SAM, or more precisely Scale Aircraft Modelling, is an excellent monthly publication focusing on modeling scale aircraft. No surprise there. And if you are a long-time fan of SAM, then it is also no surprise that I state that SAM is one of the best modeling magazines focused on aircraft that money can buy.

Averaging just under 100 pages, SAM is filled with “build” articles featuring some of the newer kits on the market, as well as projects based on old favorites. In the August issue (Vol 34, Issue 06), a number of featured articles span subject matter from World War I to modern jets, both military and civil.

James Ashton’s article features the Special Hobby Ba.65 Two Seater. James uses oils to produce some excellent weathering techniques. The color images reveal that the technique James uses is very effective.

1/48 model builders now have a way to include a Japanese Road Roller in their WWII Japanese aircraft dioramas or to display as an unique stand-alone subject. Belcher Bits offers a mixed media kit of the IJN road roller that U.S. Marines found on the unfinished airfield construction site when they landed on Guadalcanal in 1942 and captured what would later be named Henderson Field. The kit is packaged in a zip-lock bag and includes 14 cast resin parts, four metal parts, and five pieces of styrene strip and channel stock. The resin parts are well detailed, generally free of pinholes, and remarkably tolerant of flexing. Casting blocks are minimal and easy to remove with an X-acto blade or saw. A folded instruction sheet tells you how long to cut the styrene pieces and where to attach them and the metal bits.

Quickboost has provided the modeling market with a whole series of useful aftermarket items that give a little extra detail or convenience without breaking the bank. These small sets tend to focus on one aspect of a model needing improvement ; thus, the modeler can choose where to spend his energy, and money, on kit improvements. This small set from Quickboost provides replacement gun barrels for the F-5 series of aircraft by AFV Club.

Use note

A few notes on using this set. First, both “barrels” are not truly gun barrels. Only the port (left) side contains the gun, while the other is an air inlet for avionics. Now, going one step further, not all F-5 airframes have the guns installed, and some don’t have the tubes installed either. Many F-5 airframes in the adversary/aggressor role have neither the gun nor tubes installed in the nose. So be sure to consult your references and make sure that the aircraft you are modeling does indeed require this set.

The B-24 Liberator has long been one of my favorite aircraft from WWII. While it could never be considered an attractive airplane, and was very ungainly while on the ground, it did have a certain elegance once the wheels were up and the plane was in the air.

I was pleased when I was selected to review the latest In Action book from Squadron-Signal Publications. It features the B-24 Liberator, and is chock-full of period photos in both black & white and color. It follows the typical format of this type of book, covering the entire range of B-24 variants. Starting with the XB-24, it tracks the development of the airframe to its final incarnation, the F7A. Along the way, there are sections dedicated to variants, with photos to show how one differed from the next.

Back in 1986 I was in Great Britain to attend the British Grand Prix. I wasn’t aware of the fact that between the support races they staged an air show. I was very impressed with the vintage British aircraft which included a Lancaster, a Spitfire, a Hurricane among a vast number of classics. The one aircraft that impressed me the most was the Avro Vulcan. When this big bomber passed over, it blocked out the sun and deafened all around. It made several passes both at low speed and also at high and also dirty with everything opened. Since that time, I have always wanted to build a model of this unique big bird.