What really drew me to this release was the Aussie option! The Australians started getting the UH-60M in 2023, and traditionally they use it for long-range search and rescue in the Outback and over the ocean, making for some unique configurations. Academy has a long history with the Black Hawk mold, and they’ve taken full advantage of its popularity with new parts. In addition to the A60-001 import model, Academy has everything in this box to fit out a full Australian import version of the Black Hawk. Builds of the M seem few and far between, so I’ve tried to hit a lot of detail in this review for the competitive builder.

For everyone who wants instant gratification, let’s start with the pros and cons, then transition to the details!

What a kit!! No flash anywhere with excellent engravings and details.

When I first received the G4 kit I knew I had to do something different with it – I was going to make a surf rod out of it. Searching through my spare parts I found some Center Line wheels along with some wide tires. The first modification was to cut out the spare tire wells on the front fenders and then fill them in with styrene and Bondo. While the putty was setting up I frenched the taillights.

The 4 wheel drive rear suspension would be next. It’s a very detailed assembly and could be a model in its own. I used different colors of paint to bring out some of the details.

The engine was the next assembly and I went the different color paints to bring out some of the details.

This book is part three of a six-book series devoted to the destroyer class ships (DD) of the U.S. Navy from 1901 to 2019. Part Three covers the Somers, Dunlap, Benham, Sims, Benson and Gleaves class ships commissioned from 1937 to 1943, over 120 destroyers designated DD-381 to DD-648. A true labor of love, the author Venner Milewski cites the eminent naval historian Samuel L. Morison, who provided his research material and proofed the original manuscript. Ship histories were researched in the Library of Congress and the Naval History and Heritage Command, and hundreds of photos are provided from the Mariners' Museum in Newport News VA. Of interest to modelers will be 20 pages of original camouflage design sheets for measures 31 and 32, with a summary table by DD number.

While you may not have heard of Special Navy before, they are in fact under the Special Hobby umbrella and offer naval vessels in 1/72 scale. This kit was a recent release when it was provided to the Review Corps at the IPMS-USA Nationals this past summer. While not for beginners (the kit contains nearly 500 parts), a modeler with some experience can produce a very nice looking Kriegsfischkutter with this kit.

Syhart Decals has released a decal sheet for a commemorative scheme flown by an RF-4E of the Hellenic Air Force when the aircraft was retired from service and the squadron was disbanded. The aircraft was repainted in a combination of black and dark blue and wore a complex scheme including the silhouettes of previous aircraft flown by the 348^th Squadron, the Greek flag, and “Spook”, the green-caped mascot associated with the “Phantom II”.

For the Greek flag, there is the option of using masks for the medium blue background and then another decal for the white stripes, or just two sets of decals (blue decals and then the decal with the white stripes on top of the blue decal). There is also a correction sheet with Spook, but honestly, I cannot find the difference between the original Spook and the corrected Spook.