Aires and Quickboost (a division of Aires) continue to provide us modelers with very nicely detailed addition to many new and older kits that can greatly enhance the final appearance of the build.
This installment will look at the Aires replacement wheel wells for the fairly new 1/48 Kitty Hawk Saab Jas-39 Gripen (kit #KH80117).
This is a beautifully illustrated book showing more than 170 profiles of vehicles used by the Deutsche Afrika Korps (D.A.K.) during the North African campaign. The sections of the book include:
A Prologue briefly describes the military episodes of the Afrika Corps between 1941 and 1943. The Prologue describes how the Afrika Corpstook over for the Italian army and, despite being outnumbered and out-supplied, effectively battled the British and, later, American forces. The Prologue provides a brief backdrop for the vehicles that are profiled in the book.
When the fledgling United States Air Force sought a jet-powered interceptor to replace the piston-powered P-61 Black Widow and P-82 Twin Mustang, they selected the Curtiss-Wright XF-82 Blackhawk. When the prototype didn't live up to expectations, the USAF turned to the one company that had an effective jet-powered fighter in service - Lockheed. As with the piston-powered interceptors, the new turbine-powered machines would have to have a two-man crew… one to fly the aircraft, the other to operate the intercept radar. Having developed the successful T-33A, a two-seat trainer variant of the F-80 Shooting Star, Lockheed was given the green light to create an interceptor out of the T-33A in an accelerated development program.
Windsock WWC Summer 2014 is the second issue of Volume 30…and/or the second edition of the first centenary year of Albatros’ rebranded publication. It provides readers with a substantial amount of WWI aircraft modeling information and both historical and technical reference. An extended FRONT LINE NEWS section leads into the regular columns: OUR READERS GALLERY (Featuring two very well-built Nieuports) and LOGBOOK ENTRIES (Reviewing 4 new titles) before getting into the meat of this issue. What follows is a 3+ page article (complimented by multiple color photos) about an impressive large scale radio-controlled Avro 504K powered by a fully operational 1:4 scale Bentley rotary engine that makes this unique combination fly as well as it looks!
Trumpeter has released the only 1/35th scale rendition of the rare Soviet S-51 Self-Propelled Gun, mating a modified KV-1S chassis with a 203mm heavy howitzer. The kit brings together parts from their excellent KV-1 series along with all-new molding for the gun and upper deck to create a positively Russian-looking brute.
Developed by the Grabin Central Artillery Design Bureau (GAU) in 1943, the S-51 passed trials successfully in the spring of 1944, but never entered mass production. Among the more interesting problems uncovered was the tendency for the S-51 to move to a lateral displacement when firing due to the inertia caused by the high line-of-fire design. At roughly 55 tons, that must have been something to see. Also, since the elevation angle was relatively small and the recoil so strong, the nine-man crew were not able to stay on the vehicle when firing.
Airing in 1978 and 1979, with a brief return in 1980, the original Battlestar Galactica (BSG) television series laid the foundation for a follow-on series of books, games, and reimagined series of television shows chronicling humanity’s struggle to survive after the Twelve Colonies of human civilization were all but wiped out by the treacherous cybernetic Cylons in the attempt to rid the universe of human life. Despite the limited run of the original TV series, BSG has remained a popular franchise among Sci-Fi fans for three-and-a-half decades.
In honor of the 35th anniversary of the original series (TOS), Moebius Models has released a series of kits depicting craft from the 1978 production, with the flagship being Galactica herself.
Thanks very much to Revell for providing IPMS/USA this re-release… This is a timely addition to their catalog for D-Day interest (Was it really 70 years ago?) or just those of us wanting to build a C-47! We appreciate your support; I also provide the usual thanks to IPMS/USA leadership for allowing me to review this item.
This is the venerable C-47 originally released by Monogram in 1978, now molded in China and carried by Revell. The original Monogram copyright on the lower exterior wing now says “China 1978”, and a stamp with that information was also used on the inside of the kit in white ink… Molded in Dark olive green and clear, this kit has survived the test of time, to include releases of a DC-3 version, and later an AC-47 gunship with later minigun fit. No flash, and fit (with the exception of that noted later) is great.
Thanks to Aires for providing IPMS/USA this wheel set for review… As ALWAYS we appreciate your support, and thanks to IPMS USA leadership for allowing me to review this set.
About 20 years ago I never thought we would be living in the age of such cool resin parts… and then I receive this set for review. The “Oh cool” factor (some call it ‘wow’) is very high here.
The Hobby Boss F-14 appears to be a great kit. One area that needs a bit of picking up the bar on is the wheels and tires. Enter Aires Wheeliant!
Inside the Retro-red slip cover are 8 wheel halves, and four tires which have been pre-flattened to a proper level for high pressure tires. Also included (at least in this package) was a length of copper wire to add brake lines. Absolutely a great idea!
Many 1/72nd modelers have been chomping at the bit for Eduard to release its new tooled 1/72nd MiG-15 after the initial MiG-15 tooling was severely damaged. Now, we finally have the definitive 1/72nd MiG-15 and MiG-15bis! This review is for the MiG-15 Profipack. The sturdy, top-opening box includes three sprues of grey plastic, one clear sprue, a small photo-etch fret, canopy masks, and decals for five early MiG-15s. The parts are crisply molded with recessed panel lines, and the clear parts are very clear and fairly thin, with only a little distortion on the main canopy.
Upon initial inspection, it may seem like you can build any mainline MiG-15 variant, ie early MiG-15 and MiG-15bis. However, there are some key differences between the MiG-15 and MiG-15bis. Here are a list of parts that cover both variants (MiG-15/MiG-15bis):
Following the release of Eduard’s spectacular 1/72nd MiG-15 and MiG-15bis kits, Master Model of Poland has released turned brass gun barrels for these kits. Included in the package are barrels to replace the kit’s 37mm cannon and two 23mm cannon. In addition, Master Model has included a pitot tube and antenna base, both out of turned brass as well.
The 37mm cannon consist of two parts, one sliding into the other. The instructions make this clear and the two parts fit together flawlessly. I added these parts to my already in-progress Eduard MiG-15. However, I would highly recommend these parts be added before you start painting your model. It’s also not entirely clear, but the small antenna base replaces the small bump on the kit fuselage. The instructions show the location clearly, but do not make any mention to removing the kit’s “antenna base.”
