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Found 6 results

  1. Hawker Hurricane Mk.IID (70062) 1:72 Arma Hobby The Hawker Hurricane was one of Britain's foremost fighters of WWII, and although overshadowed by the more graceful and slender Spitfire during the Battle of Britain, it was a capable aircraft that was available in large numbers, and made more than its fair share of kills during the conflict. It went on to see service to the end of the war, but was relegated to less onerous tasks as technology leapt forward resulting in faster, more agile aircraft that came on stream on both sides of the conflict. The type originated in the early 30s and first took to the sky in 1935, despite the Air Ministry’s tepid reaction to monoplanes at the time, and it was an aircraft that set standards for fighters that followed it, being a monoplane with a predominantly metal airframe, retractable landing gear, an enclosed cockpit and of course the delightfully powerful and throaty Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. Compared to the Spitfire it was a little old-fashioned, starting out with a fabric-covered ‘rag’ wing that was eventually replaced by an all-metal unit, and it was less aerodynamically streamlined, with a thicker wing and overall chunkier, blunt appearance. Although the wing was replaced by a metal aerofoil later on, it kept the fabric rear fuselage and as such was able to have minor damage repaired quickly and easily, compared to the Spitfire that would have to go back to a repair facility for structurally insignificant through-and-through bullet damage. A fabric patch followed by a few coats of dope, and the Hurri would be back to the fray, which endeared it both to its pilots and ground crew alike. By the time the improvements to the airframe resulted in the Mk.IID, it was tasked with ground attack, specialising in taking out German tanks, which weren’t as easy to crack as first expected, because 20mm cannon shells would often ricochet off the frontal and side armour, and bombing a relatively small target such as a tank was a matter of pure luck, while the enemy poured lead in your general direction. It was decided to mount a pair of 40mm cannon in gondolas under the wings, increasing the hitting power of the Hurri appreciably, and gave it the nickname ‘The Flying Can Opener’. Tests began with converted Mk.IIBs, but when it was finalised as the D, additional armour was added to the important frontal area of the airframe that was exposed during attacks. They became a feared opponent of German tankers, and a foretaste of what would come later in the war when the Typhoon and other formidable ground attack aircraft came into service. The Kit Arma’s Hurricane Mk.I was first issued in 2018, and has been reboxed in various guises since then. This new boxing depicts the ground-attack Hurricanes, and the type specific equipment that was fitted. The kit arrives in a small end-opening box, and inside is one sprue of grey styrene, a clear sprue, a Ziploc bag of 3D printed parts, a sheet of pre-cut kabuki-style masking material, a decal sheet and the A5 instruction booklet with colour profiles to the rear. If you’re a neophyte to Arma Hobby kits, the detail is excellent, with fine engraved and raised details, plus a generous quantity of components within the box that many companies would consider to be aftermarket. As a 1:48 modeller, I’m really quite envious of the quality of these kits. Before starting building the kit, the instructions have you adjusting the wing that is provided on the sprue to better reflect the D-type wing by removing the cannon fairings and various humps and panel lines associated with them. Additional panel lines are to be scribed into the inner wing with the aid of the 3D printed templates that are supplied on the closely packed 3D cluster. With that preparation done, construction begins with the main gear bay, which is made from two parts that form both bays in one D-shaped assembly, with a central tank applied to the front wall before it is inserted into depressions inside the wing, which is moulded as a single span part top and bottom. The gear legs and dividers are installed and painted, then the full-span lower wing is offered up and the assembly is glued together in a similar manner to the real aircraft. Work begins on the cockpit, starting with the rear bulkhead, which has an angular headrest, the seat and decal four-point belts. The instrument panel is also made from the styrene panel with raised details, and two decals, one for the panel, the other for the compass for enhanced detail. The cockpit sidewalls are detailed with framework overlays that fit into sockets moulded inside, adding a cross-brace under where the seat will go, and gluing the completed instrument panel into the front. On