This is a Big Ed set which contains three Eduard PE sets for the new tooled Tamiya Valentine Mk.II /IV kit.
In the Big Ed sets the following sets:
The Tupolev TB-1 heavy bomber was a historically significant aircraft, in that it was the world’s first all-metal multi-engined bomber. After World War I, Dr. Hugo Junkers established an aircraft plant in the Soviet Union, and Russian designers, notably Andrei Tupolev, learned from the Germans’ techniques of building metal aircraft, and began design and construction of a twin engine prototype bomber in 1925. The prototype was built in Moscow, but in November, 1925, the aircraft was flown, and the decision was made to place the plane in production as the TB-1. A former Junkers plant in Fili, near Moscow, was used for production. Powered originally by British Lion engines, the production models had 680 hp. Russian Mikulin M-17 water cooled engines, which were developed from German BMW VI’s.
Disclaimer: Mikro-Mir’s 1/35 CSS Hunley is probably one of the more accurate representations of this iconic Civil War submersible. As preservation of the original craft continues, more details come to light regularly. There are numerous interpretations of different features of the boat, and online research probably raised more questions for me than answered them. In the end, I elected to go with my best judgement of how to represent these features, most of which involve the spar torpedo arrangement. It’s also quite possible that the actual configuration changed during the Hunley’s brief career, so my interpretation is just that – an engineering judgement on my part. Here are several websites that may be helpful to you if you elect to build this kit:
https://www.hunley.org/ is the official Hunley website, and well worth a visit
This is a photoetch Interior set of various German WWII type tie down straps. This set has one colored photoetch sheet with both sides being colored.
In the Packet is:
This is a fantastic set for adding some great details to any German WWII vehicle to replace molded-on straps or to attach additional aftermarket stowage materials. There are 14 straps/tie downs included of three different colors and 6 different designs. Being steel, that are very easy to form and shape. They can even be flattened again and re-formed without the paint peeling as it does with brass.
I will be buying a few more sets for my many armor builds to come.
Thanks go to Eduard for providing this set to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it.
This is another excellent addition to the War Paint Series written by Charles Stafrace, a well-known and repeat contributor to the War Paint series. Theillustrations by Richard J. Caruana support the text and story line, and in and of themselves, are an excellent collection of Aviation Art. This book covers the development, deployment, service, and retirement of one of the most well-known aircraft, especially for those who came to maturity during the Vietnam conflict. The historian will find that the book covers the development and service of the Phantom II in detail, and the modeler will find the book to be an excellent source of information, detailing the aircraft with photographs and outstanding artwork.
“Underway on nuclear power.” With those words uttered by Commander Eugene P. Wilkinson on the morning of 17 January 1955, the United States Navy had begun a new era in how submarines (later aircraft carriers, and for a time guided missile cruisers) would be propelled through the waters of the world. The USS Nautilus, SSN-571 was built using a Tang-class hull design, with a revolutionary Westinghouse nuclear reactor providing the steam used to power and propel the boat. SSN 571 was the sixth U.S. Navy vessel to carry the name Nautilus; she was authorized for construction in July 1951, her keel was laid in June 1952, and was launched in January 1954. She was decommissioned in March 1980 after steaming over 500,000 miles, and is currently on display at the Submarine Force Museum.
After the Porsche 956 was banned from competition in the IMSA GTP in 1981 on safety grounds because the driver’s feet were ahead of the front axle centerline, Porsche made modifications to the vehicle to make it eligible for competition. The 962 debuted at the 1984 24 Hours of Daytona with Mario and Michael Andretti driving. It lead the race until lap 127 when it encountered engine and gearbox problems. These problems were worked through and it had a lot of success from 1984-1993. A total of 91 962s would be produced between 1984 and 1991, with its final victory occurring at the 1993 IMSA GTP Championship.
The kit consists of a total of around 70 parts on two main black sprues; a clear sprue; several sprues with wheel parts; a rubber sprue with 4 tires; two sheets of decals, one large one with the decals for the car, and the other smaller one with two decals per tire; and an 8 page instruction sheet.
This book, published by AMMO by Mig Jimenez SL, is a guide to the subject of colors and markings of German military vehicles and units. The books stated attempt is to bring order to the complex and partly unknown topics, and to provide clarity to all of the information available on the Internet. The book is divided into chapters that deal with the main themes separately
Describes the beginnings, evolution, implementation, and use of the straight-armed cross used on almost all German vehicles. Colored illustrations of variations in the cross and black & white photographs are used to illustrate examples.
Explains the tactical symbols and hierarchy of military units. A color chart illustrates the Waffenfarbe (arm colors) used to differentiate troops.
A recent addition to the IPMS Review Corps suppliers is Mikro-Mir, whose kits remind me of what I am used to seeing with limited production manufacturers. This is not a negative comment, but more of a heads up that some building experience is required to end up with a nice finished model at the end of construction. The overall assembly of this kit was fast with only 24 plastic parts, and the 11-photoetch items that I utilized. Modelers with some experience will enjoy this kit, which can be used to represent any of the four boats of the Skate-class (Skate, Swordfish, Sargo, and Seadragon).
Hasegawa has recently released a limited edition E-2C Hawkeye “Sayonara Atsugi” featuring two marking options:
The marking options are of the same plane, just a few changes in terms of paint over a period of time.
The E-2C Hawkeye 2000 is the fifth generation production E-2C Hawkeye and incorporates significant enhancements in data management, system throughput, operator interfaces, connectivity, and situational awareness to support the Navy's evolving Theater Air and Missile Defense mission. With its massive rotodome, it can see for hundreds of miles and is truly the “eye in the sky.”
