AnonymousAA74

I've not begun to tackle the riveting yet. That will probably start in a few days, so in the meanwhile, I completed the main gear bays and I've extended the ailerons. I found this bit a little, er, awkward. The extensions are about 1mm thinner at the joint that the aileron, plus they have a different cross section (the kit part has a thick,flat bottom with Hawker Hurricane style wing section, and the extension has an even, thinner chord). This difference in thickness extends all the way across the resin extension right to the tip. I've no photos of this yet, but in the meanwhile I've packed it all out with some serious Magic Sculp so I can sand this to the profile, thickness and chord that the kit requires. The main gear bays are now painted, and the nacelles fitted to the wing. I'll get photos of this tomorrow, so in the meanwhile, here are a couple of pictures which won't win prizes for light, subject or composition! Resin mounts grafted to kit nacelles Nacelle interior with a little Eduard thrown in for good measure I managed to get a few slightly better pics today whilst doing some review photos. At this stage, I've already flush riveted the Mistel fuselage, so the Ju 188 is more or less identical, except for the obvious reasons. Here is a photo of the Mistel riveting. You can't see it as clearly as I wanted, but there are a LOT of rivets. I'll use a little steel wool and micromesh to finish the model with prior to priming. Comparison of Ju 88G-1 wing and Ju 188E wing. I just wish the aileron for the 188 was a complete replacement. See picture further down for reasons. Underside of 188 nose. The plasticard shim is to bring the nose to the correct position. With primer over this, it should all look like one piece. Cockpit view Rear cockpit view The stabilisers are just plugged in until riveting is complete Dry fit of engine to mount. Pretty good. Just needs the engine flange thinning a little from behind, and the forward exhausts chamfering. What a great shaped wing! Nacelles fitted. Some smaller work to complete before riveting yet. Here you can see the remedial work needed to shape the aileron extensions to the kit part. Better get out the sanding block!

Managed to remove the fuselage plastic to the point in line with the front of the square port on the fuselage. Unfortunately, for me, this point seems about 1mm+ too far back, and this leaves a gap equivalent to this between the fuse and nose. Position was checked with temporarily fitting the Mistel wings. Looks like I need some 1mm plasticard, and a 0.1 to 0.2mm shim to fill this gap. The wing root areas on the nose seem to have some deformation too and will need to be ground level to the fuse wing root, and filled where the gaps exist. QUICK EDIT: Confirmed what I thought about a small deformation in the root area of the nose, and the 1mm shim needed to attach nose. This will be simple to fix, and won't hold me up too much. Heave ho! Ok, I have some progress. I shimmed the plastic fuselage by 1mm to bring the nose in line with where it should be, and fitted the new Ju 188 nose. I needed the littlest amount of Magic Sculp to fair the nose and fuselage in together. I love Magic Sculp....loads of time to play with it before it sets, and easy to sand. Once set and sanded down, a little rescribing was done. I also rescribed the entire resin nose to make it a little more in tune with the panel lines on the Revell kit. I had a little 'drama' with fitting the nose. I got everything just right, then a dripped a little ZAP CA Low-viscosity into the hollow within the joint. I then rotated it to cover evenly, and it ran out of the wing root....right down the fuselage and glued my fingers to it!! What a BLOODY MESS! In panic, I tipped it the other way, and loads of CA ran down the outside of the resin nose! All I can say is THANK YOU to Loctite for their CA Remover Gel. Every little last mark vanished as nothing had happened. Here is an overview: The fit of the nose: The tail was almost a perfect fit. It just needed a little resin removed from the underside to it would sit flat: The Funkgerat now installed: A rough overview of the size. Remember that the box you see is over one foot in width! I'm loving this so far. Now I need to get the tips of the stabilisers and elevators extended to Ju 188 standard. Watch this space!

Hi all, I've started on the Ju 188. The first thing I remembered I really should do is to re-make that Mistel tail wheel well within the rear fuselage of this Ju 188. It wouldn't have made sense not to As it took 3 weeks to come up with enough info to refer to, and build the previous Mistel well, this was always going to be easier, as I directly copied the previous wheel well. Plastic strut, rod and card, plus some Gunze RLM02 and Alclad colour, and the job was done. For those who think I'm not mad enough to do this well twice, both models are photographed together, and the inside fuse wall is dated!! You'll also notice I didn't truncate the spars this time also. Instead I left them intact as aligning them for the Mistel wasn't too easy. Ignore the carpet fibre on this one! The direction finding loop window is now roughly cut into the spine too. I prefer to use the kit part to the conversion set spine. The AIMS instructions show the cockpit should be cut off at the front of the forward spar, but it doesn't take long to notice that the kit plastic needs to be removed to the REAR of the forward spar. The fuselage at this area is uniform in section, and in order to keep the structural integrity of the fuselage so I can properly section it to accept the new cockpit, I decided that I would still use the redundant forward spar/former. To do this, I cut off the spars from the forward former and glued them together on a flat surface. I have left the spar slot temporarily on the fuselage. I will then pop the remainder of the former into place and slot the attached spars through the former spar slots. The former can then be pushed up against this from the rear, into a perfectly vertical position which falls in line with the rear of the spar slot. With the former glued into position, the attached spars are now finished with, and can be removed. the spine will be glued into place and the forward fuselage can be finished flush with ease. My next jobs are to add wiring to the tail wheel well, join the fuselage, and add the forward former.

