Yes, I love Star Wars- I have since I saw the first movie in a theater when it came out in 1977 (yikes). In 2001, Finemolds and their president Kunihiro Suzuki starting issuing intricately detailed and very well researched replicas of the craft from Star Wars. They jumped through X-Wings, Tie Fighters, and topped it off with the 2006 release of the 1/72 Millennium Falcon. This kit, which is currently OOP, had a massive parts count of 900 and detail that makes it one of the best kits of all time. The kit cost well over $200 when released (I know, as I am one of the guys that bought one). Last I saw, the collector price was pushing $300. These are expensive, long projects to build but in the end one is rewarded with a stunning replica. They are also now hard to come by except for E-Bay. This leaves us humans in a bad way when we need to go to that galaxy far, far away.

First, let me start off by thanking Dragon USA and IPMS/USA for allowing me the opportunity to review this kit. It was such a fun kit to build, that I actually got a second kit to build as well! Dragon recently dove into the world of large scale models with their new 1/3 Firearms Series. To kick off the series, Dragon started with the world famous Glock 17 9mm pistol. Used worldwide by militaries and law enforcement agencies, the Glock 17 uses a standard NATO 9mm Parabellum cartridge fed from a 17-round clip in the grip [larger clips are available].

Dragon's kit is faithfully crafted and comes in three sprues, as well as two molded case halves and two piece pistols. The pistols are very well done, with seams on the frame showing up where they would on the real thing [actual Glock frames are made from a composite plastic]. Metal springs and pins are also included which allow for working features and pre-cut foam inserts are provided for the gun case.

Despite there being over 600 parts and 52 stages in the instruction manual, this doesn't seem to be an overly complicated kit; however, there are places where care with assembly will be needed to ensure that there are no fit issues later on - I'm thinking particularly of the undercarriage, which will probably be the most fiddly part of the build. The amount of detail seems reasonable for the scale, and bearing in mind the fairly simple nature of the actual aircraft, but I am sure there will be some who wish to go the extra mile and add more; I am planning on doing this build OOB, but I reserve the right to change my mind as I go along. For those who wish to upgrade their references in preparation for the build, I can recommend SAM Publications Aviation Guide 2 - Mosquito FB.VI by Dave Brown that has many useful detail photos of the insides of a Mosquito, with tech manual diagrams as well.

Bottom Line

None better – has very fine sagged and straight railings in 2- and 3-bar styles.

Photoetch Set Review

Lion Roar has a large line of 1/700 photoetch accessories for United States, Japanese, German and Royal Navy WW2 navies. This set is devoted exclusively to US Navy railings, both 2- and 3-bar varieties.

The fret contains seven types of railings:

This British “Car, Light Utility” was based on a passenger car chassis. They were produced by several manufactures and used throughout WWII from Dunkirk to North Africa. Nicknamed “Tilly”, they were powered by a 10 hp engine, lacked 4-wheel drive, and poorly suited for off road assignments. They were used in rear areas and on British airbases in a variety of roles.

This new kit from Tamiya is contains one sprue of gray parts and one of clear parts. The clear parts are for the windshield, windows, one headlight, fender lights, and the canvas cover for the cargo compartment. The molding is crisp and clean with excellent detail and no flash. There is a driver figure included, as well as an excellent decal sheet. The instruction sheet includes 8 construction steps with detail painting call outs form Tamiya paints. It also includes a marking and painting guide on the back of the sheet for 3 trucks.