tempestfan

Yes, 5037 is the MPM kit. As Revell never had a Wellington of their own (unless my memory is in deep stall mode), the 2 should be MPM as well. Apart from that, Revell also reboxed the MB X/XIV.

IIRC the original Airfix MRCA includes a lifetime supply of BLs - the basic shapes anyway. You'd likely need some PE for the very prominent fuze vane (?) up front.

I wanted to relieve you of that pain by having the covers in place that I dreamt up, but apparently I just did that - dream them up, even though I think they are identifiable in some pics.

Crew: M/Sgt Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cpl. Kurt Russel Armorer: PFC Sylvester Stallone Sorry for being , I have no idea…

The original question was not confined to the lower guns, but related to all 4 gun troughs, top and bottom - would have to find my ancient kit but IIRC neither of them was convincing, the lower ones particularly shallow.

Funny you ask - I was on their site just the other day. The site is - well, not quite up to contemporary standards in many aspects, and has a rather amateurish feel IMHO. The books up there look current (to me), however.

„Honey, would you like Flügelwurzelwaffeln for dessert?“

It is Tornado shaped... but it depends on how much you'd pay for it. I have no idea what the current price point of the Italeri is, but if it's say a tenner and Revell 15, go for the Revell. Unless Italeri has made a new tool that has escaped my attention, the kit is basically 45 years old (but has been updated regularly).

As @Troy Smith has said, the Revell kit is 43 years old now, but the best of the batch of four they issued back then by several country miles (though the P-40 also seems to be a relative gem). I think they essentially based the kit on a G-10 that was under restoration in the US back then, Pima County Museum probably. May it be an idea to get an Eduard and build them concurrently - just to showcase how kits have progressed in the meantime. As a bonus, I think most of the Eduard kits contain a relatively huge number of unused parts, of which some may come in handy to dress up the Revell. Depending on what you want to spend, you may look for one of the more upmarket versions with a bit of extra goodies in the box, or look for a straightforward Weekend Edition. Prices may have changed a bit, but I got my Weekend Hellcats (1/48) for under 10 € not that long ago (regular price off a dealer). *** Just had a look, said dealer e.g. has the G-6/AS at € 9.49 and G-10 Erla at € 14.99 (plus postage). I'd say the AS is unbeatable value for money.

Definitely not - I was able to spot as a schoolboy that the 109E in close chase of a Spit was a staged propaganda shot (not least because of the most unlikely single letters on the Spit) not an actual combat shot, as his caption implied.

They have to sell it at that price, as long as it hasn't been withdrawn by the publisher or is used (they could easily sell it as such, I guess...). I bought mine new from Lehmann's two or three years ago, but they sold out. Thanks for that info, Michael. I will ask him next year at Lingen if it happens and both of us manage to be there (he surely will). "Outdated" is a rather kind word. I'd stay clear of just about everything he wrote, unless you are a collector and/or love classic books. Most of his work is fossilic, AFAIK he only spoke German, and much of it is based on tertiary or worse source material (or possibly none at all). You will find photos in his work clipped from mags or newspapers... And I won't say anything about stuff he wrote about non-German subjects.

Depends on what scale it is compared to - it may be bang on for 1/50, which the Fujimi it was cloned from nominally is Yes, I know Academy sells it as 1/48. And it probably is anywhere between 1/46 and 1/53 ... the F-5A with the same heritage is...

That's a very worthwhile movie! I am no Panther expert, but am fairly confident that the -4/-5 were externally essentially identical - the Matchbox/Revell IIRC is a 4/5, but is a bit on the crude side. The MB original had at least one Korean War option. The Hasegawa is reported to have issues with the nose (high). There are also Banshees n the rear of the deck (hint, hint!)

Ah yes, thanks, now you mention - so in theory as the 2, but I wonder whether the cannon pack option was actually used to any extent on the 2A. It just occured to me I have the AirDoc booklet on the Lightning; it has a number of pics - though apparently all 1A's - that seem to have pale straw coloured inserts in their cannon ports. And one pic of a 2A in which what is described as "the rare 4-cannon configuration".

Not sure if this applies to the 2/2A, but a lot of aircraft use(d) frangible plastic covers over gun ports. I have a dim recollection the Lightning may have done, but if so (and Airfix intended to depict them), the covers would probably be quite flush with the fuselage. BTW, did the 2A actually feature the lower guns? I guess this is a case for @canberra kid!