This is a great kit that Dragon has produced and it’s a joy to assemble!

Background

The Opel Blitz Maultier (“Mule”) platform was developed in 1942 to deal with the lack of paved roads on the Eastern Front in Russia, and was produced until 1944. An Opel Blitz wheeled truck chassis was modified by replacing the rear drive wheels with caterpillar tracks. The Maultier half-track Sd. Kfz.3 chassis was used with a cargo truck bed, antiaircraft gun mount, and truck bodies used for offices, workshops, & the Maultier ambulance.

Dragon has produced a previous Sd.Kfz.3a Maultier Half-Track kit, #6761 with a cargo truck body. Testors, Revell, and Italeri have also produced kits of the Opel Maultier with a cargo body in 1:35 scale.

Hasegawa continues its releases of the F/A-18 Super Hornet series with a limited edition set for VFA-27 the "Royal Maces 2013", who are part of CVW-5 aboard the USS George Washington. The basic kit components have remained the same since 2006 when this series was released and IPMS/USA has been lucky enough to review the kit several times. That being said, this is a superb kit that makes an excellent representation of the Navy's newest workhorse. I did add one thing to it - TwoMikes resin intakes. I know TwoMikes is on a hiatus at the moment but their intakes are mandatory for this kit. They are white, fit perfectly and they are visible.

The kit includes nine sprues of perfect gray plastic, two sprues of clear parts and one sprue of poly caps. The kit has the option for folding the wings and includes drop tanks but no weapons for the pylons. An ATFLIR pod is included but nothing for the 11 hard points.

Northrop's YF-22 was the direct competitor to the F-22 Raptor that the Air Force elected to purchase. Two prototypes were built- one in gray and the other in black. Hobbyboss has released the first quarter scale kit and it is a beauty. The kit is 94 parts with the upper and lower fuselage being one large piece each. Engraving is good. Most of the parts go toward the landing gear bays and landing gear. There is a clear canopy and windscreen. No option for opening it is available. There is a small decal sheet and full color paint guide in the kit representing the gray prototype only.

The rucksacks come in a clear plastic cardboard backed package. There is also a piece of foam to help keep the pieces from moving around. They parts are in gray resin with very nice details.

Included in the package are five rucksacks, two folded tarps, one entrenching tool w/cover, three canteens, two bread bags, two bread bags and canteens molded together, five mess kits, two grenade bags, two helmets ( Model 1918 and Pickelhaube) and one wood chest. The level of detail is high on the pieces. One thing I noticed on my sample is Plusmodel tried to replicate some wire pieces on the mess kits, this makes it very delicate and several of my examples were missing it. It would be an easy fix to replace it with fine wire.

With the renewed interest in WWI and kit manufactures coming out with new kits, this set will be a welcome addition for those looking to add extra detail to their kits.

Jagdstaffel 17, better known as Jasta 17, was one of the premier German fighter squadrons of World War I. It began as Kampfstaffel Metz, and later became known as Jasta 17. Although not as famous some of the other units, it nevertheless produced its share of aces, and three of its members were knights of the Orden Pour le Merite, holders of the coveted Blue Max. Julius Buckler, with 35 confirmed victories, was the highest scoring ace of Kampfstaffel Metz. Other standouts included Oblt Bruno Loerzer, Hermann Goring, Jacob Wolff (who was 48 years old when he scored his last victory, and was also Jewish), Vzfw Christian Donhauser, and a number of others who either transferred in and out of the unit, or served briefly until becoming casualties.