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PhotoBucket are no longer permitting 3rd party hosting 01/07/17
As most of you are now painfully aware, Photobucket (PB) are stopping/have stopped allowing their members to link their accumulated years of photos into forums and the like, which they call 3rd party linking. You can give them a non-refundable $399 a year to allow links, but I doubt that many will be rushing to take them up on that offer. If you've previously paid them for the Pro account, it looks like you've got until your renewal to find another place to host your files, but you too will be subject to this ban unless you fork over a lot of cash. PB seem to be making a concerted move to another type of customer, having been the butt of much displeasure over the years of a constantly worsening user interface, sloth and advertising pop-ups, with the result that they clearly don't give a hoot about the free members anymore. If you don't have web space included in your internet package, you need to start looking for another photo host, but choose carefully, as some may follow suit and ditch their "free" members at some point. The lesson there is keep local backups on your hard drive of everything you upload, so you can walk away if the same thing happens. There's a thread on the subject here, so please use that to curse them, look for solutions or generall grouse about their mental capacity. Not a nice situation for the forum users that hosted all their photos there, and there will now be a host of useless threads that relied heavily on photos from PB, but as there's not much we can do other than petition for a more equitable solution, I suggest we make the best of what we have and move on. One thing is for certain. It won't win them any friends, but they may not care at this point. Mike.
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Review Content
Showing topics in Aircraft Reviews, Kits, Aftermarket (updates/conversions), Decals, Reference material, Armoured Fighting Vehicle Reviews, Kits, Aftermarket, Diorama & Accessory, Reference Material, Kits, Aftermarket, Reference Material, Vehicle Reviews, Sci-fi & Real Space Reviews, Figure Reviews, Locos, Trains & Layout Reviews and Tools & Paint Reviews posted in the last 365 days.
This stream auto-updates
- Yesterday
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or... nagging, as we generally call it. Nagging only works on me when I think it has merit though, so if you keep asking for a banana for scale in every pic, it'll never happen
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That's you encouraging me to moan, then?
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I haven't built the Special Hobby kit. I merely applied the decals from the Special Hobby kit to the Matchbox kit. It just shows how much a decent set of decals can do to improve a fairly basic model.
- Last week
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Your fault! You moaning at me made me start doing them more frequently. Definitely says 1998 on the instructions (I went back to check), so I guess that's a typo on their part that I've just repeated? At least we know now
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I think the Bagram one should be from 1988?
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Thanks Mike. And mention spéciale for the profiles!
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Su-17M4 Fitter-K 1:48 Hobby Boss The Su-17, with its NATO reporting name Fitter was derived from the earlier Su-7 as a project to improve its low speed handling, particularly during take-off and landing. It was Sukhoi's first attempt at variable geometry wings, and when it reached service was the Soviet Union's first swing-wing aircraft in service. To keep the project costs down, the centre section of the wing remained fixed, with the outer able to swing back for high-speed flight, and forward for slow. A pronounced spine was also added to the rear of the cockpit to carry additional fuel and avionics that were necessary with the advances in aviation. The first airframes reached service in the early 70s, and were soon replaced by more advanced models with the designation M3 and M4, designated Fitter-H and –K respectively by the Allies. The M4 was based on a larger fuselage and had additional weapons options, developed further and was considered to be the pinnacle of the Fitter line with a heavily upgraded avionics suite including improved targeting, navigation, and yet more weapons options, as well as improved engines. A downgraded version of the M4 was marketed as the Su-22M4, and was in production until 1990! Although the Su-17 was withdrawn from Soviet service in the late 1990s, it remained in service much longer in its export guise, where it was used by both Iran and Iraq, Libya and Angola to name but a few, where it had variable success, which likely had as much to do with pilot skill and training as the merits of the airframe. The Kit It's London buses time again! We reviewed this same subject by another company in January of this year, and less than half a year later, we're doing it again for the juggernaut that is Hobby Boss. This is a new tooling from them, and arrives in their standard top opening box with just a hint of the cardboard corrugations showing through the lid. Inside are fifteen grey sprues, two clear ones, three "rubber" tyres, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a decal sheet, instruction booklet, and two loose leaves of full colour glossy printed painting and markings guide. The first thing to note is that the fuselage is made from two full-length halves, which will simplify construction and appeal to some over the multi-part fuselage of the other new kit. Detail seems good throughout, although some of the finer stuff is absent to an extent, such as the riveting around the wing strakes, in the wheel bay, and the lack of separate blow-in doors on the nose sides. There are other positives that outweigh these minor issues however, such as a