all 2017

Review Author
Rob Booth
Published on
Company
PJ Production
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$8.50

PJ Productions is a Belgian firm that specializes in the creation and production of resin scale models and accessories aimed at modelers of military aircraft kits and aviation-related dioramas in 1/72nd, 1/48th and 1/32nd scale. Their lines include fine and accurately detailed cast resin replacement and supplemental parts for model kits in the most commonly produced scales.

PJ Productions has produced a resin set of two (2) LRF 4 rocket launchers for use with aircraft armed with such types. An out-of-box evaluation (see photos) indicates two reproductions of the French-manufactured weapons and options for either CES 3 or ADP 2 pylons that provide a realistic scale-detailed assembly for mounting to your kit. The panel detailing is extremely fine, with fore and end caps cast separately.

Review Author
Dave Steingass
Published on
Company
Gecco
Scale
1/16
MSRP
$24.99

I’ve never met a Japanese kit that wasn’t top-quality, and the Tales From The Apocalypse series from Gecco Models is no exception.

This series of figures carries a 1980s-era B-Movie Horror theme. In what may be the most brilliant packaging of any models I’ve ever seen, these figures are packaged in look-alike VHS tape boxes.

Number 5 in the series, is a Diner waitress, wearing a Blue Dress, white smock, and pink Chuck Taylors. Like the Traffic guard, she has recently experienced some trauma. A broken arm, multiple leg wounds, and a gouged out right eye and a machete seems to have hacked her neck. She is carrying a very gruesome Blue-plate Special of severed arms. Tasty.

Book Author(s)
Col. Doug Barbier, USAF (Ret)
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Specialty Press
MSRP
$44.95

Specialty Press’ biography : “Col. Doug Barbier grew up to the sound of F-106s flying out of Selfridge AFB, MI, where a visit on Armed Forces Day 1962 began a lifelong interest in the jet. A U.S. Air Force Command Pilot with more than 3,500 flight hours, he flew the Lockheed T-33, the supersonic Northrop T-38, and logged more than 1,000 hours in the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II. Barbier finished his military career flying the F-16, spending many hours sitting Air Defense alert, and making three intercepts of Soviet Tu-95 Bears along the way. After retiring from the Air Force, he flew for a major airline for twenty years.

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Tru-Color Paint
MSRP
$4.95

I did a review of Tru-Color Paints a while back, (http://web.ipmsusa3.org/content/tru-color-paints ) and I asked the guys at Tru-Color if I could do a review of their new Frisket Paper. They said OK, and I bought a 3-pack of the paper at our last IPMS Chapter meeting. I bought the 3-pack, because I thought I had a project which might need a couple of sheets, but not much more.

My project was a 1/144 Model Lancaster, which I wanted to convert from a Dam Buster to a Grand Slam carrier. RAF camouflage is usually quite difficult to do, or at least it’s a fairly long project.

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Italeri
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$14.99

The Opel “Blitz” truck was produced from 1930 to 1975. It was used as a commercial vehicle, and when the Wehrmacht needed a reliable and fast truck, the Blitz was chosen. In 1937, the Nazis had Opel build a factory at Brandenburg, which turned out over 130,000 Blitzes, until the RAF stopped production in 1944 by bombing the plant.

This kit is the ambulance version of the Opel Blitz. The ambulance had a transportation box on the back to handle casualties.

The Kit

There are two sprues, along with a clear sheet for windows, and a decal sheet. One sprue is for the chassis and cab, the other is the ambulance box. No PE, no resin, no problem.

The model is fairly straightforward to build. There’s a frame section, the cab, the ambulance box, the wheels, and some detail parts. The kit is a reissue of the ESCI ambulance from the 1970s. The molds have been reworked, as there ‘s no flash, and the parts are pretty well molded.

Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Avantgarde Model Kits
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$90.00

The Kit

The AMK 88008 Mig-31 follows on their earlier MiG-31 BM/BSM (88003) Foxhound kit and comes in a large, solid, top-opening box that is packed solid. Similar to Wingnut Wings kits, it will take extreme care to repack the sprue packaging back into the box if you are not starting cutting sprues right away. Sprues are individually packaged in re-sealable packaging, with some parts (missiles, forward fuselage, and main upper fuselage) packed in their own boxes. Parts are molded in a medium gray styrene that is fairly hard and comparable to Tamiya sprues. Panel lines may be considered by some to be a little heavy, but I found no issues. The transparencies come molded in both clear and a transparent-smoke color and include separate open and closed options. The IRST lens, landing light lenses, the forward refueling probe cover, and the gunsight are also included in clear and smoke transparencies. A small fret of photo-etch (radar dish and seatbelts) is included.

Review Author
Andrew Birkbeck
Published on
Company
MiniArt
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$20.99

Background

For the past couple of years, MiniArt has been producing some exquisite, super detailed kits of Soviet/Red Army armored vehicles from the Second World War and immediate post-war period. The company has decided to take various components of these kits, and repackage them as “Up Grade” sets for the kits of other model companies. In the case of the set under review, MiniArt has taken the running gear (road wheels, idler and drive wheel, plus tracks) from their T-44 tank kit, and reboxed them as T-34/85 Late Type components.

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$39.95

This is a photoetch Interior set to for the Hong Kong Models B-17 E/F. This set with three photoetch sheets, two are colored and adds a lot of needed detail to the cockpit and other areas. They really make the cockpit stand out.

In the packet is:

Review Author
Clarence Wentzel
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$5.49

The L-29 Delfin was a jet-powered trainer airplane that was designed by the Aero Company of Czechoslovakia. An excellent kit of the Delfin has recently been released in 1/72 scale by AMK. Although this kit, in my opinion, is very good, our friends at Aires/Quickboost have found some areas where the accuracy of various parts can be improved.

Review Author
Dave Koukol
Camden Koukol
Published on
Company
Hasegawa
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$119.99

Background

Of all of the US Naval Aviation fighter squadrons, VFA-103 has one of the most recognizable color and markings schemes since the Vietnam War. Nicknamed “The Jolly Rogers, ” the squadron boldly sports black and gold unit markings featuring the legendary “Jolly Roger” skull and crossbones. “The Jolly Rogers” were formed in 1944 as VF-17, and saw action under numerous squadron designations throughout their history. From the Vietnam War era through 1995, VF-84 claimed the “The Jolly Rogers” moniker. Upon VF-84’s inactivation in 1995, VFA-103 took up the “Jolly Rogers” mantle to keep a rich Navy tradition alive.