History: The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and was originally developed in remarkable time of 102 days in response to a request from British Purchasing Commission. The first P-51s with Allison engines were not able to show stunned high performance. By replacing Allison Engines with Rolls-Royce Merlin Engines, P-51 became a high-performance aircraft and evolved into long-range bomber escort in European War and was rival for Japan Army in Pacific War. D-version of P-51s were produced in larger numbers than any other Mustang variants. The P-51D featured a bubble canopy for all-around visibility and was armed with six wing-mounted 12.7mm caliber machine guns. Wing racks allowed the carriage of drop tanks to extend range or bombs for ground attack.

I have heard of Tru-Color Paints probably 18 month ago by now and since then I had the chance to review a few different colors and coats from them. They have an extensive line of railroad and car paints and they are continuously expanding their military line (aircraft, naval, armor).

This time, thanks to the kind support of Tru Paint to IPMS/USA I was able to use them for the review of an Eduard P-400 Profipack (model kit review elsewhere in this website). As I was doing a review of paints, I decided to go for a P-400 which was assembled from parts of different airplanes and sported a mix of USAAF and RAF colors.

This is not a specific set for the P-400 (Tru-Colors has a few packs of paints). It was more like I was able to “make my own” set of paints. Below is the list of paints I used in this review:

Thank you to Bill and to Phil for all the work you do!

Kit

ICM Holding, a Ukrainian-based company known for outstanding quality, has produced a very nice new-mold German halftrack. The main armored personnel carrier of the German Wehrmacht, the Sd.Kfz. 251, built by the company Hanomag, was used to transport motorized infantry. The armored personnel carriers were in service with the German army throughout the Second World War and were used in all theaters. This modification, the Sd.Kfz.251/6 Aufs.A., was produced in 1939-1940.

The PBJ-1H is U.S. Navy variant of the B-25 which was operated by the U.S. Marine Corps as a ground attacker. This aircraft is a powerful ground strafing machine and due to the weapons package built-in, it can be viewed as a gunship.

This accessory is not identified for use on one specific manufacture’s kit. The PBJ-1H in 1/72 scale is or has been produced by Hasegawa, Dragon Models & Matchbox.

Assembly is straightforward as there are only two components. The resin cast is feather-light and has very crisp detail and is flash free. To begin, I washed the cast using a mild solution of water and dish detergent. Next, I sawed the cast in half to gain easier access to each of the two components. After each piece was removed, I gently sanded smoothed the sawed surfaces and then adjoined both pieces using CA. The completed assembly was primed and painted with Tamiya Sky Gray.

Summary

This is a review of a base which is made of finely molded piece of medium grey resin base. I thoroughly enjoyed working with this diorama base. Unlike many of the bases I have previously worked with, the Tiger Werke base is (a) reasonably priced, (b) lays flat on the table without having to be sanded or otherwise manipulated, (c) takes a variety of paints and or primers (I used an acrylic by Mission Models, though I also tested a small patch with both Alclad’s Lacquer and their Aqua Clear Gloss—both of which worked very well), (d) finished up with a patch work mosaic pattern of what to my mind resembles a cobblestone pattern and (e) used a number of Vallejo Model colors to paint the individual tile pieces. I suspect there is a multitude of cobblestone designs or patterns available, all the way from what I tried to represent to dusty or very dirty street scenes (see color and pattern notes below).