all 2016

Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$7.95

This is a mask set for the Airfix Grumman F4F-4 kit recently issued by Hornby-Airfix. It consists of a small sheet of yellow masking paper die cut so that the parts required can be easily removed without damage and applied to the areas to be masked. These include the clear glass areas of the cockpit canopy and the armpit windows below the wing. They fit exactly, and should quicken the painting process.

Recommendation

These are worth getting, and would be useful on the Hasegawa and Hobby Boss kits as well.

Review Author
Steve Collins
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$12.95

Scale Aircraft Conversions is known for making replacement landing gear for a wide variety of kits in virtually every scale in which model aircraft are available. This set is designed to replace the plastic gear in the Academy F-35A kit. The packaging says it’s for F-35A/B, but Academy doesn’t do an F-35B yet. The only F-35B kit in 1/72 that I know of currently is the Fujimi kit and these landing gear are a bit shorter and less beefy than the ones in that kit. Perhaps the guys at SAC know something we don’t.

The set includes both main gear legs and the nose gear with their separate retraction struts. The struts are very sturdy and are made to be drop-in replacements for the kit parts. The parts require very little clean up, though some parts do occasionally become a bit bent during shipping. No worries there, though, since they are very easily straightened. Recommended, especially if you want landing gear that are sturdier than the kit ones.

Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$8.00

A perfect addition to your diorama or display base is this Aires Aerobonus figure. This WWI era German or Austro-Hungarian Aircraft Mechanic is carrying a replacement propeller. Aires Aerobonus provides a resin propeller along with a figure with separate arms and head on one pour stub with side bars to protect the figure. Of note is the re-sealable packaging that Quickboost uses that makes the parts easy to review and then stuff back into the package securely. The supplied instructions provide color drawings for painting.

Review Author
Mike Lamm
Published on
Company
Master Box Ltd
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$15.99

Master Box LTD is an Ukranian company specializing primarily in 1/24, 1/32, and 1/35 military and historical figures. They also produce some fantasy subjects, and a line of 1/72 WWI AFVs, and 1/35 vehicles. The company tends to package figures in groups to support a stand-alone vignette or diorama.

This kit features four figures from one of Germany’s elite infantry units during World War II, the German paratroopers, or Fallschirmjäger. Unlike other countries during World War II, the Fallschirmjäger were part of the Luftwaffe, as opposed to the regular army, and as such had some notable differences in their uniforms and equipment. Master Box captures these differences perfectly.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$12.95

The M117 is a general purpose 750 lb. (unguided) bomb used by the United States military starting in the 1950s and continuing up through Operation Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and Afghanistan. It was used extensively in the Vietnam War being carried by everything from F-100s, to F-111s, to B-52s. The bomb consists of a bomb body containing the explosives, one of several different tail assemblies and fuses.

Eduard has issued three different M117 sets. This set represents the M117 with the high-drag tail assembly primarily for use in low altitude deliveries. The tail assembly has four large plates that open up when the bomb is dropped, greatly increasing the drag on the bomb, slowing its descent so as to allow the delivery aircraft an opportunity to get clear before the bomb impacts and explodes.