Messerschmitt Me 163B Komet ‘Ekdo 16’ 1:32 Hasegawa The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet was the world’s first rocket powered fighter/interceptor, designed by Alexander Lippisch originally as the DFS194. The diminutive Me 163A first flew late in 1941, setting a world speed record of over 1000km/h. With its distinctive stubby, tail-less design, the Me 163 wasn’t actually designed by Lippisch to carry any weaponry, so the fact that it eventually was fitted with guns, and managed its short service life by acquiring ‘kills’ was nothing short of amazing. The Komet took off on a jettisonable ‘dolly’ undercarriage, which it then released, sometimes with catastrophic consequences, when it achieved a certain height. After this, the Komet soared skyward at an amazing rate of climb, but once in the combat zone, it was both limited by its endurance, and ability to shoot down bomber aircraft due to its amazing high speed in relation to the enemy. After combat, the Komet would glide to earth and be recovered using a special towing machine, or after being lifted on inflatable bags. The lack of experienced pilots who could handle the quick thinking required from a rocket speed attack on the enemy, coupled with the highly volatile and explosive fuel mixture (T-Stoff and C-Stoff) and the risk of explosion on landing and take-off, certainly worsened the situation for operating the Komet. Over 300 Komets were built, and of those destroyed, most were through accident only. The final kill tally for the whole of the Komet project was a paltry sixteen confirmed ‘kills’. The Hasegawa Komet is hardly a newcomer to the market, and the moulds are themselves now almost 40 years old! Having said that, Hasegawa know that there is still a marketable value in their kit, as despite not having some of the refinements of modern releases, the model is itself pretty accurate in shape and overall profile, plus, until the release of the rumoured Dragon kit at some stage, if you want to build the Komet in 1:32, this is the only game in town. The Komet is packaged in the now typical Hasegawa top-opening box, which is perhaps a little thinner than more contemporary releases from this company. The artwork depicts Hauptmann Wolfgang Späte in his all-red Me 163, having just made a pass over a flight of B-17 bombers. Moulded from medium grey styrene, the Komet is moulded across just 2 sprues, with a third sprue for the clear parts. This release also has two very small resin components which, from what I can gather are ‘exhaust’ ports to expel any un-combusted gases in the rear fuselage. Looking over the parts across both sprues, it is evident that the moulds are now quite old, as a noticeable amount of flash has crept in. Looking closely at the affected parts, the flash itself will be easy to remove and won’t cause any problems, but only an hour or so of your time to fix. I also notice that ejector pin marks cause no problems, and there are no visible sink marks. Something which is plainly obvious are the raised panel lines, and you may choose to sand these down and scribe them instead. The good news with the Komet, however, is that there really aren’t that many panel lines due to the construction of the actual machine, so this task should only set you back a couple of hours at the very most. As this is still a great little kit, I consider this a small price to pay for what you’ll achieve. The Komet does have a detailed cockpit, but in all honesty, it could do with a little updating, if you mood takes you. The instrument panel is quite dated looking, and the seat rather clunky. You could do a little scratch-building in there, or you could opt for the excellent CMK resin cockpit, or the Eduard set which not only includes a cockpit with an etch seat and side-walls (totally missing in the plastic release!), but also photo-etch for the landing skid. The fuselage is designed to have a detachable rear portion so that you can display the included Walther HWK109-509 rocket motor. Exterior detail on the fuselage, as stated, it depicted with raised panel lines and ports, as well as rivets. The rudder is integrally moulded to the rear fuselage, and the fabric and rib depiction of the rudder is adequate. There is no internal detail whatsoever within the fuselage, including side-wall detail or rib/stringer detail in the rear fuselage. Flash is evident in many places. The wings also have the same adequate levels of detail for the fabric control surfaces, but the airbrake and leading edge slots are well depicted. One problem you will have to overcome is the jointing of the wing on the underside, as the rear trailing edge of the wing, about 4 or 5mm inwards, is where the part joins. This means there would be a join line running right through the ailerons etc. Again, not difficult to fix; just poor design or perhaps limitations in the moulding technologies at the time. I can’t tell. The Walther rocket motor is actually a reasonable representation, and should you wish to use it, will only require some low-level plumbing to make it look good. As the rear fuselage fit to the forward fuselage isn’t 100% great, I would join the halves together, and sand the joint where needed and either leave the engine out, or display it on a mount next to the completed model. The landing skid and dolly do build up rather well, but I still think the addition of the Eduard set brings this model very much up to date in many respects. The single sprue of clear parts are well moulded, but with a little flash. Only one continuous frame line runs around the edge of the main hood, but this is very subtle and would benefit from a couple of coats of Mr Surfacer to enhance it slightly. The armoured windscreen is also included. Clarity of all parts is good, but would he helped by dipping in Klear/Future. Instructions are excellent, despite their age, with everything in plain line drawing, and the three colour schemes are printed in black and white on the reverse of this sheet. The schemes included are: • Me 163BV41, Ekdo 16, Hauptmann Wolfgang Späte, May 1944 (all red machine!) • Me 163BV51, Ekdo 16, July 1944 • Me 163B-1a, Royal Air Force requisition aircraft, May 1945 Decals are supplied on a single sheet, including the ever contentious swastikas. Printing is reasonable thin, will all colour being both solid and authentic, and everything also in perfect register. A large number of stencils are included, as is a decal for the instrument panel. This would help somewhat, if you choose to build out of box only. Conclusion Despite this kits advancing years (almost as old as me!), I still have a soft spot for it, and it does indeed make up into a fine model with a little care and attention. Hasegawa must also know this, and it must still be popular for them to keep pumping it out. Just get some Eduard or CMK, and have fun! Recommended. Review sample courtesy of UK distributors for

