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Showing topics in Aircraft Reviews, Kits, Aftermarket (updates/conversions), Decals & Masks, 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 for the last 365 days.

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  1. Today
  2. Mike
    Blenheim Mk.IF Upgrade Sets & Masks (for Airfix) 1:48 Eduard At time of writing, we're currently waiting for the new Blenheim kit to get from the warehouses to the shelves, and as it's the first major injection moulded kit of the type to have been released in a long time, there's a lot of excitement. Eduard have a good relationship with Airfix, and because of their new range of sets are here to improve on the kit detail in the usual modular manner even before the kit hits the shelves. Get what you want for the areas you want to be more of a focal point. As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. Upgrade Set (49935) Two frets are included, one nickel plated and pre-painted, the other in bare brass. A complete set of new layered instrument panels and sidewall/consoles are the primary parts on the painted set, with new rudder pedal straps; throttle quadrant; gun details and other small equipment. Externally, there are nacelle internal structure parts; access panels; top hatch; crew steps; engine details, and cross-braces for the landing gear legs. Zoom! Set (FE935) This set contains a reduced subset of the interior, namely the pre-painted parts that are used to improve on the main aspects of the cockpit, as seen above. Whatever your motivations for wanting this set, it provides a welcome boost to detail, without being concerned with the structural elements. Seatbelts STEEL (FE936) In case you don't already know, these belts are Photo-Etch (PE) steel, and because of their strength they can be etched from thinner material, which improves realism and flexibility in one sitting. Coupled with the new painting method that adds perceived extra depth to the buckles and other furniture by shading, they are more realistic looking and will drape better than regular brass PE. As well as the four point harness for the pilot, there are also three lap belts for the various "bar-stool" seats that are fitted to the interior. landing flaps (48975) Eduard landing flaps use an ingenious technique to achieve excellent true-to-scale flaps using few parts, and requiring the modeller to simply remove the retracted flaps from the lower wing, plus scrape the upper wings to accommodate the thickness of the completed bays and remove the moulded-in detail. Each half of the two flap sections (bay and flap itself) is constructed in the same manner, by twisting and folding over the attached ribs to create a 3D shape, with extra parts added along the way. The bays glue to the inside of the upper wing and the flap attaches to the rear wall of the new bay. Repeat this for the other side until all four are installed, and you're done. Masks (EX626) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, turret, landing light and wingtip lights. In addition you get a set of hub/tyre masks for the main wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. Masks Tface (EX627) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with everything above, but also give you another set of canopy masks tailored to fit the interior of the glazing so that you can paint the interior and give your model that extra bit of realism. Don't worry about the missing inner lines on two of the wheel masks - I can assure you they're there on my copy of the masks. Review sample courtesy of
  3. Mike
    FV214 Conqueror II Heavy Tank (35A027) 1:35 Amusing Hobby Still clinging onto the "bigger is better" ethos that Hitler forced upon the Allies during the last years of WWII, post war British doctrine continued to specify and design huge and lumbering tanks for a while, such as the Tortoise, and to a great extent the Conqueror, carrying a 120mm gun that was intended to take out opposition armour at longer range than the smaller Centurion, whilst working in cooperation together. Design began while the war was still raging, and continued with subsequent changes to specification due to rapidly evolving needs for a further 10 years before it morphed into the Conqueror Mk.1, of which only a handful were made before it too was upgraded to the Conqueror 2 with improvements in armour over its short-lived predecessor. It was a behemoth, and lumbered across the terrain at a slow rate due to a combination of extremely thick sloped armour that was almost 180mm on the glacis, the huge gun, advanced fripperies such as the rotating cupola, and brass cartridges, although it could only carry 35. The upside of the 64 tonne all-up weight was that it could stably travel over almost any terrain, although with a top speed of only 22mph on metalled roads, it would be a slow-moving target off-road. The Conquerors were deployed solely in Germany, there to halt or at least slow the advances of the expected Soviet horde that thankfully never came. A few additional variants were proposed, but only the Armoured Recovery Vehicle (ARV) was built in small numbers on the basis you need a titan to pull a titan if a tank broke down, which they often did due to their weight and the strain that put on the Rolls-Royce Meteor engine and running gear. The Conqueror and Centurion were eventually replaced by the Chieftain tank in the mid 60s, which ushered in the era of the Main Battle Tank in British service. The Kit This is a minor retooling of the original Conqueror Mk.I kit (35A006) with the addition of an extra sprue of parts, a new decal sheet, and a change of styrene colour. The changes centre on the glacis plate, the front deck, the commander's cupola, and the exhaust/engine deck, with smaller parts either replaced or carried over from the original tooling. As a result, you can still build a Mk.I from this boxing if you wish to, taking your cue from the parts that are replaced with the K sprue parts instead. Detail is of course good, as per the previous issue, and the new sprue is engineered and detailed in the same