the top of the wing, the foot troughs are moulded-in and receive the control column and rudder pedals, and the fuselage is closed around the rear bulkhead and seat. The wings and fuselage can now be mated, taking care not to ping off the raised cockpit detail perched atop the wings as you bring them together. At the rear, the elevators are moulded as full-width fin and flying surfaces, and drop onto the back of the fuselage with the fin and moulded-in rudder inserted from behind to complete the empennage after removing the aerial peg at the top of the rudder, then adding the tail-wheel into its socket under the fuselage. The belly-mounted radiator is made up from the main fairing with front and rear radiator faces slotted into it, and covered over at the front with the oval intake for later installation into the grooves in the lower wing. Inverting the model will allow you to put the retraction jacks on the gear legs, and the wheels on the axles, with their captive bay doors fixed to the outer side of the legs. The radiator is installed with a circular light behind it painted with clear orange, and a chin intake in front. You have a choice of styrene or 3D printed exhaust stubs with fishtail ejectors that give a good impression of being hollow, especially for their size. Each wing leading edge gets a clear landing light, a 0.5mm hole drilled inboard, and under the port wing a T-shaped pitot probe is inserted into a small hole in the skin. A two-part tropical filter is supplied for some of the decal options, to use as necessary under the nose, then the propeller is made up, the blades of which are moulded as a single part, sandwiched between a spinner cap and the airframe, which has a tapering styrene washer and needs a little glue to keep it mobile within the spinner. The windscreen is fixed to the forward deck after adding the gunsight to the coaming, and has a 3D printed rear-view mirror glued on top. To pose the canopy open or closed, there are two parts, one patterned to fit the cockpit aperture snugly, the other widened slightly so that it can slide over the spine behind the cockpit, stopping just before the aerial mast, from which you’ll need to nip the aerial tab off the back. There are also a pair of wingtip lights in clear that have a tiny bulb-shaped hole inside for you to fill with paint to depict the red or green lamp within. The 40mm Vickers S cannons are supplied as 3D printed parts, and are made up from the completed gondola that has the barrel inserted into a hole in the front, and a small round “plug” inserted in the hole in the rear. They are handed, and a series of scrap diagrams shows the correct one for each side and where to locate them both under the wings. The last instruction tells you to paint over the landing lights with camouflage paint, at a guess to reduce specular reflections that might give the Germans a clue that they were about to be attacked just that little bit sooner. Markings In the typically generous Arma Hobby manner there are five decal options included, and you’ll need to decide which one you plan to depict early as it affects some of the details of your model. There is a wide range of marking options at your disposal, predominantly overseas in the Far East, and from the box you can build one of the following: Mk.IID Trop, BP158/JV-1, No.6 Sqn. RAF, Shandur & LG 89, Egypt, Autumn 1942 Mk.IID Trop, KX229/H Cheeta, No.20 Sqn. RAF, Nidania, Burma, February 1944 Mk.IID, HW721/BR-J, No.184 Sqn. RAF, Colerne, England, Spring 1943 Mk.IID Trop, KW704/R Christine, No.6 Sqn. RAF, Gabes, Tunisa, April 1943 Mk.IID Trop, HW874/X, No.20 Sqn. RAF, Monywa, Burma, Spring 1945 Decals are by Techmod, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion A superbly crisp model of the doughty Hurri in her ground attack role, with a comprehensive gaggle of multimedia parts adding extra detail and accuracy to the proposition, making the asking price more than reasonable. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  2. Hawker Tempest Mk.V Post War (A02110) 1:72 Airfix The Hawker Tempest was a development of the Typhoon, originally called the Typhoon II, it was intended to solve all of the issues that bothered its designer Sidney Camm. The main difference was a much thinner wing which reduced drag and improved aerodynamics by utilising laminar airflow. The wings could accommodate 20mm Hispano cannons that packed a hefty punch, and lent itself to the low-level attack role that it was designed for. The engines intended to power the aircraft were the Centaurus, Griffon or Sabre IV, and initially the Rolls-Royce Vulture, which was terminated early in the design phase, leaving the three options going forward and necessitating substantially different cowlings to accommodate their differing shapes. The Mark V was