Boeing's B-47, the first American jet bomber, was ordered in April 1946, and first flew in 1953. Although thought to be a good-looking plane, it had a few shortcomings that shortened its service life, including limited weight movement due to its landing gear configuration and uncomfortable crew conditions.

Hasegawa's B-47E kit comes in a big box with a nice painting on the top, and it includes decals for two aircraft of the Air Research and Development Command. The plastic is light gray, and as this release is a reissue of a vintage kit, it sports raised rivets and panel lines. There are many sink marks, including ones on the seat backs, wing roots, wheel wells, bomb bay doors, and fin. The kit features a one-piece canopy plus a positionable boarding ladder, crew door (with nothing behind it), and bomb bay doors. A bomb load is also included.

Aires continues it release for the recent bounty of 1/32 Skyraider with a cockpit set for the Trumpeter AD-4 kit. The set consists of 7 gray resin parts, all of which are perfectly cast. One of these, the gun sight, is not used for the Trumpeter kit. The set also has a photoetch fret with 26 pieces with the instrument panel and seat belts making up the majority. Lastly, there is a film sheet with the instruments printed on it and having parts for a gun sight which is also not used.

One problem that has plagued ship modelers for years is trying to replicate the “cage” masts which first appeared on the South Carolina battleship series. Kits have tried to replicate them in plastic and it just can’t duplicate the fineness. Photoetch has been done but it requires a deft hand to bend and even then, it’s flat. Enter 3D Model Parts. This set contains two masts for USS Colorado/Tennessee class ships which require both masts. The masts are done in orange plastic and come two to a set packed in a sturdy plastic tube in a pouch. Instructions include where to cut. These are printed parts and printing is starting to make a real inroad to the hobby.

The Product

My sample arrived in the standard Brassin blister package, a folded paper information/assembly guild doubles as the cover art. Also included are fourteen pieces of resin in varying shades of grey and a small photo-etch fret. The parts clean up easily and are very highly detailed. The photo-etch parts are extremely small and delicate. The instructions are easy to understand and covers the build in four steps. However, the Bren gun can be configured in several options (see Eduard’s photo attachments). The most distinct option is the drum or clip types of magazines. The set also contains a bag for empty shells and support legs.

The Build

The build was completed in a couple of hours and proved almost non eventful. All the pieces fit very nicely and build an impressive 1/35th gun. The photo-etch parts were the hardest thing involved, simply because of their size.

Introduction

June 6, 1944 “D” Day was the day when the allied armies crossed the English Channel en mass and landed on the beaches of Normandy to begin the slow march across Western Europe This battle was the start of the allies invasion which ended in Berlin with Hitler’s surrender. 2014 marked the 70th anniversary of this monumental event. Each day, we lose more of those who participated or lived through this battle. Kits, like this one, help us (and especially the younger builders out there) remember what happened on that day and why it was so important to the course of WWII. The P-51 has been covered by many other sources, as has the “Bluenose” 352nd Fighter Group based in Bodney Norfolk, UK.