manner, so will blend in seamlessly. In the box you get ten sprues and two hull parts in a sand coloured styrene, a bag of track-links in brown styrene, a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a bag of eight springs, a length of braided copper wire, small decal sheet, instruction booklet and separate painting and markings guide. Construction begins with the hull, and the suspension bogies that contain the Horstmann suspension units, which is where the real springs come in. These are contained between two end-caps, which affix to a back-plate, and if you're careful with the glue when you attach the perforated front part, you should end up with working suspension. Two pairs of road wheels and a single pair of return rollers are fixed to the axles, and held in place by hub caps that fit using friction alone, so the wheels should turn too if you don't overdo the paint. This is repeated over the eight bogies, a multi-part drive sprocket with final drive housing is installed at the rear and the adjustable idler wheels are added to the lower glacis, with an element of adjustment possible before you apply glue, which should allow you to take up any additional slack in the tracks before you finish construction. A set of small side skirts are glued along the length of the road wheel area, with tie-downs/grab-handles at either end, although it may be better to leave these off until after the tracks are fitted, and possibly until after painting. The rear bulkhead fits to the opening in the back of the hull after being decked-out with towing hooks and various small parts, after which the upper hull becomes the focus for a while. The upper hull is essentially complete save for the front glacis plate, which is the first of the new parts, having the light clusters and lifting eyes fitted, while on the rear deck a few spare track links are added on the moulded-in fenders along with the usual complement of pioneer tools with moulded-in tie-downs. The driver's deck is also a new part and has a new hatch to be used with all the original hinge and vision block parts, dropping into the aperture in the hull, and leaving the hatch movable. The stowage boxes and other small parts that are sprinkled around the upper hull are also carried over from the Mk.1, with towing cables made up from the braided wire and having styrene eyes at each end. On the engine deck a pair of new filler caps are present in the spaces between the ribs and vents, and these are shown in an overhead scrap diagram because there are no location points on the hull. Also on the engine deck a new exhaust assembly is run down both sides of the sides of the area, with angled protective shrouds covering each one in place of the rather complex-looking assembly of the Mk.1. The turret is much the same as the Mk.1, and is made up from an upper part, lower bustle part, and separate turret ring, onto which the various hatches, sensors and vision ports are affixed. Two sets of smoke grenade launchers attach to the turret sides, a communications wire reel is fitted to the port side, and the shell-ejection port is glued in either the closed or open positions, using a small actuator to obtain the correct angle. The mantlet fixes to a pair of pivots that are added to the front of the turret early on, and the edges of the part are wrapped with PE strips that can be used to fix a canvas mantlet cover on the real thing. The barrel then threads through the hole into the socket, and is made up from two solid sections plus a hollow muzzle, and the new wrap-around sleeve that is split vertically and encases the barrel just aft of the prominent flange. The commander's fancy cupola-cum-sighting-mechanism is new, with some small differences in the cast shape, and the omission of casting serials on the sloped section. The majority of small parts are from the Mk.1, with hatch, lifting eyes, vision blocks and machine gun all reused, but with two additional lifting eyes on the rear of the cupola, which have their location points marked faintly on the rear. The completed assembly fits onto the cupola ring part, and then twists into place, locking to the turret with a bayonet fitting. Also new is the turret basket at the rear of the bustle, which is made up from four styrene parts, and is shown in its final location in a scrap diagram for your ease. The tracks are very nicely moulded, and are of the click-fit workable variety, which works very well indeed in this instance. The parts are moulded in pairs with a small injection manifold between them, and they are attached by only two sprue gates, with no ejector pins to deal with. Clean-up is super-simple due to the location of the gates, and the click action is quite robust, leaving you with a run of tracks in fairly short order, which is just as well as you need 98 links per side. Having seen a few rather poorly engineered track joining methods from other major manufacturers lately, it's refreshing to see a genuinely good track-making method from Amusing Hobby. With the tracks installed, the hull halves can be joined, the turret twisted into place, new armoured final drive covers installed, and the gun's travel lock added to the rear bulkhead. Markings It's an AFV kit, so the decal sheet is the size of an over-ambitious stamp, and because of the limited colour palette and lack of complexity of the designs, only four colours are used on the sheet. The white is very slightly out of register, evidenced by the slight "shadow" on the right of the yellow decals, and a very slight difference in width of the white outlines on the black 4 triangles. It's nothing of great importance however, as the 4s can be trimmed, and the yellow will doubtless disappear on a green vehicle. Otherwise the decals are well-printed, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion There's something about the bulk of the Conqueror that is even more impressive if you've ever stood near a real one, as it is truly massive. Amusing Hobby have captured that aspect of it very well, and now we have a choice of two variants. I wonder what our chances of the ARV is? Low, I should think, but we can wish, can't we? One thing is for certain, there's a Mk.1 with spaced armour knocking about – a Super Conqueror! Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of Available soon from good model shops.
