What's New

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

This set is another of Eduard’s new “Steel” seatbelt line. The set is advertised as being for World War II Luftwaffe fighters, but the fret is etched “Bf 109” and “Fw 190”, so it appears the set is intended for just these two aircraft. However, in looking at photographs of belts in other Luftwaffe fighters, I think they could be used for other aircraft as well.

The set includes four sets of lap-belts and shoulder harnesses, two for the Bf 109 and two for the FW 190. In looking at the belts closely, about the only difference I can see is the upper attachment point for the shoulder harnesses. As I did not have either a Bf 109 or a Fw 190 underway, I installed the Bf 109 set in a Hasegawa Me 262 and the Fw 190 in a Ta 152H that have been in the bench queens pile for a while.

Review Author
Rob Booth
Published on
Company
PJ Production
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$8.70

PJ Production is a Belgian firm that specializes in the creation and production of resin scale models and accessories aimed at modelers of military aircraft kits and aviation-related dioramas in 1/72nd, 1/48th and 1/32nd scale. Their lines include fine and accurately detailed cast resin replacement and supplemental parts for model kits in the most commonly produced scales.

PJ Production has produced a resin MATRA Magic 1/2 missile for use with aircraft armed with such types. An out-of-box evaluation (see photos) indicates a reproduction of the French missile that provides a realistic scale-detailed assembly with the appropriate avec attachment supports. The panel detailing is extremely fine, with fins cast separately.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$18.95

Thanks to Ross at SAC for sending us improved metal landing gear for the new 1/72 Airfix Victor, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it to me….

Another of SAC’s expansive line of white metal upgrades to the basic kit plastic! The set consists of 17 parts: Two duplicate sets of main struts and nose gear, and bomb bay door actuators. The bomb bay actuators were not used in this build but may come in handy if they ever release this kit with the free-falling “dumb” bomb load to show off in the cavernous bomb bay.

Review Author
Michael Novosad
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$32.95

History Brief

Much has already been published regarding the F-18 Super Hornet series, and therefore I will not add to the discussion. However, a great source of information may be found on Wikipedia.org, or modeling web sites. Also "The Modern Super Hornet Guide, The Boeing F-18E/F and EA-18G Exposed" by Jake Melampy, and offered by Reid Publications is an exceptional reference with its many color photographs of the aircraft's details. I used that publication for this build as well as for my earlier Revell F/A-18E and Hasegawa F-18E/F/G model projects.

Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$7.95

Thank you to the Eduard Company for sending this detail set for review, it is always a pleasure to see what your new products bring to the scale modeling world. Thank you also to the IPMS Reviewer Corps staff members who do the hard work in getting us modeling products to review, the reviews posted, and the news spread to the world.

The photoetch fret arrived in excellent shape in a sealed plastic package with the distinctive Eduard knight logo. The fret is 1 3/8 x 7/8 inches (34 x 23 mm) on polished metal with color-etched laminated details. Lap and shoulder belts are included, along with pads and buckle latches. A red “time-to-go” face curtain handle is provided to top off the seat. Eduard shaded the colors very nicely on the parts, giving them a sense of depth and wear. The PE metal folds well.

Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$19.95

Thank you to the Eduard Company for sending this detail set for review, it is always a pleasure to see what your new products bring to the scale modeling world. Thank you also to the IPMS Reviewer Corps staff members who do the hard work in getting us modeling products to review, the reviews posted, and the news spread to the world.

The photoetch fret arrived in excellent shape in a sealed plastic package with the distinctive Eduard knight logo. The fret is 2.75 x 1.6 inches on polished metal with color-etched laminated details. Side consoles and instrument panel parts are provided for either a F2H-2 or F2H-2P. I worked up the –P version for this review.

Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$10.95

Thank you to the Eduard Company for sending this masking accessory for review, it is always a pleasure to see what your new innovations bring to the scale modeling world. Thank you also to the IPMS Reviewer Corps staff members who do the hard work in getting us modeling products to review, the reviews posted, and the news spread to the world.

The 3 x 2.5 inch masking sheet arrived in excellent shape in a sealed plastic package with the distinctive Eduard knight logo. The yellow paper masking material is 3 mils thick with perfectly-cut mask outlines. The backing was not cut through at all, and none of the backing came up with the masks. A color instruction sheet is included in the package, and Eduard also has the same instruction sheet available for download on the product page. I really appreciate having the electronic PDF format to mark up on my computer, not to mention the ability to easily enlarge for my aging eyeballs.

Review Author
Ron Bell
Published on
Company
Round 2 Models
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$32.99

The Kits

These are Round Two’s re-release of the Lindberg company’s re-release of three old Pyro molds that appeared under many guises, such as the Nina was once boxed as a Barbary Pirate and the Santa Maria appeared as the Mayflower. They were part of a series of kits called “Historic Sailing Ships” that included twelve ships, many actually duplicates with different names. When first released, the kits were of a standard box scale, but “The Ships of Columbus” are touted as being 1/144. In reality the three ships varied in size yet the kits have all the same dimensions, so the scale issue is “iffy” as each ship has a hull about 4.5 inches long.

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$32.95

This is a photoetch Interior set to for the Hong Kong Models B-17 E/F Kit number 01E04a. This set with two photoetch sheets one is colored and adds a lot of needed detail to the Nose compartment of the B-17. These parts really add some great additional details to an great kit.

In the packet is:

  • 1 colored photoetch sheet
  • 1 photoetch sheet
  • 1 instruction sheet

Summary

This is a fantastic set for the set for a kit that is great to begin with, these parts are an awesome addition.

I did find a few minor issues with the set and also with the main kit instructions;

Book Author(s)
Text and Artwork- Andy Evans
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
SAM Publications
MSRP
$122.93

This second book in the new Combat Edge series from SAM Publications deals with the US Navy and Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler. The book has a beautiful cover shot in glossy relief of a Prowler coming right at you. The book covers the history and development of the Prowler, its operational history as well as a walk around and beautiful color profiles. Lastly, there are three unbelievable builds of the Prowler. More on these later.

The chapters included in the book are: