Model Art Issue 61 is typical of other Model Art magazines in that it is written entirely in Japanese, with occasional English words, usually in article titles or in captions. The Vessel Model Special is a quarterly issue that focuses on naval subjects. Each issue leads off with either short articles on a finished build or an in depth step-by-step ‘how to’ on the build and painting. The finished model photographs are of high quality in brightness, color, and depth of focus. Advertising comprises the inside covers (and back cover) along with another four pages showing what is available and new, always useful for building up that wish list. I counted nearly 600 photos (mostly in color) along with ten 1/700 scale drawings. You will find throughout this journal, period photographs of the real ships and aircraft involved in battle. Additionally there are a lot of color scrap drawings highlighting details in the Ship Construction series.

This is a nice set of jerry can holders that can replace the usually over-scaled plastic holders on military vehicles. The photoetch comes on one small fret that is about 1 ½ in. x 1 5/8 in. Four holders are provided with the photoetch. Each holder consists of seven parts: the holder, four bolts, and two straps for the jerry cans.

The bolt heads are actually six-sided hexagons and are microscopic. I soldered the first bolt head into place, but the solder obscured the shape of the head. The subsequent bolt heads were glued into place with superglue, which worked much better.

Eduard continues to bring out superb sets meant to help modelers detail kits. This set consists of 100 individual instruments meant for 1/32 WWII Luftwaffe planes. There are multiples of each instrument. The printing on the instruments is awesome and clear.

The instructions show the needed folds and the like. This set will require the modeler to research and determine which instrument goes where. These will let you replace or fabricate a new instrument panel easily. To test them, I sprayed a piece of styrene with RLM 66 paint. I then added the instruments and folded them. You’ll note in the pictures that I got a little heavy-handed with the glue. Once attached, I folded and glued the needed instruments flat. This gives them a nice three-dimensional look. Once glued, I flat-coated the instruments and then added a drop of Kristal Kleer to the instruments to look like the glass.

The Introduction is appropriately named ‘The Legacy of Shep Paine’ written by Jim DeRogatis. These four pages offer a wonderful view into the late Sheperd Paine’s life’s work and modeling history. Many of us older modelers first became aware of Sheperd’s work through his tip sheets that came with select Monogram kits of the 1970's then later with Tamiya kits during the 1980's. Shep was also an avid military historian and collector of military artifacts.

The book's contents are divided into two sections, 'The ‘Basics’ by Sheperd Paine and ‘Projects’ featuring eight projects by different modelers. The ‘Basics’ covers all the bases from the fundamentals in chapter one of ‘Assembling Armor Kits’ including a helpful ‘Parts of a Tank’ tutorial.

Researching the subject, its uses, its environments are explained by Shep in ‘Doing Research’ chapter two. Shep also addresses working with scale drawings and evaluating conflicting references.

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 is simple to use; Kabuki tape masks for all the clear bits! Included are masks for all the windows, canopy parts, and gun turrets, and wheels. One benefit of these sets is the ability to mask off VERY tiny windows; in this case, all the 1/8” round porthole windows, and some of the intersecting canopy window bits. These can be less than 1/16” across, and are VERY difficult to mask; same with the turret frames, because of the complex curves. Eduard utilizes multiple small tape masks to make sure you cover all the areas without wrinkling, which leads to paint creep under the tape.