  4. Yesterday
  5. Mike
    Panzer III On the Battlefield 2 World War Two Photobook Series Peko Publishing The Panzer III was developed due to a lack of medium armour by the Third Reich in the mid 30s and as an adjunct to their lighter Panzer I and IIs that were still deemed suitable for the task early on, and they began WWII with predominantly light tanks that were often outgunned and relatively lightly armoured compared to their opponents, with only the III capable of meaningful armour-on-armour combat. Only the Blitzkreig tactics gave them the advantage, and following on from this Hitler became obsessed with the mantra "bigger is better". The Pz.IV was a pre-war development that supplanted the Panzer III, although they were originally supposed to support each other, the Allies advances in armour began to make the Panzer III look increasingly dated, although the chassis soldiered on to the end of the war in the shape of the StuG.III, which is another book entirely! This new volume from Peko's World War Two Photobook Series, and as the name suggests it is primarily a book of photos, which isn't too difficult to divine. As Volume 2 of the set it covers the more mature variants of the Pz.III, beginning briefly with the Ausf.B and carrying on through E to Ausf.N with all the variations in fit and finish between the factories that were engaged in construction of this, and the variations between marks and production batches. It is hardback bound with 112 pages, finished in an overall white cover, and authored by Tom Cockle. The photos are almost without exception full page, with space left only for the captions, which are in Hungarian and English, each one adding valuable insight to the photo, which may not be immediately apparent without it. For the modeller there are plenty of diorama possibilities, as well as opportunities to see how the crews actually stowed their gear on their vehicles (or otherwise) in real-world circumstances. Seeing how they come apart when blown up is also useful for diorama purposes, but thankfully there is only one grisly scene (seen from a distance) accompanying the destroyed vehicles. Quite a few of the photos are from private collections with attributions in the top corner as appropriate, with substantial quantity of soldiers standing in front of damaged or abandoned vehicles after the fighting is over, plus a number of groups investigating the wreckage after a cataclysmic explosion of the tank's magazine, or demolition by the escaping crew. While the contemporary photos are in black and white, the detail in which they are depicted would be an absolute boon to any modeller, especially those wishing to go down the route of realism and authentic settings. Conclusion Whether you have the models that you intend to use this book for reference, or have an interest in the subject, this book will give you all the reference pictures and some besides, as well as some inspiration for dioramas. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  6. Mike
    Thanks - not being able to speak word one of either languages, it's all Greek to me. Wait, what? Edited
  7. manuel
    Sorry it's polish not czech. Thanks for the review.
  8. Mike
    TopDrawings 54 – Junkers Ju.87B (9788365437914) Kagero Publishing via Casemate UK The Junkers Ju.87B Stuka was a weapon of terror that saw extensive use in the early days of WWII, soldiering on to the end despite needing fighter protection due its slow speed. It has been a popular subject with modellers for years, and that shows no sign of changing any time soon. We have kits in all scales for example from Airfix in 1:72, through the Hasegawa kits in 1:48, and a variety in 1:32 and even 1:24 from various sources. The TopDrawings series majors on scale plans, which is the main thrust, but also includes a little background information, some pertinent profiles, and often a bonus of decals or masks targeted at the subject matter in hand. With this edition, you get a set of pre-cut vinyl masks in 1:72 and 1:48, which will be a boon to speed the job of masking that greenhouse canopy. The book is written in English on the left of the page, with Polish on the right, which translates to top and bottom for the captions to the various drawings within. The book itself is bound in a card cover and has 20 pages, but in addition you get a sheet of loose A3 plans of a B-2 printed on one side in 1:48 and on the other, printed in full colour is a 3-view profile of a B-1 by Arkadiusz Wróbel. The first half of the bound plans show the variants up to the B-2 and includes weapons and the engine in 1:48. The four pages of profiles show eight B-1 and B2s, including a tropicalized airframe at the bottom. There are more plans in 1:48 of the aircraft from front and back, as well as the tropicalized B2 seen in the profile section. The final section of the plans shows the evolution of the aircraft through the B series in 1:72, with differences marked out in grey and captions discussing the nature of the changes, which were fairly minor and cosmetic for the most part. Conclusion These books are essential for the modeller that wants to compare their models against scale plans, to obtain as accurate a model as possible, with the masks a useful bonus if you happen to model in those scales. The 1:72 scale folks will have to do some quick calculations to scale down the plans, but it's good to be able to see the airframe at a good size on the page. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  9. corsaircorp
    Oooohhh ! thank you Julien ! I will have one and turn her into a '30 Admiral barge for U.S Navy…. No no, I'm not Healing at all !! Sincerely. CC
  10. Last week
  11. John_W
    That may have been a Lockheed Electra. The same C18 featured in a number of episodes, but was plain NMF. http://www.impdb.org/index.php?title=The_A-Team_(TV_Series)#Beechcraft_C18S_2
  12. pinky coffeeboat

