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Review Author
Roger Carrano
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$29.95

As with all Eduard products, you can expect the detail to be excellent, and these nettings are no exception. The netting is so fine and true to scale and the colors used for the camouflage is perfect. The “Woodland” net is a mixed dark and light color which matches the foliage perfectly. The “Desert” net is of course lighter, but it has both a dark and light sand color which imitates the desert’s coloring perfectly. The size is big enough (5 ¼ x 9 ¼ in) to cover small munitions models and medium size tanks, but for large models, it might fall a little short. The “netting” is a little stiff (after all it is metal) so don’t expect it to just fall on the model and contour itself on its own. Rolling it shouldn’t be a problem but folding it might need something round at the fold to prevent it from creasing and after the fold is complete then the round object could be removed. It would have to be given some thought and planning ahead of time as to where and how it should be placed.

Review Author
Paul Helfrich
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/240
MSRP
$16.95

HMS Campbeltown was originally the Wickes-class destroyer USS Buchanan, DD-131. She was commissioned in 1919 and transferred to the UK as part of the “Destroyers for Bases” deal between the US and Britain in 1940. In exchange for 50 aging “four-piper” destroyers like the Buchanan/Campbeltown (obsolete for fleet duties, but still useful as convoy escorts) for the Royal and Royal Canadian navies, the US got basing rights in the Caribbean and Newfoundland.

HMS Campbeltown is one of the most well-known of the traded ships, as she was famously expended as a floating bomb in the “Operation Chariot” raid by British commandos on the St. Nazaire docks in March of 1942. The purpose of the raid – and it succeeded – was to deny the use of the St. Nazaire dry dock to heavy German units such as the battleship Tirpitz.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Italeri
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$25.00

Ever have to rob a perfectly good kit for just the bombs? I have and I regretted it later when I either wanted to build it or sell it. Italeri has a solution to this problem, bombs and lots of them. The latest release contains two identical sprues of 53 parts each and the decals that go with them. You can build AB70, AB-250, AB500, the ER-4 Bomb rack, ETC 50 bomb rack, PC1400, PD500, SC50, SC250 with Dinort fusing, SC500, SD250, SC1000, SD1700, Pfeife Geraete, 300 and 900 liter Fuel Tanks and WB81 gun pods from the kit. That is a lot of ordnance. There are multiple aircraft that can be armed with this set. Included in the instructions are the load out plans for various aircraft such as the Ju-88, He-111, Ju-87, Hs-129, FW-190, and Me-262. As an example, you can use the bombs and gun pod on Italeri Stuka.

Review Author
Perry Downen
Published on
Company
Minicraft Model Kits
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$29.95

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Minicraft Model Kits for providing this kit to IPMS/USA and to them for allowing me to review it.

In the mid-1930s United Airlines decided they needed a larger plane than the DC-3s they were using. They contacted Douglas Aircraft to develop such a plane. Douglas designed and built a large aircraft they called the DC-4E (E for experimental). It flew for the first time on June 7, 1938. More than twice the size of the DC-3 (138 ft. wingspan and 97 ft. long) the cabin had a wide pressurized cross-section, a tricycle landing gear, and triple vertical stabilizers similar to the Lockheed Constellation. With its four Wright R-1820 engines developing 1450 hp each, it could potentially fly nonstop from Chicago to San Francisco.

Review Author
Walt Fink
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$24.00

Monogram’s venerable ’58 Thunderbird kit---first released in 1964---has been updated and re-packaged under the “Car Show” banner, meaning it can be built stock or with extra customizing parts in the kit---including a double-bubble clear top of really heroic proportions. Moilded in white plastic, the kit has just a couple of fit issues, but is generally an easy build, and despite its age, can hold its own with today’s releases.

Since I grew up “back in the day” with these classic cars, I opted to build the kit stock. I had some questions with the instructions’ colors for the engine components, so eventually consulted a website for “Squarebird” enthusiasts (www.tbirdranch.com) and though there was a bit of conflicting info there too, I decided to paint mine per the website’s Concours table for ’58 Thunderbirds---Ford light engine blue block with black valve covers. (Great site, by the way.)

Review Author
Roger Carrano
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$26.95

When this package arrived I pulled it out of its mailing pouch, and if I didn’t recognize the Eduard Logo and packaging, I would have thought that someone had sent me real tiny leaves. That’s how realistic these fern leaves looked. They are already colored green and the color is perfect. It is colored on both sides, which makes assembly easy due to not having to worry about the wrong side showing because of it not being painted. They are very thin which also make them very fragile but can be easily bent to conform to any angle or shape you may need. Even though Eduard has decided that these ferns are 1/35 scale, they can be used for just about any scale within reason. The only drawback is that there is no picture of any kind, which shows how they should be “planted” or anchored to a “branch”. I guess we’ll have to figure it out on our own; which really isn’t that difficult.

Review Author
Jack Wade
Published on
Company
Pavla Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$7.50

Editor's note: P/N U72-110 = $7.50; P/N U72-109 = $5.50

It was with great anticipation that I awaited the release of the Hobbyboss 1/72 Westland Lynx HAS.3. When it hit the street, I was not surprised to learn that it was a nice kit with some curious accuracy issues as this seems to be typical for this manufacturer. Pavla has addressed two of the major hiccups with these two resin sets and I jumped at the chance to incorporate them in my build for this review.

The first shortcoming addressed by the two sets reviewed here is the lack of BERP rotor blades applicable to this variant. The kit includes the older straight style on a separate sprue just for the rotor blades and this is particularly frustrating as other boxings of this kit have the correct BERP rotor blades – a simple mix up that should have been easily avoided. The second issue addressed in this review is more of a design flaw as the shape of the sponsons is inaccurate and simplified.

Review Author
Jack Wade
Published on
Company
Pavla Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$9.95

The cockpit set comes in four cream colored pieces – tub, seat, stick and panel/coaming. The parts are nicely detailed and well-cast, if only a tad rough on the surface. The texture was not an issue with parts this small and I did nothing special to prepare the parts for painting, including skipping the washing stage often recommended. The parts were prepared simply by cutting them from their casting blocks.

Review Author
Mike Hinderliter
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$5.95

Quickboost just added another fine addition to their list of after market parts. This time they have done the much needed and awaited correction to the Hasegawa B-24 Liberator, the front undercarriage doors. It is up to their usual standards; molded in a cream colored resin, smooth, seamless and bubble free. One thing of note is that they are really easy to remove from the mold block because of a nice perforation. It only takes a couple of minutes with a saw blade and a gentle touch to remove them. Just make sure not to get too over zealous or the part may snap.

Review Author
Ed Kinney
Published on
Company
Air Modeller
MSRP
$14.95

Contents

  • Cover Article…"The Perfect Panther”" – F9F-2 by Zdenek Sebesta on the Trumpeter 1/48th scale kit.
  • Hurricane MK1(early) – Pacific Miniatures kit by Jamie Haggo
  • The Martin Baltimore Special Hobbys 1/72nd kit by Andrea Vignocchi
  • Photo Gallery of the Baltimore by David Doyle
  • Hellenic Air Force T-2 Buckeye (2Bobs 1/48th kit) by Periklis Salessiotis
  • Bell P-39 Airacobra (MPar 1/32nd) by Daniel Zamarbide
  • Air Born…A listing of New Releases
  • SM79 “Sparviero” (Classic Airframes 1/48th) by Jean Barby