Book Author(s)
Ray Rimell
Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
December 11, 2011
Company
Albatros Productions, Ltd.
MSRP
$24.00

History:

The Rumpler C.IV was one of the outstanding high altitude reconnaissance aircraft of World War I, and it was produced in substantial numbers during 1917 and 1918. Preceded by the C.1 and C.III biplanes, the C.IV had excellent performance, and it could fly higher than most Allied fighters of the time. In addition, it was able to outrun some of them in a shallow dive, making these aircraft extremely popular with their crews. They served throughout the remainder of the war, and a few survived to be used as civilian airplanes in the immediate postwar period.

The Book:

Review Author
Mike Hinderliter
Published on
December 11, 2011
Company
3D-Kits
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$7.50

In 1941, Britain had an idea on how to extend the range of the Spitfire MK II so that it would be able to escort and protect their bombers from the Luftwaffe further into Europe. This idea incorporated a 40 gallon fixed fuel tank under the port wing. The only problem was that speed and maneuverability suffered. The tanks were used by the RAF’s 66, 188, and 152 Squadrons.

This set is made by a company named 3D-kits in the UK. I went to their web site and was impressed with what I saw. They have one area where you can download a Spitfire control panel that you can make into a decal and there is information that will answer most questions you might have about the Spitfire conversions they make.

Review Author
Joe Staudt
Published on
December 11, 2011
Company
Revell, Inc.
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$29.95

In 1950, Volkswagen brought out a vehicle that, like the Beetle before it, would become an icon of the 1960’s – what we now know as the Micro-Bus. It was available in many different versions over the years: panel vans, pop-up camper vans, and even as an open-bed pickup truck. But one of the most popular was the Samba Bus, also knows as the 23-window van due to the large number of windows. There have been a number of versions of this vehicle in kit form over the years; let’s take a look at the latest one from Revell.

The kit is molded in white, with chrome and clear trees as well. Four vinyl tires and a large decal sheet round out the list of parts. All engraving is crisp, and there is no flash to speak of. Seams are fairly light and easy to remove.

The instructions are a 12-page booklet of clearly-drawn line drawings. Parts are named and numbered, and there are numerous paint call-outs that appear to be fairly accurate.

Review Author
Jeffrey Brown
Published on
December 11, 2011
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$26.99

I’m the rookie on the reviewer corps, and I was beginning to think that we rookies get the difficult assignments in order to weed us out. Not so this time. I received the Eduard Wildflowers and Butterflies today, and have already used them and I like them. Don’t worry the review is not going to be that short.

Review Author
Michael Novosad
Published on
December 11, 2011
Company
Bronco Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$48.95

History and Performance

The GAZ-69A was a four-wheel drive light truck designed and built for the Russian military in the late 1940’s. Supposedly, the design was based on the American Jeep provided to the Russians during the war as part of the Lend Lease program. The four-door GAZ-69A was a field car for officers or up to eight troops. The car weighed in at 1,525 kg, with a carrying capacity of 500 kg. The car was powered by a 55 bhp, 2.12 liter diesel engine. The car was exported to several nations in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Phil Peterson
Published on
December 8, 2011
Company
Squadron Signal Publications
MSRP
$28.95

I have been a fan of the B-17 Flying Fortress for as long as I can remember. Seeing the punishment many of these planes took and still brought back their crews is nothing short of amazing.

The Fortress has also been a popular subject for the In Action series. I purchased #1012 back in 1973 and #1063 came out in 1984 and now we have a 3rd volume. However, this time you can get it in the normal soft cover or in hardback (which is my example). So what do we get with this new version?

Once again we get a brief history of each version of the plane from the original Model 299 through the B-17G, including a few pages on the XB-38 and YB-40. Line drawings and pictures show the differences in each model and will help the modeler get these right. I did notice the line drawings showing the development of the airframe appear to be smaller versions of those from the previous volume. However, I did not notice any repeated photos from either of the earlier books.

Review Author
Gary Telecsan
Published on
December 8, 2011
Company
Bronco Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$69.99

If you enjoy building armor, you must get this kit.

Upon opening the box, one finds 15 sprues comprising 501 plastic parts, 1 photo-etched sheet, 216 individual track links (you will need 202 for the main tracks), and decals for four versions covering vehicles used in both the North African and Italian campaigns. There are 29 parts not included in the instructions, and several for options that are either/or. Molding is very fine with no flash that I could find. The instructions are in booklet form, with a parts sprue layout which you will need during construction. Ejector pin marks are not a problem with this kit. At several points during assembly, the plans call for adding bolt heads which can be found on several of the sprues and which will need careful lifting off – but there are plenty of extras for your next project.

Review Author
Keith Pruitt
Published on
December 8, 2011
Company
Airscale Model Aircraft Enhancements
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$9.89

Almost every scale aircraft modeler will eventually want to move up from just box stock builds into more advanced, more detailed models. Aircraft instrument panels are a key element in upgrading a cockpit in any scale, especially if the canopy is attached in the open position.

Airscale Model Aircraft Enhancements produces a line of instrument dial decals, including its Early Allied Jets set. The 1/48 set includes decals for the instruments that can be found in US and British jet aircraft, such as the F-84, F-86, F-100, F-104, F9F, Meteor, Vampire, and Hunter. Included are airspeed indicator, artificial horizon, gyro magnetic compass, altimeter, and many more.

Review Author
Bill Kluge
Published on
December 8, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$4.50

The Grumman Tigercat was the epitome of WWII US-designed, twin-engined fighters, and was an exceedingly heavily armed aircraft for its size, either for the fighter or strike role. As a night fighter, it shared similar attributes with its Air Force cousin, the P-61 Black Widow, not the least of which was a reduction of its built-in armament as it evolved. As with the Widow, the Tigercat eventually dispensed with its four original 50 caliber machine guns, keeping its remaining four 20mm cannon (necessitated by the installation of its nose-mounted radar, thus displacing the nose-mounted 50s). The 20mm barrels are represented by these Quickboost replacements.

Book Author(s)
Chris "Toadman" Hughes
Review Author
Phil Peterson
Published on
December 8, 2011
Company
Squadron Signal Publications
MSRP
$18.95

The M41 Walker Bulldog was a light tank developed after World War II, going into service in 1955. While the US never took it into battle, a few of the countries it was exported to did, notably South Vietnam, where it was the main tank until they got M-48s.

This softcover book covers the subject in many full color detail photos and several drawings. If you are modeling one of these and want to know what the final drive adapter drain plug or the turret ammo storage area looks like, there are a picture or two included.

This book is ideal for all you super-detailers out there, and pretty much every square inch of the vehicle is covered. The pictures are all of several preserved/restored examples, so are pretty much in very clean condition.