    Beechcraft C18S American Passenger Aircraft - ICM 1:48 (48185)

    pinky coffeeboat replied to Julien's topic in Kits

    Am I right in thinking the orange scheme aircraft was used in an episode of the A-team where our brave mercenaries were employed to combat elephant poaching in Africa? Obviously the whole show was filmed entirely on location in California, but throughout the episode this little Beech 18 in this colour scheme was seen buzzing around culminating in the final "battle" scene where it was used as an attack plane. Not sure if anyone else remembers it (I only saw the episode recently), but the DUMBO name may tie in. Just a little bit of idle trivia, Jeff
  13. Mick4350

    Russian Yak-130 "Mitten" (KH80157) 1:48

    Mick4350 replied to Mike's topic in Kits

    The pilot reminds me of the idiots who can't switch their phones off when viewing movies at the cinema.
  14. Gene K

    ROCAF Hawk III/BF2C-1 (18009) 1:48

    Gene K replied to Mike's topic in Kits

    Just clicking the "Lke" button isn't enough for me to express how much I appreciate such a well crafted review!! Gene K
  15. Flankerman

    Russian Yak-130 "Mitten" (KH80157) 1:48

    Flankerman replied to Mike's topic in Kits

    The red one is in Yakolev's traditional house colours - as used on their piston engined trainers..... It was applied to a couple of their demo airframes at MAKS 2013 ... Great review btw Ken
  16. exdraken

    Russian Yak-130 "Mitten" (KH80157) 1:48

    exdraken replied to Mike's topic in Kits

    Thanks for the review! Maybe a weapons overkill.... Would prefer a cheaper kit in a smaller box... no need for all of this in a trainer boxing!
  17. Sgt.Squarehead

    German Staff Car "G4" - 1:72 Revell

    Sgt.Squarehead replied to Paul A H's topic in Kits

    Well that generally knocks the spots off Hasegawa's geriatric offering.....But you don't get a 'Mini-Adolf' in the new kit.
  18. Julien

