Krisztine Bodi is a European figure sculptor of some renown who started his professional career producing masters for the likes of Alpine, Young Miniatures and Mantis. As so often happens, Mr. Bodi eventually decided that working for himself might be the smart thing to do, so he set up his own line of figures under the brand name “the bodi”. The range now numbers nearly 100 figures in various scales, most covering the period of the Second World War.

My approach to reviewing these two figures sets (3 figures total) this time around is to provide you with photos taken by myself of the unpainted resin pieces, together with photos borrowed from the producer’s web site. This is because these beautiful sculptures deserve better than my almost non-existent figure painting skills have to offer. I want folks to see the quality of the resin parts, but also see what a good figure painter can then do with them.

Background

The USS Akron and Macon were lighter than air (LTA) aircraft carriers built for the US Navy in the 1930’s. Filled with Helium, ach rigid airship was designed to carry five single-seat Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawks for scouting or two-seat Fleet N2Y-1 biplanes for training. A gondola was also designed to be lowered through the cloud layer for aerial surveillance. Both rigid airships crashed within two years after becoming operational. There’s a good article on these craft at: https://www.airships.net/us-navy-rigid-airships/uss-akron-macon/ .

Thanks to Eduard for providing more of their excellent aftermarket parts for IPMS USA review, and to IPMS leadership for sending it to me!

Here we go. According to the flight manual, the average Spitfire pilot will retract the flaps as soon as he/she is on the ground because the flap interferes with cooling air exhaust from the radiator, which leads to overheating on the ground. BUT, sometimes flaps must be down for maintenance, which is how Eduard approaches the situation.

This set is not for the faint of heart. it requires patience, dexterity, skill, and a lot of luck to pull off a successful installation. I get four of 10 on this one for my lack of the above.

HOWEVER, many will do just fine with it. Remember rule 1: Metal work hardens every time you bend it. Breakage is a way of life. if you try to bend things more than once, you MIGHT get a second chance.

SO, study your flaps, and develop a course of action!

History

The USS Florida is an Ohio class Submarine. The keel was laid down on July 4, 1976 and was launched on November 14, 1981. Originally the Florida was designated as SSBN-728 and was converted to SSGN-728. This conversion started in July 2003 and the Florida was re-commissioned in July 2006 as SSGN-728. The USS Florida is still serving proudly today.

The Kit

The kit is molded in light gray plastic. Construction on this model is pretty straightforward with only seven steps. Now this doesn't mean that this is a shake and bake kit. This kit was originally released in 2003 as a SSBN. To convert to a SSGN requires some minor surgery. This is all called out in the instructions and the parts are provided.

Scale Aircraft Modelling's July 2015 issue focuses on some of the classic British era with everything from new kits, scratchbuilds and older kits.

The articles start with a test shot build of Revell's 1/72 C-54/DC-4 by Andy McCabe. The over 300 parts are assembled into a gorgeous military transport and the kits looks to be a must have.

Rick Greenwood builds Kinetic's 1/48 AMX kit and reports the overall fit of the kit is good but he did sand down the slightly pronounced rivets on the rear of the plane. He also reported a slight color issue with some of the decals but the result is very good.

Valom's 1/72 Bristol Bombay Mk. I is built by Ernie Lee. This is a mixed media kit with limited run plastic, resin engines and photoetch frets. The finished kit is nice and I love seeing an unusual build.