Messerschmitt Bf 109F-6/U ‘Galland Special’ 1:32 Hasegawa Recent times have been something of a ‘Golden Age’ for Bf 109 fanatics, with releases from Eduard, Dragon and Hasegawa. This new release from Hasegawa, the F-6/U ‘Galland Special’ takes their recent Friedrich moulds and, with a few minor parts variations, allows us to build one of two machines flown by the legendary Adolf Galland. I think I may be correct in stating that the F-6/U variant is a slight anomaly, especially with regard to Adolf Galland. The ‘U’ portion of the designation stands for ‘Umbausatz’, which simply means that it is a ‘factory special’. The ‘F-6’ designation would usually mean that this would be a reconnaissance machine, but the lack of any camera equipment would seem to blow that out of the water. In short, Adolf Galland was presented with these two machines, which would appear to be F-2’s, by Hermann Göring, to commemorate Herr Galland’s ascendancy to Inspector General of Fighters, following the death of Werner Mölders. Both fighters were identical in finish and varied only in armament. One machine had fixed wing armament of 2 x 20mm MGFF cannon in addition to its usual fuselage mounted guns, and the second machine, unusually, had 2 x MG131’s mounted in the fuselage. This necessitated a change in the shape of the gun troughs. No wing guns were carried on this machine. So what of the F-6/U designation? To be honest, I don’t know! This release comes in the now familiar styled, sturdy, top-opening box with a superb artwork showing the MG131-fitted machine in flight. The box also indicates that this is a ‘Limited Edition’. Again, opening the box, I disappointingly find that the sprues aren’t individually bagged. I really wish Hasegawa would take on board this criticism that I have heard so many modellers mention. More Bags = no scuffs. Simples. Again, the Gods of Plastic have seen fit to deliver this kit with no such damage, so all is well. Moulded in Hasegawa’s now familiar medium grey styrene, the ‘Galland Special’ is moulded across 12 sprues, with two clear sprues, and one sprue of black flexible polythene which contains the securing caps (only one needed for the prop though). A small packet of photo etch parts are included which form the fuselage – tail stiffeners. These parts are individual, and not on a fret, so no clean-up is required. They are also secured onto a piece of stiff card to protect them. The instructions in this kit do clearly show which parts aren’t to be used on this version, by having them greyed-out on the sprue plan. Looking at the fuselage first, you’ll notice that the rudder is integral. The rib and tape effect of the rudder is superb, and the hinges/plates well defined, although I would usually like to have the rudder separate so I can pose it as I wish. The exterior of the 109 fuselage is also quite sublime. Crisply engraved panel lines which look excellent to the eye, as well as finely represented access/filler panels and ports equal this. My 109 reference shows everything to be in just the right place, so no filling and rescribing needed here! The fuselage interior detail is also well moulded, but we do have a series of ejector pin marks that will need to be removed. Luckily, I think most of the locations are covered by sidewall detail parts. The cockpit itself is excellent, and Hasegawa did make this accurate, and simply not mimic their previous ‘G’ kits, whose cockpits were different on the actual machines. This is one of the reasons why I like Hasegawa; their research and detail. Hasegawa have done a great job with the cockpit equipment, with some fine detail, and the instrument panel is excellent. The instruments themselves have the detail moulded into their faces, and the definition is very good, so this should be a breeze to paint. You also get a decal for this area, which is also very well defined and printed. You should cut the instruments out from the carries film though as I doubt that the one piece decal would snugly sit over deep detail relief. I do think the seat looks a little odd in shape, so I would perhaps check your references for this. If this is indeed right, then at least you are advised to use the single part seat, and not the awful 2 part one which left a seam running through the middle of it! The wing sprue is a remnant of the previous ‘Gustav’ releases, but you can immediately tell that great pains have been gone to, to ensure that the new fuselage is an exact match. You may have to check your references for any variation in panel lines between the F and G variants, and retro-amend if necessary. Recent discussion has suggested that the ‘F’ had more or less a ‘one piece’ upper wing skin. Again, check your references. Wheel well detail is good, with kidney shaped inserts being given to fill the dimples that the ‘F’ didn’t have. Whilst the landing flaps are separate, the ailerons, again, are integrally moulded, and display the same excellent level of detail as the new fuselage rudder and stabilisers. With regard to the latter, these are also moulded with integral control surfaces, but the detail is every bit as good as the wing and fuselage. Hasegawa have moulded the upper engine cowl and port side cowl as separate parts, in order to squeeze as many variants from the same moulds, and so maximise their own returns. As you can no doubt fathom from the opening paragraphs, there are two different upper cowls. The first of these is the regular cowl, but the other is presented on a small sprue intended for this release only, Sprue Q. The new upper cowl has more angular gun channels with a flat bottom. Gun blisters are also included for the fuselage. New Sprue R, contains wing blisters for the second Galland machine, carrying wing mounted guns. Where gun barrels are supplied, they are well represented, with a reasonably thin tapered end, but I would perhaps look at a set of brass replacements. The newly revised ‘F’ spinner is also represented accurately too. Having shaped prop-entry points instead of the squared off openings, this should mean there’s no need for an aftermarket solution. Exhaust stubs are individually moulded, but lack any real depth to the outlet. Exercise caution in trying to open these up. The undercarriage legs are moulded with an integral brake line. While this actually does look good, I would look at removing it and replacing with wire. The wheels aren’t supplied weighted, which is a little disappointing, but I would also look at using some aftermarket solution here. Over the whole range of grey sprues, nothing in the way of flash can be found. Sink marks are zero, and where seams do occur, a quick flick with a knife and sanding stick, and they will be banished forever. Moulding is about as good as it gets, so no complaints anywhere with regard to quality. The two clear sprues contain 4 forward canopies, despite the sprue plan showing only 3. Having said that, you’ll only use part 3 anyway, so you’ll have some bits for your spares box. A single hood and rear canopy is given, and although there are parts for an armoured windscreen, you’ll not use it on here. Moulding quality really is exceptional, with everything being crystal clear. Frame lines are well defined and should be a cinch to mask. No flash can be seen anywhere. Hasegawa’s instructions are atypical, with clear line drawings and fifteen constructional stages. Sub-drawings are given where appropriate as to remove any ambiguity during assembly. The two machines have an identical scheme, and both are shown in black and white form on the instruction sheet. The schemes are both for Adolf Galland, Oberstleutnant, JG26, France 1941. Colour reference is given with GSO Creos and Mr Color paint codes. For comparative codes for different manufacturers, use THIS excellent resource. A single decal sheet is included which gives the single scheme for both machines, plus a multitude of stencils. The yellow rudder is included as a decal, but I’d simply paint that part for more realism. The instrument panel decal is here, as mentioned, and a pretty POOR seatbelt decal is given, but I think that must be Hasegawa’s humour showing through. Get yourself a set of RB Production seatbelts for this as it really deserves to have them installed. The decals are actually quite thin, with solid and authentic colour throughout. Carrier film is minimal and printing is in perfect register. Swastikas are even included. You can’t ask for more! Conclusion This is yet another excellent release from Hasegawa. I really never tire of seeing the different 109 releases from this company, and despite having a large(ish) price tag, you really can do no better than treat yourself to one of these great kits if you even only remotely like the Bf 109. Recommended? Absolutely! Review sample courtesy of UK distributors for

