Review Author
Chad Richmond
Published on
December 8, 2011
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$13.50

When you look at any of Master Model’s brass gun barrels, you always marvel at what you see. The detail is remarkable regardless of the scale, and the price is hard to believe because it is so low. One of the things that always bothersed me in German WWI aircraft, almost as much as rigging, was annealing and rolling that stupid cooling jacket on Spandau machine guns. And when I finally get it rolled, I had to join it somehow. Soldering is supposed to be how you do it, but I have yet to be successful. So, I ended up with a very soft brass roll that was barely held together on the bottom by superglue. It was guaranteed, at some time during the build, to get dented or just plain squashed. Master Model comes to the rescue with one-piece, turned and perforated cooling jackets and exquisite muzzle and flash suppressor, plus a gun barrel that cannot be duplicated by stretched sprue or brass rod or plastic rod.

Review Author
Dave Koukol
Camden Koukol
Published on
December 6, 2011
Company
Hasegawa
MSRP
$17.50

Initially released in 2009, Hasegawa’s T-4 “Ashiya Special” is once again available to eggplane enthusiasts in the United States. A recent perusal of the Hasegawa official website also indicates release of some new eggplane offerings.

Unorthodox in appearance and simple in construction, the T-4 egg is a fun departure from traditional aircraft models. The kit is crisply molded in white styrene, with a clear canopy and bright, full-color decals. Four-step instructions, with marking guide, are clear and accurate.

Book Author(s)
Robert Peczkowski & Artur Juszczak
Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
December 6, 2011
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$22.00

Spoiler alert – if you don’t want to know what I think, go to the next paragraph. This is THE only book you will need to own for reference on the P-39 Airacobra. Printed on high quality gloss paper, this paperback book is printed on A5 size with 160 pages chock full of information. Modelers will love the information included in this book.

The very first thing you will notice upon opening the book is four view drawings of the P-39F and Q in 1/48th scale and the P-39Q in 1/32nd scale. If you build 1/72nd scale, fear not – there are plenty of 72nd scale drawings throughout the book. OK, 1/144th scale guys, there are drawing in the book for you as well.

Review Author
Mark Aldrich
Published on
December 6, 2011
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$37.95

Destroyed over 20,000 of enemy's tanks!
Thoroughly explain about the professional of antitank warat it thoroughly dissects only one AFV so that the readers can be fully informed about it.

The acclaimed AFV Profile 3rd issue is featured on Sturmgesch,tz III “Long Barrel.” Sturmgesch,tz III is the only one that was able to fight against KV, a Soviet heavy tank and T-34, a Soviet medium tank during the Soviet invasion. It also received attention as an antitank which was equipped 75†mm StuK 40 L/48 main gun, known as Sturmgesch,tz 40 Ausf,hrung F , Ausf. F/8 and Ausf. G. Another conspicuous feature of it is that it had turned out excellent tank killers who many of them were awarded Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross like Tiger I did.

Review Author
Jack Kennedy
Published on
December 6, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$5.50

Let me begin this review by stating that there are four different part sets for the Hobby Boss F9F-2 Panther in 1/72 scale. I was impressed with the fine detail that Quickboost was able to put into each of these aftermarket part sets. They are cast in a tan resin with easy to remove casting blocks. The finer parts were very thin, so care must be taken when handling them. I would also recommend painting some of the parts before removing them from the casting blocks.

Wing fences QB 72-342 $4.25
Exhaust nozzle QB 72-340 $4.25
Pitot tube/antennae QB 72-339 $4.25
Undercarriage covers QB 72-343 $5.50

The instructions consist of exploded views but are very clear and complete. The undercarriage covers and exhaust nozzle do not have exploded views as they are not really necessary.

Book Author(s)
Jon Guttman
Review Author
Clarence Wentzel
Published on
December 5, 2011
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$22.95

This book covers Aces of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). It appears that Osprey will be publishing an additional volume or volumes covering naval aces of other countries. When I heard of this book, I assumed that it would probably cover Raymond Collishaw and other Sopwith Triplane pilots of Naval 10. I was pleased to find that, although Naval 10 was well covered, the history of the RNAS in WWI was surprisingly broad. When we think about British aircraft during WWI, we usually think of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). However, we must remember that the Royal Navy was called the Senior Service. Both organizations were formed in 1912 and it appears that they both developed in parallel until they were combined in April of 1918. Seventy nine pilots of the RNAS achieved the status of Ace along with another forty seven RNAS pilots who completed Ace status while flying with the RFC.

Review Author
Chris Durden
Published on
December 5, 2011
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$14.00

At least to me, Master Model has been putting out some of the most affordable gun barrel upgrades in the industry without sacrificing detail. This set is no exception, providing a quick upgrade to the armaments on what is already a well detailed kit. The set includes barrels for both guns, cooling jackets, ring sights and their mounts (extras included) – don’t overlook the tiny turned bead for the handheld MG either (mine almost was eaten by the carpet monster).

When compared to the kit parts, you can see the difference in refined detail and size. Both of the kit-supplied barrels look clunky in comparison. No other modifications are really required aside from replacing the barrels on the kit parts, so it couldn’t be any easier.

Recommended without reservation.

Thank you to Master Model for the review sample (I just won an AR 196 in our club raffle – so the timing was excellent!) and to IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review this upgrade.

Review Author
Ed Kinney
Published on
December 3, 2011
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$33.00

#32732 – 1/32nd Tamiya Early P-51D gun bay photoetch set, includes pre-painted ammo belts, door placards, gun placards, plus all the goodies to create a winner should you decide to open the bays. Very well done and engineered. MSRP - $ 33.00.

# 32731 – Prepainted seat belts for the 1/32nd Tamiya P-51D. Not much to be said here that the image doesn’t show, except that Eduard is and has been second to none in this arena. If you haven’t used one of their belt sets, you owe it to yourself to try one. MSRP - $ 23.00.

Most highly recommended. Special thanks to Eduard for supplying the review samples and to IPMS for allowing me to review them.

Review Author
Michael Novosad
Published on
September 16, 2021
Company
Trumpeter
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$35.99

History and Performance

The Grizzly armored personnel carrier is part of the Canadian Armored Vehicle General Purpose (AVGP) family. Also included in this family are the Coyote and the Cougar. Originally purchased by the Canadian military in the 1970s, the Grizzly is no longer in front line service. The surviving vehicles have been converted to support vehicles and some were sold to other countries.

Instructions

The instructions are in a twelve-page book form that include 15 construction steps. Each step involves exploded views with parts numbers for placement. The plans are supplemented by a two-sided painting and markings guide. The first is an IFOR vehicle marked in green and black, while the second is an all-white UN vehicle. Paint reference colors are shown for Mr. Hobby, Vallejo, Model Master, Tamiya and Humbrol. The Tamiya colors are noted incorrectly for the IFOR vehicle: each should be moved up one cell on the paint chart.

Review Author
Walt Fink
Published on
September 16, 2021
Company
Platz
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$27.50

Platz kits are noted for their delicacy and true-to-scale thickness of parts, and their Focke-Wulf 190D-9 is no exception. Engraved surface detail and excellent fit make the build easy with little need for putty; the gear legs are scale thickness and even the pitot tube is molded pretty much to scale. The offering is typical Platz – two complete kits in the box, with decals and optional parts supplied for three different Reich birds.

The interior is basic, with a seat and an otherwise bare cockpit space.

Two canopies are provided, the low-profile one and the blown type, along with the appropriate interior headrest structure for each.