split into two series, with the Series 1 having the Sabre II that had a similar chin intake to the Typhoon and shared many Typhoon parts, while the later Series 2 used fewer Typhoon parts and had their cannon barrels shortened so they fitted flush with the leading edge on the wings. A few of the early Mk.Vs were used as test beds, while other marks were developed alongside it, such as the Mk.IIs with Centaurus engines and a cylindrical cowl; Mk.VIs which had a very short production run; the Mk.III and Mk.IV that used two types of Griffon engine and didn't see service, and later the TT.Mk.5, which is where a lot of Mk.Vs ended their days, towing targets. The Kit This is a reboxing of a new tooling from Airfix with new post war decals. The kit arrives in a standard red-themed top-opening box, and inside are four sprues in Airfix’s new darker grey styrene, a small sprue of clear parts, decal sheet and a folded instruction booklet with spot colour printing. The sprues are filled with well-detailed parts and some clever engineering, which should please anyone in the market for a 1:72 Tempest V or anyone that appreciates a nicely crafted kit. Construction begins with the seat, which has a slightly soft quilted rear cushion and is attached to the head armour, with lateral tubular mouldings, which sets the tone for the cockpit being made in sub-assemblies. In order to close the fuselage however, there are several other sections that need completing first. The simple two-part L-shaped tail-wheel bay is first; The instrument panel with clear gunsight/compass and instrument decal; then the three-part intake grille is made up with its circular centre. Two 0.6mm holes are made in the fuselage halves before all four assemblies are added to the starboard fuselage half after painting the cockpit walls, so the fuselage can be closed up. The cockpit sill insert is fitted into the oversize aperture later on in the build. The lower wings are full-span, and are stiffened by adding the spar/wheel bay walls, plus the closed-up main bay doors if you’re depicting a gear-up model, drilling out the holes for the underwing fuel tanks if you are fitting them. Clear landing lights slot into the holes, and another is added into the belly, and a few more holes are drilled. Surprisingly, the upper wings are full-span too, and have the cockpit floor moulded in with the foot trays ready for the rudder pedals and control column to be added once the wings are completed. Rudder pedals at 1:72 is good to see, although only until you close the fuselage and consign them to darkness, most likely. The completed wing assembly is then joined to the fuselage by inserting the leading edge into the back of the chin bulge, and dropping the trailing edge into place, gluing it all closed once done. The elevators are each single parts with P & S on their tabs, but you get a separate rudder to add to the tail fin, which you can offset for a more candid look. Beneath the tail you can close the tail-wheel bay for in-flight, or pop a two-part tail wheel into the bay with a pair of doors installed at an angle on either side. The main gear is a single strut with retraction mechanism and captive door, and a short ancillary door that is fixed to the outer edge of the bay before inserting the main legs. A retraction jack and triangular inner bay door is then inserted into the two inner edges and the 5-spoke wheels are placed on the axles, with another 4-spoke set left on the sprues. Both sets have some sag engineered into the bottom of the tyres to give the impression of weight. Behind the chin take is an outlet ramp with a cooling flap that is added while the underside is completed by an fitting L-shaped pitot; crew step and aerial, the latter having scrap diagrams to show their correct orientation. The six exhaust stubs are each made from two parts that interlink to create the stacks for each side, so they can be slotted into the sides of the engine cowling, then the single-part prop is given a choice of different shaped two-part spinners, before it is placed against a tubular insert that has the axle pushed through to join the prop carefully with as little glue as necessary. Once the glue is dry the tubular insert is pushed into the front of the fuselage and cemented in place, leaving you with a spinning prop if you’re careful or lucky. There’s a pilot figure included on the sprues, with a detailed painting guide if you wish to use him, and you also have a choice of open or closed canopies, fixing the windscreen first, and either butting the canopy up to the screen or leaving it open as far back as the head armour. An aerial is fixed to the fuselage spine at an angle, and another pair of scrap diagrams help with orientation. There are a pair of clear fuel tanks included on the clear sprue, as the