Book Author(s)
Chris Goss
Review Author
Keenan Chittester
Published on
September 1, 2019
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$24.00

The good folks at Osprey Publishing just keep cranking out quality publications on all sorts of subjects, and this book is no exception. Author Chris Goss takes us through a well-written and well-researched history of the units that operated the Dornier Do-17 bomber in World War II.

The book starts with a short explanation of the development of the Do-17 from a transport plane into a military plane during the formative years of the Luftwaffe. The type served in the Spanish Civil War, like many of the early Luftwaffe aircraft, and proved to be a capable bomber. Lessons learned in Spain led to the redesign of the forward part of the fuselage into the version that most of us modelers are familiar with – the Do-17Z.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
September 1, 2019
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$12.95

IPMS/USA again thanks Ross and his Team at SAC for supporting the IPMS USA reviewer corps with one more of many monthly releases, with extremely useful and well-thought out landing gear additions for the modeling crowd out here in the modeling world. And thanks to IPMS leadership for sending it to me to be reviewed.

Consisting of two (that’s 2!) complete sets of gear, it’s pretty simple. Two main gear struts, two external torque links, and one tail gear. The tail gear is not the standard “Bar and lever” we see on so many early spitfires, but an actual oleo.

This set includes the torque scissors. It can be added as an afterthought to building, thereby preventing one from breaking it off during construction. Test fit into the wing and tail sockets to make sure no cleanup of flash is required, then a touch of superglue or epoxy, wait for the glue to cure, then you are done!

Review Author
Chris Smith
Published on
September 2, 2019
Company
AFV Club
MSRP
$18.30

Like a lot of modelers, I take this hobby a bit more seriously than I should at times. This kit is a reminder that it's actually fun to build models. Taking real-life subjects and “egg shaping” them into a whimsical mimic seems to be a growing sector based on the number of kits and subjects receiving this treatment. In this case, AFV Club has chosen the F-5E/N Tiger II. The F-5E/N series was an improved version of the F-5 Freedom fighter that incorporated modifications from the unsuccessful F-20 Tigershark. Leading-edge extensions and more powerful engines made it the perfect aggressor aircraft to simulate the MiG 21. This kit draws inspiration from the Navy’s VF 111 “Sundowners”. But enough of that serious stuff.

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
February 3, 2020
Company
Cross & Cockade International
MSRP
$16.60

Cross & Cockade has released their 2020 calendar, and in keeping with past calendars, combines excellent W.W.I aviation art with the usual calendar functions. As in past years, you are advised to order your copy now, and not wait. There may be a limited supply of these calendars and you do not want to miss out because you waited until the supply ran out.

According to Roger Tisdale of Cross & Cockade, the profits from the sale of the 2020 Cross and Cockade International Calendar are once again going to assist in the upkeep of the British Air Services Memorial at the St-Omer airfield in northern France”. This is a very worthy cause and deserving of your support. One can check out the St-Omer Memorial.

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
September 2, 2019
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$14.95

Serving in the U.S. Navy in the late 1980’s, these were the weapons that I could “neither confirm nor deny” were present on my aircraft carriers. The B43 was in service between 1959 and 1991, and could have been carried in a nuclear conflict aboard any U.S. aircraft certified for bomb loads (a rather lengthy list). This new release from Eduard will allow for a unique loading of any aircraft that served during the Cold War in nearly any branch of the service as well as by some NATO allies. Construction of the bombs is clear and anyone with limited experience with resin and brass will be able to put these to use.

Review Author
John Noack
Published on
January 8, 2022
Company
Fly Models
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$14.10

Background (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

“The design of the man-carrying machine known as a Rotachute, also known as a Hafner H.8, evolved from November 1940 and throughout 1941. In September 1941, the Central Landing Establishment was renamed the Airborne Forces Establishment. The Rotachute Mark I design initially comprised a tubular steel framework with a single-seat, rubber-mounted rotor hub, hanging control column, skid undercarriage, and a self-inflating rear fairing made of rubberized fabric with integral tailplane. The two rotor blades, of wooden construction, could achieve flapping and coning characteristics via hinges on the rotor hub. Fixed footrests were provided, plus fittings below the seat to accommodate a soldier's weapon, such as a Bren gun. The control column offered two-axis control, rolling and pitching, with turns made via controlled rolling movement.”

Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
September 2, 2019
Company
Croco Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$57.99

History

The Miles M.8 “Peregrine” was the first twin engine to be developed by Miles Aircraft Company, and was built at their Woodley Plant in the UK, first flying in Sept. 1936. It was a low wing, twin engine monoplane powered by 205 hp. Gypsy Six air cooled engines. It had a retractable landing gear, and could probably be considered to be one of the world’s first small “executive” transport types. Besides a pilot and co-pilot, it had seats for six passengers. Since Miles had already put the “Magister” trainer into production for the RAF at their Woodley Plant, the plane was never developed, although later, one further prototype was constructed for the Royal Aircraft Establishment, using American Menasco engines. This aircraft was used by the RAE as a test bed. With the beginning of World War II, the type faded into oblivion,

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
September 3, 2019
Company
Kitty Hawk
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$68.00

First, thanks to Glenn for providing IPMS USA with this kit, and IPMS leadership for passing it on to me.

Kitty Hawk’s new UH-1N has obvious ties with the recently released UH-1W from the same firm. The “Whiskey” has four-bladed main and tail rotors along with scabbed on antenna and systems, giving it a purposeful, definitely non-aerodynamic look, along with weaponry fit for a short, hot firefight. The kit also draws on the recently released UH-1D/H from Kittyhawk, as many of the sprue trees are from that kit as well. The UH-1N (November) however, was originally developed under Bell’s auspices of the natural improvement of a helicopter in overwater and hot, low-density air environments, whereby two-engines are better than one. The “November” has proven longevity and is still in operation almost 47 years since inception. It is the legacy of the original “Huey” line from the 1960’s… and morphed into the Whiskey and other commercial variants.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
September 3, 2019
Company
Hypersonic Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$8.50

IPMS/USA welcomes Jeffrey Kubiak of Hypersonic to the list of producers of useful bits and bobs for those of us with Advanced Modelers Syndrome (AMS). And thanks to IPMS leadership for sending it to me to be reviewed.

Jeffrey began Hypersonic models in the UK, and has recently moved to Japan… a major change of scenery. Originally he started up with resin and detail upgrades for the Special Hobby X-15 kits… and now he’s expanding… making up for lost time, so visit his site for not only this item, but several upgrades aimed at improving the Academy F-4 kits, and, most recently, the Zoukei Mura Phantoms as well.

Book Author(s)
Dariusz Karnas & Artur Juszczak
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
September 3, 2019
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$11.99

This is volume four in the Single series. This is a thin book with no text other than photo captions. The book contains very nice 1/72 and 1/48 scale drawings, B&W photos of various details and pages from the manuals showing different systems. There are also three-color photos of cockpit details.

One page that should prove extremely useful to the model builder is the diagram on page 20. Showing which wing areas were natural metal which areas had two coats of filler those with one coat of filler and then sprayed with silver paint and the areas of silver paint only. There is also a beautiful rendition of the instrument panel and an index to its layout. The book concludes with three pages of color drawings of P-51D 44-14292 “Man O War”.