more detailed canopy interior, and the lack of a few extraneous surface details that were visible on the other contender. The nose gear bay is built up first with its gear leg captive from the outset, which I find a little inconvenient, but if you leave off the yoke and wheel, the rest is sturdy enough to survive the build, unless you are really clumsy (like me). Following on close behind is the cockpit, which assembles around a tub part, with a nicely detailed seat, side consoles and sidewalls, plus decals for the consoles and the instrument panel. The exhaust is made up from a number of cylinders and has nice detail, as is the intake bullet with its radome and bright green finish. All these assemblies are inserted into the fuselage as it is closed up, leaving you with a long tube onto which you add the strakes, centreline pylon, sensors and eventually the tail, which has two halves and a moulded-in rudder, but separate blade antennae on each side. This fits in on two pegs, with the elevators using the same method, and the host of intakes that litter the fuselage sides all nestle into their own positions on the port, with their outlines raised on the surface. The inner wing panels are next, with the correct thickness obtained by inserting the one-piece wheel bay sidewalls between the halves, which have the bay roof detail (minus copious rivets) moulded into the upper skin. Strakes and pylons are also added, as are the main gear, which can be left off until later, having a peg/hole fit, two-part hub and those rubber tyres that I'm not all that keen on for no discernible reason. These glue to the fuselage sides with two large pegs fitting into corresponding holes to keep everything aligned. A chaffe and flare dispenser is scabbed onto the rear fuselage on the starboard side, and attention shifts to the outer wing panels. (Specially for Gabor) The outer wings rotate to perform the variable geometry role, and each one has separate slats and ailerons, plus a clear navigation light at the very tip. You use one set of panels for swept configuration, the alternative set showing them in their fully extended low-speed configuration, which is a neat idea, with the same pin/hole fitting between the inner and outer sections. The cockpit needs a coaming, which is built up to include the HUD, which has two clear parts, the display element supported by angled styrene parts. More sensors are added around the nose with PE parts, and the styrene pitot is further detailed with more small PE parts that have tiny slots into which they fit, making for a more robust finished item than you would initially expect. Take some care in aligning everything, and it will look good. The canopy is in two parts, with separate windscreen and canopy, the latter having a combined PE and styrene insert that adds a level of detail that is more pleasing to the eye than simple clear styrene alone. As a bonus, you get a tow-bar with the kit, which is quite detailed, with plenty of parts to add a little more interest to your finished model. Weapons Hobby Boss aren't known for being stingy with these, and as you'd expect there are plenty to choose from on a number of sprues, as you see fit. As always, check your references for likely load-outs if you are going for accuracy, or slap them all on if not. It's your choice! 12 x AB-100 Iron bombs on 2 x MER 2 x AB-250 Iron bombs 2 x FAB-500 Iron bombs 2 x S-24B on adapter rails 2 x R-60MK on adapter rails 2 x B-13L rocket pods 2 x B-8M rocket pods 4 x Fuel Tanks The back page of the instruction booklet shows the pylon positions of the various options, but as above, check things over before you proceed. Stencil locations are shown on a separate colour page, with positions and colours all called out. Markings Hobby Boss often supply only one option with their kits, but this one has two, and they have even documented which airframes and timescales they relate to, which is good to see. The decals are printed in house, and are of good quality, although some of the stencils are illegible for one reason or another. The other decals are in register with good colour density and adequate sharpness, although the yellow seems a little pale to my eyes. If ultimate detail appeals, you could supplant the kit details with some stencils from your favourite aftermarket decal company, but as a lot of folks don't relish the thought of adding hundreds of tiny decals, it shouldn't be seen as mandatory! As usual with Hobby Boss, the colours are given in Mr Hobby, Vallejo, Model Master, Tamiya and Humbrol numbers, with a few gaps in the non Mr-Hobby ranges that will require a bit of research to fill. From the box you can build one of the following: Su-17M4 Yellow 27, 20th GvAPIB, Templin (Gross Dölln) Air Base, April 5, 1994. Su-17M4R, 886th ORAP, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, December 1998. Conclusion Hobby Boss's Russian aircraft are often better than their western kits, with the FAA kits of a few years back being the major exception. I expect this kit to build up pretty easily with no real fit issues due to the relatively simple breakdown of parts, and with a little access to my references, as well as our Walkaround, it does a good job of convincing me that it is reasonably good shapewise, but it is always a bit tricky to make statements like that without first building the kit. I'd have preferred a bit more detail, but it's nothing too major, and if you have some Archer 3D rivets you could have the missing rivets done in a modelling session. The captive rudder shouldn't be too difficult to liberate from the fin if you are minded, but remember to leave the bullet at the bottom attached to the fin if you do. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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That's good to know. I imagine it'll also work with a few more brands at least. It's being brave enough to try a test
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hi, I have tried this with Gunze acrylics. Paint is smoother once airbrushed.
