Tamiya is expanding its line of Textured Paint, this time with two different snow effect paints: Snow Effect and Powder Snow. This particular package also included a third bottle, which is “dark earth”, perfect to show some groundwork underneath the snow.

The first thing I noticed is that the snow bottles weight at least twice as much as the earth one. I suspect a different kind of “pellets” (texture) is being used here.

The Snow Effect paint has small micro-balloons (0.05-0.35mm) and the Powder Snow even smaller ones. I honestly could not see them - in the powder one, but I could feel a bit of the texture when I put a dab of the paint between my fingers. You can certainly hear a bit of a “grinding noise” when you spread the paint on a base. By the way, don’t use a brush as it will damage it. I used a plain wooden stick to spread the paint.

THANK YOU to our friends and suppliers at Aires/Quickboost for another improvement set, in this case for the Trumpeter A-37 Dragonfly. And thanks also to the reviewer corps leaders for making them available for my review.

This set takes the kit components and improves them by directly replacing the kit parts with fine, pressure-molded resin parts. These are very thin and fragile! Included are four control columns with much refined, thin columns, better boots at the bottom, and the control grip actually looks like the real thing, fantastic! The kit items are REALLY clunky and don’t look like they should. QUICKBOOST fixes that as shown in the side by side photos.

Remove the parts from their pour stub, and superglue in place. These fit in place of the kit items, no additional sanding or kit plastic removal required. Quick and improved kit appearance with scale size and thickness.

This Master Model set provides a machined brass pitot tube that is superior to what can be produced in an injected plastic kit. This part is specific to the Hobbycraft / Academy series of B-58 Hustler kits (HC1260, HC1261, A4442, A12619) that was initially released in 2001.

Notable is the re-sealable packaging that Master Model uses that makes the part easy to review and then stuff it back into the package securely. You will want to be careful handling the metal pitot tube as its small size makes it an easy sacrifice to the carpet monster.

Eduard has released a photo-etched (PE) detail set for the 1/35 Tamiya M-10 mid production tank destroyer. This set includes one PE sheet and a one page, color instruction sheet that is printed on both sides. You can fold this sheet in half to create a pamphlet. This sheet is color coded with black showing the original kit parts, blue for the PE parts and red for the parts that need to be removed for the PE to take its place. The only down side to the sheet is that does not follow the steps on the Tamiya instruction sheet. Before I started, I compared both sheets and wrote on the Eduard sheet what Tamiya step number each assembly belongs to. Then I marked the Tamiya sheet by circling the parts that were going to be replaced or where PE parts were going to be added.

One of the latest releases in the rapidly expanding line of Brassin products is a beautiful representation of the Fokker Dr.1 nine-cylinder Oberursel engine. Consisting of three resin parts and a single photo-etched part, the engine builds up quickly, and will make a great addition to your 1/72 scale triplane!

As mentioned, there are three resin parts in the set, which consist of the engine itself, firewall mounting plate, and a single part that has the intake shaft, magneto, oil pump case, and spark distributor, all molded on. The ignition wires are contained on a single photoetched fret.

The Su-25 is the Soviet equivalent of the A-10 first utilized in Afghanistan. This mud mover is pretty well represented in 1/48^th scale by KP/Smer. As always there are ways to improve what comes in the box.

Quickboost has taken to updating the Frogfoot to a whole different level. This particular set is designed to upgrade the lights. Packaged in a typical Quickboost resealable package with card stock backing has two resin sprues. The first is light grey resin which holds the two reflectors. The second resin part is molded in clear resin. It has the bulbs and two new clear resin lens.

To use the set you simply have to drill out the landing light hole in the wing. Then you paint the reflector, add the bulb, and use the clear resin lens. Done. Simple, easy and effective.

This light set will replace the kit parts which are not very accurate looking. The Quickboost set is very realistic, easy to use, and inexpensive.

Highly recommended.

I’ve got my spray booth set up, my paint mixed, and the compressor has been powered up and its ready to go. The paint cup is attached to the airbrush with anticipation of an enjoyable painting session. I pull the trigger…………and nothing. After fiddling with the pressure and air adjustments on the airbrush and compressor, I realize that my airbrush is jammed up with dried paint. There’s not anything to do but shut down the painting session and get the airbrush cleaned up.

