Review Author
Andy Renshaw
Published on
June 1, 2011
Company
Master Box Ltd
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$19.95

Masterbox has been a godsend for the plastic figure world by releasing subjects beyond the traditional standing or “in-action” military figures. This latest release of WWII civilians is a fantastic set and fills a much needed gap. Civilian subjects had previously been only available in resin, and then fairly limited.

Within this set are parts for four civilian figures, Western Europe, ranging from young children to older men. A single sprue contains all 48 parts, which are nicely molded with no flash. You still get a little of the “low tech” molding with large sprue gates, but the parts themselves are crisp and full of detail. The faces are very well sculpted capturing the age of the figure very well. I would be hard-pressed want to replace them in resin, as they really are perfect. The four figures comprise of:

Review Author
Andy Renshaw
Published on
June 1, 2011
Company
Master Details
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$19.95

1/32 scale has seen a bit of a renaissance of late with a very large selection of new kits hitting the market. Among them are many cold war to modern era US aircraft including F-4, A-4, F-8, F-16, and F-18 just to name a few. All of these aircraft, and many more, use the ubiquitous Mk 82 500 LB bomb. These bombs are commonly seen carried signally, on a Triple Ejector Rack (TER) or on the Multiple Ejector Rack (MER) and have been used in every conflict after Korea.

Though there are a lot of these type of bombs available in some of the plastic kits, none are as detailed or as accurate as this resin item from Master Details. In the bag you get enough parts to complete two bombs with a full selection of fuses including the “daisy cutter” fuse extender. A total of 30 resin parts plus a small jig to align the fins is included. Fuse types are:

Review Author
Clarence Wentzel
Published on
June 1, 2011
Company
Hasegawa
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$55.00

Background

The Grumman TBF Avenger was designed as a torpedo bomber to replace the TBD Devastator. The Devastator had been one of the first modern torpedo bombers for the US Navy but it was lacking is speed, firepower and armor protection. The Avenger entered production in 1942 and soon proved itself to be the perfect fit for the job. To meet production demands, General Motors’ Eastern Aircraft Division started production and eventually produced the majority of all Avengers. These were designated TBM.

Late in its production life, the Avenger was modified for anti-submarine warfare. Some of these featured an AN/APS-4 radar pod under the starboard wing and a searchlight pod under the port wing. In some cases, the rear turret was removed and the radar operator was housed in an extended rear canopy.

Review Author
Jim Stratton
Published on
May 31, 2011
Company
Wingnut Wings, Ltd
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$89.00

History

This is another superb kit from the guys at Wingnut Wings. According to the detailed history on the instruction booklet, the Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 was allegedly designed by Ernst Heinkel on the back of a cabaret wine list and was basically a W.12 biplane with the top wing removed. This advanced monoplane had markedly improved performance due to the reduction of drag afforded by the loss of the upper wing as well as the lack of guy wires. The solid construction was achieved because of the rigid strut arrangement for the floats. Three prototypes were constructed in January 1917 and each was powered by a different engine for the comparison purposes. When production began in April of 1917 it was decided to use the 150hp Benz Bz. III. A total of 199 W.29s were produced in two versions. 156 planes were built with 3 machine guns (C3MG) and another 43 were built with 2 machine guns (C2MGHFT) and a wireless radio.

Review Author
Nick Buro
Published on
May 31, 2011
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$39.95

To briefly describe the aircraft, it was a single sweater pusher, bi-plane, powered by a 100 HP Gnome rotary engine. The lack of synchronizing mechanism made this necessary to have a forward firing machine gun allowing the pilot to "aim" with the aircraft and gun at the same time.

The kit is composed of 62 plastic parts, 36 photo-etched parts, a clear acetate sheet with a choice of two windscreens, depending on which version of the aircraft you choose to build; painting masks are also provided plus a decal sheet for four different aircraft. The detailing on the plastic parts is up to the usual superb Eduards standard.

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
May 31, 2011
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$19.95

Czech manufacturer Eduard continues expanding its “Brassin” line of detail parts for aircraft. This time they are offering the UB-16 and UB-32 rocket launcher which has seen widespread use in Soviet designed aircraft, like L-39, MiG-21/23/27, Su-7/17/20/22, and Yak-28/38.

The detail kit includes 10 resin parts (casted in two different resin colors) and a small PE fret with another 6 parts. Resin parts are nicely detailed with great surface detail and very cleanly casted, with small pour stabs. Photoetch parts are exquisitely thin and very easy to work with.

It took me a total of 30 minutes to get all four rocket launcher assembled. The assembly is simple and straightforward but releasing the parts R3 and R4 (rocket launcher back cones) from their pour stabs requires some dexterity and a very thin razor or saw. Those parts are most fragile parts of the whole detail set.

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
October 10, 2021
Company
Hasegawa
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$19.95

The Aircraft

The P-51 was the ultimate propeller driven fighter for the US in World War II. Fast, maneuverable, excellent range, plenty of punch, good load carrying ability, and it could be used for any mission the higher ups thought of. While it was superseded by jets, the P-51D was used for tactical bombing in Korea, and some air forces didn’t retire their Mustangs until the 1980s. There was much excitement in the Warbird community when the Dominican Republic decided to sell their P-51Ds in 1984.

The Kit

I thought I had built this kit before, but I was wrong. The older Minicraft/Hasegawa P-51 has raised panel lines; this one has recessed panel lines. It’s a new mold. This kit is issued with new markings for 44-64076, “Jumpin’ Jacques” of the 3rdFG and 44-14606 “Jan” of the 4thFG. There are 4 gray sprues and one clear. Everything is flash-free and clean.

Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
September 28, 2021
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$3.99

Quickboost once again has come up with an unexpected resin aftermarket part that will add detail to a kit that most of us have in our stash. QB 48 357 provides three ready to install F4U-1 Corsair pitot tubes cast in a flexible resin that likely will survive the occasional bumps sometime experienced when a finished model is handled. The pitot tubes are molded on a casting block with extended bars that protect the parts from damage in the package. They exhibit a much better pointed tip than the kit part. A sharp #11 x-Acto blade is the only tool needed to remove each pitot tube from the casting block and to shave off a thin casting gate that is molded on the side of the part to protect the tip detail.

This part is a direct replacement for the kit part and, because it is resin, should be attached with super glue or epoxy cement.

Book Author(s)
Rob Ervin and David Doyle, Illust'd by Don Greer, Line Dwgs by Melinda Turnage
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
May 31, 2011
Company
Squadron Products
MSRP
$18.65

The M4 Sherman is probably the most easily recognizable American tank ever built. This book focuses in the variants and used by the American Army in World War II.

Variants cover include: Small Hatch M4, Small Hatch M4A1, Small Hatch M4A2, Small Hatch M4A3 75 mm, M4 Composite, M4 105 Howitzer, Large Hatch M4A1 (76)W, Large Hatch M4A2, Large Hatch M4A3 75 mm, Large Hatch M4A3 (76)W, M4A4 (105), M4A3E2, M4A6, M4A3E8 and a section devoted to specialized uses like Amphibious (DD Tanks), Bulldozer, Flamethrowers, etc.

The book is profusely illustrated with close to 200 B&W pictures and several color period pictures as well. There are just a few color profiles. The book covers variants that saw services in North Africa, Italy, D-Day, and the Western Front –including the Battle of the Bulge- as well as the Marine’s use of the Sherman in the Pacific.