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Little Nippers x 6 (Clamps) Modelling Tools Put away your dirty minds right now, as these aren't the nippers you're thinking of. These little clamps are useful little things for holding your model parts together without putting a world-shattering amount of pressure on the parts. They are made from a tough clear plastic, the flat jaw in clear, the other tinted red, with a small steel spring holding them closed. Light finger pressure on the ridged handles opens up the jaws to a maximum of 19mm, and in order to hold your model parts well, they both have slight ridges to increase grip. Put them on a highly sloped part however, and they will ping off, but that's just physics for you. Each bag contains six clips for a mere pittance (25p a clip!), and if you're a neatness freak, you can hang them up on small nails by the hole in the clear handle in neat serried rows near your desk. Modelling Tools are always striving to improve their products, and are currently looking into adding some form of rubberised tips to the jaws to improve grip further. No doubt we'll report back when they have something to show for their efforts. Highly recommended. Review sample supplied by
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Direct links to each of the sizes now added
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£40! That's more like it! Thanks Paul, I'll give that some serious thought.
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Oh dear other one on the to do list
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IDF Tiran 4 Takom 1:35 History The meaning of Tiran [pronounced as Tiy-RAE-N] in Hebrew is beginner. Israel's chronic lack of AFV's on one hand and it's phenomenal victory in the 1967 Six Days War on the other, brought the IDF to adopt captured enemy vehicles for its use. The Arab armies lost hundreds of fighting vehicles - mostly Egyptian T-54 and T-55 MBT's which were abandoned by their crews. In order to allow for greater standardization in its armour corps, the IDF initiated a conversion program. The captured tanks were re-engined and re-gunned (with the standard 105mm gun used in the Centurion and Patton MBT's). Chief was the several hundred captured T-54/T-55 tanks that were taken and modified into the Tiran 4 (T-54) and Tiran 5 (T-55), called Ti-67 (Tank Israeli-1967) in the west. The main difference between the two versions is the main gun armament. The Tiran 4 having a 100 mm main gun while the Tiran 5 having a 105 mm main gun. The first version of the Tiran 4 is distinguished by a few minor additions such as two brackets, Jerry cans on the back of the turret and a new communication system. The rest seem to be original, even up to the ammunition. The first standard Tiran 4 is one of several sub-versions of the Tiran vehicles. It was directly taken from the T-54 and received a set of different mud guards to the rear, a cal.30 Browning was fitted to the turret, and a box on the rear of the chassis which was also used on most of the Tiran versions. The next version of the Tiran 4 was unusual, in that it retained its original 100mm gun, but fitted with a fume extractor. Many of these cannon are visible on other Tiran versions in the IDF. The second version of the Tiran 4 was fitted with a few additional changes, such as antennas, hatch, and searchlights on the turret, along with spare track links, the biggest change being the fitting of the 105 mm M-68 main gun. The first combat use of captured tanks by the IDF was in operation "Raviv" (8-9 September 1969) - an amphibious raid across the Suez channel. Three T-54 tanks and six BTR-50 APC's were used to wreak havoc behind the Egyptian lines. Tirans were used along Israel's borders - mostly at the Suez front. In the 1973 Yom Kippur war Tirans were used in combat in the southern front - against Egyptian T-54/55 (which caused a lot of confusion). During the 1973 war the IDF managed to capture the newest Soviet MBT of the time - the T-62. Plans for conversion into Tiran-6 were made, but the relatively small numbers captured, together with the massive numbers of M-60 MBT's supplied by the US brought them to a halt (several prototypes were made, however). During the early 1980's Tiran MBT's were withdrawn from active duty. Some were sold to foreign states (including, reportedly, to Iran during its war with Iraq), some were given to Israel's allies in Lebanon and some were converted into the Achzarit APC. Ironicaly, some of the Tirans supplied to the SLA (South Lebanon Army) militia fell into Hizballah hands after the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon (June 2000). In a way, those tanks made a full circle. The Model We must be getting pretty close to having every single Russian/Soviet tank type being released in injection moulded