    Russian Yak-130 "Mitten" (KH80157) 1:48

    Julien replied to Mike's topic in Kits

    A pity that there are no explanations of the markings in the kit
  19. Paul A H

    German Staff Car "G4" - 1:72 Revell

    Paul A H posted a topic in Kits

    German Staff Car "G4" 1:72 Revell The Mercedes Benz W31 type G4 was a large, three-axle car designed specifically for use as a staff car by the Wehrmacht. Powered by an eight-cylinder inline engine, the cars weight an impressive 3.7 tonnes. Maximum speed was limited to 42mph as a result of the chunky all-terrain tyres. Just 57 cars of the seven-seater cars were produced, of which at least three exist in their original state. One is located in Hollywood and is regularly used for war films. The vehcle is, of course, most famous for being used by Adolf Hilter during parades and inspections. The front passenger seat could be folded in order to allow the front passenger to stand during such events. Inside the surprisingly large end-opening box is one large frame of grey plastic, a much smaller frame of the same, a small clear frame, three steel rods which are used as axles and a set of soft rubber tyres. A small decal sheet is also included. I had wondered whether this was a brand new kit from Revell, but on closer inspection it's clear that this is the ICM kit which was released in 2015 and marketed as a snap-fit model. This is no bad thing however, as the ICM kit is well-regarded and nicely detailed. Surface detail is clean and crisp, and first impressions are very favourable. The instruction omit any mention of snap-fit assembly, so presumably you need to crack open the glue before carrying on. Assembly begins with the interior and body. The rear seat and door trim is painted gloss black to represent a leather finish, and the reat seat itself, as well as the wind screen, are integral parts that join the sides of the body together. Once the body has been joined to the floorpan, the bonnet, instrument panel and radiator cover can be fitted in place. At this point the model can be flipped over and all of the mechanical detail can be added. The eight-cylinder engine is pretty good, although not the most detailed I've seen in this scale. The ladder chassis is moulded with the front wings in place, and the engine mounts into this part from the top. After this, the chassis can be glued to the body, with the engine sandwiched between the two. Now that the substantive part of the car is complete, the exhaust and the wheels can be added. As mentioned above, the axles are made from steel rod and will allow free movement of the wheels if fitted correctly. Presumably the tolerances will be tight enough to make supergluing these parts superfluous. If you're wondering why Revell supply eight tyres with the kit, it's because two of them are for the spare wheels that fit either side of the bonnet. finishing details include fitted luggage and the folding roof (in folded position; ICM released a separate version of the kit with the roof up). Small flag poles and nicely detailed headlights are also included. Two different options are provides for on the decal sheet. The first is for a Wehrmacht staff car based in Berlin in 1942. It is finished in the light grey and black scheme featured on the box artwork. The second option is for a vehicle located in France in 1941. As you might expect for a vehicle used in occupied territory, it is finished in a more sombre dark grey finish. The decal sheet is small but nicely printed, however the swastikas have been omitted from the flags for the usual legal reasons. Conclusion This was a great kit when it was first released and nothing much has changed since. It's strange that Revell don't mention the snap-fit origins of this kit as kits of this nature can be virtually impossible to test fit prior to assembly (at least without a high risk of breaking the parts when trying to separate them again) but overall this should be a nice kit to build. Highly recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  20. Mike
    Russian Yak-130 "Mitten" (KH80157) 1:48 Kitty Hawk The Mitten (that's a cute name!) is a small 2-seat advanced subsonic trainer that is able to haul around 3,000kg of munitions to perform its ancillary role of light fighter. It began development as a joint project with Italian company Aermacci, but creative differences led to a split after the unveiling of the prototypes in the mid-90s, following which each manufacturer went their own way, even though the majority of the design and airframe work was completed. The Italian version became the M-346 and they agreed to split the market roughly between NATO and independent states that were previously aligned with the Soviets, or had good relations and a track history of purchases. The Yak-130 won the competition to become the new Russian trainer in the early noughties, beating Mikoyan into second place, and securing a small pre-production order to begin with. It is a thoroughly modern trainer, and can mimic the controls of the majority of the current 4th and 4.5 generation aircraft in the Russian inventory, and also has the capability to replicate the controls of the new Su-57, formerly known as the Pak-Fa. This is accomplished by a fly-by-wire system plus a trio of large Multi-Function Displays (MFD) in the cockpit, which can be configured according to their training requirements, involving dogfighting, missile and weapons launch, self-defence and other systems in order to prepare the pilots for their eventual role. A side project to create the Yak-131, a light-attack aircraft was terminated due to insufficient