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Very esoteric 1/700 scale warship photoetch set with limited utility. For experienced super-detailers. NOTE: this is not typical deck railings!

Eduard from the Czech Republic has been producing superior photoetch sets for years. They have ventured into 1/700 and 1/350 scale ship railings now with eleven new sets released in 2011. Four are in 1/700 scale and all are angled railings, something unique. You have a choice of long or short spaces between stanchions (vertical supports), and 2-bar or 3-bar railings, but all are 45-degrees, meaning the vertical stanchions are angled at 45 degrees to the horizontal chains.

Aires has presented us with another beauty here. I’ve wanted to build an EA-6B for quite some time (I have a bit of a background in electronic countermeasures). The only kit in my chosen scale of 1/72 is the Hasegawa kit. This kit is typical Hasegawa of its era, with finely engraved panel lines, minimal necessary external accessories for the version being done, and not much in the cockpit area. This set takes care of the last part completely.

As usual, the set is flawlessly cast in a medium grey resin, with incredible detail just begging to be painted and highlighted. Also included is a photoetch sheet with instrument panels, seatbelts, and other cockpit accoutrements, and a clear acetate sheet with the backing for the instrument panels.

Made specifically for the Tamiya 1/48 scale P-47 Bubbletop, this comprehensive aftermarket set comes in Aires’ usual blister package. Separately ensconced in a secondary bubble are photo etch and film parts, along with the usual blue instructions.

In fact, the instructions alone come in for any criticism that may be reasonably leveled at this set. They are composed entirely of minimalist exploded drawings spread over two sides of a single folded sheet of paper, with only number callouts and small notations in both English and Czech. There is no history or background text, and the modeler is left to his own devices concerning colors and, in many cases, actual part placement. However, none of this is really a detriment, and any halfway competent modeler with a reference book or two in his library will overcome nicely.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first set of injection molded French Tank Crewmen ever released!! This kit contains 45 grey styrene parts that will create five crewmen. Four appear to be from the Battle of France, while the fifth looks somewhat like a young General Leclerc, aka General Jacques Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque. In truth, he is representative of a standard French Armor Lieutenant. Ukraine’s MiniArt Ltd’s artist, A. Karaschuk, illustrates each figure on top of the side-opening box. They are repeated on the box bottom, where they are keyed for parts placement and colors. Paint numbers are color coded for Vallejo, Testor, Tamiya, Humbrol, Revell and Mr. Color paints. A small black-and-white insert shows the two sprue trees and part numbers. Each figure is nicely molded, with distinct faces and accurate uniforms. They have minimal flash and seam lines that are quickly cleaned up.

This odd combination of five Allied soldiers meeting up and serving together seems like something dreamed up in Hollywood. Well, it WAS first dreamed up in the 1943 movie Sahara, starring Humphrey Bogart as the American M3 Lee tank commander. A 1995 cable TV remake starred James Belushi in that role. Ukraine’s Master Box Ltd.’s illustrator A. Karaschuk and sculptor A. Gagarin must have seen the Belushi version and “subconsciously” paid homage to the movie. The American figure happens to strongly represent Belushi, and the others certainly suggest others in the movie’s cast. Unfortunately, we didn’t listen to Shakespeare, and our society is drowning in a flood of litigious lawyers and the movie industry has missed out on an opportunity for free publicity as Master Box plays it safe and any similarity between these figures and that movie is purely coincidence...