Packaged in a thin, heat sealed pouch with four turned parts, two gun barrels, one plug (ballast) and one pitot tube. Compared to parts in the new F-5E from Kitty Hawk kit, the Master parts are very fine, detail is the finest I have ever seen, and directions are very clear and easy to follow. The gun barrels are very precise and retain concentricity where the kit parts seem thick and may appear warped. You get a choice of installing the two gun barrels or using a solid “rod” that replaces one gun barrel. I believe this is a ballast for when a gun is not installed. I am unable to find information as if this has any other function than as a ballast. The pitot tube is a direct replacement for the Kitty hawk and Hasegawa F-5 kits with a round nose.

Ray Rimell’s (Raymond Laurence Rimell) latest in the “Building the Wingnut Wings” series was originally intended to be a paired build with the Wingnut Wings Halberstadt Cl. II for a combined Albatros Special. The sheer volume of material saw that these two aircraft would be quickly separated (Building the Wingnut Wings Halberstadt Cl. II will be the next release in this series). The Cl.II was designed as a two-seat escort fighter to meet a 1917 requirement to protect reconnaissance aircraft. As the war progressed, the Cl.II saw an increasing role in ground attack. The first release by Wingnut Wings was in November 2012 (Sold Out on January 19, 2016) with a Cl.II late version (kit 32024). Wingnut Wings released the early service version on September 10, 2019 (kit 32079).

Mushroom Model Publications (MMP Books) Boeing B-17 Fortress in RAF Coastal Command Service [Second, Revised Edition] by Robert M. Stitt

This softbound book is 224 pages and includes a wealth of information for the aircraft enthusiast or model builder.

The back cover reads “Rejected as a bomber by the RAF, the B-17 was used extensively as a long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft by Coastal Command. This book tells the fascination story of these operations, a vital but often overlooked part of the fight against the U-Boats. All the aircraft involved are listed, and the tedious but essential work of their crews described, including some epic encounters with enemy submarines. Fully illustrated with many wartime photographs and scale plans of the airframe modifications.” This is a great summary of what this fantastic book is all about.

This SAC product provides parts to replace the kit-supplied landing gear in the Kinetic kit of the M-346. The SAC parts in this review sample are without any noticeable flash or mold seam lines.

Of significance is the fact that the SAC gear strut locating pins are of the same shape and size as the locating pins on the Kinetic kit. This is, of course, important so that proper fit and alignment can be easily achieved when using the SAC gear.

Nowadays, when we think of cutting-edge aviation technology, things like stealth materials, satellite guidance and pilotless flying come to mind. But what was the cutting edge one hundred years ago, at the dawn of aviation? How about hinged ailerons, or steel tubing, or cantilevered wings? For better or worse, warfare spurs innovation, and by the time of the Great War, the needs of the conflicting Great Powers for the decisive weapon, coupled with the cutthroat nature of industrial competition, spurred aviation innovation at an astounding pace.