That is where Tamiya’s #87089 Airbrush Cleaner steps in. You’ll need a cleaner that can loosen and dissolve dried paint, and this product is very good at doing just that. You know the drill. Disassemble your airbrush and clean each part carefully and completely. I use a small wire brush dipped in some Airbrush Cleaner that has been poured into a very small cup. Wearing gloves, I carefully scrub the airbrush parts with the wire brush, dry them with a lint-free cloth and I’m ready to go!

The Tiger II Ausf.B, Konigstiger, King Tiger or Royal Tiger, as it was called depending where you were from, was the most powerful tank produced by the Germans. It became operational in July 1944, during the Invasion of Normandy. This formidable tank fought on the Western and Eastern Fronts until the end of World War II.

Hauler is located in the Czech Republic, and produces high quality photo-etched sets for AFVs, aircraft, cars, railway vehicles and resin accessories for dioramas and resin kits.

This set fits the 1/72 scale Revell Tiger II kit, and comes nicely packaged with the two photo etch frets inside individual clear plastic bag. The instructions are folded and everything is stapled to the folded over cardboard backing.

RES-IM has recently released several sets of replacement wheels for modern aircraft. Often kit wheels are not accurate representations of the real thing, being rather featureless.

This set provides a very nicely molded set of four replacement tires for the Tornado. The set does not state which Tornado kit it is for and as I only have Hasegawa kits of the Tornado, I don’t know if there are any differences between Hasegawa, Italeri or Revell moldings, but I can say they are a big improvement over the kit tires of my Hasegawa Tornado F3 as shown in the photos. The set consists of two main wheels and two nose wheels. The tires are crisply molded with nice tread detail and outstanding hub detail that really pops out with a light black wash.

History and Facts

The trailer depicted here is my research is correct is a Renault UK trailer that is in captured German service the trailer were used and obtained during the fall of France, about 3000 UE and UE2s had been captured by the German Wermacht.

What's in the Box

• 6 sprues of grey plastic
• 2 photo etch frets (1 for trailer and 1 for the jerry cans)

The Build

Let me start by saying this was a fun build. It started out as an in box review but the model looked so cool it ended up getting built. You start by assembling the suspensions and the running gear. Do not glue part Ga 5to the leaf springs this will allow you to tip the trailer later to suit which ever vehicle you are going to connect it to. I also did not glue the road wheels bogie units to Ga 5 until after the model was assembled and again was to allow the trailer to pivot as mentioned.

For a long time now I have loved the look of this range of kits and have wanted to build one, so I jumped at the opportunity to build this kit. It is an excellent kit in the Hasegawa Machinen Krieger series. The kit is very easy to build as long as you watch the instruction details carefully.

In the Box

• 11 x red sprues
• 1 beige sprue
• 1 clear sprue
• 1 dark grey vinyl sprue of polycaps
• 1 vinyl/rubber sprue
• 1 decal sheet
• 1 painting guide / collectors card
• 1 instruction booklet
• 1 small correction sheet for the instructions

All the sprues are extremely well molded with no flash and great detail. The decals allow you to finish the Mk 44 in many different ways. The painting guide shows 4 more, and 2 more on the back of the box.

Mikael Forslund was born on June 7, 1960 and currently lives in Falun, Sweden. He has worked as a press photographer since 1978 both as a freelancer and as a staff photographer and currently uses Nikon cameras. He has authored over twenty books with his latest book on Spitfire in Sweden celebrating the 80th anniversary of the first flight of the aircraft type on March 5, 1936.

The water crane is the type used at German railyards during World War II and will be an excellent addition to railroad dioramas. This is another great kit from MiniArt with fine detail and excellent fit of the parts.

The kit comes in a 4.75 x 15.25 x 1.75 end opening box. It includes three gray plastic sprues and two clear plastic sprues with 50 parts. There is also a length of thread included for the water crane pulley rope. The model will measure 175 mm (6 7/8”) tall. My package did not include sprue Af which is the light bulbs for the two lanterns. I sent an email off to MiniArt and got a quick reply that a replacement was on its way. Great customer service by MiniArt!

