Videoaviation is an Italian manufacturer of superb aircraft accessories, ground support equipment and figures in all three popular scales. I have had the luck to review a few of these and have always been impressed by the excellent casting and design of their kits. This newest set, a 1/32nd scale US Navy MHU-191 Missile cart and two ordnance man is excellent. The set consists of parts for a MHU-191 cart set up for missile transport. There are two ordnance men in different poses. All parts are cast in light tan resin with crisp details and minimal seams. Parts breakdown is as follow:

PJ Productions from Belgium is well known for their wonderful resin figures and accessories. This latest kit is a RAF pilot in tropical flight clothes from the WWII era and is made in 1/32^nd scale. The kit includes five resin pieces with the body being one-piece cast and the arms and head separate. Note that there is a separate piece for the oxygen hose and it is small and between the head and left arm. Don’t mistakenly throw it away. Casting is good with a slight amount of flash and is all done in cream colored resin. The box is your instructions as far as color for the pilot and his uniform.

Assembly is straightforward. Get rid of the casting blocks and seams by gently scraping. Glue the arms onto the body. I used glazing putty smoothed with lacquer thinner to eliminate the seams. I added the oxygen hose which fits into the hose molded into the body and runs to the side of the mask on the face.

Tamiya has recently released their own boxing of the diminutive Goliath tracked mine. The kit comes complete with two mines and control boxes, tethered by steel wire to one of three highly detailed figures. Molded in crisp, yellow plastic, the contents of the box are typical of Tamiya kits, and the three figures are just about as good as it gets in terms of detail and craftsmanship.

History

The Goliath tracked mine – (Leichter Ladungsträger Goliath or Goliath Light Charge Carrier) was a name given to two German unmanned, disposable demolition vehicles used during World War II. These were the electrically powered Sd.Kfz. 302 and the petrol-engine powered Sd.Kfz. 303a and 303b. The -302 is the version represented in the Tamiya kit.

History

The Skipjack was a class of United States Navy nuclear submarines. This class was named after its lead ship, the USS Skipjack. The Skipjack’s design was based on the USS Albacore design. This new design was maximized for underwater speed by shaping the hull like a blimp. The bow panes were moved to the massive sail to cut down on the flow-induced noise near the bow sonar array.

The Kit

Opening the box: When I opened the box, the model was packaged with three sprues one for the hull halves, one for the parts to go on the model and a sprue containing the stand the model will be displayed on. Also included was a clear plastic envelope containing the photo etch propeller and the decal sheet.

This latest book in the “In Action” series covers the CH-47 Chinook from prototypes to current operations.

The Chinook began as the YHC-1 prototype in 1957. Vertol, which had been Piasecki until 1956 developed the YHC-1A and the YHC-1B. The YHC-1A became the CH-46 Sea Knight, used by the US Navy and Marine Corps. The YCH-1B, which was larger became the CH-47 Chinook.

The first half of the book covers development and the various models of the Chinook.

The sections are:

• Development
• YHC-1B
• CH-47A
• ACH-47A
• Model 347
• CH-47B
• CH-47C
• CH-47D
• CH-47F
• MH-47

The “In Service” section consists of photos with captions outlining the various areas of operation of the Chinook. The CH-47 was heavily used in Vietnam. Later it was used in Operation Deliberate Force in Bosnia, in Afghanistan, then Desert Storm in Iraq.