pylons were moulded in clear plastic for visibility, but there are no stencils for the pylons. Markings There are two decal options on the sheet, as is common with Airfix kits, and you have a choice of one in camouflage or one in silver. From the box you can build one of the following: Pilot: Sqn. Ldr. H ‘Poppa’ Ambrose DFC, CO No.26 Sqn., RAF Gatow, Germany, 1946 No.80 Sqn., RAF Wunsorf (formerly Advanced Landing Ground B-11), Germany, 1946 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion This is an excellent alternate boxing of the new tool from Airfix with plenty of detail present. We knew there would be more boxings from the parts layout on the sprues, so keep a look out for even more to further expand your squadron, and why not? They’re pretty keenly priced. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  3. Sukhoi Su-25 Upgrade Sets (for Zvezda) 1:48 Eduard Zvezda’s new Su-25 kit arrived at an awful moment in history, but taken in isolation it is an excellent kit and we can hope that more variants follow on in due course. Eduard's new range of sets are here to improve on the kit detail in the usual modular manner. 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 (491277) Two frets are included, one nickel-plated and pre-painted, the other larger one in bare brass. A complete set of new layered instrument panels, sidewalls and side consoles with added levers for the cockpit are in full colour, with a skin for the sides of the consoles and either side of the control column; sidewall skins with appliqué details; ejection seat details with rear and seat cushions and leg-restraints; replacement rudder pedals; a new support for the kit HUD glazing, and plenty of additional parts for the consoles. Moving externally, a number of strakes are added to the engine nacelles, joints are fitted along the seamlines internally, saving you a job, plus small parts to detail the exhaust on the way out; more piano-hinge plates on the underside of the exhaust; antennae and dielectric panels under the nose; AoA probes on the sides of the nose; appliqué plates over the intakes, with more under the tail; a detailed replacement “shade” over the pilot’s head; instruments on the windscreen sides; replacement bay doors for the nose gear; strakes and static wicks on the instrument pods at the wingtips. Inside the canopy is detailed with rear-view mirrors; a central detail strip; rear framework, plus a crew ladder, its door and crew step attaching to the side of the nose, with a scrap diagram showing the correct location for these assemblies. Zoom! Set (FE1277) 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. SPACE 3D Printed Cockpit Decals (3DL48070) The Eduard SPACE sets use new 3D printing techniques that lay down successive layers of different colour resin, creating highly realistic almost full complete panels that are supplied on a decal sheet. They can depict metallic shades, plus glossy, satin and matt colours too, which really ups the detail on everything they print. In addition, a small sheet of nickel-plated and pre-painted PE is included for the aspects of the set that lend themselves better to this medium, such as seatbelts and rudder pedals. Some of the PE parts are familiar from the set above, such as the replacement HUD frame; rudder pedals; rear-view mirrors in the canopy; leg-restraints, crew belts and pull-handle for the ejection seat, and small parts for the side consoles and sidewalls. The 3D decals include a complete main instrument panel in three sections, side consoles, sidewall details and other small instruments dotted around the cockpit. Seatbelts STEEL (FE1278) 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 a full set of crew belts, you also get a set of the pull-handles between the pilot's knees that gets him out of there in case of an emergency. Masks (EX858) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. In addition, you get a set of hub/tyre masks for all the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. Masks Tface (EX859) Supplied on a larger 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. Review sample courtesy of
  4. And we're off! Like so many of us, Airfix the Golden Years represented my formative years in the hobby. And while I've mostly moved on to modern kits, I've still got that nostalgia bug. I never built this kit back in the day but always liked its design, the twin engines and big gun. You can read more about the plane here. I can't remember where I picked this up but there she is in all her box art glory.. Airfix Hs 129 Box art by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr According to the very helpful box, this is the 1975 edition Airfix Hs 129 Box side by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Airfix Hs 129 Box art_2 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr What's inside the box.. Airfix Hs 129 instructions by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Buster and Valiant comics - nostalgia overload! Airfix Hs 129 club by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Everything there but the decals are shot so will use spares instead. Airfix Hs 129 contents by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Henschel X-Wing Jaeger! Airfix Hs 129 dry fit_1 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Thanks for looking and good luck with your builds! Dermot