plastic. At least this kit fills the gap between the JS tanks and the T-62s, and there weren’t too many versions of this vehicle when compared with the T-62 series onwards. Contained in a nicely illustrated box are fourteen sprues and two separate parts in grey styrene, a bag of individual track links in the same material, a smallish sheet of etched brass and a small decal sheet, oh!, and a length of wire. The moulding is superb, with no sign of flash or other imperfections, just a few of the usual moulding pips to clean up. The fact that the individual links are already off the sprue and ready to use is very helpful. Construction begins with the lower glacis plate being attached to the front, the sprocket gear covers to the rear and the idler wheel assemblies to the front. Each idler wheel, which actually looks like a modified sprocket, each one is made up from seven parts. Each road wheel is made up from two wheels and two separate tyres, which will at least make it easier to paint, whilst the sprockets are just two parts, the inner and outer hubs. The slightly confusing bit is that there are three different styles of suspension arm per side, and up to three parts per arm, so take care when assembling and fitting each arm to ensure you are using the right parts for each particular side. The upper hull decking is made up from front middle and rear sections, which, when joined together is fitted out with the drivers hatch, PE grilles, six piece headlight cluster, fastening strips, hooks and other sundry items. With the wheels and tracks fitted, the upper hull decking is attached to the lower hull, followed by the rear bulkhead and inner sprocket gearbox fairings. As stated above, each individual track link is all ready to be used, it’s just a shame they aren’t the click together type as seen in Takom’s Mk.IV and Mk.V Heavy Tanks. They are easy to fit and glue, but it might be an idea to make up lengths of them to match the point in the track and any associated sag required before joining them up around the sprockets and idlers, you will need around 92 links per side. Before the track guards are fitted several holes of various diameters need to be drilled out. The starboard guard is then fitted with the various storage boxes, angled support arms, spare fuel tanks, plus the front and rear mudguards. The pioneer tool rack and tools is fitted to the port track guard, along with the barrel cleaning kit tube, and more storage boxes. They are then fitted to the hull and the fuel tanks pipework attached to the appropriate tanks. The rear bulkhead is fitted with the mounting brackets for the two four piece auxiliary fuel drums and the unditching beam. The build then moves onto the turret, with the single piece upper section being fitted with the hatch rings, internal co-axial machine gun, various brackets, stowage eyes, sight doors, and hand rails before the gunners hatch, which is made up from no less than twelve parts, is attached, along with a sight. The much simpler, four part commanders hatch is glued into position, as is the mantlet cover, three piece 60mm mortar, two jerry cans, small two piece storage box, three piece large storage box, two, three piece aerial bases, and ten piece rear stowage basket. There are two types of main gun barrel, one with a fume extractor and one without, both made up from two halves split longitudinally, so care to minimise the seam will be required, or wait for an aftermarket company to release a metal barrel, the barrel is fitted in place and finished off with the separate muzzle end piece. The six piece 30cal Browning machine gun and eight piece 50cal machine gun are attached, the 50cal having alternate positons. The completed turret is then fitted to the hull at which point the build is ready for paint. Decals Whilst there are three schemes in the full colour paint chart the actual decal sheet is very small and is only required for two of the schemes, one of which only has registration numbers, the other has registration numbers, identification chevrons, and three white rings on the barrel. The schemes are for the following vehicles:- Tiran 4 of the South Lebanese Army, used during the Peace for Galilee operation 1982. Tiran 4 of the South Lebanese Army, Negev Desert, early 80’s Tiran 4 of the South Lebanese Army, Jezzine, 1985 Conclusion Takom really are getting the most of their T-54 moulds, but this is still a very nice kit and looks like it will be a joy to build, much like their other kits. What with Trumpeter and Tamiya producing other versions of the Tiran series, you could end up with a full set. Review sample courtesy of UK Distributors for
