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Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Meng Model
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$39.99

This is the British decided that they needed a less expensive tank so the Medium Tank Mk. A Whippet was developed. This had a crew of three and was armed with four Hotchkiss machine guns. It first saw battle in March 1918.

The kit contains

  • 7 sprues molded in tan styrene
  • 1 Main hull
  • 3 Sprues of track parts in Black Styrene
  • 2 Stings for tow cables
  • 1 decal sheet
  • 1 instruction booklet.

Construction

The kit is not too complex and assembles in 16 stages which are not to complex.

Review Author
Tom Moon
Published on
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$64.99

This kit is a model of a proposed vehicle to build a Panther Reconnaissance tank mounting a turret under consideration for the 8 wheeled PanzerSpahwagen using the 5cm KwK 39 gun. A project was started in January 1942 by Krupp & Rheinmetall with a projected delivery of Oct/Nov 1942. The project was not pursued and the painting schemes are pure conjecture.

This kit has approximately 288 styrene parts, DS tracks, no photo etched parts, and much worse set of instructions, they need to be reviewed very carefully before gluing any parts together.

Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
Company
PJ Production
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$11.50

Thank you PJ Production for providing this elegant aircraft accessory pilot figure, and thank you to the IPM Reviewer Corps for letting me review it! I am very appreciative of all you do for the scale modeling community.

The pilot arrived in a small blue cardboard box, with a small plastic bag inside holding both the pilot figure and a casting plug with arms. The light tan resin showed no sign of mold release and the minimal flash was easily removed without compromising the fine surface details. The separate arms allow custom positioning to suit the application, and the arm-torso join surfaces are flat, easily allowing drilling or flexible wire or pin to reinforce the joint. The resin is not too brittle or too soft. Many detail surfaces, such as harnesses and straps are slightly undercut, allowing highlighting washes a good place to pool and do their job.

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Skunk Models Workshop
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$14.99

Skunkmodel from China has released a very nice and useful kit: Royal Navy Tow Tractor. I’ve believe this particular tractor has seen service with the Royal Navy since the mid-1960’s until the early 2010s so you have a multitude of aircraft that can easily fit into a diorama.

The box comes with 3 sprues, two of them are identical – one for each Tow Tractor - and a 3rd sprue with a total of 9 figures, although only one of them is a driver. Six of the figures are wearing short sleeve shirts which means only tropical locations for your diorama (i.e no South Atlantic or Artic operations). You still have 3 figures with long sleeves.

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Great Wall Hobby
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$68.00

History

The Handley Page Victor was conceived as a nuclear bomber in the late 1950s. It was the third and last of the “V Bombers”, following the Valiant and Vulcan. As the Royal Navy took over the nuclear deterrent mission with submarines, the V Bombers became aircraft without missions. The Valiant had already been reconfigured as an airborne tanker, but when the airframes became worn out, the Victor bombers became the tanker force.

In 1982 the Victor K.2 tankers participated in one of the most complicated missions ever conceived. Operation Black Buck used 11 Victor K.2s and a single Vulcan B.2 to deliver a bomb load from Ascension Island to Port Stanley Airport in the Falklands, a distance of 3900 miles.

The next, and last big deployment of the Victor K.2 was the 1991 (First) Gulf War, The RAF called their participation Operation Granby. This was the operation to force Iraq out of Kuwait

Review Author
Tom Moon
Published on
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$72.99

This kit is a model of a proposed design by the Krupp AG company. The thought was to upgrade the firepower of the Pz IV with the newly designed Panther turret with its 7.5cm KwK L/70 gun. Nothing came from this proposal and the painting schemes are pure conjecture.

This is a multimedia kit comprised of 477+ styrene parts, DS tracks, 1 photo etched parts fret, and much worse set of instructions. They need to be reviewed very carefully before gluing any parts together.

Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$17.00

Tsesarevich (Russian: Цесаревич) was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Russian Navy, built in France at the end of the 19th century. The ship's design formed the basis of the Russian-built Borodino-class battleships. This set represents what she carried prior to an attack in the night of February 9, 1904, in the Russian-Japanese war. She was one of three ships to be struck by Japanese torpedoes and limped back to Port Arthur. There she lost four of her 75mm, two of her 47mm, and two of her 37mm guns to reinforce the port defenses. After the Russian-Japanese war, Tsesarevich, helped suppress the Sveaborg Rebellion. Around 1906, her fighting top was removed and her superstructure was cut down, in the process losing more guns, mainly most of her 75mm guns. In time, ~ 1914, all of her 75mm guns were removed.

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
Italeri
Scale
1/12
MSRP
$195.00

Background

From Italeri’s website: The Fiat 806 Grand Prix adopted significant innovations for its time. The Fiat 806 was, in fact, the “progenitor” of the modern Formula One racing cars. Developed and produced by FIAT, the Italian automobile manufacturer in 1927, it could be considered the first Grand Prix car ever built. Thanks to its 180 HP 12 cylinder engine, the Fiat 806 was able to reach and even exceed the speed of 240 Km/h. However, the most important innovations were made in the development of the chassis, mechanics and bodywork. The engine and gearbox unit was, in fact, located between the two chassis bars in order to optimize the performance and the drivability.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$9.75

I think everyone has seen and many of us have used or attempted to use a handcart, or dolly as they are called in many parts of the US. This set from Brengun includes enough parts to build 6 hand carts. The set consists of a photoetch fret of six frames, six base plates and six axles/braces and 12 resin wheels. The photoetch is nicely done and the parts are easily cut out with a set of photoetch scissors. The scissors also make cleaning up the attachment points very easy as well.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$12.95

The Academy F-4 series finally brought the Phantom into the present with regards to mold technology. I’ve said it many times I hate to mask canopies. Eduard’s masks are made out of Kabuki tape which makes them flexible and able to conform to bends in the windows. In my opinion Kabuki tape is the premier masking medium.

This set is designed for the Academy F-4D, but it will fit the Academy or Eduard F-4C as well. You will need to use liquid mask to complete this set. There are 12 masks included in the set. This set will ensure that the canopy has crisp edges with minimal work.

These worked to perfection on my recent Eduard F-4D. They were easy to add and easy to remove. They performed flawlessly. If you are careful you can replace them back on the sheet and maybe able to use them again.