I am very appreciative of Acrylicos Vallejo (AV) for sending new products for review, and I am equally appreciative of all the Review Corps crew members who take care of all of the legwork to get materials to reviewers and the completed reviews published for the modeling community. It is a privilege to be part of this manufacturer-modeler group effort.

The Kit

Round 2 Model Company purchased the rights to the entire Lindberg line and they have been releasing selected kits gradually. In the past, “real modelers” disparaged the Lindberg Line as being inaccurate and simplistic, but these kits were never designed to be the be all and end all of accuracy, even at the time long ago when they were released. They were designed to generally represent the subject and do so in a kit that was easy to assemble and reasonably priced. By today’s standards, they are not what most ship modelers are looking for, however if you’ve got a youngster you’re trying to get involved in the hobby or maybe a Brownie or Cub Scout group, they would make great projects and teaching tools. Or, maybe you want to try out some new techniques. These kits would make great test beds for that.

Thanks to Eduard for providing more of their excellent aftermarket parts for IPMS USA to review, and to IPMS leadership for sending it to me!

Early British bombers were designed with wing bomb bays; these have been overlooked in the past, but this set brings the mystery of this equipment out of the darkness and improves the appearance and detail of Revell’s 1/72 Halifax B III; Consisting of all the requisite improvements for the wing bomb bays, including bomb racks, doors, and mounting hardware.

This set is simple to use; Revell provides convenient guides on the inside of the lower wing sections to make it easy to remove the closed kit doors; use a straight edge and #11 blade to do so. I used thick superglue to attach everything on this set.

A bit of simple folding is required for the bomb interior frames, just be careful of alignment while the glue dries and don’t push them too far out past the exterior of the wing. Take your time, and everything fits.

Thanks to Eduard for providing more of their excellent aftermarket parts for IPMS USA to review, and to IPMS leadership for sending it to me!

This set vastly improves the appearance and detail of Revell’s 1/72 halifax B III. The kit consists of all the requisite improvements for the forward crew section on the Halifax: a new pilot seat, seat harnesses, instrument/control panels, engine throttles and control levers, radio and bulkhead details, and sidewall details.

This set is simple to use and improves the kit cockpit with little fuss. The parts are not self-adhesive, so there is a need to use your favorite cement/glue to attach things. I use Gator Loups’ polyurethane “Gator glue” for the instrument lamentations, and superglue to attach everything else.

If you are building any of the host of Russian military trucks from the Great War, you may find yourself mumbling at the rather iffy rubber tires frequently included with the kits. Although a number of manufacturers have come out with really excellent kits of these workhorses of the Soviet Army, the tires included seem to be a regular stumbling block.

MiniArt has addressed this problem with a series of new detail sets that create beautifully detailed renditions to replace the soft tires included with most of these kits. This set, for instance, not only provides 12 complete tires, but the various hubs, bolts and brake drums needed as well. Each tire itself is composed of five individual “wafers” that when assembled create a realistic and detailed tread pattern. Finely molded manufacturer’s logos are included, of course.