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Hi, I've finally managed to get the full RP Toolz range onto the website and double checked the prices. Some tool prices have changed when I checked them this evening with the current exchange rate. The 300mm Bending tool is one of those and has gone up by £5 to £60, but at least one tool has come down by more than that. RP Toolz available at modellingtools.co.uk Thanks, Paul
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I guess the amount of work in making one is very similar irrespective of length, very much like sofas. A 3-seater isn't massively more expensive than a 2-seater. Just the extra materials, I suppose
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HMS Lord Nelson 1:350 Hobbyboss History HMS Lord Nelson was a Lord Nelson-class pre-dreadnought battleship launched in 1906 and completed in 1908. She was the Royal Navy's last pre-dreadnought. The ship was flagship of the Channel Fleet when World War I began in 1914. Lord Nelson was transferred to the Mediterranean Sea in early 1915 to participate in the Dardanelles Campaign. She remained there, becoming flagship of the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron, which was later redesignated the Aegean Squadron. After the Ottoman surrender in 1918 the ship moved to the Black Sea where she remained as flagship before returning to the United Kingdom in May 1919. Lord Nelson was placed into reserve upon her arrival and sold for scrap in June 1920. HMS Lord Nelson was laid down by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company at Jarrow on 18 May 1905 and launched on 4 September 1906. Her completion was greatly delayed by the diversion of her 12-inch (305 mm) guns and turrets to expedite completion of Dreadnought, and she was not fully completed until October 1908. Although she was not the last pre-dreadnought laid down for the Royal Navy, she was the last one commissioned. Lord Nelson displaced 17,820 long tons (18,106 t) at deep load as built, with a length of 443 feet 6 inches (135.2 m), a beam of 79 feet 6 inches (24.2 m), and a draft of 26 feet (7.9 m). She was powered by two four-cylinder inverted vertical triple-expansion steam engines, which developed a total of 16,750 indicated horsepower (12,490 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). She was armed with four 12-inch guns arranged in two twin gun turrets, one turret each fore and aft. Her secondary armament consisted of ten 9.2-inch (234 mm) guns, eight in twin gun turrets on each corner of the superstructure, and a single gun turret between them. For defence against torpedo boats, Lord Nelson carried twenty-four QF 12-pounder 18 cwt guns and two 3-pounder guns. She also mounted five submerged 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes for which 23 torpedoes were stowed aboard The Model We’ve yet to see many British ships in this scale from WWI, but it’s great that we are at last seeing some pre-dreadnoughts being released, and long my it continue as there are some great subjects that I’m sure we’d all like to see on our work benches at some point in the future. This kit of HMS Lord Nelson comes in a relatively small box, as these weren’t the largest of ships compared with later battleships. Inside there are nine sprues, one separate part and the deck all produced in light grey styrene, four sheets of etched brass, a length of chain and a medium sized decal sheet. Now I hope you’re all sitting down when you read this, as it appears that Hobbyboss have got the hull pretty much spot on with this kit, well, certainly according to R A Burt and his excellent books on British battleships and also the constructors model which used to be on display at the Science museum. The rest of the parts are very nicely moulded with plenty of detail, although there will be some who will want to add even more. There are no signs of flash or other imperfections, but there are quite a few moulding pips, which means a little extra cleaning up of parts. Construction begins with the two piece hull being joined together and strengthened with the three bulkheads and two end beams. The single piece deck is then attached, making a pretty solid and strong hull. On the underside, the tow propeller shafts, A frames and propellers are fitted, as is the single rudder. With the hull upright, the three piece, fully PE, Admirals walkway is fitted to the stern, followed by the PE rails fore of A turret barbette and aft of X turret barbette. The myriad of windlasses, cleats, bollard and ventilators are then glued into their respective positions, as are the Jack and Ensign staffs and their supports. Amidships there are seven deck houses to be fitted along with four cable reels and three winches. The superstructure is made up from a single piece item to which twelve supports are glued to the underside before being glued into position over the previously fitted deck houses. Remember to add the pair of foreward mounted 12 pounders that fire from ports at the