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Review Author
Dave Koukol
Camden Koukol
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$17.00

The US Navy’s mainstay fighter from 1943 until the end of World War II, the Grumman F6F Hellcat was instrumental in establishing air dominance in the Pacific theater of operations during the war. Following the war, the Hellcat was relegated to US Navy Reserve units, as newer, more capable types replaced them in fleet service.

Revell’s re-release of the timeless Monogram F6F-5, first offered in the 1960’s, is still a great kit for young modelers, or experienced modelers looking to relive a piece of their childhood. It’s probably safe to say that a majority of older modelers who started the hobby as kids have built at least 1 or 2 of these classics. Although only 6 (and ½, I’m reminded), this was Camden’s second Revellogram F6F-5, and the first one he actually painted and decaled.

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
JH Models
MSRP
$34.99

JHmodels offers two different wooden stands, sometimes called “jigs,” that look similar to one another. A major difference, however, is that the item described in this review is for biplanes while the previously reviewed product, (No. 4801) is primarily used for monoplanes. There is an easy way to remember the difference….. No. 4801 is for a single wing and No. 4802 is for 2 wings. The other wooden stand, No. 4801, is reviewed at http://web.ipmsusa3.org/content/wooden-stand-building-painting-and-tran…

Review Author
Perry Downen
Published on
Company
Ampersand Publishing
MSRP
$15.95

Ampersand Publishing offers a quarterly photo-magazine featuring dozens of black and white photographs of armor, military vehicles, personnel, etc. Many are rare or seldom seen pictures. Each photograph is accompanied by a caption explaining what is depicted and the historical context. The reader will also see original line drawings and pictures from technical publications. These softbound publications contain from four to six articles. The subject of this review is Issue 28.

This 96-page issue contains five articles. They are:

Review Author
Phil Peterson
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$4.50

Quickboost continues to release replacement parts for new kits as they come out, this time it is updated exhausts for the new Airfix Swordfish.

A quick comparison between the kit part and the resin parts show the new items have more of an oval exhaust point where the kit piece looks more round.

You get 2 exhausts in the set which can be helpful if you have one of the older Matchbox/Revell versions as those kits only come with the later exhaust. Or you can save the other one for the new floatplane version Airfix is releasing shortly.

Overall a nice, quick update to help make a good looking kit that much better. Many thanks to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for the review item

Review Author
Chris Graeter
Published on
Company
Meng Model
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$69.95

History

The Merkava Mk.3D main battle tank (MBT) in service in Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is the revised version of the Merkava Mk.3, equipping with a 120mm smoothbore gun, the BAZ gunner's sight and the panoramic commander's sight. The detachable add-on armor plates at the turret roof and its sides greatly increased the protection ability. As the most widely equipped MBT by IDF, the Merkava Mk.3D took action in the second Lebanon war in 2006, "cast Lead" operation in the Gaza strip in the winter of 2009 and many other security activities along Israeli border.

Book Author(s)
Ron Mackay
Review Author
Roger Carrano
Published on
Company
Squadron Products
MSRP
$18.95

The Avro Lancaster was probably best known for the bombing of the Ruhr Dams by the 617 Squadron of the RAF which was known as Operation Chastise. This squadron was to become known as the Dam Busters. However, the Avro Lancaster was to become one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, which first saw service in 1942. It became primarily a night bomber but among its other attributes it was an excellent daylight precision bomber. It served between 1942 and 1945 and flew over 156,000 sorties.

Review Author
Phil Peterson
Published on
Company
Aviaeology
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$9.59

The Sunderland is one of my favorite flying boats. There is something about the Flying Porcupine that just makes me go cool. I even got a chance to see one at Fantasy of Flight during the Nationals even though it had been converted to a passenger version.

This new sheet by Aviaeology covers markings for 3 of the Mk.III versions as operated by the RCAF in Coastal Command. All 3 aircraft scored U-boat kills. They all wear similar schemes of white fuselage sides and undersides and either Dark Slate Grey and Extra Dark Sea Grey upper camos or the later version with just Extra Dark Sea Grey. The instruction sheet is in black and white and gives profiles and upper views of all 3 aircraft.

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
JH Models
MSRP
$33.99

I have long seen the need for a stand or base that could be useful while painting a model, as well as for use in the construction of the model. I have tried to design and assemble such a base with some level of success, but recently I had the opportunity to try out a product by JHmodels. acquired through UMM-USA. This stand consists of a set of simple wooden parts, assembled with super glue, and including some metal nuts and bolts that allow for the parts to be adjusted to fit the model being built or painted.

Straight out of the package, the parts are held in a wooden fret that will remind one of PE frets that hold the parts in place with very small connecting tabs. These tabs can be cut with a hobby knife, popping the parts out of the wooden fret quickly and easily. Once the parts have been removed from the frets, one will need to do a little assembly. An instruction sheet illustrates those 7 steps