Review Author
Mike Hinderliter
Published on
August 17, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$6.95

Quickboost.net just keeps adding to their great line of quality resin aircraft accessories. The latest addition is for the Hasegawa F4F Wildcat. It is up to their usual standards; molded in grayish cream colored resin, smooth, seamless and bubble free. One thing of note is that they are really easy to remove from the mold block with just a few passes from a hobby saw.

The stabilizers that come in the Hasegawa kit are okay and are molded as one piece but the Quickboost.net parts are molded as two pieces so that they can be modeled in the down position. The Quickboost stabilizers are superior and add just that much more realism to the finished kit. The resin parts are very easy to install and fit in place perfectly.

Review Author
Jim Stratton
Published on
September 28, 2021
Company
AMT
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$23.95

In the 1950’s the American trend saw greater use of the pickup trucks as second vehicles, Due to good marketing Chevrolet set records in the production of trucks with a market share of almost 37%. The 1950 3100 had a 6 cylinder Thriftmaster motor that utilized a GM Model ‘B’ downdraft carburetor with a concentric fuel bowl and a centrally located discharge nozzle. This carb had an improved fast-idle/choke mechanism that helped cold weather starts. The deluxe cab had optional Nu-Vue windows with chrome trim, a wooden floor in the cargo box and optional chrome grille and bumpers. This AMT kit comes with optional parts to make a stock 3100 pickup or a road service vehicle for a Texaco service station truck. The kit also comes with a color pre cut placard with the box top art work suitable for framing.

Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
August 16, 2011
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$9.95

Eduard continues to provide model builders with an ever-growing list of convenient pre-cut paint masks. JX 112 is designed to make life easier for those building either of Special Hobby’s two A5M2 kits. Like other Eduard mask sets, this one is made of Kabuki tape (similar to Tamiya’s masking tape) and contains precut masks for the kit’s windscreen and wheels. The masks will adhere well to any flat or curved surface, so masking is a breeze and they and can easily be removed after paining is completed. A simple instruction sheet is included to guide the masking process.

Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
August 16, 2011
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$32.00

Aires continues to add to its line of resin detail sets for 1/32 aircraft kits. One of the latest is a resin and P/E detail set for detailing the cockpit of Trumpeter’s new Bf109F kits. Aires’ product name, Bf109GF-2/F-4 indicates that some of the parts also can be used to detail the cockpit of a Trumpeter Bf109G. The detail in the resin components is crisp, delicate and busy enough to make the cockpit quite convincing. No clean up is required and, as usual, with Aires resin there are no pinholes to worry about. The resin is not brittle, but reasonable care should be exercised when removing the small parts from the casting block. A #11 blade or razor saw can be used to remove most parts, and a swipe with a sanding stick will work to smooth the cut edges.

Review Author
Bill Kluge
Published on
August 15, 2011
Company
Wingnut Wings, Ltd
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$65.00

1918. A conversation overheard in a Jasta commander’s office as he questions a replacement pilot:

What did you train on?
The usual machine, Herr Hauptmann, an out-of-date Pfalz.
That’s what you’ll be flying here, too.
But…at flying school they told…
Flying school! In flying school, they’ll tell you anything. Up-to-date machines go to experienced pilots. Both are in short supply. It’s a cruel world, Stachel.
Yes, Herr Hauptmann.

Review Author
Howie Belkin
Published on
August 15, 2011
Company
MiniArt
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$66.00

Britain's most produced tank during WWII was the Vickers Valentine, representing a full 25% of all tanks built. The Valentine made its combat debut in Operation Crusader in North Africa, 1941 and production ended in 1944 after 8,275 were built. All but 30 of the 1,420 vehicles built in Canada were Lend-Leased to Russia, along with 2,394 of the British built Valentines. It is said that when offered replacements, Russian crews asked to keep their dependable Valentines. No wonder then, that the Ukraine model company, MiniArt, was the first to provide a truly state of the art model kit of the Valentine, with one version kitted specifically as one of the Valentines that served on the Eastern Front. MiniArt has marketed a few variations of the Valentine to capture the subtle differences between them. These are all new tooled models – they are not re-releases of the old Alan, VM or Maquette models. Every serious Armor modeler should have a Valentine in his collection.

Review Author
Mike Hinderliter
Published on
August 15, 2011
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$13.95

Aires has added the late model Aces 2 ejection seat to their 1/72 aircraft accessory line. Aires doesn’t specify any kit for this one so it should fit in any model aircraft that would use the Aces 2 seat. I picked the Italeri F-15. They also include 2 seats so you can do either two single seats or one 2 seat aircraft.

This offering is a quality piece of resin; smooth, seamless and bubble free. The detail is very nice and is far superior to the kit seats, which usually are 3 pieces and have seams to fix. All that is needed to install the seat is to remove the molding block and install it with a drop of CA. Another added plus for this set is that the seatbelts and other detail are included as a PE set.

I highly recommend this set if you want a superior looking kit, sometimes just adding a great looking seat in a kit really dresses it up. Thanks to Aires and IPMS/USA for the chance to do this review.

Review Author
Don Barry
Published on
August 15, 2011
Company
Master Box Ltd
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$12.95

This set consists of 44 parts on one sprue of medium tan plastic. Parts are included for 2 figures, plus personal weapons and gear, and extra canteens and mess kits. Also, there is a “double” loaf of bread, and a large, insulated food container. One figure is dressed in a greatcoat, the other is wearing the reversible button-down parka. A choice of soft cap or helmet is provided for the greatcoat figure. There are no decals provided, nor a separate instruction sheet. Assembly directions are on the back of the box, as is a painting guide, listing paint numbers and colors from Vallejo, Tamiya, Lifecolor, Humbrol, and Agama.

Review Author
Don Barry
Published on
August 15, 2011
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$30.95

This kit is an acknowledged reissue of a kit first issued in 1966. In those days, for you youngsters out there, the big thing was motorized kits, especially armor. Accuracy was not terribly important, as long as it looked cool squeaking its way across the carpet. Usually black, the rubber tracks were stretched around the running gear and off it went. This kit is that kit, minus the stamped metal gear box, motor(s), and wired control box (no RC, kids, just levers and wires).

Review Author
Howie Belkin
Published on
December 18, 2021
Company
Zvezda
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$16.99

The DShK 1938 (Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny, “Degtyaryov-Shpagin Large-Calibre”) became the standard Soviet heavy machine gun of WWII. It fired 12.7x108mm cartridges (the West’s M2 .50 cal fired 12.7x107mm) fed by belt or box magazine. It was frequently deployed with a two-wheeled cart and a single armor shield (similar to that used by the Maxim) as well as on a tripod for anti-aircraft. It was mounted on GAZ trucks, on late war tank cupolas (IS-2, ISU-152) in tank turrets (i.e. T-40), and other vehicles and ships.

A modernized DShK 1938/46or DShKM version appeared post war, which looked much the same. The Soviet Union , Russia, People's Republic of China, Pakistan and Romania have manufactured the DShK which has appeared throughout the world. I recall in Vietnam it was called a “.51 cal.” as it fired a slightly larger round than our M2 (the rounds were not interchangeable), and was one of the weapons our vulnerable helicopters learned to respect.