Firefighting has a long and noble history in the United States, dating back to the 17th century following the burning of Boston in 1631. The first volunteer fire company was established by Benjamin Franklin in 1736 in Philadelphia, and became a model for other colonial cities to follow. 1853 saw the establishment of the first professional fire department in Cincinnati, and thus the modern, fully-paid and professional firefighting force was created.

Originally, most firefighting equipment was horse drawn, but the advent of cheap, readily available gasoline-driven vehicles changed that. Enter the ubiquitous Model T, a simple, robust and affordable machine capable of carrying at least rudimentary firefighting equipment and personnel to emergency locations quickly and easily.

ICM has once again offered a very nice combo kit, featuring both the 1914 Model Firefighting Truck and their terrific figure set featuring four firefighters in natural poses.

Brengun Models is a scale model and detailing parts manufacturer located in the Czech Republic. Their lines include limited production run multi-media kits and exquisitely detailed photo-etched, turned brass and white metal replacement parts for aircraft in the most commonly produced scales.

Brengun has produced a set of weapon/fuel tank pylons for any 1/72 scale F/A-18 A/B/C/D Hornet kit. Any modeler familiar with resin parts will have no issues installing these pylons in lieu of the kit parts. A close-up evaluation of the parts (see photos), indicates a simple replacement installation that provides realistic scale-detailed pylons with significantly improved appearance to molded plastic kit parts. The photo comparison is to the pylons supplied in the 1/72 Hasegawa F/A-18D kit. The Brengun pylons (below their Hasegawa equivalent) have superior component detail to those supplied in the Hasegawa kit.

Upfront, I want to thank Brengun for providing outstanding aftermarket bits for our beloved model kits, and to IPMS USA a big thank you for allowing me to review the Brengun resin replacement wheels. Today’s review represents resin replacement for any 1/72 SBD dauntless kits. This set includes two (2) pair of resin weighted wheels each pair having a different pattern along with one pair of photo-etch wheel covers. As always with this type of model detail set, check your resources for the correct pattern to use on your kit.

I’ve included comparison photos with the Flyhawk 1/72 Dauntless kit. Like other resin wheels you will most likely have to drill out the hole in the wheels to match the diameter of the kit’s axle size. For a very reasonable amount of money, Brengun provides you with a very nicely set of detailed wheels for any Dauntless model.

Brief History

The Messerschmitt Bf109 is probably one of the most well-known WW2 fighter planes ever made. Also the most prolific at 35000 produced. They were produced well into the 1960s by the Spanish Air Force and by Czechoslovakia. It was a plane developed in1934 by Willy Messerschmitt to a Luftwaffe specification for a high performance single seat fighter. The Bf109 was, in essence, the smallest airframe that could be wrapped around the most powerful inline engine and still carry a useful armament load. The first prototype flew in October of 1935, powered by a British Rolls-Royce engine, the Jumo engine not being ready at that time. The Jumo powered Bf109B entered service in 1937 and was used in the Spanish Civil War.

The P-51 Mustang. An icon of WWII held in the same esteem as the Spitfire, Thunderbolt and Hurricane by enthusiasts and historians alike. Aviation historian martin W, Bowman has compiled a wonderful album of photos of all marks that saw combat, from the P-51A to the F-82G.

Some of these photos will be familiar to all, but many are new or have seldom been seen. There are nine pages of introductory text that give a brief overview of the history of the mustang from April 1940 when NAA proposed a new design to the British through its final military service with the Dominican Air Force, last flight of which occurred in 1984.

Each of the photos has a fully informative caption giving the needed information. The only “funny” thing is on the cover it advertises “Rare photographs from Naval Archives” which is corrected on the inside cover page where “Nava;” becomes the far more accurate” Wartime”!