What's New

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Reskit
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$13.80

ResKit from Ukraine has released a two-figure aftermarket set for the 48th scale aviation modelers. The figures are for a Soviet Naval Pilot and a Land Crew personnel, both of them in a military salute standing position in winter clothes.

You can see in the pictures that the figures as casted have superb surface details and all the folds in the clothing will render beautifully for shadows. There are no evident bubbles nor holes in the figures, showing the quality of the casting.

There are no instructions, but the assembly is straightforward and there is a color image on the box that guides how to paint the figures.

The casting blocks are somewhat large, but the casting block connectors are small and delicate and will be easy to remove and clean the parts.

Recommended.

I would like to thank ResKit and IPMS/USA for the review sample.

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$59.95

Eduard has released a limited edition of their great Mig-21 kit. This time the bis version used by other countries with marking for seven different air forces that used the aircraft.

In the box is:

  • 8 x light grey sprues
  • 1 clear sprue
  • 1 large decal sheet
  • 1 mask sheet
  • 3 x photoetch detail set
  • 13 resin parts
  • 1 instruction booklet

While you get 8 sprues, you also get plenty of unused (spare) parts. All the sprues are extremely well molded with very little flash and great detail. The decals allow you to finish the aircraft in 7 different versions and are printed by Cartograf.

Review Author
David Horn
Published on
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$8.00

Brengun produces a wide range of unique resin and photo-etch accessories in 1/32, 1/48, 1/72, as well as 1/144.

This item covers a unique subject that will assist outfitting a wide variety of aircraft. There are resin chaff/flare dispensers produced for a specific subject complete with their entire mounting. This accessory will allow the modeler to add it to kits where fidelity is poor or completely missing, as well as add it on aircraft kits where a version specific resin update is not available.

Book Author(s)
Jack Holroyd
Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$21.94

This series by Pen & Sword features photographs from each year of the Second World War. This first volume includes photographs and illustrations of the first year, 1939 to 1940, and covers the contributing factors that led to the outbreak of hostilities. The book includes 750 images and photographs in a picture strip or collage style. It’s a quick, convenient, visual history of the first year of World War II. The text is in sidebars or captions for the photos and is easy to read. The text and photos are in chronological order as events unfolded

The book is packed with photos on each page like a collage, and includes captions describing the events and people in the photographs. Maps and illustrations of military movements, reproductions of posters, newspapers, and other historical documents are also included. The images are mostly black and white, but there is a 32-page section of color photos and images in the center of the book.

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$15.95

Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) offers an extensive range of replacement landing gear parts for a wide variety of kits. I have some experience using SAC items to replace kit parts and I’ve found that the SAC items add strength to the model without sacrificing any of the detail found on the original parts.

This gear set is designed to be used on the Trumpeter Fairey Firefly kit. The SAC product includes seven parts.

Review Author
Michael Reeves
Published on
Company
RB Productions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$17.00

I must admit, I am normally against ordering aftermarket products unless I am building a specific piece for a commission build or wanting to recreate a specific aircraft belonging to a specific pilot. I am usually content to stick with what’s in the box and adapt as needed. However, when I saw this set was available and was looking up the schemes, I jumped at the chance for something out of the ordinary. This particular set is available in the three major scales of 1/72, 1/48, and 1/32.

Included in the zip-locked bag are schemes for four Italy-based 15th AF aces as follows:

Review Author
Michael Novosad
Published on
Company
New Ware
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$9.09

Company Background

New Ware is a company in the Czech Republic that is well know to spacecraft modelers. They were new to me. I looked into their website and the text is a mix of English and Czech, and it is noted that Russian, German and Italian are also spoken. They offer kabuki-type masks for many of the popular scales from 1/24 down to the diminuative 1/144, plus eggplanes.

Their on-line catalog is broken down by scale, with a further breakdown for model kit manufacturer. Each mask description for the kit noted with details for the contents such as all clear parts, interior (when offered), other clear parts and wheels.

Review Author
David Horn
Published on
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$6.42

Brengun produces a wide range of unique resin and photo-etch accessories in 1/32, 1/48, 1/72 as well as 1/144. This wheel set is cast with zero flash with prominent pour blocks up half the wheels. The finish is slightly textured but realistic and raised lettering is not visible however in this scale, reading the lettering should not be an issue to most modelers. The tread is not that deep but visible and realistic to 1/144 scale.

These wheels are for the “legacy” hornets which differ from the “Super Hornets”. Each tire has a slight expanded section for weight on wheels. Depending on your kit, the hub may need to be opened up or drilling the hub deeper to attach to your landing gear. Brake calipers are clearly visible on the main wheels however the outboard features, holes and rim fasteners are a little blended and not that crisp compared to larger scales.

Book Author(s)
Chris McNab; Illustrator: Alan Gilliland, Johnny Shumate
Review Author
Mike Lamm
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$22.00

Osprey’s Duel series is a well-established line of books providing an overview of machine-on-machine combat action from design and development through combat. The books include a thorough analysis of the elements which affected the overall outcome of specific battles.

This volume focuses on some lessor known armor actions of the Vietnam war. When we think of the battles in Vietnam, we generally don’t think about armored warfare, we tend to focus on guerilla warfare, aerial bombardment, and helicopter assaults. However, near the end of the war there were few battles featuring rather extensive use of armor by the North (PAVN) and South (ARVN) Vietnamese armies. The ARVN’s main armor component was the M-41 Bulldog light tank, which by the early 70s had been long since retired by the U.S. Army. The PAVN had supplies of Soviet T-54s, and Chinese produced versions of the T-54.

Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
David Doyle Books
MSRP
$19.99

Sherman Tank, Vol. 2, is the second book in David Doyle’s Legends of Warfare series on the Sherman Tank. The first volume of the series covered the Sherman M4A1 Tank in several variations. This Volume 2 covers the Sherman M4 medium tank, which is a welded hull, radial engine-equipped tank. The M4 was the predominant US tank in WWII until late summer 1944 when it was replaced by the M4A3.

The M4 was used by both the US and British forces in Africa, Europe, and the Pacific. The M4 went through three major hull designs, multiple turret designs, and was armed with 75mm or 105mm guns.