History

Chocks act as a safety device when placed under the wheels of a parked aircraft. This prevents the aircraft from rolling, especially when unattended or during an engine run-up.

Items in the Box

The units were resin cast material – white in color. One-page plans, good format.

Construction

The assembly is very basic. The cord or rope supplied looked large to me, so I used a thinner cord. (Thread: standard brown).

Finish and Detail

Used Floquil reefer yellow. I used black striping on one set of chocks. On the remaining two sets of chocks, I used the decals supplied on the instruction sheet.

Conclusion

With a slight modification, the units went together well. These units can be assembled by any inexperienced modeler. I wish to thank Profimodeller and IPMS for allowing me to review this kit.

If you are looking for a head-scratching challenge…this is the kit for you. Cyber Hobby’s new 1/72 scale kit of the Aichi D3A1 Type 99 Val is guaranteed to provide you with hours and hours of the same kind of entertainment you anticipate when buying a die-cut puzzle...but, this one carries a MSRP of $41.75.

The colorful box top painting shows a pair of wartime Vals about to deliver their payload, and the many state-of-the-art CAD illustrations and profiles on the other box panels suggest this is the best kit to reproduce the aircraft in miniature. I had hoped I would get to review this one and soon learned why my mother often said, “Be careful what you wish for.” A good-looking model is certainly possible, but only if you have reference material to consult, and begin the project with the knowledge that the guys at Cyber Hobby may have thought they were working for a puzzle company.

I have always had an interest in the An-2 ever since watching one take off across the width of the runway at Shaw AFB. It is good to see a 1/48 kit of this much used multi-purpose aircraft.

This kit makes the fifth time that the An-2 has been kitted in 1/48 scale. The first was a Soviet Union-made “desk top” model kit similar to the Allyn and Microscale kits. Neomega did one in resin, and short-run injection companies Bilek and Valom have also issued 1/48 Colt models. This new kit by Hobby Boss marks the first time a major model company has produced an injection molded kit of the An-2.

When Fujimi announced a group of vehicle kits based on the 1982 movie Blade Runner, I was excited. This is one of my favorite movies, with great actors like Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer, moody lighting, and great special effects. The first release in this series is a 1/24th scale Spinner Police Car. The Spinner is one of the iconic cars in the series, as it is a flying police car which can also change to a normal driving car.

Inside the box are eight sprues. Five of these are molded perfectly in white styrene with one perfectly clear sprue for the windshield and parts. Lastly, there is one sprue molded in transparent blue and one in transparent red for the police lights. There is an excellent decals sheet and a small PE fret with “Spinner” logos.

The birth of the Irish Republic that we know today began in 1916. The leadership and members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (forerunners of the Irish Republican Army) decided that the British parliament had delayed Irish home rule long enough. It was time for action. On Easter weekend in 1916 a group of approximately 1,600 armed rebels seized key locations in Dublin and proclaimed separation from Britain and established the Irish Republic. From the steps of the General Post Office a proclamation was read that announced the birth of a sovereign, self-determined Irish Republic. The proclamation established a legislature, a government, a court system, and a police force. At the same time, the Irish Volunteers, a military organization established in 1913 by Irish nationalists, became known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA). For the next three years the IRA targeted the British forces in Ireland with deadly guerrilla strikes.