That's a pretty darn decent attempt, and I think you've done a great job!

That really does look beautiful Iain. What did you use for the belt? I'm glad to see your cock didn't get scuffed during the 'fix'

I saw this in my local Hobbycraft yesterday for £26.99 I hasten to add that Hobbycraft aren't known for their competitive pricing!

Rosco, you are probably out on your VAT charges, but your handing fee looks almost correct. PF seem to be holding out on NOT splitting this off at the moment, so I'm already scouring consumer watchdog sites to try and find a way to make them legally obliged to do so. The postage will be high as this is A big KIT. I can't give kit discounts either I'm only ZM's UK contact and help with publicity and other stuff if I can. I consider them friends, but I still can't get cheap kits to BM'ers!

Mitsubishi A6M5c Zero Type 52 Hei ‘Jinrai Squadron’ 1:32 Hasegawa The Mitsubishi ‘Zero’ is probably the one fighter aircraft most synonymous with the Japanese struggle in the Pacific, and this particular version, the A6M5, was the most numerous of the type to have been built, entering service in late 1943. The ‘C’ subtype, which is the subject of this kit, had improved armoured glass, and thicker metal skinning in critical areas of the wing, to allow for faster dive speeds. Improved armament and fuel capacity were also features of this version. To me, the Mitsubishi Zero is one of the most aesthetically pleasing aircraft ever to have flown, ranking alongside the Spitfire and the Ta 152H. When this kit first fell into my lap, I sort of wondered why I hadn’t heard any announcement about a new ‘Zero’, and was pretty much filled with expectation after just reviewing the wonderful Bf 109F-2 kit. The ‘Jinrai Squadron’ release of this kit comes in a standard Hasegawa top-opening box, complete with a great piece of artwork showing the Zero in flight over water. The kit itself isn’t a new tool and is based on the original 1992 kit (S11/S011), which is given on the instructions as ST4. Standards 20yrs ago were a little different, as we’ll see when looking through the kit. The only variation between ST4 and this release is the inclusion of a resin cowl, and the accompanying Jinrai Squadron decals. The sprues in this kit, with the exception of the clear parts, are packaged in the same polythene bag. I do find this irritating, as Hasegawa kits aren’t the cheapest in the market, and bagging sprues individually does give some insurance against damage. With this sample kit though, we are lucky, and all parts are intact and un-damaged. With all sprues moulded in the familiar Hasegawa mid-grey styrene, the first sprue to be handled contains the fuselage halves, and this is bit of a mixed-bag today. I’m sure that the overall profiles and shapes of this kit are right as they do capture the Zero wonderfully, but the exterior is peppered with many raised rivets. I’m pretty sure they shouldn’t stand proud from the surface, but this style was in vogue when the kit was initially released. The panel lines are also raised. While Hasegawa do appear to have got the positioning of all of this correct, you’d need to take a sanding stick to it and sand the fuselage smooth and rescribe the panel lines. Rosie the riveter would be useful to replace the rivets in a more realistic fashion also. All control surfaces, despite being moulded integrally to the airframe, do have a very reasonable fabric and rib finish to them, and this wouldn’t need any extra work being done to it. The metal finish landing flaps are modelled separately, however. The fuselage interior is quite good though with excellent side-wall detail that would just benefit from a little plumbing. The remainder of the cockpit is reasonable too. The instrument panel has moulded instruments with their face detail. Some good painting could make this look good, or perhaps you could simply remove the detail and add your own bezels and instruments. The seat looks a little thick and would benefit from some extra work and a set of seatbelts too. In all, the cockpit is above average, and could be made to look superb with a little self-determination. A pilot is included, but I wouldn’t use him as he does look extremely poor, with bad shape and definition. The cowl is also on this sprue, but as we shall see, that part won’t be used here. The wings are a mixed bag also. Overall, the shape is very good, and the various extra thick plates are well defined, if perhaps a little too exaggerated. There are some recessed panel lines which also look a little heavy too, but these could be fixed with some Mr Surfacer. Again, we have a lot of rivets sticking out, and some raised panel lines. Most of this can indeed be fixed with some care and attention. The wheel wells though are not very good, with then being moulded literally as ‘pits’ with a little wiring detail etc. There is no through-road between these wells as there would have been on the real aircraft. You could fix this with some aftermarket solution, if it exists, or with a lot of hard work using plasticard, but this could be out of the scope of many modellers. Other tail surfaces etc also have the same rivet treatment, so make sure you have plenty of sanding sticks at hand. This kit does have a complete engine included, but sadly, this is showing its age also with poor cooling fin definition on the individual cylinders. The ancillary piping etc. is still very good though and realistically sized. Two optional parts allow you to model the cooling flaps in either an open or closed attitude. Now, that cowl. A resin cowl, needing very little clean-up is included in this kit. There is a slight variation in the gun channels on this, as well as the new part carrying some subtle scribing. An extra sheet within the kit deals with the addition of this cowl, and any changes between the original ST4, and the Jinrai release. These are detailed in 2 replacement constructional sequences detailed in this extra sheet. This sheet also carries the colour scheme for the new version. Other kit detail tends to be quite good, such as the undercarriage legs. The wheels are quite simplistic, and certainly not weighted, as that was almost unheard of in 1992! Nothing in the way of sink marks can readily be seen, and despite the moulds age, flash is quite minimal. The transparencies are good, although not perfect. A dip in ‘Klear’ should fix any small blemishes, and make them look more than reasonable. The framing on these parts though is quite poor. The edges of the frames are represented as raised lines instead of a full frame. I would mask the clear windows, spray some interior colour, and then build this up with some coats of Mr Surfacer. They can indeed be salvaged! These parts are also bagged with the decals. Instructions are given as two sheets. The first, main sheet is a reproduction of the original ST4 sheet, with all diagrams in typical Hasegawa style, whilst the second sheet is the aforementioned ‘extra sheet’ concerned with the Jinrai Squadron differences. Paint references are GSI Creos and Mr Color. Two colour schemes are given which are very similar, and these are both : • 721st Naval Air Group, JINRAI Fighter Squadron, February 1945, Miyazaki AB The decal sheet is very good, with perhaps the printing being a little thick. Colour definition and registration is perfect, and you also get a full set of instrument decals to help with the cockpit. Conclusion This is a kit which is now sadly showing its age. Yes, it can be fixed in many areas, but it depends whether you’ve the inclination to do this when Tamiya produce an excellent Zero at not much more cost than this is being offered for at RRP. It’s a kit with many good attributes, but feels very ‘retro’. I hope that Hasegawa retire the moulds after this release and perhaps re-tool this as they did with their Fw 190F kit. Review sample courtesy of UK distributors for

