What's New

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Minicraft Model Kits
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$49.99

The Aircraft

The B-52 has been in service since 1955. Which means that in about 2 years they should start sending them Social Security checks. Because there are still 58 B-52s in service, the type may still participate in combat again. It’s expected the BUFF will still be in service in 2050.

The aircraft in this kit are the types used in the 1960s and 70s in Vietnam, for Operation Rolling Thunder, Operation Arc Light and Operation Linebacker II. 31 B-52s were lost in the war, 17 shot down, one written off due to combat damage, 11 lost to accidents, one burned at the airport and one ran off the end of the runway and ran into a minefield.

Review Author
Clarence Wentzel
Published on
Company
Advanced Modeling
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$9.99

Background

The Sukhoi Su-24 “Fencer” has been in service for the Russian air forces for over 40 years. It is a rugged, variable wing sweep bomber that is easy to fly and well-liked by the two-man crew. Several kits have been produced of this aircraft and recently, the Advanced Modeling company has released some decal sets that depict the Fencer in modern markings.

In accordance with the agreement between Russia and Syria, a group of Russian aircraft were sent to the Khmeimim Air Base in Syria, September 2015 to fly in support of the Syrian ground forces. During actual operations, the national insignias and registration numbers were overpainted. This could not be easily removed so areas of lighter gray can be seen behind the restored insignias and numbers on certain aircraft. This sheet contains seven different markings for Su-24s that have been operated out of the Khmeimim Air Base.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$16.95

This set is designed to fit Trumpeter’s new Su-34 kit. The set consists of 9 parts, a nose gear with a separate lower axle, two main gear legs, two part scissors links for each main gear, and retraction struts for each leg. The castings are nicely done and require just a little clean up on the casting seams. I cleaned the seams up using a Xacto knife and sandpaper. I then used a brass wire wheel in my battery operated Dremel tool at slow speed to polish up the struts and finish smoothing out the casting seams.

In order to assemble the nose strut I had to drill out the end of the axle part as it was partially filled in during the casting process. Before assembling the two parts, double check their orientation with the kit instructions to ensure they are correctly oriented.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$7.95

This set is designed for Eduard’s new MiG-21MF kits. The set provides masks not only for the canopy and the windscreen, but also for the HUD, the underwing landing lights, and the antenna panels on the vertical tail, the ventral fin, the wing leading edges and a number of smaller ones under the wings and fuselage. Unlike many of Eduard’s other masking sets, this one does not include masks for the tires or wheel hubs.

The inclusion of the masks for the antennas is a great idea as the MiG-21 has a lot of antennas. Most visible are the large panels on the vertical tail and the front of the ventral fin, but there are a lot of smaller ones on vertical tail, on the leading edges of the wing and on the underside of the jet. The panels are crisply molded on the kit and after painting the antenna panels green, the masks were fitted and fit perfectly as expected.

Review Author
David Wrinkle
Published on
Company
Meng Model
MSRP
$17.00

For me this kit seems like a match made in heaven. I have always liked the Stuart tank as well as have been looking to trying building one of the toon tanks from Meng. When the opportunity arose to do this review, I jumped on it. I was intrigued after Meng had released several Meng Kids aircraft kits and now, they have released at the time of this review 12 World War Toons tank kits. I also discovered while researching the kit for this review there is apparently video game utilizing the tanks in the series. At the time of this review the game is apparently in beta form.

Book Author(s)
John F. Winkler and illustrated by Peter Dennis
Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$24.00

This publication can be purchased in one of three formats. The paperback edition (9781472828842) retails at $24.00. Both the eBook (ePub) (9781472828859) and eBook (PDF) (9781472828866) can be purchased for $19.20.

The author, John F. Winker, has written extensively on the history of Roman, English and American law. He resides in the Columbus, Ohio area and enjoys historical sites in the local area. Peter Dennis is well-known by readers of Osprey publications as his art is included in a large number of Osprey books. Mr. Dennis resides in Nottinghamshire, UK.

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Fundekals
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$12.00

Fundekals has released a decal sheet covering Royal Navy Corsairs (F4U-1A) in WW2 for 1/32 scale.

The sheet provides markings for 3 airframes; options are

  • Corsair Mk II, JT427
  • Corsair MkII, JT 383
  • Corsair Mk III, JS70

all of them in HMS Victorious during October 1944 in the camouflage colors of Dark Slate Grey, Extra Dark Sea Grey over Sky… or their American equivalents, making the actual colors to be a bit of a guess to say the least!

By the way, all these airplanes had the “square wing tips” so you probably will have to modify either the Tamiya or Revell model to convert the F4U-1A into a Corsair MkII or MkIII.

Research on these sheets is very comprehensive as the instructions (only provided as a download) include plenty of B&W pictures.

Review Author
Clarence Wentzel
Published on
Company
Advanced Modeling
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$9.99

Background

The Sukhoi Su-24 "Fencer" has been in service for the Russian air forces for over 40 years. It is a rugged, variable wing sweep bomber that is easy to fly and well liked by the two man crew. Several kits have been produced of this aircraft and recently, the Advanced Modeling Company, a supplier of great resin parts, has released some decal sets that depict the Fencer in modern markings.

In accordance with the agreement between Russia and Syria, a group of Russian aircraft were sent to the Khmeimim Air Base in Syria, September 2015 to fly in support of the Syrian ground forces. During actual operations, the national insignias and registration numbers were overpainted. This could not be easily removed so areas of lighter gray can be seen behind the restored insignias and numbers on certain aircraft. This sheet contains seven different markings for Su-24s that have been operated out of the Khmeimim Air Base.

Review Author
Rob Booth
Published on
Company
CMK
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$4.30

CMK has produced a very nicely detailed set of diamond treaded wheels for the 1/72 Special Hobby P-40/Kittyhawk kits. The supplied items include the diamond tread tires and separate hubs in two options. Although made for the Special Hobby P-40/Kittyhawk kits, these wheels should be adaptable to any of the 1/72 P-40/Kittyhawk IV kits currently on the market, for a smart upgrade to lackluster kit wheels.

The wheels are nicely molded from a 3D-printed master, with no flash or pitting. Tread detailing is fine on the tires, as are the two supplied options for the separate spoked or closed hubs.

Be sure to wash the parts in soapy water to remove mold release agents and prime prior to using your favorite modeling paints.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to the IPMS Reviewer Corps and CMK for the opportunity to review this item.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$10.95

This is the second masking set designed for Eduard’s new MiG-21MF kits. The first set, CX511, provides masks not only for the canopy and the windscreen, but also for the HUD, the underwing landing lights, and the antenna panels on the vertical tail, the ventral fin, the wing leading edges and a number of smaller ones under the wings and fuselage. This set, CX512, adds additional masks allowing you to paint the interior color on the inside of the canopy instead of just on the outside. This will result in a much more realistic finish for the canopy, especially if you are going to pose it open. Like CX511, but unlike many of Eduard’s other masking sets, this one does not include masks for the tires or wheel hubs.