forward end of this “flying” flying, as you won’t get them in once the deck is glued down. The superstructure longitudinal bulkheads are then attached, as are PE four inclined ladders, four side mounted windlasses, two boat booms and the anchor chains. To the upper deck, four, three piece winches, sixteen 12 pounder guns and five deck houses are fitted. This deck is then covered by a two piece 03 deck, with the aft section supported by six vertical columns. The main bridge deck is then attached foreward and small mezzanine decks aft with two inclined ladders leading to the 12 pounder deck. Each of the two funnels are made up from two halves, a base and funnel cap. To these, PE funnel cap grilles are added, along with PE hand and foot rails, and two auxiliary vents. The three piece armoured bridge, two deck houses and the two piece ships wheel are attached to the bridge deck. The two funnel assemblies are then glued into place along with two vertical columns aft. The boat deck is fitted out with eighteen PE boat cradles and a rescue float. There are fifteen boats in total, most of which come with separate hulls and decks, and some also have separate rudders. The three steam pinnaces and eight rowing boats are glued to their respective cradles, and then two other rowing boats are crutched within a larger boat. The main mast is made up from lower mast section, a two tier observation top with PE support brackets, upper mast section and yardarm. The lower section is then fitted with three PE blocks, and the three piece goose neck for the boat crane boom, which is also fitted with PR blocks and a PE hook. This is then fitted aft of the boat deck and supported by two angled support arms, finished off with two PE vertical ladders. The foremast is of similar construction, just with a slightly small boat handling boom, three yardarms and a searchlight in the lower of the two tier observation top, it is then glued just aft of the armoured bridge deck house. The PE bridge house surrounding the ships wheel is then folded to shape and glued into place, with another deck above it supported by two PE braces. Two binnacles are attached to this deck and inclined ladder. Six 12 pounder guns and eight searchlights are fitted around the boat deck and the PE bridge wings attached wither side of the bridge deck. The bridge deck and aft boat deck railings are then attached, as are the two long ladders to the foremast observation platforms, and two pairs of davits to the aft end of the superstructure. Four more two part ships boats are assembled and fitted to the two pairs for davits either side of the quarterdeck. The anchors, fourteen anti-torpedo net booms are then attached to the hull, along with the two PE rear mounted accommodation ladders and the PE folded netting that is fitted to each side to the ship. Each of the two main gun turrets and six secondary turrets are made in the same way with the barrels fitted with separate trunnions and trunnion mounts glued to the base with the turret slid over the barrels and glued into positions. Some of the turrets are fitted with 12 pounders and some with 3” gun on their roofs and all have PE vertical access ladders attached. Once assembled, they are fitted into their respective barbettes. Finally the main PE railing is attached to the main deck, completing the build. Well, I say completed, but if you want to do a proper job you will probably spend more time with the complex rigging than you had done for the whole build. Good luck with that. Decals The single decal sheet contains a selection of White Ensigns and Admirals flags as well as a pair of funnel bands. They seem pretty well printed, with good opacity and in register. Conclusion At last, a British pre-Dreadnought in injection moulded plastic, and another on its way, with hopefully more to come, a golden age of modelling, or what? This does look an excellent kit and is not too large so can be displayed in a relatively small space. The rigging will, however, be taxing, to say the least if you want to go the whole hog, but will look good with a representative amount should you blanche at the idea. Review sample courtesy of
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Thanks for another informative review Mike. Vallejo, my paint of choice, does seem to be updating their stuff, especially the Air War series, and this sounds to be another decent enhancement. Mike
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I think this particular type was only ever used in Iraq but an updated version of the "basic" FV432 and some of its derivatives are still in service with the British Army.
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Forgive my total ignorance here, but were these vehicles ever used beyond Iraq? Are they still in service? Tim the complete Airhead on such matters....
