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Seafire FR Mk. 47 "The Last Royal Navy Propeller Fighter"
Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
Company
Special Hobby
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$31.00

Special Hobby has provided the 1/72nd scale Supermarine Seafire FR Mk. 47 for review. Subtitle on this boxing is “The Last Royal Navy Propeller Fighter” and (per Wikipedia) it was the last Spitfire/Seafire variant to roll off the assembly line at Supermarine in January 1949.

Looking at Scalemates.com, the molds were produced back in 2012 and this 2024 boxing has new decal markings for No. 804 NAS, HMS Ocean (Mediterranean, 1949), No. 1833 NAS, RNAS Bramcote / HMS Gamecock (1953), and two (2) markings for No. 800 NAS, HMS Triumph (Korea 1950).

In The Box

The kit box is typical top opening with a nice illustration. All the sprues are packaged in a single clear plastic bag with the clear parts package individually bagged. A photo-etch sheet is also included to add extra detail for the cockpit, landing gear, and missile harnesses.

Box Top

M3 Stuart - Early Production
Review Author
Bob LaBouy
Published on
Company
MiniArt
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$60.00

A Very Brief History of the Tank

This is clearly one of the seminal tanks of the 19th century with the total number of over 22,700 being constructed (both M3 and M5 versions) from 1941-1944 largely by four manufacturers (including Cadillac, American Car & Foundry Co. and Massey-Harris).

From an armor standpoint, the Stuarts were our several ‘starter’ tanks during the early 30’s. They were largely lacking in firepower and lightly armored. They also suffered regarding their ability to meet their opposition, the German tanks they often faced on the battlefield.

However, throughout their production and a great number of modifications and improvements, the M3 proved its worth on the battlefield.

Rather than ramble on further, here are some additional online references that I found most informative and interesting:

Rommel's Ghost Division book

Rommel's Ghost Division: Victory in the West
Book Author(s)
David Mitchelhill-Green
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$28.95

I am an unabashed fan of the Images of War book series. While I was not familiar with the author, David Mitchelhill-Green, I thoroughly enjoyed his contribution to the series and will seek him out in the future.

From the Notes on Photography and Sources section at the beginning of the book,

CCI 2025 Calendar

The Great War Aviation Society 2025 Calendar
Book Author(s)
N/A
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Cross & Cockade International
MSRP
$22.40

Cross & Cockade International is a non-profit UK-based group known as the First World War Aviation Historical Society that publishes their journal four times a year. Issues are available in printed and digital formats. They also provide a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publish WWI themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS USA. This Journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front.

This is the 26th edition of The Great War Aviation Society [Cross & Cockade International] calendar for 2025. Roger Tisdale has assembled this calendar since 1999 and it continues to sell out annually. Roger notes, “It’s a labor of love compiling the annual calendar, making sure that there is an eclectic mix of aircraft and styles to suit all tastes.” Roger Tisdale has selected twelve color paintings from a set of fantastic artists.

QuickBoost Tornado Antenna

Tornado GR.1 Antennas
Review Author
Paul Bradley
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$4.95

The PANAVIA Tornado was the RAF’s standard attack bomber from the early eighties until just a few years ago, serving across the World and in combat and proving itself to be one of the finest of Cold War military aircraft. Many kits have been issued of the type, including three 1/32 kits. The initial Revell kit was released in 1985 and was very basic for a kit of its size. This was replaced by an all-new and far better detailed tooling in 1996, one that has been re-released at least 8 times since, including a Revell-Monogram boxing in the US. This has been supplemented since 2020 by a new-tool kit of the GR.4 from Italeri.

The Tornado GR.1 was a sophisticated aircraft and as such was festooned by a large variety of antennas and aerials for its multitude of electronic gizmos. The ones in the kit are rather thick and not always correctly shaped, and this new set from Quickboost by Aires solves these issues.

Book Cover

NAA Mustang III Europe 1944-1945

Book Author(s)
Darius Karnas and Artur Juszczak
Review Author
Michael Furry
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$11.99

This is a very simple publication. The subject of this book is the Mustang III as deployed by the RAF in Europe during 1944-1945. The book is 16 pages long and features three view line drawings in 1/72 and 1/48 scale, profile artwork for 13 aircraft with English captions, and a final page of captions for the profiles in Polish. A scale is not given for the profile art but they appear to be close to 1/32. The three view drawings include rivet lines and these would assist the modeler in adding rivets to a given model. The profile art will provide the modeler with some artistic inspiration for weathering and painting effects. As stated above, this is a simple book with one theme, scale drawings, and profile art.

Thank you to Casemate for the review sample.

Cover page

Southeast Asia Intruders (1)
Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
Company
AOA Decals
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$22.00

AOA Decals has provided IPMS/USA reviewer corps with a wonderful decal set for Vietnam War era markings for US Marine Corps A-6A, A-6B, and KA-6D Intruders. The rollout of this decal sheet coincides with the 2023 release of the 1/72 scale Trumpeter A-6A Intruder.

This 1/72 decal sheet covers all four USMC A-6 Intruder squadrons during the Vietnam War:

  • VMA(AW)-224 Bengals - USS Coral Sea (1971-72)
  • VMA(AW)-225 Vikings - Da Nang, South Vietnam (1969-71)
  • VMA(AW)-242 Batmen - Da Nang, South Vietnam (1966-70)
  • VMA(AW)-533 Hawks - Chu Lai, South Vietnam (1967-69) & Nam Phong (“The Rose Garden”), Thailand (1972-73)

This set also includes markings for MERs, fuel tanks, and crew helmets.In addition, it includes special Easter 1970 bomb graffiti for VMA(AW)-225 and there are reference pictures to show the look of the ordnance and decal placement.

Book Cover

F-80 Shooting Star in Detail and Scale
Book Author(s)
Bert Kinzey; Art by Rock Roszak
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
Company
Detail & Scale, Inc.
MSRP
$21.99

Detail & Scale publications should be well known to all but the newest to our hobby. They have a long history of publishing well-written and documented, photo-rich books covering all the variants and details as well as model kits available.

This is volume twenty in their new series of publications. The book is 102 pages long with 250 photos of which approximately 180 are in color, and 12 aircraft color profiles.

The book is laid out in the standard D&S format. Beginning with the introduction followed by a well-written history of the aircraft. Next, there is a history of each of the variants built(excluding the T-33 which is a book unto itself) and the F-80 in the Korean War.

Package

AGM-84D Harpoon, AGM-88 HARM, AIM120C AMRAAM, AIM-9L/M Sidewinder Missile Sets
Review Author
Chris Martin
Published on
Company
Fab Scale
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$18.50

Summary

These highly detailed missiles would make a great addition to any of today’s super detailed models. The text on the labels is legible with magnification. There is minimal construction, but be prepared to spend a lot of time applying the numerous small decals.

Background

The following are excerpts from the website. The description for the AGM-84D is from https://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-84.html

The AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM) is a new generation air-to-air missile. It has an all-weather, beyond-visual-range capability and is scheduled to be operational beyond 2000.The AMRAAM is being procured for the Air Force, U.S. Navy and America's allies.