safety of the pilots at low levels, leaving the Mitten as the only fork of the design in Russian service. The Kit This is a brand new tooling from Kitty Hawk of this diminutive trainer, and coincides with the release of the Aermacchi "version" from another vendor, which may or may not be a coincidence, who knows? With it being a small aircraft, it's surprising to see that it arrives in the same sized box as some of the larger aircraft from the KH line, but once you open the box you can see why. It's a box of Russian/Soviet weapons with a free Mitten for good measure! There are seven large sprues in the box, plus one clear sprue, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a container with two resin pilot figures inside, three decal sheets, one of which is tiny, and the instruction booklet with pull-out centre pages on glossy paper for the full-colour painting and decaling guides. Detail is nice, with lots of raised and engraved features, plus use of sliding moulds to give either additional detail, or reduce part count, which alongside the four weapons sprues makes for a well-rounded package. Parts breakdown is interesting, with the top fuselage and blended wings moulded as one part, plus a two-part lower fuselage and wing inserts completing the main airframe. The canopy has been moulded in a split-mould, so that the correct "bubble" of the part is obtained, but it behoves you sand down the seam and polish it back to clarity, which is a common theme of modern jets and their quest for situational awareness. Construction begins with the cockpit, making up the two NPO Zvezda K-36LT3.5 ejection seats, which share a common look with many modern Russian seats, and have separate cushions and PE seatbelts if you aren't using the supplied resin pilot figures, in which case you would leave off the rear seat's belts, as the front seat pilot is depicted climbing aboard. The cockpit tub is built from a stepped floorpan, onto which a combined rudder/control stick assembly is fitted, then the sidewalls are brought in, which hold up the instrument panels, both of which have decals for their MFDs. The rear IP has a coaming added, the rear bulkhead is installed, and the launch rails for both seats are affixed to the resulting bulkheads, with the seats fitting into their slots at this point. As with many smaller modern fighters, the nose gear bay is right under the cockpit floor, being built up from individual panels and glued in place straddling the step, and held in the correct location by a quartet of L-shaped guides. The nose gear leg has a two-part yoke that traps the wheel in place, and can be fitted now or later as you see fit, with a clear landing light attached to the oleo. The completed assembly is then dropped into the lower nose part, which needs a few holes drilling beforehand, after which it is set aside while the upper fuselage is prepared. The upper fuselage and wings are fitted out with an airbrake bay and a pair of inserts inside the root extensions, which once the lower nose and cockpit are installed, these parts will be partially seen under the extensions, so fit them nice and neatly, minimising any gaps, and filling those you can't disguise. The Mitten (I do like that name) is a twin-engined aircraft, and the intake trunks are built up as assemblies that are then installed above the main gear bay in the lower fuselage. You'll need to take a view on how much will be seen here before you go mad with filling seams, but as the tubular section is a single part and has an engine front attached to the end, only the U-shaped initial area will have a seam to fill. The gear bay is central and shared by both wheels, with bulkheads added before it can be slotted into the fuselage along with the APU exhaust on the starboard side. The rear of the engines are fitted to the exhaust trunks, which are split lengthways in half, so may need filling, and these are then attached to their troughs, with fairings added between and around them, leaving just a fraction of the lip exposed. This assembly can then be added to the upper fuselage and you have a fairly complete airframe that just needs lower wing panels, leading edge parts, then the flaps in the deployed position, ailerons, and finally the intake lips installing to complete the wings. The main gear legs have more clear lights added, and two-piece wheels fitted at the end of the cranked oleo, before they are glued along with the retraction mechanism on either side of the centre bulkhead, with doors and their jacks for all the wheels added later. Flipping the model over, the nose cone is affixed along with a forest of antennae and aerials around the front, plus the large HUD for the pilot, which has two clear lenses for added realism. The crew ladder is depicted deployed by default on the model, which is to take advantage of the resin crew figures, one of which is climbing into the front seat with his face masked and ready to go, while the instructor peruses a checklist. They're very nicely sculpted, and give a human dimension to this little aircraft. Two inserts are supplied for the holes in the root extensions, which I would rather have installed earlier in case they fall through into the interior, but there's nothing stopping you from doing this yourself if you wish. The auxiliary intake doors behind the cockpit are depicted closed, which is a bit of a shame from a detail point of view, but I would imagine that Eduard or someone will be all over that very soon now, as they're often seen open, especially in flight. The airbrake bay gets its door and jack, the windscreen is fitted around