Ay'up, Our good friends at Zoukei-mura have sent us a number of photos of the FIRST text shot for the forthcoming P-51D Mustang. The SWS brand approach to their chosen subject is obvious here, with an amazing interior. Here you go folks!! As soon as I get more info, I'll be sure to post up! Jim

Pacific Mustangs, Part 1 1:32, 1:48, 1:72 Kagero Kagero, publishers of some great books, and book/mask combos for us aircraft fans, have now begun their own decal set series. The first of these is the Red Series, of which this set is the first to be introduced to us through that particular range. With the release of the Tamiya Mustang , and with the forthcoming Zoukei-mura P-51D, a lot of companies are seizing the opportunity to produce accessories and decals for the Mustang, so it comes as no surprise to see Kagero use their particular talents to take a piece of this market also. This first set of decals in the series focuses on P-51D’s from the Pacific theatre of war, and includes 3 marking schemes. The decal sets themselves are presented in a glossy, high quality 8 page mini-booklet, and are described on the front cover as ‘Limited Edition’. I can’t say whether this is a time limited edition, or restricted to a certain number of copies, so if this appeals to you, you are advised to read further and look at getting a set for yourself. Coming packaged in a re-sealable clear plastic sleeve, the front cover depicts a P-51D if the 506th FG, based at Iwo Jima towards the end of WW2. This illustration gives you a taster of the quality within. Each double page within the booklet depicts 1 of the 3 schemes provided therein, and it does it with amazing panache. Two full colour profiles depicting both port and starboard fuselage sides are shown, along with a top elevation, and wing portions of the lower elevation. All illustration is given in beautiful, book-publish style quality, even showing oil seepage and the slightly different hues to the various NMF panels. Illustrated by Janusz Swiatłon, it goes to say that these profiles are without doubt some of the best I’ve seen in decal sets. With each scheme, a paragraph gives you a brief résumé of specific detail which you should observe. There is also a small paragraph detailing the pilot of that machine, along a ‘pen and ink’ sketch of him. Actual decal locations are numbered, as you would come to expect, and paint numbers are given in both ANA and FS standard codes. To equate this to your favourite brand of hobby paint, please use THIS excellent resource. The Kagero Red Series of decals is primarily concerned with the brighter and more interesting schemes applied to aircraft. Two of the given schemes contain either lightly clad or semi-naked ladies, and have lime green rear fuselages and tail fins, while the third scheme for the photo-recon F-6D is, strangely enough, quite bland in comparison. The three schemes given here are: • P-51D-25-NA, 44-72671, 2nd Lt. William Saks, 457th FS, 506th FG, North Field, Iwo Jima, June 1945 • P-51D-25-NA, 44-72570, Lt. Ralph S. Gardner and 2nd Lt. Chester Jatczak, 457th FS, 506th FG, North Field, Iwo Jima, June 1945 • F-6D-10-NA, 44-14841, Capt. William A. Shomo, 82nd TRS, 71st TRG, Hill Field, Mindoro, 12th January 1945 Each set/scale contains a single decal sheet, of which half contains the main national markings. Now, something else here which is fantastic is that unlike many decal sets, this one contains enough decals to produce ALL THREE SCHEMES! Ok, you’d need to be a Mustang fanatic, but that is almost unheard of these days! The remainder of the sheet, of course, contains the various serial numbers and personal emblems of the specific machines. Produced by the all-powerful Cartograf of Italy, decal printing is absolutely first rate, as you would come to expect, with all colour being totally solid and authentic, yet both thin and with minimal carrier film. Printing is also in perfect register throughout. The quality of the decals can really be seen in the reproduction of the fuselage artworks. Even in 1/32, and down to 1/72, they remain pin-sharp and retain that ‘home painted’ appeal that mascots of each of these machines carried in real life. Being Cartograf, I know that these decals react well to decal setting solutions such as Mr Mark Setter/Softer etc. The rear of the booklet also contains a few photographs showing the best method to apply your decals to your model. You can’t ask for more than that! Conclusion For a first release, Kagero have really hit the ground running with these Mustang sets, and if this is only ‘Part 1’ of this particular subject, I can’t wait to see Part 2. As far as presentation, quality and value for money go, it’s top marks all round from me. Make sure you secure your set ASAP. Review sample courtesy of

