The J-20 is a fifth generation fighter aircraft that has elevated China to a world leader in combat aviation. J-20 Mighty Dragon, Asia’s First Stealth Fighter In The Era Of China’s Military Risetraces the development of the J-20 from its roots in the Korean War to the current deployment status as well as the responses other nations have taken to counterbalance this modern air superiority fighter. The text is organized into five chapters covering China’s need for an air superiority fighter, development, deployment, the aircraft’s future and assets needed for deployment, and international challenges and responses. Supporting the highly informative text are hundreds of color photos and captions that give further insight into this highly advanced fighter aircraft. In addition to the photographs, five pages of color profiles are also included, as well as a map displaying the locations of units operating the J-20.

Recently released by the folks at ICM is the Focke-Wolf Fw-189C/V-6 in 1/72 scale. The kit received my attention due to the unique shape of the cockpit as well as the resemblance to the American P-38. The kit builds with relative ease, but I would recommend it to modelers with experience in dealing with smaller parts.

The real aircraft came from the experience gained by the Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War as a needed attack aircraft. Powered by two Argus As410A-1 engines, each providing 465 hp, the plane had a service ceiling of 6800km (4225 feet) and a maximum speed of 368 km/h (228 mph). The plane carried two 20mm cannons and up to six 7.92mm machine guns as well as up to four bombs. While the plane tested well in 1940, the Henschel Hs-129A would be selected for production.

The UK’s Fantasy Print Shop has released another set of 1/48 decals in their Euro Decals range, this one covering the Mustang III (P-51B/C) in RAF service.

There are a very generous 11 options available – these are as follows:

Arma Hobby has released a new 1/48^th scale P-39N Airacobra. It is the new tooled 2024 version following the P-39Q, released earlier, and they share the same sprues, but the wing sink marks noted in the “Q” boxing looks to be fixed.

In The Box

The kit is enclosed in a side open box with all the contents sitting in a sturdier cardboard tray. The sprues are enclosed in a single plastic bag and within are more bags that hold three (3) steel ball bearings (for nose weight), the clear sprue, and another for a small 3D printed nose air louvers.

The injected plastic hardness is on the medium side. The recessed and raised molded details are good for this scale.

This review covers packs 7, 8, and 9 of the Agora Models Jaguar build. Please see parts 1 and 2 of this review for the first 6 packs and more information about the kit.

Pack 7 starts off easy by assembling the two halves of the mufflers (or “silencers” per the instructions) and installing them onto the floor assembly from pack 6. The rest of pack 7 is devoted to building the left front and right rear wheels and then inserting the left front wheel into the tire and installing it onto the front subframe.

I am finally getting the hang of putting these wire wheels together. My biggest frustration with installing the first two sets of spokes on each wheel has been getting each spoke pointed in the correct direction to seat properly on the rim. I have found that it is easiest to turn the spoke while it is only about halfway inserted. Once it is turned, it is pretty easy to pull it the rest of the way through and get it into place without disturbing the other spokes.