The Douglas A-26 Invader was an American twin-engine light bomber / ground attack aircraft. From 1948 -1966 it was re-designated as the B-26 and served in the Korean War from 1950-1953.
ICM has produced a fine decal set specifically to be used with ICM kit no. 48281, B-26-50 Invader. The decal set includes markings for four aircraft, the most notable of which is B-26B-61-DL “The 7th Chadwick” piloted by Lt. Col. R. Fourtney, CO of the 13th BC 3rd BG in Korea of Spring, 1953. Other markings are included for B-26C-30-DT “Marth Ann” of the 3rd BG, B-26B-55-DL of the 95th BS, 17th BW and B-26C-45-DT of the 3rd BG.
Each of the four options are intended for black-painted aircraft. A double-sided, full-color instruction guide is provided. Only side views of the aircraft are given. Placement markings are fairly understandable; however, cross-referencing is recommended.
Masterpiece Models has provided a useful aircraft building jig for 1/32 to 1/24 scale aircraft.
The Jig is designed for use in assembly of models, Painting and transporting.
There is no instructions included but the assembly of the jig is simple and the photograph on the box is enough to allow you to build it with ease. Peeling the protective paper off the acrylic sheet parts was not very easy. I suggest pulling it off very slowly works best. The black plastic vertical mounting parts need slow cleaning up of flash.
It is made from a clear acrylic sheet and comes with four adjustable supports that can be adjusted vertically and in and out.
The paints were provided by Tru-Color Paint. https://trucolorpaint.com/
This is a combined review of the 1/48 Italeri Mirage F.1 “Bye-Bye Mirage” and a selection of Tru-Color paints provided for the build review.
When you open the box you find a total of 5 sprues (one clear) with many parts marked as “not for use” -weapons for the most part. The overall look of the plastic parts is good. No flash, smooth surface, finely recessed panel lines and the transparent parts are free of scratches. You also get an excellent decal sheet with markings for 3 airplanes, all of them in the retirement scheme of the Mirage F.1
IPMS/USA welcomes the proprietors of Masterpiece models back, and serious appreciation for supporting the IPMS USA reviewer corps with yet one more of their newest releases, in a scale never before attempted: 1/35th! A perfect diorama subject, we certainly will see some of these in a D-Day or Market Garden setting… And my personal thanks to IPMS leadership for sending it to me to be reviewed.
Sometimes I wonder at my sanity; then my wife reminds me that I really am over the edge and I know…
Resin kits are a case in point; requiring truly radical and different skill sets for a project. Rare (Usually) subjects or subjects which economically do not make sense to cut a mold for injection molding. Resin is rarely forgiving, and on occasion makes you question why you are in the hobby.
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 photoetched brass exterior detailing set for the already very nicely detailed 1/32 Hasegawa Fw-190 D-9 kit. The set is packaged in a sealed-fold clear plastic sleeve. There are three plates of photoetch included. Plate one includes wing root plates, main gear cover components and some of the cowling components. Plate two includes the rear canopy cover plate, opposite main gear cover components; underwing cannon access plates, canopy framing and braces, wheel well plates and other main gear bits. Plate three consists of miscellaneous exterior cover plates and hatch covers, main cowling support, and canopy frames.
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. They have a knack for producing interesting, off-beat and little known subjects.
Brengun has produced a photoetched stainless steel detailing set for the already very nicely appointed 1/32 Hasegawa Fw-190 D-9 kit. The set is packaged in a sealed-fold clear plastic sleeve. There are two plates of photoetch and a clear acetate sheet of instruments dials included. Plate one includes the rear cockpit cover, windscreen frame, gunsight, large instrument panel and bezels. Plate two includes the seat, harnesses, smaller instrument panel, side instrument panels, rudder pedals, bulkheads, trim wheel, levers and other assorted bits.
The Douglas SBD-1 Dauntless publication was released on Nov 15, 2019, so it’s a new addition to the “Single” series published by MMP. This publication, by Dariusz Karnas and Artur Juszczak contains a series of excellent profile illustrations in both 1/72nd and 1/48th scales. Panel lines, access hatches, and other surface detail are clearly visible. For those who wish to add some internal detail to a model, or just wonder what might be inside the aircraft frame, pages 7 and 8 have some “cut-away” illustrations that reveal a considerable amount of detail.
The black & white photographs, pp 10-15, will be very helpful to those who are interested in markings placement, and the appearance of surface detail such as navigation lights, alerion actuators, and the like.
Pages 16 through 19 feature photographs of some cockpit detail and engine detail. Some fantastic profile illustrations complete the book.
You get four nicely molded resin wheels. There are no instructions, as Brengun knows that you know what to do with the wheels.
No real assembly required. You have to paint the wheels. I used Tamiya flat black and Testors flat white. I painted them on the sprue, because it is such a pain to handle such small parts. I am always afraid or losing small parts like these. There’s nothing quite as painful as hearing the tweezers go “PING” and knowing that you’re going to have to wrestle the carpet monster for that part, if you can find it.
Once the wheels were painted, I removed them from the pour block and used a medium sanding stick to clean them up on the bottoms. Then I had to paint that part of the wheels black again, but not the hubs.
This is another book in the Osprey collection, this one covering the Eight Air Force’s campaign against Germany in 1943.
The story of the Eight’s campaign also covers accounts and the counter measures the Germans took to thwart the Eight’s aircraft and tactics. Comparisons are made between the Eight’s aircraft vs German counter parts and specific alterations to aircraft made by both sides to stop their enemy.
One aircraft developed by the Eight’s engineers was the YB-40. Essentially being a B-17 upgraded with more machine guns and more ammo to act as a gunship escort for the bomber formations prior to long range fighter escorts.
Another section of the book follows the development of the droppable external fuel tanks to extend the range of a P-47 for bomber escort, and how they were initially banned from use by Eight’s command.
