History

As quoted from the introduction in the book "The Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate, known as "Frank" in allied jargon, was one of the best IJAAF (Imperial Japanese Army Air Force) fighters during the final year of the Pacific war. Featuring an enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear, this all-metal cantilever low-wing monoplane of an elegant body was the successor of the previous Nakajima fighters - Ki-43 Hayabusa and Ki-44 Soki. The Ki-84 proved it's value fighting in China and the Philippines, although the highest number of these machines were lost there, too. When in the hands of an experienced pilot, it was a good match for the best of Allied fighter aircraft. After the war a small number of Ki-84s served with the Chinese air forces, taking part in the civil war of 1945-1949".

This book is the latest release from AIRfile Publications and covers Royal Air Force operations in the Middle and Near East from right after WW II up to 1979. I had forgotten how involved the British have been in the Middle East in times past. They have had a long history there and played a significant part in the development of several nations. The turmoil and hostility in this region we read about every day is not new. The British have dealt with the violence in this part of the world almost since their arrival.

In the first couple of pages, the authors give a brief history of the area and trace the presence of the RAF from WW II to the late ‘70s. Then the book is divided into four chapters, broken down by the years of British involvement:

Being fresh off of the review of the 1:72 scale MiniArt “Building w/Garage”, kit #72031, we now have the “City House” kit, #72030. This is a model of a typical European multi-family dwelling. Like the previous kit, this kit represents a complete, undamaged building and not a ruin. It is also all injection molded styrene with none of the vacuum-formed parts found in some of their 1:35 scale releases in the same genre.

The Box

The 13.5’” by 10.5” by 2.25” box is the preferred top and bottom (lid) type. There is a nice artist’s rendition of the building on the box top which can serve as a helpful painting guide, although colors can ultimately be left to the imagination of the individual modeler. However, considering the weight and quantity of the box contents, and like the last kit, I felt that the box top was a bit flimsy, although this one has managed to stay together thus far.

Zoukei Mura made a huge splash several years ago with their Shinden, Skyraider and continued the exceptional releases in 1/32 scale. They have now entered the 1/48th scale market with a J7W1 Shinden. Zoukei Mura has a company philosophy of showing all internal detail in their 1/32nd kits to make the kit not only detailed but a learning experience for the modelers. This 1/48th scale kit is no different but I wanted a comparison review to their 1/32nd scale Shinden and decided to build them both at the same time and compare.

Another beautifully cast set of resin parts to make our models better from our friends at MMD/Squadron; thanks very much to you for providing IPMS USA this review item!

Another of Monogram’s better kits, the F-101B has been re-released in several different guises. Most recently it was released with a new decal sheet and markings, but it’s still the standby F-101B.

As stated before, these seats really make a bid difference between the standard model seats with their molded-on harness. Although the kit seats were more than adequate, this set from True Details takes the illusion of reality a step further. Cast in Gray resin, the seats have fantastic harness detail (I much prefer these to Photoetch; they just look better to me) and the rest of the seat is also upgraded. Easy to install; paint, remove the casting block, and superglue in place.