the now-complete coaming, and the rear canopy is bedecked with a set of PE rear-view mirrors and handle before it is installed in either the open or closed position. As it hinges sideways, you might want to do something to strengthen the bond early on, and a little research should result in a solution. You might also notice that there is a shallow blast shield between the cockpits, so grab a piece of spare acetate sheet and make your own if you're in the mood. The wingtips have pods on adapter rails fitted, with the chaff and flare dispensers moulded into the tops, with two pins holding each pod in the correct location, and a small clear wingtip light visible on the inside of the rail. Your poor little Mitten has lost his tail, or rather it's not been fitted yet, so a nicely slide-moulded fin part fits into a depression in the top of the fuselage, with two pins for good measure, while the elevators are moulded in one part each, with a central(ish) pin around which they rotate. Now for the stores and hard-points, which the Yak has seven of excluding the already occupied wingtip points. Three stations per wing are supplied, with the outermost one having PE shackle-points, and the centreline point has a twin-cannon pod fitted, in case things get down-and-dirty. There is a cornucopia of weaponry on those four sprues, some of which won't be carried in real-world scenarios, but it's surprising just how many it can carry, but with hindsight it has to carry pretty much everything that the frontline aircraft can or it won't be an adequate trainer. Here's a list of what's suggested as candidates for a load-out, but if you want accuracy, check your references for actual configurations. 2 x fuel tanks 2 x KAB-500KR TV-guided bomb 2 x KAB-500L or 500SE laser guided bomb 2 x KH-29T A2S missile with different seeker heads 2 x R-73 Archer short-range A2A missiles with APU-73 adapter rails 2 x R-77 Adder A2A missiles with adapter rail 2 x KH-25-ML or MT A2S missiles with adapter rail 2 x U-4 launch rails 2 x U-6 launch rails 4 x BD-3UMK adapter rails 4 x BD-4UMK adapter rails 2 x KH-58ME Kilter anti-radiation missiles 4 x R-60 Aphid A2A heat-seeking missiles with adapter rails 2 x KAB-1500-L, KR or SE laser guided bomb 2 x KH-31 Krypton supersonic A2S anti-shipping missiles 2 x R-27ER or ET Alamo long-range A2A missiles with APU-470 adapter rails 2 x R-27T Alamo medium-to-long range A2A missiles with APU-470 adapter rails There are also some rocket pods and iron bombs that aren't used, so if you wanted to play "spot the unused bombs" have fun with it! There's a diagram at the end of the instructions that shows which loads can be placed where, but again, if you're going for realism, there's no substitute for checking your references for real-world choices. Markings There are a lot of decals with this kit, and from the box you can build one of seven options. The second large sheet of decals is purely for the weapons, while the other sheet is destined for the airframe and the little sheet contains the MFD decals for the instrument panel and a couple of colourful decals that couldn't be included on the main sheet. The markings guide is stapled in the centre of the booklet, so as usual I have liberated them by unpicking and re-bending the stapes, leaving the last glossy page in situ as its reverse side contains some of the build instructions. Here are your decal options: Kitty Hawk are another of those companies that sometimes don't include any information about the location, unit or time period for their decal options, and this is one of those times. We know that you can make Russian machines in primer, grey, red or green, or a Bangladesh Air Force option, which they have accidentally referred to as "Bulgarian" on the side of the box, and that's your lot. The primer airframe is one of the prototypes, and the colourful ones are aircraft that have been on display, the red one bearing a resemblance to the Russian acrobatic team's red and white scheme. Decals aren't always the strongest part of KH kits, but this one seems to be ok, save for a slight offset on the white, which creates a little "shadow" on some of the decals that it has been used to underprint weaker colours. The instrument decals are really detailed, and could pass for real, but you would need to leave the canopy open to really appreciate them, so give that some thought during the build. The det-cord that shatters the canopy before ejection is supplied as a decal, which there are always divided options about, with two camps that prefer either moulded-in or decals, so there's no pleasing everyone. The carrier film should be easy to hide with some careful application of Klear/Future or similar gloss varnish however, so with a bit of care they can be made to look good. The decals for the weapons are good enough for the task, although my copy has a slight blemish in the black banding for the KH-59 missiles, but as those don't appear to be on the sprues, I'm not even worried. Conclusion Cute as a button, and a nice-looking aircraft that comes with a huge range of stores and some nice schemes. The lack of blow-in aux-intake doors and more information on the decal options are minor downsides on the whole, but who wouldn't want a Yak-130 in their stash (I know, some people won't, but you've got this far)? What's more, if you bought two, you could answer the question "What's in the bag?" from your Significant Other honestly, if a little misleadingly. "Oh, just a pair of mittens, darling". Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of and available soon from major hobby shops
  21. Rui Silva