  5. Aermacchi MB 326K Impala 1:48 Italeri The MB326 was designed to fulfil a need of the Italian Air Force for a combined jet trainer/fighter that would be cheap, easy to maintain and could use the Armstrong Siddley Viper engine, which was cheap & efficient, but designed for a short service life. In reality, it was sufficiently powerful and reliable to be used in other applications, and as improvements came along in its design, the thrust output grew substantially. The aircraft was of a similar configuration to the British Jet Provost, although the nose was narrower due to the in-line tow-seat cockpit. This shape continued for the single-seat Variant, which was the first single-seat variant that went on to sell well in Africa and the Middle East. Like the Provost's weapon-armed Strikemaster, the Impala, as it was known in South African service was a ground-attack aircraft, with the majority of their stock built in South Africa. The two-seat 326Ms were known as the Impala I, while the single-seater, the subject of this kit was known as the Impala II. They were very successful in their role, being able to cope with poor runways and carry sufficient munitions on the six hard-points to make their point, while flying fast and low to avoid anti-aircraft batteries and missiles. The Kit This is a re-release of an existing tooling, originally released by ESCI in the early 80s. That said, it benefits from nicely restrained panel lines and crisp details that bely its age. The box is typical top-opening Italeri fare, and the sprues are all together in one bag, with the clear parts bagged inside the main bag. There are three sprues of medium grey styrene, mainly because the long sprue that contains the main airframe components has been cut down to fit inside the smaller box. A small modular type clear parts sprue contain the two-part canopy and a few small parts, and the box contents is completed by the large instruction booklet and the rather busy decal sheet. The build commences with the cockpit, which is a typical product of its age, and has only minimal structural detail to which decals for the instrument panel and side consoles are applied. The instrument panel has some relief detail, which is limited to the different levels of the panel itself, so the decals are a must unless you fancy scratching the instrumentation. The pilot's ejector seat is a simple affair only vaguely resembling the Martin Baker Mk.4 that should be present. One from the spares or aftermarket would make an immediate improvement here, as the head-box is massive and totally unrepresentative, giving it a top-heavy look. The rear bulkhead as a little detail moulded in, but a large box has a sink mark where the thick styrene has shrunk during cooling. This can easily be repaired with a little filler however, and as a blank canvas, any additional detail can be added by the modeller. The wings and fuselage are both assembled in short order, with plenty of flashed over mounting holes to be drilled out for weapons and tanks if you plan on fitting them. The exhaust is provided as a stub attached to a small bulkhead and has a representation of the rear engine face moulded in, although that is probably quite a bit too far aft. The elevators fit into a pair of slots wither side of the tail, and should be level – any anhedral was removed long before the K was envisaged. The wingtip fuel tanks are built from their separate halves and install on two large pegs. The undersides of the intakes are added to the lower wing, and the trunking disappears, so best put a little darkening paint in there to fool the casual viewer. Interestingly the nose has a cut-out with a basic interior, so the cover can be posed open or closed. This is a product of a different age, and this kind of feature doesn't appeal as much as it did in the 80s, and detail is quite unrealistic. The rear cockpit is cowled over with a single part, which should be fitted carefully to minimise clean-up, and the canopy can be posed open or closed. The parts are clear and thin, but my copy had some marks on the outer surface despite being separately bagged. A quick polish and dip in Klear/Future should resolve that issue though, as they're fine and unobtrusive. The kit is finished