Reviews

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
Brengun
Hauler
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$8.55

Hauler-Brengun is well known as a supplier of high-quality aftermarket detail parts for aircraft, as well as other subjects. In this review, we will look at a set of tires for 1/48th F4U Corsairs and F6F Hellcats. In fact, Brengun has released six different sets of tires for F4U Corsairs. These six sets can be found at https://www.hauler.cz/e-shop/1-48-accessories-22.

The product package will be very familiar to Brengun fans. The envelope consists of a clear material which allows for an excellent view of the two tires and two replacement rims within. The familiar red Brengun data card and a piece of thick black cardstock keeps the wheels and rims safe from harm.

Review Author
John Noack
Published on
Company
UGears
MSRP
$39.90

And now for something completely different! UGears contacted us and offered to send a number of kits; I believe this is the first review of the group. UGears is a Ukrainian company started in 2015, and UB LLC are their US Distributor. Their extensive product line is well worth taking a look at if you’re a fan.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Zoukei-Mura
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$140.00

Zoukei-Mura’s latest Release in 1/32nd scale is a Henschel Hs-129 B-2/RIII. The Hs-129 was a WWII version of the modern A-10 and was designed to and good at killing tanks. Inside the box, you will find 18 sprues in light brown with excellent engraving, no flash and also one small sprue of clear parts. There is also a set of masks and decals for one set of markings from 4(Pz)/Sch.G2 in Libya February 1943.

For those that have never built a Zoukei-Mura kit, their philosophy is to show the entire kit so that this kit includes all the interior stringers plus all the fuselage internals, highly detailed engines and parts. This does raise the parts count to 428 and the builder has the choice of many open panels or closed.

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
Company
Airfix
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$44.99

Airfix doesn’t have much of a history creating 1/35th scale armored vehicles (in fact, none) so I was a bit surprised to see them leaping into this particular market with a series of famous tanks all in one fell blow. Turns out that Airfix is doing what so many other manufacturers are doing – reboxing other manufacturer’s models under their brand name.

In this case, it’s a reboxing of Academy’s Early Tiger 1 model with interior. I can think of a few reasons why this would be a good idea, although this one leaves me a bit nonplussed. The Academy kit is still quite available on the internet and the prices are comparable, so I can only assume that Academy kits are hard to come by in Great Britain.

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
Company
HGW Models
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$24.00

HGW Models has been putting out some interesting stuff lately, and this latest set of markings will prove useful to anyone (like me) who has a soft spot for Corsairs. In this second set catering to VF-17, five birds are presented, with all the bells and whistles, including national markings and full stencils.

The decals are clean and crisp with excellent registration, and copious documentation is provided, including all five aircraft in four-view drawings, which seems a bit redundant given then all five aircraft are very similar in appearance. Still, you can’t ding a company for being thorough. Separate drawings are provided for all interior and exterior stenciling, so if you screw this one up you’ve really got no one to blame but yourself.

Review Author
John Noack
Published on
Company
RB Productions
MSRP
$9.23

Price: RB-T028: €7 (approximately $9.23) plus S&H; RB-T043: €9 (approximately $11.87) plus S&H

First off, my apologies to the good folks at RB Productions for a late review. RB were present at this year’s Nationals in Chattanooga and were kind enough to provide us with a number of samples including these two delicate p/e stencils. Each is a carefully etched piece of brass material, the smaller measuring 2” by 3” and the larger, about 4” by 3”. They are easily bent in either axis which comes in handy for use on contoured surfaces, and I suppose one could cut them into smaller sections for use on cockpits. (Beware of some very sharp and fragile edges, however).

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$14.95

This is a Brassin resin set to make 8 Panzerfaust 60 anti-tank weapons used by Germany in world war two.

The set contains the following sets:

  • 6 x resin Panzerfaust 60 (in unarmed condition)
  • 2 x resin Panzerfaust 60 (in armed condition)
  • 1 decal sheet
  • 1 instruction sheet

The resin parts are very clean and no flash. The resin base part is easy to remove

The parts once painted, and decals added make a very realistic Panzerfaust.

Summary

This is a great set for adding very detailed rifles to any model that needs it.

Thanks go to Eduard for providing this set to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them.

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$19.95

This is a Brassin resin set to make 8 British Sten Mk.II submachine guns as used by the British during world war 2. This was the most common submachine gun used by the British and this set gives you parts to make two variants (4 of each) plus 4 magazines.

The set contains the following sets:

  • 8 x resin Sten guns
  • 4 x resin magazines
  • 4 straight tube stocks
  • 4 formed tube stocks
  • 1 colored photoetch sheet
  • 1 instruction sheet

The resin parts are very clean and no flash. The resin base part is easy to remove. The photo etch parts form the straps for the Sten guns. There is also a mix of two straps for both versions of the Sten guns.

The parts assemble very easily and give a very realistic Sten guns when complete. They are idea for adding to figures, as stowed equipment or for dioramas.

Review Author
Dan Brown
Published on
Company
Meng Model
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$150.00

The Pantsir missile system is a family of self-propelled, medium range surface to air missile systems. The 96K6 Pantsir-S1 is a combination of the 2K22 Tunguska missile system with a KAMAZ-6050 8x8 cross country truck. The turret is equipped with two 2A38m 30mm AA guns and 12 57E6 series surface to air missiles. This vehicle has been exported to number of countries including Syria, Serbia and Iraq and it has participated in combat operations in Syria and Ukraine. This new kit from Meng is one of three modern kits to represent this interesting vehicle.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
UMM-USA
MSRP
$3.00

UMM-USA continues it tradition of innovative and useful tools with part MN040, a Flexible Scribing Ruler. What comes in the package it a 6.5-inch-long thin stainless steel ruler. I say ruler but there are really no demarcation lines on it like what is usually thought of as a ruler. But that does not affect its use at all. This can be used in combination with any of the UMM-USA scribing tools or the Template Scriber. The ruler is 0.08mm (about 0.003 inches) thick and is very flexible and strong and can work on curved surfaces.