Messerschmitt Bf 109F-2 1:32 Hasegawa The history of the Bf 109 is well trodden, and some of it is mentioned in the very recent Eduard review, but the ‘Friedrich’ was probably the most radical change to the initial Willy Messerschmitt fighter design, incorporating a new wing with modified slats, uprated Daimler Benz engine with smoother, more streamlined cowl and spinner, a retractable tail-wheel, and a reworked vertical tail fin, amongst other smaller changes such as shallower wing mounted radiators. This ‘F’ variant was developed around the beginning of WW2, and entered mainstream service around mid-1941, replacing the Emil in most theatres of combat. Bf 109’s are like buses. You wait around ages for one, and then two turn up at once! The Bf 109F-2 comes in the standard Hasegawa, sturdy top opening box with some great artwork of the Friedrich, depicting Hauptman Hans ‘Assi’ Han’s machine in flight. Inside the box, the first thing I notice is that the sprues aren’t individually bagged. Come on Hasegawa, these aren’t cheap kits, so at least protect the parts from scuffing! Luckily for this example, no parts were damaged in transit, although a couple were partially detached from the sprues. Sensibly, the clear sprue is bagged separately. This kit contains 11 sprues of the now familiar light grey styrene, one small polythene sprue, 3 clear sprues, plus a small packet containing a small number of etched parts, pre-removed and fixed to a backing sheet. These parts make up the 4 metal stiffeners for the rear fuselage to tail joint. A standard folded instruction manual with 14 constructional sequences and a single decal sheet with 3 marking options complete the box contents. Where parts aren’t to be used, the instructions helpfully shade these parts out on the sprue plan. The fuselage halves are now moulded as entire halves for all Hasegawa’s ‘F’ kits without the modular tail of the Gustav releases. The port fuselage side engine panel is moulded as a separate part to allow Hasegawa’s different kit configurations, and all external detail such as panel lining and access ports etc are refined and very crisp. As with other Hasegawa kits, the airframe is devoid of rivets, but this does allow you to add your own, should you wish. The interior cockpit wall detail is also nicely moulded with the same finesse, but, as in the previous ‘F’ I saw, ejector pin marks are again ruling the roost! As these are raised marks, and can be scraped down fairly easily, it shouldn’t cause any problems at all. Sidewall equipment does seem to be located over most, if not all of these areas, so dry fit first to conform that. The rudder isn’t separate on this kit, but is moulded onto the fuselage and will take some surgery to pose it dynamically, should you wish to do so. Cockpit detail is excellent and quite fine in some areas. Looking at my limited reference, it also looks very accurate. I would try to replace the rudder pedals with some etch ones for that little extra realism. The cockpit seat looks quite odd to my eye. I know there was a little criticism of the seam on the F-4 release, and whilst these parts are available on this kit, they aren’t to be used. Instead, a one piece seat is the option for this kit, but the seat shape doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen on a 109. I do stand to be corrected, however. The instrument panel has finely engraved detail and the instruments are nicely moulded. I personally like to add my own instrument decals, and Hasegawa have included an instrument decal for this, if you wish to use it. I would perhaps make these into individual decals instead of the one part decal panel. Other cockpit parts have zero flash, and negligible seams on control stick etc. The wing parts, including slats and flaps are moulded on a sprue which is carried over from the previous ‘G’ releases, and again, the ailerons are moulded integrally to the wing. Please check your references with regard to any panel lining etc, as we are assuming here that the ‘G’ is the same as the ‘F’. If there are changes, you may need to amend, if this is an issue to you personally. Wheel well detail is moulded into the inside of the upper wing and looks good according to my references. Inserts are available to fill in scalloped parts of this area which aren’t relevant to this version. Again, panel lines are excellent, and Hasegawa have perfectly matched the new parts of this kit to the standard and depth of detail of