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as everybody seems to prepare for the start: COMING SOON ICM 48291 Cessna 0-2A US NAVY SERVICE stay tuned.

Panzerspähwagen (Funk) P204(f) (35378) 1:35 ICM via The Hobby Company The original name of the P204(f) was the Panhard 178, developed in 1935 as an advanced reconnaissance armoured car for the French armed forces, 178 being Panhard's internal project number. The vehicle featured 4-wheel drive, a 25mm main gun that was supplemented by a 7.5mm machine gun. It was the first 4-wheel drive vehicle that was mass produced by a major power, a notable feature being a separate seat at the rear for a second driver to reverse out of trouble without having to perform a U-turn. The second driver also doubled as radio operator in command vehicles. The main gun used was normally a shortened version of the 25mm Hotchkiss L/42.2, which was the standard French Anti-tank gun, but to counter the shorter barrel, the gun used a heavier charge that could penetrate up to 50mm of armour when using a tungsten round. Secondary armament was usually a coaxial Reibel 7.5mm machine gun for which 3,750 rounds were carried, approximately half of them being armour piercing. A further machine gun was carried on the internal wall that could be mounted on the turret for anti-aircraft use, the ammo also carried on the internal walls of the fighting compartment. Approximately 370 vehicles were completed and available for use when war broke out, and they were employed by infantry units as well as the Cavalry. When in combat against German vehicles that carried 20mm cannons, the Panhards often fared better than the enemy vehicles, but after the French defeat almost 200 (many brand-new) were used by Germany in reconnaissance units. An interesting and inventive modification made by the Germans was to develop the Schienepanzer as railway protection vehicles that were fitted with special wheels to allow them to run on railway tracks, whilst others were used as radio wagons by fitting a “bedstead” antenna on legs over the hull, linked to radio gear inside. After the war the type was updated with a 75mm gun, but it was later decided to install a lighter 47mm SA35 gun, with over 400 made, making a grand total of over 1,000. The Kit This is a re-release by ICM of their 2015 tooling with two extra sprues to depict the radio gear. It has a full interior, including the engine, fighting compartment, with the two driving positions and flexible black tyres. The kit arrives in a top-opening box with a captive flap on the lower tray, and inside are six sprues of grey styrene, four flexible black tyres that are moulded in pairs on a short sprue, decal sheet, and the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on white paper, using the glossy rear cover for the markings profiles. Detail is good, and the finesse of the new parts adds to the overall high quality of the package. Construction begins with the fighting compartment floor mated to the lower hull, followed by the rear driver’s bulkhead and both drivers’ seats. The longitudinal bulkhead between the rear driver’s position and engine compartment is then fitted into position, followed by the well-detailed ten-part engine. The drivers’ steering columns and steering wheels are next, along with shifters and foot pedals. The rear driver’s angled bulkhead is then fitted in case he wasn’t feeling quite claustrophobic enough yet, and a rack of shells for the main gun is glued to the fighting compartment bulkhead. The radio box included on one of the extra sprues is intended to be used in construction, but it isn’t shown where it should be fitted in the instructions. There are some clues however, as the fly-lead enters the vehicle at the rear by the rear-driver’s hatch, and he was the intended operator, so it would have to be close by for ease of operation. Looking back at the railway mounted variant from a few years back however, it can be seen in the instructions being mounted in the left side on a shallow stand, which we have reproduced below for your ease. Both sides of the hull have a door that can be posed open or closed to display the interior if you wish, and on the inside of each hull side there are numerous ammunition drums for the machine gun, along with the driver’s instruments and a spare machine gun. The sides are then glued to the lower hull, followed by the front and rear bulkheads, plus a two-part glacis plate. The rear bulkhead is then fitted, adding an exhaust outlet and the engine bay roof, along with the fighting compartment roof, followed by engine louvres and rear mid-bulkhead hatch. The rear wheel arch mounted storage boxes are then fitted and finished off with their respective doors, adding mud deflectors to the front arches on each side. The running gear and suspension is very simple, having just two axles and two-part differentials plus drive shafts that are assembled, then mated with the four suspension spring units were incorporated in the side panels, followed by the steering linkages that are attached along with drop links, horn and towing hooks. The wheels are each made up from two-part hubs and a flexible black tyre, with the completed assemblies glued onto their respective axles. The rest of the hull is then detailed with grab handles, door handles, pioneer tools, headlights and a rack on the rear bulkhead. The turret is then assembled beginning with the co-axial machine gun, which is made from three parts before being fitted to the left-hand front of the turret. The main gun comes in two halves, which once joined together are fitted with trunnion mounts and elevation equipment, which is fitted to the turret ring along with the turret traverse mechanism. The turret ring and turret are then joined, and the commanders and gunner’s seats are assembled on a V-shaped bracket and are glued into position. The commander’s hatch is fitted with a handle and vent before being fixed into position, and the two rear hatches on the turret can be posed open or