Attack Aircraft of The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps by Detail and Scale Aviation Publications was published 17 June 2022. This is the fourth publication by Detail & Scale that covers aircraft flown by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps from the end of WWII through the deployment of the AV-8B Harrier II.

The book covers 13 aircraft – Vought AU-1 Corsair, Grumman AF-2 Guardian, Martin AM Mauler, Douglas AD / A1 Skyraider, North American AJ Savage, Douglas A2D Skyshark, DouglasA3D / A-3 Skywarrior, Douglas A4D / A-4 Skyhawk, North American A3J / A-5 / RA-5C Vigilante, Grumman A2F / A-6 Intruder, Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair II, Hawker SiddleyAV-8A / AV-8C Harrier and the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II.

Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) specializes in white metal replacement landing gear parts for aircraft kits. This review is for the 1/72nd scale Hasegawa F-104 Starfighter from the 1989 original mold and its reissues (which there are several). Two full sets are in the blister pack, so two kits can have metal landing gear. These are drop-in replacements for the F-104 (parts D7, C12, B11 & B12) and TF-104 (parts F15, C12, B11 & B12). Attached pictures are for the F-104 comparison.

Contents Description

• The first two pages are introductory paragraphs.
• Page 5 covers the MiG acrylic colors and chipping fluids, providing brief how-to paragraphs for each. Each product section includes QR codes for the products page from the Mig website plus how-to videos. The QR code feature is typical for most of the products described.
• Page 6 Washes.
• Page 7 Streaking brushers and Oilbrushers.
• Page 8 Pigments and splashes.
• Page 9 Heavy mud and engines, fuel and oil.
• Page 10 Enamel odorless thinner.
• Page 11 One Shot primers and Titans Hobby Paints.
• Page 12 Extra thin and medium density cements, and Colle 21-slow dry cyanoacrylate.
• Page 13 Arming Putty and Ultra Decal Set and Fix. Neither of these products were used in the weathering process covered in this publication.
• Now for the modeler, such as myself, many of the products listed above are items may be new.

This set is designed to provide replacement parts for the Hasegawa/Hobby 2000 SBD Dauntless kits. The package includes two complete sets of gear, consisting of the two main gear struts and two options for the tail wheel assembly – one with the small hard rubber tire used for carrier operations and the other a larger pneumatic tail wheel used for shore-based operations by Navy and Marine aircraft and the Army Air Corps A-24.

As with most of SAC’s landing gear sets, the metal parts are intended to be one-for-one replacements for the kit parts. The parts are well cast and need just a little clean-up of the casting seams with a sharp Xacto blade. I recommend taking your time removing the tail wheels from the casting tree or you will end up with a very flat looking tire as I did on the smaller wheel. Also, be sure you do not trim off the long extension pointing aft above the tail wheel as it is supposed to be there - it is a tow bar used to help move the plane.

The AH-1G Cobra was the first helicopter specifically designed for air to ground attack missions. They first saw action in Vietnam. The type went on to serve several nations, including Spain and Israel (the subject of this model).

I picked the model up at the Review Corp get together at the IPMS National Convention in Omaha. Phil had gotten it straight from Special Hobby.

The kit was presented in Special Hobby’s standard strong, top opening cardboard box with an attractive painting of the helicopter on the cover. Inside, ten sprues were contained within one clear plastic bag. The clear parts were protected inside their own bag. A decal sheet and glossy, color instruction sheet was found in the bottom of the box.

The instruction manual showed a parts sprue layout, and each step was presented in a legible and easily followed manner. Colors were highlighted where needed.