Team Honda put together an impressive stream of innovative and successful racing bikes in the late eighties and through the nineties. This kit represents the Honda NSR 500 ridden by Pierfrancesco Chili to a sixth place finish in the 1989 WGP500 race.
This kit is presented in a throw-back to 1971 complete with period packaging.
Molded in white, it can be built with a detailed motor or with a promo-style motor plate option, features include wild psychedelic decals, a few custom pieces and a miniature display kit box. Skill Level 2. The manufacturer claims that the kit is supposed to include pad printed slicks, however my review kit sample did not include those items.
This kit was originally offered as an annual kit and as a “dealer promo” style kit back in the day. Due to this design parameter the front and rear fascia’s are pretty well detailed, however the body engraving is soft in spots, the engine, interior and chassis is somewhat simplified therefore parts count is lower than our modern and newly engineered kits . For instance the front lower portion of the grille and rear splash pan is molded to the chassis.
Osprey Publishing continues to expand its fledging line of “Air Vanguard” titles, with the installment of Messerschmitt Bf 109E-F series.
Like most books of this series, it starts with a brief introduction to the aircraft in question and it quickly delves into the details of the first model, the –E series. It covers the topic in good detail, explaining different subvariants (E-1 to E-8, plus /B and /Z versions) and it also includes the production figures of each subtype.
The next section of the book covers the evolution of the –E into the –F (perhaps the nicest looking 109 of them all) explaining in good detail the wing, engine, cowling, propeller spinner and tail re-enforcements that made this series substantially better than its predecessor.
Through most of the seventies and early eighties custom vans were all the rage! This kit takes you instantly back to that magical era when shag carpet, eight tracks and incense were commonplace.
Sincere appreciation to Eduard for providing yet another review item, and to the IPMS USA reviewer corps leaders for sending it to me!
This set continues Eduard’s effort to provide modelers with previously unavailable, well detailed resin sets. Consisting of 36 parts, you are presented with six forward bomb casings, six sets of low-drag standard fins, six fuse extenders, six fuses, and two different sets of six forward end caps for transportation or other situations where other fusing is used.
Decals round out the presentation, including yellow stripes for the bomb noses and two types of stencil, yellow and white.
Assembly requires careful sanding of the pour gates after you remove the parts, particularly if you don’t want “wonky” fins. You will have to ensure the fins are also correctly oriented to the mounting lugs on the forward bomb body, as this matters when used on a MER/TER situation. No fin interference!
As usual, I am eternally grateful to Eduard for providing yet another cool review item, and to the IPMS USA reviewer corps leaders for sending it to me.
This small set continues Eduard’s effort to provide modelers with previously unavailable, well detailed resin sets. Consisting of 14 parts, you are presented with two resin pods, three sets of end caps (one for the front of the pod, and options for either a loaded or transport/storage pod cap)
Eight warheads are provided, and these appear to be the standard High-explosive variety. No double-ogive versions in this case. Decals round out the presentation, including yellow stripes for the warheads and stenciling for the pods.
Osprey is a publishing house in the United Kingdom that should be a household name to the swarms of us. Osprey continues to expand their Fortress series with the 109th book in this installment. The Fortress Series examine the fortifications and defense structures of opposing forces. In this case the Atlantic wall which at the time was the most fortified defense in Europe. This “wall” proved successful in forcing the allied forces to find an alternate route after several scuffles forced them back.
For the Fortress series, the chapters are organized as follows:
Osprey is a publishing house in the United Kingdom that should be a household name to the swarms of us. Osprey continues to expand their Warrior series with the 176th book in this installment. The warrior series examines specific units and armies of a particular nation. In this installment the all-white and world renowned South African unit who was one of the most innovative and successful anti-terrorist units in the modern world.
For the Warrior series, the chapters are organized as follows:
A variant of the M60 main battle tank featuring a low-profile turret, a 152mm main gun capable of firing conventional rounds, and the MGM-51 Shillelagh anti-tank missile system, the M60A2 was queued up as an interim solution while the MBT-70 was under development. Despite its advanced technology, the “Starship” did not live up to expectations and was eventually phased out of active duty units by 1981.
Eduard’s NATO Fighter is a limited edition boxing of the Hasegawa F-104G with the addition of resin parts for two different ejection seats and several sensors/antennas, a photoetch fret of details for the two seats, as well as a full cockpit, and 2 decal sheets – one of stencils and one with markings for five different NATO air forces that flew the F-104.
Hasegawa’s F-104 kit has been reviewed several times in the past, so other than a few gotcha’s that I learned the hard way, I will focus on the added parts and details.
