Neil Robinson takes his second go around as interim editor and comes up with a second great issue. While the previous formats have been consistent, this interim issue is a collections of great articles and two aviation in profile and all the expected news on new releases and current in stock materials. There is also a really nice review of the Nuremberg Show Report.

The first article is an excellent upgrade of Revell's 1/72 Halifax built as a 6 group RCAF Halifax B.II Series IA built by Tony O'Toole. Changes include filling in some windows and reconfiguring others along with using a Freightdog set. The results are superb. Bonus real pictures and a history of the plane were included.

Andy Scott builds Revell's wonderful 1/48 Ventura as a Mark II. Alley Cats OOP blistered canopy was used to replicate this mark. Other changes include his method to fill the correct lines and Ultracast wheels were used.

Aires, as part of their Aerobonus line, has started issuing 90mm figures of mascots for popular planes or units. These have included the stinging bee for the Skyraider of VA-176 and the tomcat from VFA-31 for the F-14. They continue this with a mascot for the Mig-21 which is a caricature of a Mig-21 pilot in a full flight suit. I could find no further information about what unit it might represent or what specific pilot is featured.

The Kit

The parts break down is simple - the body and the head. Take your time separating the casting blocks - they are beefy. Once separated, there are some seams on the inner legs that need sanded and you’re ready for some paint. I primed the kit with Alclad gray primer and set it aside to dry.

This kit is a re-boxing of an earlier kit, with a photo etch fret, vinyl tracks, and decals. According to the website: "Cyber-Hobby is well known for its fantastic Orange Box tank and figure set combos in 1/35 scale. These special sets provide updated Dragon kits that have not been available for some time and at competitive prices."

Detail is excellent for this scale, and goes together without any glitches. You get decals for 3 tanks dated 1944-1945 located in Andler, the Eastern Front, and Germany. 2 tanks are three tone camo, one is two tone. The kit went together without a glitch, there's only 8 total steps:

The Panzer III Ausf.M was an improvement of the previous J through L versions, with extra superstructure front and mantlet of 20 mm of armor. It also was equipped with fording exhaust which allowed deeper river crossings. The gun was the standard long barrel 50 mm (1.97 in) KwK 39 L60. It also had six 90 mm NbK smoke dischargers, three mounted on each side of the turret. The Ausf.M could also be equipped with protective steel plates, called Schurzen, designed to protect the turret area from enemy anti-tank weapons. Further armor protection were large steel plate skirts suspended from either side of the chassis. A total of 1000 were ordered, but only 250 were completed. The Panzer III Ausf.M took part in the greatest tank battle of all time, the Battle of Kursk in July 1943. It is the Kursk Panzers that are depicted in this Dragon’s 1/72 Armor Pro series.

I’ve built three of the Eduard Bf-109s and absolutely loved the finished product. Is it over-scaled? Slightly. Get over it. It is a nice 1/47th scale model. I can’t wait for their reengineered one too.

That said there are a lot of really nice things to do with the kit. The rear bulkhead is a separate item added when the fuselage halves go together. This little gem of resin has the bulkhead with the access door closed. This part is properly proportioned and has the proper relief of the door. Adding it to the model will be easy enough and the part is a direct replacement for the kit part.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Aires and IPMS/USA for the review copy. You can get yours directly from Aires at https://www.aires.cz/en/ or at your local hobby shop or online retailer.