Review Author
Tim Hortman
Published on
December 14, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$8.50

Another nice-looking resin detail set in the fine line of Quickboost products. This time we’ll be looking at the resin landing gear covers detail set for the 1/48 Hasegawa J2M3 Raiden “Jack” Interceptor/Fighter.

The Japanese WWII Raiden Interceptor/Fighter was designed to combat the high-flying B-29s over the Japanese Home Islands. It had the fastest climb rate of any Japanese aircraft of the war. The allied code-named the aircraft “Jack” and it saw combat starting in 1944.

This detail set is designed to fit exactly with any boxing of the 1/48 Hasegawa J2M3 kit. The resin parts are made in a way where they simply fit into place with no surgery required. All one needs to do is carefully remove the parts from the resin ‘plug’ they come on.

Review Author
Greg Wise
Published on
December 14, 2011
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$19.95

The Brassin boys have been busy burning the midnight oil, producing several items to compliment the new Eduard MiG-21. Our example, an early model seat, came packaged in the familiar clear blister pack containing one pre-painted photo-etch fret, twelve finely cast resin parts, and a well-illustrated instruction sheet. As a bonus, you’ll find the Eduard’s now infamous pilot’s helmet included.

Review Author
Greg Wise
Published on
December 14, 2011
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$32.95

Packaged in the now classic standard clear poly 4 ¼” X 5 ½” envelope you will find a nicely printed photo-etch fret along with a piece of card stock, one small piece of acetate film, and a well illustrated instruction sheet. The printing is well rendered and very colorful. The sharp details are incredible even under a magnifying glass. However, my fret was not S.A. (self-adhesive). Not needed, but it is double-printed on the applicable parts.

The Bottom Line

A picture is worth a thousand words, as you can see. The Eduard kit is awesome and the Eduard photo-etch makes it better. The parts are drop-in replacements, plus there are parts for a seat upgrade. The Eduard guys have been busy and their work is a testament to their talented effort. I highly recommend this set to anyone who can safely use a sharp knife and wants a serious ‘SMT’ MiG.

Thank you Eduard and thank you IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review this item.

Book Author(s)
James D’Angina
Review Author
Tim Hortman
Published on
December 14, 2011
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$17.95

A recent addition to the growing Osprey Publishing line is this outstanding title: “LAV-25 The Marine Corps’ Light Armored Vehicle.”

This book is #185 in the New Vanguard series and is certainly one to add to your collection. This softbound book contains 48 pages which are packed with color photos and some illustrations which tell the history of the LAV-25. Chapters in this book include a brief history on the design and development of the LAV-25 and a section on every combat operation where the LAV-25 saw action.

For the modeler, this book is especially valuable for the color photos contained within. There is a good mix of exterior photographs showing different colors and markings, but if you’re looking for a full spread of interior shots – you will be disappointed. There are several images inside the vehicle, but by far the majority of images are of the exterior.

Review Author
Paul Mahoney
Published on
December 14, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$6.50

Quickboost has now added a Spitfire seat to their ever-growing line of ‘drop-fit’ resin accessories. This one comes with a harness molded in, and should be applicable to any but the very early and very late models of the Spitfire.

As with all their products (at least, all that I have seen), the molding is extremely crisp and leaves little to be cleaned up. The belt detail looks very good, and has clear distinction that should make painting this fairly easy. The seat has a nicely-molded adjustment lever on the right side that also has very nice details. There are no flare cartridge holders present at the front of the seat – something that some Spitfire seats did have. The cushion on the backrest portion of the seat does have a nice (to me) textured look. I didn’t get the micrometer out, but it looks correct proportionally to photos in my references and on the web.

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
December 11, 2011
Company
Aoshima
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$42.00

From the 1983 hit movie “Blue Thunder” comes a 1/48 rendition of the helicopter used in the film, which shared the same name. In the movie, the Blue Thunder was developed as part of project THOR (Tactical Helicopter Offensive Response), as the city of Los Angeles was preparing to host the Olympics in 1984. The main character was Frank Murphy, as portrayed by the late Roy Scheider, and his partner was Richard Lymangood (aka JAFO), played by Daniel Stern. One of the most famous scenes of the movie is when Frank puts the Blue Thunder in a 360 degree loop in order to dismiss his nemesis Col. F.E. Cochrane (played by Malcolm McDowell).

Review Author
Tom Jett
Published on
December 11, 2011
Company
Fujimi
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$35.95

Being primarily an armor modeler, I was interested in this kit after seeing a fellow modeler’s build on the web. After all, it has tracks, doesn’t it?

The kit is, in a word, miniscule…really. I was a little surprised that, for a 1/32 kit, it was so small. Don’t let size fool you though, Fujimi has provided a little gem here. The kit features only three small sprues; two molded in bright yellow styrene that make up the excavator itself, and one molded in white styrene containing 13 parts that provide some general construction site supplies – wheelbarrow, cones, etc. No decals or markings of any kind are included in the kit, an unfortunate drawback in my opinion.

The mere 60 parts are crisply molded and required little, if any, clean up. A few parts may require a quick pass from a #11 blade to remove some minor mold seam, but that’s it.

Book Author(s)
Robert Forsythe
Review Author
Paul Mahoney
Published on
December 11, 2011
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$22.95

Osprey’s latest book in their “Aircraft of the Aces” series, number 101, covers the Luftwaffe Aces that were primarily engaged against the US (and to a lesser degree, British) heavy bombers attacking the Third Reich during World War II. This book is limited to covering pilots that became aces, shooting down 5 or more “Viermots” (short in German for “four motors”). For some reason, only day fighters are covered in this book, although the British bombers operating at night were also mostly four-motored. Perhaps this is because there has already been an Osprey volume dedicated to German nightfighter aces?

Review Author
Doug Hamilton
Published on
December 11, 2011
Company
Ultracast
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$9.95

The P-38 Lightning was used in both European and Pacific theaters during World War II. It operated from paved strips as well as fields barely straight enough to throw rocks at. If there was one critical part of the aircraft on which the pilot placed his life during takeoffs and landings, it was the tires.

Ultracast, located north of the border in Canada, offers quite a few accessories for many different modeling subjects. This offering, #48227, is a block tire tread design replacement for any 1/48 scale P-38 kit. The package contains three spoked wheels, two main and one nose. All are cast in a tan resin, and have the pour gate still attached at the flattened bottom of the tire. A razor saw removed the gates quickly, and painting was the next step.

Review Author
Doug Hamilton
Published on
December 11, 2011
Company
Ultracast
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$9.95

The P-38 Lightning was used is both European and Pacific theaters during World War II. It operated from paved strips as well as fields barely straight enough to throw rocks at. If there was one critical part of the aircraft on which the pilot placed his life during takeoffs and landings, it was the tires.

Ultracast, located north of the border in Canada, offers quite a few accessories for many different modeling subjects. This offering, #48225, is a smooth tire replacement for any 1/48 scale P-38 kit. The package contains three spoked wheels, two main and one nose. All are cast in a tan resin, and have the pour gate still attached at the flattened bottom of the tire. A razor saw removed the gates quickly, and painting was the next step.