Paint colors are called in AMMO MIG, Vallejo, Testor, Tamiya, Humbrol, Revell, Mr. Color, and Lifecolor numbers, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a match.

As usual, IPMS USA are eternally grateful to Eduard for kindly providing yet another magnificent example of their new items to review, and to the IPMS USA reviewer corps leaders for sending it to me.

Eduard are rightfully proud of their Mig 21 series; the 1/48 kits are the best in the market, and cover the majority of the available Migs in service. This particular boxing is of their new 1/144 dual kit featuring eight Czech-marked examples with nose art, display schemes, etc. Bare metal, brown and green over gray, winter camo, all are there. The whole kit exudes quality and value.

All through the build I was thinking “This is fun and I don’t want to screw it up!” Contest models coming out of this region contain some of the finest details out there in my opinion, and I constantly wonder at the surgical skills demonstrated during E-day and other events as reported in modeling magazines. This review gave me appreciation for their skills…

Tamiya masking tape (yellow) has been known to modelers for many years and it is still one of my favorite tools in the bench. This tape for curves is made of a different material; it has a plastic feeling to it so it is not the typical Tamiya tape trimmed to a few millimeters.

This tape is designed to mask curves. It easily “bends” for a curve, but it does not stretch as well as it bends. I like that property of the tape actually as it ensures its width is kept as constant as possible.

In this test I used a scrap wing –which I used for some paint tests- and placed both the 2 mm (Stock 87177) and 3 mm versions (Stock 87178) of the tape on the wing, as you can see in the pictures.

I’ve found that the best way to “bend” the tape is to actually anchor it –I use my thumb- where I want to have a bend and with the other hand twist the tape left or right, while burnishing the tape against the plastic.

There have been many incarnations of the Batmobile from the 1940’s until the latest entry, the Dawn of Justice Batmobile. All of them are cool but this latest is sleeker, armed to the teeth and looks the part. Moebius has replicated this with this kit so let’s jump in and get it built.

Looking through the instructions (gasp!), there are four major parts to the assembly- the chassis and wheels, the upper body, the cockpit and the spoilers/wings.

Robert R. “Boom” Powell grew up in Long Island, New York, the son of a World War II B-24 Liberator navigator who later became known as a comic book artist (Sheena, Mr. Mystic, Tales From the Crypt, etc.). He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania on an ROTC scholarship before going to Naval flight training. He flew Douglas A-4 Skyhawks in Vietnam and later as an instructor pilot in the Skyhawk. Robert transitioned to the RA-5C Vigilante and ended up as an adversary pilot based at NAS Oceana. He also spent time as an LSO for an RA-5C training squadron for three years. Robert retired as a Commander and transitioned to civilian life flying Boeing 747s for Pan American. He remains an active flier today and often flies WWI replicas at the Virginia Beach Military Aviation Museum. It was in the Navy that Robert began writing where he had a regular column in The Hook. His first book was Ben Drew: The Katzenjammer Ace (2001).

This Master Model set provides a quantum leap over the respective parts in the eighties era ESCI, Matchbox, Monogram, and even the nineties era Tamiya series of 1/48 kits. This set is specifically for 20mm cannon barrels without flash hiders. If you are looking for a set with flash hiders, Master, again, is to your rescue as they have released their set 48-128 that features the four 20mm cannon barrels with flash hiders. As it is, this set gives you two muzzle versions of the 20mm cannon barrels sported by the Douglas Skyraider.

Master Model of Poland produces small brass parts for detailing models, be they aircraft or ships. They have parts for aircraft in 1/32, 1/35, 1/48, 1/72, and 1/144, mostly pitot tubes, refueling probes and gun barrels.

This product is a single pitot tube for a 1/144 F-104. The instructions are quite simple. 10 Cut off the kit pitot. 2) Drill a hole for the brass part. 3) Install the brass part, using CA glue. 4) Paint the part.

