IPMS/USA thanks Masterpiece models for supporting the IPMS USA reviewer corps with one of their unique (and very useful) tools. I understand this was one of the items debuting at the Nooga Nats… Lucky you guys! And thanks to IPMS leadership for sending it to me for a review opportunity.

This is a clear ruler, approximately, well, ok, it’s actually exactly six inches long end to end. It is, however, a simple concept. Making accurate measurements for larger kits on a clear (Styrene or Lexan, I can’t tell) ruler. VERY nice.

A very convenient and accurate tool, this ruler does what it says; measures in 1/32 scale feet and meters, one on each side of the face. No turning over to read calculations, no math. Just hold it up to the part to ensure it is correctly scaled out. Can’t be more basic than that, and I have already put it to use several times.

Italeri have re-released this 1991 kit with new decals the decal options include three airlines - Air UK (1985) Canyon Eagle Airlines 1998 and Schreiner Airways (1966).

The twin-engine Fokker F-27 was designed during the fifties by the Dutch Aircraft Manufacturer to provide a successor to the old DC-3 that were still in service since the second world war. It was a great commercial success for airlines and military use.

In the box is:

• 4 x white sprues (one varies from the illustration in the instructions)
• 1 clear sprue
• 1 large decal sheet
• 1 instruction booklet

The kit consists of 4 main sprues, very well molded with very little flash but a few large ejector pin marks on some parts. I decided that I would build the Air UK aircraft as I worked with Air UK in the past on a few projects interior projects.

This set includes two complete sets of landing gear for Eduard’s recent Spitfire Mk. IXe and Mk. XVI kits. Each set is comprised of 5 pieces: two main struts, two scissor links, and a tailwheel with the strut. The parts are drop-in replacements for the kit parts.

As the struts are small and space around them on the casting tree is pretty tight, the first thing I did was to use a razor saw to separate the parts from the casting tree. To keep myself from getting confused, I removed one set only so that I could match the parts up with the ones left on the casting tree and keep left and right straight.

History

The Macchi M.5 was a flying-boat fighter developed by the Nieuport Macchi company of Varese in early 1917 and introduced in service in autumn 1917. Initially armed with a single Fiat machine-gun, and featuring a tail structure held on struts, the production M.5 had an armament of two Vickers guns and a tail structure resting on the fuselage. It was an extremely fast and maneuverable airplane, that managed to gain an ascendancy over the enemy seaplane fighters and even claimed victories against the Phönix land fighters.

In the introduction to one of David Doyle's latest offerings, he writes: The M551 Sheridan is often referred to as a light tank, but in actuality it was an armored reconnaissance/airborne assault vehicle. The M551 was designed to be a lightweight, amphibious, air-dropable vehicle armed with a massive 152 mm gun that doubled as a rocket launcher. The gun launcher was designed to fire the MGM-51 Shillelagh antitank missile, or 152 mm conventional rounds with a combustible cartridge case. The vehicles saw extensive use in Vietnam, Operation Just Cause in Panama (where they saw their only combat air drop), and Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The Sheridan ended its service with the US Army masquerading as Soviet Bloc vehicles at the National Training Center.