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Great Review with some good hints that will be followed. Great Collection as well, guess you will never run out of interesting marking schemes for aircrafts like this.
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I notice that it says £50 on the box, but the significantly longer one is available for £55 - only £5 difference, that seems odd.
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I'm after a long bender for some etched chassis I've got in 1/24, this looks just the ticket
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Piranha Photo Etch Tool 13.5cm, 19.5cm & 30cm RP Toolz via Modelling Tools Photo-Etch (PE) at first appears to be a bit of a dark art to the novice modeller, but it can be a useful way of obtaining more realism in your work, but you need to have a few tools to hand if you're going to use it properly. Modern PE sets have a degree of cut-out-and-fit parts that anyone can use without spending money on tools other than a sharp knife and some tweezers. When you get more adept you're going to be folding PE, which requires a steady hand and at the very least some flat bladed pliers, which at best are a bit of a blunt instrument for many of the finer tasks, and lack length. A PE Bending Tool is the ultimate in PE tools, and consists of a flat plate with a clamp that has a number of different shaped and sized "fingers" projecting from the top plate. This one from RP Toolz has many, many fingers on the 195mm edition that I'm reviewing, but also has a few more on the longer 300mm monster, and a few less but more tightly spaced on the entry-level 135mm unit. The top plate is secured by spring-loaded knurled knobs that screw down onto bolts set into the lower plate, with a brass insert ensuring long life. The short plate has two knobs, the medium three, and the longest has four, all to obtain equal pressure along the entire jaw, and prevent PE slipping when being worked. All lengths have two tight-fitting pegs projecting through the top plate for perfect alignment at all times, and to remove the top you have to pull it off perfectly squarely or it will jam due to the fine tolerances. The base plate has a shiny surface and is made from hard metal, which I tried unsuccessfully to marr with a blade, although it does pick up fingerprints quite easily. The underside is covered with a black flock material to reduce slippage and protect your desktop from damage. The top plate is black, and has a PE Piranha logo attached in the centre, with the exception of the 195mm tool, which has it offset due to the central knob. A one-sided razor blade is included in the box in a card sleeve, which is used to "pick up" the edge of the PE part to be bent, and allow you to start the bend. You can pick up more blades cheaply on eBay or at any good hobby store if you dull or lose your original. To keep your device safe and usable, don't use it to hold anything it wasn't designed for, keep the tension on the screws to an appropriate level, and do your best never to drop it, as all those things might result in distortion of the plates, which will reduce its effectiveness. Conclusion I've had a PE tool for years now, and it was starting to show its age due to its aluminium construction. This one has none of the weakness of aluminium, and in use has both a wide variety of finger widths and shapes, as well as the option to spin the top plate 180o to use the straight rear edge for particularly long parts. When you come up against a part with a long folded edge that's about 3mm wide, using anything other than one of these tools is likely to result in disaster. I find the more even tension on the plate to be of great use, giving you confidence to work with all the fingers, not just the central ones. Initially I thought that the lack of groove in the base plate that was present on my old tool would be an issue, but having used it now I find that it makes no difference to the process, and the additional weight of the thing is reassuring. Very highly recommended. 135mm Tool 195mm Tool 300mm Tool Review sample supplied by
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French Pre-Dreadnought Danton Gun Set 1:350 Master Models A new month and a new set of barrels as Master models continue to build up their range of 1:350 scale armament sets. This set is for the recently released Hobbyboss French pre-dreadnought battleship Danton. As usual they are well up to the standard we’ve come to expect from Master Models. [350-097] The guns in the kit are pretty good for injection moulded parts, but you can’t beat some finely machine turned brass barrels to add that extra finesse to the model. In this set you get four 305mm aluminium barrels, twelve 240mm aluminium barrels, sixteen 75mm brass barrels and twelve 47mm brass barrels. The set also includes six resin trunnion mounts for the 240mm barrels and two for the 305mm barrels. These replace the trunnions in the kit. You will need to cut the kit barrels from the 75mm and 47mm mountings and drill appropriate sized holes both 0.5” and 0.3”. Conclusion Master models just amaze me how they continue to churn these sets out and keep the quality so high, just what you need to give your model a lift. Review sample courtesy of Piotr at
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