This pitot was particularly welcome because the Revell F-104 I built a while back didn’t have a pitot. So I was able to skip step 1. That doesn’t mean I could completely pass it, as I had to use a sanding stick to flatten the point on the nose cone so the drill wouldn’t slip every time I tried to drill the hole. Also, a .3 mm hole is pretty big, considering the size of this part. I stepped down to a .15 mm drill, and it was actually a little large.

This set from Aires replaces the stabilizers on the new Airfix kit. The control surfaces are separate so you can easily model them deflected up or down. A quick check of pictures of the real plane shows them slightly deflected down, occasionally deflected up and just as often with no deflection at all so it is up to you. The detail on the parts is slightly higher than the Airfix parts but if you are planning to model your kit with them not deflected I would probably stay with the kit parts. I did a quick check and the engine fits inside the cowling with no modifications needed.

No instructions are provided as they directly replace the kit parts.

Thanks to Aires and IPMS/USA for the review kit.

The engine on the Airfix 72^nd Wildcat is very detailed with push rods and wiring visible on the front. Quickboost offers a replacement engine which does give better details on the front cover but you will have to add the push rods and wiring if you want to go that direction. One thing I noticed is the cylinders have a bit of resin connecting them to the rear. While these are not visible through the closed cowling they would be if you want to display an engine change or just have the cowling removed. They look a little awkward to remove but anyone with experience working with resin replacement parts should have no trouble. One nice addition is the rear of the engine is included with this set. That will add additional detail when looking in the landing gear well area.

I did a quick check and the engine fits inside the cowling with no modifications needed. >

Simple instructions are provided to help position the parts.

Eduard has once again raised the bar for the detail industry with the addition of their steel photoetched parts. This particular set is to add or replace grills on the Tamiya F-14A kit, but the items should work on other 1/48 scale Tomcats as well. I would highly recommend this set to folks wanting to add additional grill detail to their Tomcat.

In recent years Tamiya has expanded their model line to include finishing supplies like panel line accents, diorama materials, decal setting solutions, etc.

This particular review will cover the following decal setting solutions :

• Tamiya Mark Fit Strong: MSRP: $4.50, Stock: 87102

Like all decal solutions, and most modeling supplies, make sure you use them in a well ventilated area. While the Mark Fit solution is not that smelly, the Mark Fit Strong has a strong vinegar smell and both have a warning about fumes being dangerous.

Based on the instructions for both solutions they instruct you to apply the decal as always, and once you blotted the water off, to put some of the setting solution on top of the decal (you are even provided with a small brush in the cap), and to not touch the decal until fully dry.

AoA (Angle of Attack) decals: Been around about a year, and now we know they are focusing on Vietnam War subjects … We sincerely appreciate this new decal manufacturer sending IPMS/USA their latest releases for a review! (…and the usual thanks also to IPMS USA Reviewer corps leadership for sending these my way...)

This sheet is could easily be used on several models if you have a garage or basement totally dedicated to 1/32 models AND are independently wealthy to purchase several A-1’s in this scale…

A few airframe stencils in included for one model, along with national insignia. This sheet focuses on the main markings for the aircraft, particularly since several of these SPADS were repainted with camo and as such did not receive replacement stencil markings.

Notable options include several early 1960’s A-1’s with colorful tail bands; I believe these markings would sell the sheet more than anything, as they certainly have some different markings.

Eduard has released a new mold of the Bf-109G-2, with markings for versions including in the kit.

In the box is:

• 5 x light grey sprues
• 1 clear sprue
• 2 x decal sheet
• 1 mask sheet
• 1 photoetch detail set
• 1 instruction booklet

While you get 5 sprues, you also get plenty of unused (spare) parts, like 3 different propellers, different wheels, some weapons, different rudders, air intakes, oil coolers and even extra canopies, so you should be able to get some “extras” for other 109s in your collection.

All the sprues are extremely well molded with very little flash and great detail; the decals allow you to finish the aircraft in 5 different versions.

Construction

First is the construction of the cockpit which is well detailed and the Photo Etch helps a lot to make this a very impressive cockpit when complete.