off by adding the wheels and gear legs to the gear bays. Here again, there are inconsistencies, as the main gear bays and air-brake bay have some very nicely moulded in detail. A little detail added to the walls and they would be good to go. The nose gear bay is completely blank however, and could do with some work to bring it up to the standard of the other bays. The air-brake can be posed open or closed by the addition of a retraction jack, and it would be a shame to close it up and hiding the detail. The weapons fit includes a pair of cheek mounted 30mm cannons with Sabrina-like fairings around them, a pair of wing-mounted pods containing 12.7mm Brownings, a pair of rocket pods and two small cigar-shaped reconnaissance pods. Extra fuel is carried in two streamlined tanks on the wing pylons with small finlets on the rear. There are some small sink-marks on the tips of these tanks, due to the alignment socket on the inside of the nose. This will need a small application of filler to smooth out. The detail on the wing-mounted gun pods is excellent for the vintage, as are the conical noses of the rocket pods. The weapons/fuel tank pylons all have surface detail moulded in, and the decal sheet includes stencils to busy them up. The decal sheet is a busy one, containing six choices of aircraft flown by South Africa, Brazil, Italy and Dubai. From the box you can build one of the following: 4th Squadron SAAF, Waterkloof AB, South Africa 1970 – green & brown over grey 85th Combat Flight School SAAF, Hoedspruit AB, South Africa, 1990 - green & brown over grey Escuadron "Pacau", 1o/4o GAV Forca Aerea Brasileira, Natal 2006 - green & brown over grey Reparto Sperimentale di Volo, Aeronautica Militaire Italiana, Pratica Di Mare 1990 – dark green, mid green & brown over grey Reparto Sperimentale di Volo, Aeronautica Militaire Italiana, Pratica Di Mare 1979 – dark green, mid green & brown over grey United Arab Emirates Police Air Wing, Dubai 1977 - dark green, mid green & brown over grey Decals are of course printed by Cartograf, and are crisply printed, with good colour density and register. There is an absolutely tiny discrepancy in the register of the red, but that is only really noticeable under magnification on the UAE roundel and flag, which is an identification scheme that really tests the register of decals anyway. Conclusion In its day this must have been quite an impressive kit, and there are some aspects of it that impress even today. There are some lowlights too, but nothing that can't be fixed or a blind eye turned. The quality of the engraving on the external surfaces is up to modern standards, which is always a good start with any kit. There are some nice decal choices, and although the camo patterns sound very similar, the actual layout of the colours is different from country to country, so there is in fact plenty of variety. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  6. SU-25K Wing Pylons 1:48 Eduard Brassin (648054) The SU-25 modeller has had two choices of kit in 1:48 for a long while now, both of which are quite aged and simplistic by current standards. The Revell/Monogram issue is more representative of the prototype, while the Kopro/OEZ kit has its own flaws with simplistic detail and blank areas where there should be detail. Of the two, the new KP Models kit, which is an update of the Kopro model is probably your best bet as it includes a new resin cockpit and some Photo-Etch (PE) detail. It is also easily available again now that KP Models have taken up the batton. This set arrives in Eduard's familiar clamshell box, and aims to upgrade the pylons of either kit to a high standard, which it achieves well. A complete replacement set of resin pylons are included, totalling 14 pylons in all, with optional components for the outermost station on the wings. Further munitions adapter rails are provided for four pylons, on the outermost and innerpost stations on each wing. A set of sway braces make up the final resin parts of the set – eight of each fore and aft. Six tiny PE detail parts are required for the longer adapter rails, and these will be found on the postage-stamp sized fret that is trapped behind the black card on the upper part of the package. Two spares are included in case of mishap, but care will still be the order of the day for both removing the parts from the fret, and handling them prior to attachment to the rails. Conclusion The smaller details are what adds a significant degree of realism to a model, and the resin pylons perform that task well. They improve on the comparatively featureless kit parts, and if you choose to leave some pylons un-laden, the detail of the mounting surface will impress. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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