the older ‘G’ wing sprue. One of the new ‘Friedrich’ sprues contains the horizontal tail surfaces, again moulded as one, with integral elevators. I find that disappointing as I like to set these myself. Depiction of the fabric and ribbing is excellent. The upper cowling and gun troughs look excellent and accurate to my eye, unlike some rather odd shaped ones seen on some releases. A pilot figure is supplied with three different type heads, although only part C6 is to be used. Wheels are supplied in halves, and aren’t ‘weighted’ as we see so many times these days, which is unfortunate. The wheel hubs look more than passable and have a good depth of detail. Brake lines are moulded onto the undercarriage struts, and while Hasegawa have captured this well, it would still benefit from removal and adding your own solution from wire. The large and instantly recognisable ‘F’ spinner looks to have a correct profile also. Some companies producing AM resin spinners will be disappointed with this! The prop blade entry point is also now shaped and not square sided. Various left-overs from the F-4 Trop version are still included in this kit, such as the filtered air intake. Hasegawa have supplied the exhaust manifolds as separate parts, and although resplendent with their weld seams, the ends aren’t hollowed out sufficiently, and I would advise caution and attack these with a fine drill to open them up, or to look to aftermarket parts. MG barrels are moulded with nicely hollowed ends, but to get a more accurate feel, I would suggest replacing these with metal barrels, as those made by Master Model. The grey styrene parts, on the whole are fantastically moulded, with no real flash to be seen on any of the sprues, and detail is exactly as you would imagine from Hasegawa. The clear sprues support a total of thirteen parts, with five of these being forward canopies. Only two of these are shown on the sprue plan as being used within this kit, with parts 1, 3 and 4 being greyed out. An armoured windscreen is also supplied, and one machine can be modelled with this in place. One type of rear canopy and hood are given, plus a clear gun-sight reflector and wingtip lights. The clarity of these parts is first rate, and the framing detail is exceptional. No flash is to be seen anywhere, plus the sprue gates aren’t intrusive and shouldn’t cause stress to the transparency when removed. A single, polythene ‘bung’ is supplied, from the black sprue ‘P’ to secure the prop shaft into the rear prop assembly. Also, 4 small photo etch parts are supplied fastened to a small piece of card. These items are the stiffeners for the rear fuselage/tail assembly, and don’t need any clean up as they aren’t fastened to a fret. A single decal sheet is included which provides markings for all three machines. The decals are presented on a single sheet, and the printing is quite thin, though not as refined as Cartograf. Still, the colour reproduction is both solid and authentic, and everything appears to be in perfect register. We have to have some amusement though, and that comes in the shape of some pretty awful seatbelt decals. They truly are dire and I would advise against using these, even if you are desperate! Either use some belts from RB Productions, or make some from lead foil instead. The schemes given for this kit are: • III./JG2 Kommandeur Hauptmann Hans ‘Assi’ Hahn, July 1941 • III./JG2 Kommandeur Hauptmann Hans ‘Assi’ Hahn, France, July 1941 • III./JG3 Kommodore Oberstleunant Gunther Lutzow, October 1941 Hasegawa’s instructions are impeccably clear and precise with nothing ambiguous. The style is the same line drawing one that we are used to with Hasegawa, and as stated, there are 14 main constructional sequences, with a number of sub-sequences. Diagram clarity is excellent and leaves no room for ambiguity. All paint codes are given as GSI Creos Aqueous Hobby Color, and M. Color. These can be purchased directly from Model Design Construction in the UK. Conclusion This is another great kit from Hasegawa, who are now rapidly filling in the gaps in the ‘F’ variant of the Augsburg Eagle. This isn’t a cheap kit, but it will build up into the most accurate ‘Friedrich’ available, plus building this straight from the box will still give an excellent representation of this machine, without having to spend extra money on aftermarket parts. You can never have enough Hasegawa 109’s, and this is no exception. Highly recommended. UK distributors for

