History

Ford introduced the “F” series pickup in 1948, beginning with the F-1; it became the best selling line of pickups of all time. The second generation of the “F” series was introduced in 1953 as the F-100, it ran through 1956.

The 1956 Ford F-100 is very popular among street rodders and was the vehicle of choice for famed pin striper, cartoonist, and custom car builder Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. Ed Roth created outrageous characters such as Rat Fink and Mr. Gasser, as well as vehicles like the Beatnik Bandit, Orbitron, and the Outlaw, among others. These were wild one-off creations that set the bar for custom hot rod show cars. The Revell model company turned several of Roth’s custom vehicles into model kits. Ed “Big Daddy” Roth was a notable figure in the custom car world and an inspiration to his contemporaries and future generations of custom car builders.

I have always been very interested in the odd subject, the one-offs, the participants in some historically significant or merely strange event, and the Seafire FR 46 fits in there somewhere. The Seafire 46 was a modification of the Spitfire F 22, with the bubble canopy and contra-rotating props. Combined with the larger vertical stabilizer of the Seafang, the Mk 46 fixed the problem of the sudden swing to starboard when power was added, as on takeoff.

There was an order placed for 200 FR 46s, but only 24 were built. It wasn’t a very good carrier aircraft as there was no provision for folding the wing. The follow-on Seafire 47 had a folding wing, and the 46 was relegated to shore-based training units.

Yep, I was destined to build this kit.

The Merkava began development in 1973 and entered service several years later, in 1978. Since it was originally fielded, it has gone through several iterations. Trumpeter has chosen to model the Mk. III which entered service in 1989. This model of the Merkava has several improvements from earlier models, notably the addition of a 120 mm gun produced in Israel, a larger diesel engine, and modular armor, just to name a few. Trumpeter’s kit goes head-to-head with Revell’s Mk. III which is the only other Merkava in Braille scale.

I was extremely pleased to be given the chance to review Eduard’s new Zuikaku carrier deck section. I have a few IJN aircraft and this deck section really helps to display them at shows. You get a section of pre-painted deck, and all you have to do is remove it from the etch carrier tree and you ready to place your favorite IJN plane on it. The deck section is good to go as is or you can mount it on a base like I did (mine came from Michael’s craft store for a couple of bucks).

There is also deck sections for the Zuikaku with an elevator, and similar ones for the Akagi available as well from Eduard. I used a Hasegawa Zero to show off the deck – see pictures below. Purist will recognize that my Zero is from the Hiryu, not the Zuikaku. Oh, well, it’s the only A6M2 I have built at the moment, so it will have to do.

SAC continues its prolific output of gear to handle the loads on our models. Thanks to Russ at SAC for providing IPMS/USA this set, and IPMS for sending it to me for review!

This is yet another drop-fit set designed for the Hasegawa P-39/P-400, an aircraft that can use it – metal replacements on a long nose-gear-legged bird…particularly true if you choose to put weight in the nose (and the P-39 needs it) to keep the aircraft sitting on all three tires.

Everything was a perfect fit. Main gear legs fit tightly into the square attachment points. The nose gear slid into place as easily; the actuating ram was from the kit in plastic, but it all went where it needed to, and I have no complaints. One thing I really like about metal gear is the ability to expand parts and attachment points to fit around trunnion lugs and fittings, and then squeeze them together to help hold them in place.