Intro

WOW, I’ve always loved the Platz kits and was I surprised to find 2 kits in the box! Initially, I was thinking about what a hard choice it would be to decide on wheels up or down. Not with this kit :D So, I love the box art for the 40th Anniversary livery and decided that had to be the in-flight version and the low-vis aircraft would be parked.

The Kit

Two things stand out, the way parts are designed to fit together and the detail. Engraved panel lines were clear everywhere except the nose of both aircraft. Some sanding and a fine scriber will clear this up. Parts are practically a snap fit I noted. A unique element in a kit this small is that both retracted and extended gear doors. No cutting and trimming to get a set to fit. And the ordnance! Wait till you check out the detail on those little sidewinders.

Regulars

Pages 6-7 The Newsstand. Here this publications previews new model kits and accessories. The paragraphs are short and are accompanied with color images of the subject matter.

Pages 8-10 Czech News. New releases from Airmastr and Planet Models/Special Hobby are featured with the primary focus on the latter's 1/72 and /48 scale kits of the HESA Shahid 136/Geran suicide drones. Color images included. AZ Model, Valom, Eduard and Kovozavody Prostejov (KP) offerings are also featured.

Pages 12-13 In The Box. The Infinity Models 1/32 Aichi D3A1 Val is featured with a two page spread including some images of the kit contents plus information on Infinity aftermarket accessories for the kit.

The Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback is the latest publication from Duke Hawkins Books and is the twenty-ninth volume of a series of books that they have recently published highlighting modern aircraft. This series got its start with The Sepecat Jaguar in July 2017 and has been quite successful. There is also a special limited edition on the Belgian Air Force F-16 and on the Juan Carlos I Aircraft Carrier. This series of publications fall under the name of Duke Hawkins, but it is not clear exactly who Duke Hawkins is. If you check out other retail sites on this series, you can find Robert Pied and Nicolas Deboeck listed as authors, but there is not much additional information on them. One of the bylines goes like this:

Military Modelcraft International is a military modeling magazine produced by Guideline Publications and hails from Great Britain. According to the Military Modelcraft International Magazine website,

Military Modelcraft International is the UK’s leading military modelling magazine, with a truly global reach attracting the best modellers in the world to its pages. Each month MMI brings you a mixture of in-depth build articles, reviews of the latest kits and accessories, superb reference articles, and reports from model shows across the world. MMI’s focus is on providing you with the inspiration and knowledge to improve your own modelling skills and gain more from the hobby whether that be from archive photos and references or modelling tricks and tips.

I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the Civil War era, as this is the period in history that my father taught at the university. ICM has really delivered in this area, offering no less than four different infantry figure sets, each with a superb sprue of associated equipment, making it very easy to convert these figures as you choose.

ICM has now taken this a step further in introducing a full set of all four kits along with their associated gear for a total of sixteen figures and four equipment sprues. As you might guess, this is a real boon for figure modelers and certainly guarantees a good number of modeling nights in the garage for this particular enthusiast.