Review Author
Rob Booth
Published on
February 3, 2020
Company
Iliad Design
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$12.00

Iliad Design is an Ottawa, Canada based firm that offers decals and color chart references for scale modelers.

The subjects of this set are post-WWII era Beechcraft Model 18s in military markings. Markings are included for three aircraft as follows:

  • SNB-2H Hospital Aircraft based at NAS Jacksonville
  • UC-45J based at NAS Atsugi, mid-1960s
  • AT-7C of an unknown unit, buzz #TB-482, 1946

The sheet is printed in perfect register with very little carrier film border. Colors are bold, and the ink is solidly dense, reducing or eliminating opaque tendencies of the lighter colors. The letter-sized instruction sheet calls out paint colors and particulars for each aircraft. Also noted are the nacelle and leading edge modifications necessary to model the Atsugi bird, and references the Belcher Bits resin parts to complete it.

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
March 13, 2018
Company
Academy Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$46.00

I didn’t know this when I started working on this review model, but the K9 is NOT an indigenous design from Finland, but is a South Korean design intended to replace their aging M109 self-propelled howitzers. Finland has a long history of buying military equipment from abroad and making it their own, and this is a good example. First operational in South Korea in 1999, it was picked up by Finland shortly thereafter. Capable of hurling a 155mm shell some 50+ miles, it certainly has proven to be an upgrade from Finland’s older SP artillery types.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
March 12, 2018
Company
Avantgarde Model Kits
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$70.50

A little history on this kit. When AMK first issued this kit, Kfir aficionados noticed that the coke bottle shape of the fuselage was not quite looking right. IPMS/USA reviewed the kit last year.

You can see the shape is flat. SO, AMK fixed it and with this new release, the subtle shape is there. Fantastic!

Inside the box, you get 11 sprues of well done grey parts, a clear sprue and 20 weapons all molded as one price and stacked. More on that later. You get a superb decal sheet with marking for six planes:

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
February 3, 2020
Company
Videoaviation
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$10.00

Videoaviation continues their excellent 1/32nd scale ordnance releases with a set of 4 USN MK83/BLU-110 bombs with light ablative fire-retardant coating used by the US Navy. The set consists of 34 cream colored resin parts perfectly cast: four main bodies, four tail fins, four fuses, four caps, and 18 attachment lugs along with decals. The main bodies are especially impressive. They have a very finely detailed molded on ablative coating. I have not seen this done often but have seen it replicated by modelers using putty or primer and a stiff brush. Ablative coatings are used to protect the explosives from cooking off as quickly if heated and look like rough sandpaper texture. Some great pictures are on the Videoaviation site listed above.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
March 12, 2018
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$16.95

Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) is well known for making replacement white metal landing gear for many, many subjects. This set replaces the main and nose landing gear for the AMK 1/48th scale Kfir C2/C7 kit from AMK. The set consists of seven well-made white metal parts; four are the main gear and three make up the nose gear. The main gear replaces kits parts C54/57 and E19. The nose gear replaces parts C17, 21, and 68.

To prepare the parts, I sand off a few small seam lines and the parts are ready. For the main gear, the assembly adds the two white metal parts together and then you complete the assembly with the plastic oleo from the kit.

Review Author
Rob Booth
Published on
March 12, 2018
Company
Werners Wings
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$5.00

Werner’s Wings is a Baltimore, MD based firm that offers decals and resin detail parts for scale modelers. Founder Floyd Werner has been around scale modeling for many years, and is one of the hobby’s leading authorities on US Army rotary wing aircraft (not just through modeling, but from years of very personal experience!), and WWII Luftwaffe fighters. A quick search of the IPMS Review or other modeling-related sites will yield plenty of background on his considerable modeling skills and knowledge.

Floyd’s passion for detail in modeling modern rotary aircraft subjects is evident in this release of resin antenna mounts to replicate the stand-off mounts used for the wire antenna array on Bell’s UH-1D in 48th scale. The subjects of these sets continue Werner’s Wings commitment to providing quality resin and metal detailing sets and decals for rotor-modeling interests.

Review Author
Rob Booth
Published on
March 12, 2018
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$16.95

Scale Aircraft Conversions has produced replacement gear for the Hasegawa/Italeri 1/48 scale Macchi C205 Veltro kits. The white metal replacements are a clean drop-in for the kit plastic parts. I have reviewed several of these replacement gear packages, and purchased many more on my own. I have always found them to be at least equal, and usually superior to the kit parts in detailing, with the added benefit of superior strength.

The supplied items in this issue include the two main gear strut and actuator assemblies, and two tail gear struts with the tail wheel molded in place (check your reference photos). Some other SAC packages include replacement main gear wheels, as well, but not the case here. You will need to use the kit wheels or other replacements for your build.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
March 12, 2018
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$6.00

Quickboost, which is part of Aires, is known for their wonderful and simple kit enhancements which are drop in or require slight surgery. This set is for the wonderful AMK 1/48th Kfir kit and is a replacement set of antennae. It consists of six resin parts on a small casting block which replace five of the kit parts. Parts 1,2 4 and 5 are listed as direct replacement while part 3 requires the removal of the molded-on kit part. All of the casting is superb and the parts are finer than the corresponding kit parts.

Going through the parts individually:

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
March 10, 2018
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$21.95

Scale Aircraft Conversions produces white metal replacement parts for kit details such as landing gear. This set provides metal landing gear, plow brake, upper & lower cable support struts, and outside wing cable supports for the WingNut Wings 1/32 Jeannin Stahltube plastic kit. These detail parts come in a 2 1/2”x 3 1/2”x 1” blister pack containing eight sprues with 12 parts. Parts include the main landing gear, plow brake, and the upper and lower struts and turnbuckles for the wing rigging cables.

Book Author(s)
Piotr Witkowski, Color by Andrzej Glinski
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
March 10, 2018
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$26.40

This tome appears to be Piotr Witkowski’s third book in English and it’s a follow up to Volume 2 of his Operational Market Garden Paratroopers that focused on small arms and specialized equipment used by 1st Independent Parachute Brigade. The positive feedback he received from Volume 1 and 2 encouraged him to get this volume published. You can find my reviews on Volume I and II at the IPMS USA Review website. I’ve found two prior books in Polish: Polskie jednostki powietrzno-desantowe na zachodzie (Bellona, 2009) and a second edition of this book titled: Spadochroniarze Sosabowskiego: Dzieje polskich jednostekpowietrznodesantowych 1939-1945 (Bellona, 2012).