When I heard about a new Emily I was excited, as I had built the 1972 issue which had fit problems and a canopy that was too wide. I had sanded off most of the raised detail and scribed in new ones, but overall I remembered it as a tough build.

However, the price of 149.95 for Hasegawa’s new issue seemed steep, and as I had already built one Emily, thought I would pass on another. But! when I was availed of this review opportunity, I was all in to try another.

This one turned out to be an almost easy build. Molded in light gray plastic with a four-piece fuselage having a separate bow section, it all comes in a nice sturdy box with good instructions. The only exception was the many decks in the nose section which weren't depicted quite clearly. The kit also includes a complete set of crew figures with separate heads and arms; they’re well-done but I elected not to use them.

Frederick A. Johnsen recently retired from a lengthy career at the U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center and NASA's famed Dryden Flight Research Center, both located on the historic desert site known as Edwards Air Force Base. During his time there, Johnsen amassed a wealth of knowledge related to the Golden Age of Flight Test Research at Edwards. He has written numerous books about aircraft and aviation history, including: Thundering Peacemaker: The B-36 Story in Words and Pictures (1978); Bombers in Blue: PB4Y-2 Privateers and PB4Y-1 Liberators (1979); Darkly Dangerous: The Northrop P-61 Black Widow Night Fighter (1981); F4U Corsair with Rikyu Watanabe (1983); B-24 Liberator (Warbird History, 1993); Douglas A-1 Skyraider: A Photo Chronicle (1994); B-24 Liberator: Rugged But Right (1999); Lockheed C-141 Starlifter (Warbird Tech V 39, 2005); Captured Eagles: Secrets of the Luftwaffe (2014).

Master Model from Poland specializes on brass and resin drop-in replacement parts. In this case there are 4 parts: two barrels and two flash hiders for the Flak 18 used in Ju-87G, but also seen in Bf-110, Ju-88 and other airplanes.

The turned brass parts mean that no mold line is present and that alone is enough of a reason to consider upgrading your kit. Another reason is the beautiful perforated flash hiders and the hollow gun barrel end, which adds realism to the airplane weaponry.

Assembly is straightforward and simple. First you superglue the flash hider to the gun barrel. Then you remove the plastic gun from the plastic part and make a small hole (1 mm in diameter) to mount the brass gun barrel.

I would personally leave the barrel off the model until the very end. Not only that means less masking (for painting), it also ensures the barrel won’t get knocked off the model during handling.

Brengun, based in the Czech Republic, is known for producing a range of photo-etched and resin accessories for airplane models. They also produce a small number of 1/72nd and 1/144th aircraft model sets. One of their latest airplane kits is the North American A-36 Apache.

The A-36 Apache was a dive bomber version of the P-51 Mustang. It was based on the fuselage of the P-51A, but with completely redesigned wings strengthened to support the added stress of dive bombing. Also, to aid in dive-bombing, rectangular slats were added to the upper and lower parts of the wings. Approximately 500 bombers served in units in the Mediterranean Theater and the China Burma Theater.

The Mitsubishi ‘Zero’ fighter was Japan’s premiere fighter at the beginning of World War II. By the time the A6M7 Type 62 appeared, the airplane had been outclassed by American fighters and in the waning months of the war, they were used in Kamikaze attacks primarily against U.S. Navy ships.

Hasegawa has done an excellent job of reproducing this aircraft. There are plenty of details provided, and nice touches such as the tape over the rivets on the fabric flight controls are there. The kit comes with a total of 147 pieces molded in a light grey and clear plastic. The fit of the parts is excellent, and I needed just a minimum of filler putty on several joints.