. This set will ensure that the canopy has crisp edges with minimal work.

These worked to perfection on my recent Eduard F-4D. They were easy to add and easy to remove. They performed flawlessly. If you are careful you can replace them back on the sheet and maybe able to use them again.

Background

From Italeri’s website: The Fiat 806 Grand Prix adopted significant innovations for its time. The Fiat 806 was, in fact, the “progenitor” of the modern Formula One racing cars. Developed and produced by FIAT, the Italian automobile manufacturer in 1927, it could be considered the first Grand Prix car ever built. Thanks to its 180 HP 12 cylinder engine, the Fiat 806 was able to reach and even exceed the speed of 240 Km/h. However, the most important innovations were made in the development of the chassis, mechanics and bodywork. The engine and gearbox unit was, in fact, located between the two chassis bars in order to optimize the performance and the drivability.