Tom Cooper and David Nicolle's Arab MiG series is an incredible history that addresses the Arab air forces of Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from 1955 through 1973. Although MiG aircraft dominate the story, all Post-WWII Arab aircraft are included. The authors have been able to access official archives as well as the combatants involved to provide a unique perspective of the Middle East conflicts. Volume one in this series, published November 19, 2009, covered the background of the Arab air forces from 1955 focusing on MiG-15 and MiG-17 fighters. Volume two, published October 19, 2011, addressed the Arab air force supersonic fighters from 1956 through 1967. Volume three in the Arab MiGs series focuses on the Arab air forces in the June 1967 War and was published October 24, 2012. Volume four in the Arab MiGs series focuses on the Arab air forces in the Attrition War from 1967 through 1973 and was published October 19, 2013.

From the Publisher

In 1986 Paul Crickmore's first groundbreaking book about the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was published. At that time, the Cold War was at its height and the SR-71 was an integral element in securing crucial intelligence from all parts of the globe. The highly sensitive nature of its missions couldn't be compromised, and it wasn't until the end of the Cold War that the operational exploits of this incredible aeronautical masterpiece could be openly written about.

Building 1/144 can be great fun, but sometimes older kits need a little boost to bring them up to the standards we’ve come to expect from newer (but more expensive) kits. A case in point is the LS 1/144 F-15, which has a couple of things which could use improvement.

The wheels on the LS kit are correctly sized in diameter, but they look like ATV tires. They’re too wide, and the sidewalls are rounded. So the Res-Im tires are a pretty good improvement. There’s a comparison photo below.

I started out to do this review on the Minicraft F-15, but the tires are molded onto the landing gear legs. Too difficult for me, especially in this small scale. See the picture below to see the Minicraft LG.

Once I had the F-15 almost complete, painted, decals installed, I was ready to do the landing gear. I usually save the gear until late in the build to prevent damage to the parts when I handle the plane for decals.

This set provides a replacement pitot tube for the Airfix BAe Systems Hawk 100 kit. As with all of Master Model’s replacement parts, this pitot tube is exquisitely made and show in the photos it is a big improvement over the kit pitot. It will be a welcome addition to your Hawk.

This will be the easiest add-on you ever make, as even though the instructions tell you to drill a hole for the replacement part, when I test fitted it to the kit, it just dropped into place without having to do anything to the mounting hole. All you need is some superglue gel and a few seconds to make sure the pitot tube is correctly oriented, and you are done, but watch your fingers as the pitot tube is very pointy.

Highly recommended! Thank you to Master Model for the review sample and to IPMS/USA for letting me review it.

Recently I was given the opportunity by IPMS USA to review Scale Aircraft Conversions adaption of the T-33A landing gear in white metal for the 1/48 Great Wall kit. The set contains the two main gear legs with the accompanying struts, a nose gear that incorporates the landing lights and the retraction strut and oleo scissor. A very nice addition to the set is the 20 gram forward fuselage ballast nose weight reproduced in metal. These are direct replacements for the parts that come in the Great Wall T-33A. Comparing the kit landing gear and the SAC landing gear side by side you will notice similarities between the two, but a little better detail in the SAC offering including brake lines. Overall this is highly recommended for stronger landing gear and added detail and is a great addition to the Great Wall kit. I would like to thank Scale Aircraft Conversions for another great offering in metal landing gear and IPMS USA for the opportunity to review this item.