fantastic! I am an avid reader of books concerned with the Hess flight, and once the Ju 188 and Mistel are completed, I'll be building this very same Bf 110D from the 1/32 Dragon kit. I still need some info yet, as Wk.Nr. etc, plus the type of external tank carried, but this is more inspiration. Did you get a picture, with the engine number stencilled on?

Yellow is a bitch to spray properly, so great job there Hacker. I build this as a kid and hand-brushed the lot in yellow!!

If you damage them Iain, let me know, and I'll send you mine.

£3.71 for 1971? WOW! That was expensive back then, especially for a 1/144. That works out at around £36 today. When you bear in mind that salaries, relatively, weren't as well paying in many sectors as they are today too. Pictures?

Go on...2 more.

I've been given the go-ahead to post a couple of in-progress shots of the Skyraider. Please remember that the last shot is taken like that (obviously) for style only and you need to close the fuse up before you fit the wing. You also need to fully complete the wing, with outboard folding mechanism, before you fit to the fuse. I love this kit so far, despite it being a 1000 miles from what I would normally build. It's certainly a beast when all plugged together. Last night I primed her and tonight added a little 'colour'

All reviews are subjective, and where I might think something is poor, then someone else may see something redeeming in the item, and vice-versa. It's always best to read a review in the spirit in which it was written, and be constructive with comments. If you firmly disagree with a review, then that's your prerogative, and if those thoughts could cause attrition, then hold your counsel, and don't reply within the topic.

You've done a grand job there. I would be pretty damn proud!

Damn!!

Swann Morton Retractaway for me, with either 10, 10a, 11 or 15 blades. I've started to use the Cygnetic from Swnn-Morton too. Just like the regular, but with easy blade changes and no weak point on the blade spine. More expensive, but a corking tool!!

THERE ya go!

ZM also provide an IP decal if you wish to use it, but I don't think the relief of the IP will allow useage. Personally, I'd use Mike Grant decals, or Airscale ones, such as I used, on the clear IP part.