    Mikoyan Mig-25PD Foxbat-E 1:48 (48903)

    Rui Silva replied to Mike's topic in Kits

    According to Yefim Gordon's book "Mikoyan MiG-25 Foxbat", the PD was able to carry the same 5300 litre drop tank as the -25R versions. The original interceptor -25P and updated -25PDS versions could not carry the drop tank.
  22. Antoine

    DeHavilland Sea Hornet NF.21. 1:48

    Antoine replied to Shar2's topic in Kits

    Hi Dave, I was wondering if there was a review of yours from the Hornet F.1/3? Can't find anything else so far....
  23. Paul A H
    917t German Truck 1:72 IBG Models The G917T was a compact truck designed by Ford and manufactured around the world in the 1930s and 40s. The British version was known as the Fordson E88, while German variants included the 987T, 987TG, 917T and 997T. The German variants were manufactured at Ford Cologne until 1942, when production ceased due to the supply of components being cut off following the USA's entry into World War Two. The truck was powered by a 3.6 litre V8 petrol engine which developed between 75 and 90hp. Four-wheel-drive and stretched wheelbase ambulances were also developed for use by the Wehrmacht. IBG Models have built up quite a reputation with their range of excellent kits. The quality of casting and detail easily rivals Revell at their best, but more often than not, extras such as photo etched parts are also included. This new kit of the classic Ford-designed truck is a very welcome addition to the range. It arrives packed into a top-opening box about twice the size it needs to be (I've noticed that IBG Models always us the same sized box regardless of the model) inside which are three frames of crisply moulded grey plastic, a separately moulded tarpaulin cover, a frame of clear parts, a small fret of photo etched details and a small decal sheet. The plastic parts are crisply moulded and well detailed. Construction starts with the engine. This comprises eight parts, including a photo etched brass fan. This is quite something to behold for a kit in this scale and at this price point. The axles, drive shaft and brake assemblies are also assembled and fitted to the ladder chassis at this stage. Photo etched parts are used for some of the finer details such as the tow hooks. The radiator and wheels must be added before work on the body can begin. Both are well-detailed and the tyres are moulded onto the wheel hubs. The cab is nice detailed and includes a two-part bench seat, a steering wheel with separate column, a gear stick and handbrake. The roof and doors are moulded as separate parts. The doors are designed in such a way that they can be fixed in place in either open or closed position. The front part of the body is made up of a bonnet, two sides and the separate front wings. Despite all the detail included in the engine, the bonnet is not designed to be finished in the open position. The load area can be finised with or without tarpaulin. If you choose not to use the part for the tarpaulin cover, then a wooden-sided flat load area can be added in its place. The tarpaulin cover is moulded as a single part, however, which is much easier for the modeller in a hurry! Finishing touches include a spare jerry can and a rack to hold it, as well as some tools. If you want to load the truck up, you'll need to turn to aftermarket producers for help. The decal sheet provides two options: 6th Panzer Division, Eastern Front, 1941; and DAK, North Africa, 1942. Conclusion I really enjoy reviewing IBG's kits and it's great to see them turn out another important softskin vehicle. Detail is excellent and the quality of manufacture looks to be up there with the very best. It's a shame crew figures haven't been included, but this is nevertheless a great little kit that can be highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  24. Rabbit Leader
    Thanks for posting these Julian. I was only thinking of buying the Airfxi FGR.2 Phantom to add a set if these to one of my Fujimi kits, however these do look like they will have many useful possibilities. Cheers.. Dave
  25. Retired Bob
    Very impressive BL755 cluster bombs, I have already ordered some from Eduard. The bombs were painted gloss dark green, apart from the steel raised saddle to allow the bomb to be crutched onto the carrier, the rest of the bomb skin was thin panels that peeled away on ejection of the bomblets, that is why there are numerous white support bands on the decal sheet along with various stencils and warning bands, yellow for high explosive, black for armour piercing. If you want to model a non-explosive variant, omit the yellow and black bands and put on a blue band with the word "drill" on it.
  26. JWM

    Renard R-31 (FR0039) - 1:72 Azur FRROM

    JWM replied to Julien's topic in Kits

    I've bough one. It is surprisingly big machine, I expected something like Hawker Demon size but she is much bigger. Anyway - looks great in box! Cheers J-W
  27. Paul A H
    GBU-38 Non-Thermally Protected 1:72 Eduard The GBU-38 is a 500lb air-dropped weapon that is part of the JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) family of GPS-guided bombs. The weapon is relatively modern and was deployed in combat in Afghanistan. In common with most other 1:72 scale brassin weapon sets, the set of four GBU-38s arrive packaged into the usual Eduard blister pack, complete with decals and a small fret of photo etched parts. Each bomb comprises the main body of the weapon with the ballistic tail cast in place, a choice of two heads are provided for both USN and USAF variants, both with optional protective caps. The casting is flawless and smooth, with minimal cleanup required thanks to the positioning of the pouring stubs at the tail-end of the weapon. Colours and stencil positions are marked in a colour diagram, with Gunze Mr Color paint references as usual. Review sample courtesy of
  28. Mike
    Soviet Tank Crew 1960-70s (37037) 1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Those doyens of figure sets at MiniArt are at it again (where do they find the time each month?), and this time it's a set of Russian Tank Crew from the 1960-70 period, when a tough black uniform was worn along with the more traditional padded helmets, also in black. The set arrives in a standard sized end-opening figure box with a painting of the intended poses on the front, and a combined instruction and painting guide on the rear of the box. Inside are four sprues in mid grey styrene, three still joined to their runner, the last one nipped off to fit in the box. Four crew are included, one driver figure with his hands on the controls, another seated figure that looks like he's itching his armpit, then there are two more standing figures. The commander is stood with one hand on the cupola, the other either holding something or giving the thumbs up, while the second standing figure appears to be out of the tank, and is carrying a folding-stock AK47 derivative and has a set of ammo pouches on his hip. Conclusion With MiniArt we have come to expect excellent sculpting, and this set does not disappoint, with realistic poses, drape of clothing and faces. The whole things is finely sculpted, even down to trigger and guard on the AK. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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