Our usual “THANK YOU!” goes out to our friends at Hasegawa USA, which provided IPMS USA with yet another of the prolific output from Hasegawa. We sincerely appreciate and value your continuing support!

First off, this is a very unusual kit. Back in the 1980’s, Hasegawa released a Wright flier, a Fokker DR-1, and a Sopwith camel in 1/8th scale. These were wood and plastic kits, requiring a lot of building skill and time, and resulted in a large, functional model. They currently sell for over $1000 U.S. on our local internet sales sites. This new Hasegawa Sopwith Camel, however, is not that kit.

The 1967 Shelby GT-350 Mustang was not your average Mustang. It was powered by the Ford High Performance 289 engine and many special improvements. However, since this version was intended to be a production car and to be purchased by the general public, it included the Deluxe Mustang Interior, power brakes, power steering, optional air-conditioning, and optional automatic transmission.

Even so, its performance was superior for its time:

After reviewing the Moebius Models Iron Man Mk.II and Mk.III, it probably comes as no surprise that I am an Iron Man fan. More so, I am a huge War Machine fan. So when Moebius came out with the War Machine kit, I pre-emptively requested the review (I also pre-ordered one just to be sure). I was beyond happy when I received the review kit.

Now, a bit of history for you. The War Machine is officially the US Air Force Variable Threat Response Battle Suit. The suit is piloted by Col. James Rhodes, who “borrowed” the suit from Tony Stark. The suit started life as the Iron Man Mk.II suit. It was then upgraded with additional armor and weaponry to become the War Machine. Later, it was redesigned, stripped of a lot of the armor and weapons, and re-designated the Iron Patriot (per the movies).

The Aviation Workshop produces this special title on the Battle of Britain 70th Anniversary Edition. I should say that the book is more like “Camouflage and Markings - Western Front 1940”, because the book also includes multiple details and color profiles regarding the Battle of France and the Low Countries, plus a few selected profiles from the Invasion of Norway.

These are the chapters in the book:

I don't know if it's my preference for 1/72 scale models, but I have a lot of RAF subjects in my kit collection. When I look closer, many of these kits are trainers. When I saw this title, then, it immediately grabbed my attention. This particular AIRfile book is the second volume in a series covering RAF training aircraft and starts with the post-war period of 1945, continuing through 2012. I initially expected information on the standard training machines – Provost, Gnat, Hunter T.7,and Hawk – but was pleasantly surprised to find much more.