This is the second product in Eduard’s FABRIC line of seatbelts I have had the pleasure of reviewing. Earlier. I reviewed the 1/32 WWII USAAF fabric seatbelts at http://web.ipmsusa3.org/content/wwii-usaaf-fabric-seatbelts

This set is very similar to the USAAF one, with additional detail to reflect the higher complexity of Luftwaffe belts. As with the USAAF set, the belts themselves are made out of some sort of fine gauze-type material, and have only small attachment points keeping them on their fret. The material is pre-colored, with the belts in a light tan, pads for under the buckles in a slightly darker color, and one leather tab in a brown color. Very faint stitching lines and fabric weave details are evident as well. There is even stenciling and data plate info printed onto the fabric.

The usual sincere appreciation goes out to our friends at Hobbico (Hasegawa USA) for supplying IPMS USA yet another sample of their manufacturer’s prolific output. I am constantly amazed at what they deliver!

I really like the Arado series of aircraft, so when the opportunity to build this one came up, I raised my hand. Having built a few of these in the past, I must comment on the condition of the kit. I did NOT notice any creeping mold-failures, excess flash, or other blemishes that identify what used to be known as an “old” model (anything over 10 years). The kit looked as if it were a brand-new design. Fit and construction confirmed the same. The basic model from Hasegawa is now a decade old, and what is in the box hides its age well. Engineering at its finest, ‘tis true.

The newly released Spitfire F.Mk.22 by Airfix in 1/72 scale is an excellent kit right out of the box. Of course, there is always room for improvement. Quickboost has already given us replacement cannons, correcting the only real deficiency in the kit. Here they offer resin, drop-in replacements for the exhaust stacks. What's the advantage of these? These resin exhausts closely mimic the shape of the kit parts, which look accurate to me. However, the Quickboost replacement parts have the holes already in them, saving the modeler the task of trying to place a dozen symmetrical holes in very small rods. The thickness of the exhaust stack walls appears to be in scale. Also, there are no seam lines to deal with in the resin parts, but they are present on the kit parts. Basically, the Quickboost exhaust will save you time and present a more realistic appearance than the kit parts. Moreover, these benefits come at a very reasonable price.

After the last segment, the kit was ready for paint. There are three marking options included in the kit. I chose a tri-color screen from VF-17 aboard the USS Bunker Hill in 1943. To start painting, I wanted the bottom white to be hard and take some weathering. For this, I used decanted Tamiya lacquer from a spray can. This is just one of the many tricks I learned from Ed Kinney. I masked off the exhausts with Silly Putty and used a little red brown (just a couple drops) to tint the white away from pure white. This was sprayed in three coats and left to dry. The lacquer dried very quickly and very hard. At this time, the landing gear and the gear doors, the main flaps, and a bunch of miscellaneous parts were sprayed.

This is the second book to be released by Squadron Signal Publications under the "Historical Reference" series. As explained in the front of the book, this series is written by using in-depth research of primary documents, giving a very detailed look at the subject matter. It appears that there may other books in the works covering aircraft and vessels. As I have said before, in my opinion this book is like a Walk Around or In Action series book on steroids.

The book starts with the origins of the CCKW. This began in 1928 when the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps started developing its standard fleet. What came from this were two 2-1/2 ton 6x6 vehicles. One of the interesting names involved in its development is a major player – John D. Hertz. Yes, of the rental car company, but he first owned Yellow Cab, and then Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company, which ended up merging with GM. They were instrumental in the development of the CCKW.