The F4U-1D, F7F Tigercat, Hellcat and the TBM-3 Avenger all used the same propeller. The Corsair needed the additional clearance for deck handling so the 13’1” Hamilton Standard prop was adopted. If you wanted to depict this or even more importantly, correct the AMT Tigercat props, you had to normally rob them from a Hellcat kit. You don’t have to do that anymore.
On occasion there is just something that comes out that you want to say, “WOW, what a great idea!” This is one of those products and one of those occasions. The wing racks in this package are nice enough but the addition of the bomb loading system is so cool! If you build dioramas this is a set that you must have.
The set provides approximately 50 resin parts molded in light yellow resin that are perfectly cast and blemish free. That said, my two wing rack ejector systems had two sway braces broken off in transit. Not a big deal as the resin pieces are kept in a Ziploc bag. There is a small fret of photo etch pieces as well. A length of wire is included to allow the modeler to “use” the pulley system.
Want something that will set your model apart from the rest? That little something that is unique and adds visual interest? Well, Profimodeller has just the thing for your 1/32nd He-111 or Ju-88, an oxygen system complete with flak helmets and oxygen masks with straps.
You get four resin pour blocks with a German helmet, mask with hose, and some oxygen bottles. All of mine were perfectly formed and cast out of light yellow resin. A fret of photo etch provides a good amount of detail such as the suspension assemblies inside the helmets. That is the level of detail we are talking about here! Also included in the set is a length of tubing to represent the oxygen lines.
This is the first offering I’ve seen from Profimodeller, who are based in the Czech Republic. It is an ambitious first offering, designed for the Revell-Germany 1/32nd scale Ju-88 kit. This set is designed to fill in the vast open area of the tail wheel well and give you a better looking tail wheel assembly and replicate the internal structure.
The set is packaged in a sturdy cardboard box with three Ziploc baggies. The first bag contains the resin pieces which are cast in a light caramel color with no noted defects found. One of my parts was broken off the sprue but it proved to be no problem as it broke off where I would have had to cut it anyhow. The second baggie holds a myriad of white plastic styrene strips and tubing. This is simple enough to separate. The final baggie contains the Photo Etch parts. There are some large parts and some very small ones and they all appear to be perfectly etched.
Well, it’s another of those books about a little known battle of World War II, but as I read this book, I became convinced that it was important for several reasons.
Demyansk is a small town in Russia which sits about halfway between Moscow and Leningrad. This position makes the battle important. The Wehrmacht had punched through the Soviet armies in the western Soviet Union, and made fast advances toward both Leningrad and Moscow. Because the terrain west of Demyansk is mostly swamps and marshes, the advance in the areas between Moscow and Leningrad were slower. Also, there weren’t as many troops provided for this less important push. The OKW was certain they’d have both of the major cities shortly, so why bother with the farmland and villages between?
When Steve Collins asked for volunteers to try Italeri’s new acrylic paints, I jumped right in there. I was doing a Monogram battleship as the USS Wisconsin, and I needed something to use as Deck Tan and Battleship Gray.
The paints come in 20milliliter bottles with a snap-open cap which allows you to take a small amount of paint from the top, which is great for doing fine work. You can also unscrew the lid and get a big dollop for painting a large area. The snap cap makes it very difficult to spill the paint, a plus when working with several colors at once.
Designed to replicate the paint scheme on Sukhoi Su-30 demonstration aircraft, these F-15 markings are for the only aircraft of the 65th Aggressor Squadron to be painted in this manner. My copy of the decals has all three scales represented, 72nd, 48th and 32nd. The one thing about Twobobs products is the level of research that goes into a product. This sheet is no different.
The instruction sheet is printed on high, full color paper and contains some small photos of the real thing. The instructions provide a listing of the accessories that are available, and not just the ones available through Twobobs. The background of the full color instruction sheet will aid and inspire the modeler. The instructions provide four-view drawings that provide the modeler with an excellent reference for markings placement. This aircraft will be a masking “fun time”.
When you are building the Eduard 1/48th scale Bf-109s, you are struck by the quality of the plastic parts. But, like any kit, there are limitations that plastic can do. Resin is the answer in many instances. In this case, Eduard, the manufacturer of the kit, does the work for you. This does a couple of things – first, it ensures that the parts are going to fit the kit they were designed for. I like this concept. Secondly, these parts take less time to make a big difference over the kit parts. I’m all about being able to build faster.
Packaged in a sturdy plastic carton are two resin wheels, two spoke assemblies, and one tail wheel assembly. The resin is perfectly cast in light grey and dark grey resin with no blemishes or air bubbles. Also included but hidden in the packaging are masks for the wheels.
For the past 50 or so years, I have built plastic models and painted them using various types of enamel paints. For the earlier wooden models, before plastic kits became popular, I used regular model airplane dope (actually, lacquer), sometimes laced with talcum powder to achieve a matte finish. I started airbrushing relatively early, still using enamels, and eventually settled on the Testors’ Model Master series, which I have found to be entirely satisfactory. The only problem with using enamels indoors is that my wife constantly complains that the odor is overpowering, although I don’t think that it is really that bad, certainly not as bad as the smell of onions cooking in a frying pan, which has to compete favorably with the Geneva Convention’s definition of “gas warfare”. But that aside, I requested several colors of Italeri’s new acrylic paint series for evaluation.
Airfix has returned to the forefront of modeling with the release of the Westland Lynx family. This release is the naval version of the Lynx. Airfix has also released an Army version. Typical of most naval aircraft, the helicopter can fold its blades and tailboom for storage onboard ship.
This release contains 331 pieces of light blue/grey plastic. My review copy had no flash that I could see. The parts are all packaged in a heavy gauge cardboard top-opening box. The box is packed with the parts and decals. The parts are sealed inside a plastic bag inside the box. Thankfully, the clear parts are packaged in a separate plastic bag. The decals are on a large sheet inside the instructions book, so be careful when opening it up.