closed. There are a pair of two-part periscopes fitted forward on the turret roof, and two lifting hooks on the rear sides. The completed turret is then twisted onto the turret ring on the hull, and the last parts added. These include driver’s viewing ports front and rear, which can also be posed open; the two-part exhaust silencer; wing mirror and a few appliqué panels. The bedstead antenna is supported at the front by a two-part tripod that fits on the top of the turret with a pivot in the centre, allowing the turret to remain mobile without twisting the frame off. The large curved frame is a single part that is placed on the forward support without glue, and is further supported at the rear by a pair of support tubes with concave tops and mounting plates on the bottom to improve fit. Red marks on the engine deck show where the two mounts should be glued in place. Markings There are three decal options on the small sheet, one each in panzer grey, winter distemper, and late war dunkelgelb (dark yellow). From the box you can build one of the following: 20th Panzer Division (20. Pz.D.), Eastern Front, 1941 20th Panzer Division (20. Pz.D.), Eastern Front, Winter 1942 (probably) Eastern Front, 1943 Decals are by ICM’s usual partners, 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 less famous but important armoured car that carried out an essential task, and was reused by the Nazis to bolster their own shortage of armoured vehicles, which they hid well in propaganda at the time. Good detail throughout, and a nicely moulded set of new parts that differentiate it from a standard vehicle. Highly recommended. Available from all good model shops now. Review sample courtesy of via importers

Schnellbomber Ju.88A-4 Limited Edition (11194) 1:48 Eduard The Ju.88 was designed as a schnellbomber in the mid 30s, and at the time it was faster than current fighter designs, so it was projected that it could infiltrate, bomb and exfiltrate without being intercepted. That was the theory anyway. By the time WWII began in the west, fighters had caught up with the previously untouchable speed of the 88, and it needed escorting to protect it from its Merlin equipped opponents. It turned out to be a jack of all trades however, and was as competent as a night fighter, dive bomber or doing reconnaissance as it was bombing Britain. They even popped a big gun on the nose and sent it against tanks and bombers, with variable success. The A series was powered by a pair of Jumo 211 engines in cylindrical cowlings producing over 1,000hp each, and was improved gradually up until the A-17, with the A-4 being an earlier upgrade to the original that incorporated longer wings and a minor tweak to the engines. It also had strengthened landing gear and shackles for four bomb racks under the wings inboard of the engine nacelles. It was improved further in subsequent variants, some with balloon cutters, others with more powerful engines such as the A-5 that managed to beat the A-4 into service. Its real replacement was the A-14, that was fitted with more armour, had the bombsight removed, and had balloon-cutter equipment fitted, proving that the Germans took the barrage balloons over British skies seriously. The Kit It will come as no surprise to many that the plastic in this kit is from ICM, as they have been engaged in creating a comprehensive range of Ju.88 variants for some time now, with their kit becoming the de facto standard in the scale, unseating the previous incumbent. This Limited Edition boxing from Eduard takes the ICM plastic and breathes the usual Eduard magic on it, making it an even more desirable prospect. The kit arrives in a large top-opening box with a painting of a gloriously multi-colour camouflaged Ju.88 flying over a frigid-looking deep blue seascape, and scattered cloud cover on the distant horizon. Inside the box are eight sprues of grey styrene, a clear sprue, a set of resin wheels with separate hubs, two frets of Photo-Etch (PE), one nickel-plated and pre-painted, the other bare brass, a small square of clear acetate sheet with circles pre-printed in black, a sheet of pre-cut kabuki-style masking material in yellow, a separately bagged pair of decal sheets, and the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on glossy white paper, with painting and decaling profiles on the rear pages, plus a page of greyscale profiles that separate out the stencil locations to avoid muddled profiles and subsequent confusion. Detail is excellent from the box, enhanced further by the included PE, and sat upon a set of superbly crisp resin wheels that are almost a direct drop-in replacement for the kit parts once they have been cut from their pour stubs. Construction begins with the fuselage with the addition of sidewall details in the extensive cockpit area. Rear bulkhead, side consoles and seats with PE belts are all added to the cockpit sides for a change, with an insert in the fuselage for the circular Pielgerat 6 antenna and tail wheel added into the starboard side, the cockpit hugely improved by the additional of dozens of PE parts, many of which are pre-painted, and decals that add layers of details to the sides of the fuselage and radio wall, including a clear portion of the acetate sheet. The instrument panel and ancillary dial are supplied with two decals, and fits into the fuselage during mating of the two halves. The missing floor has two recesses filled for some decal options, and is added to the lower fuselage panel along with two additional styrene parts and two more in PE, which includes the lower parts of the inner wings and gives the structure some strength. It also receives the rudder pedals, control column, and the two remaining crew seats that are built up to include PE belts, before being joined to the underside of the fuselage. The tail has articulated flying surfaces that are all made from upper and lower halves, as is the rudder, and the wings are supplied as top and bottom, with the flaps and ailerons separate from the box, and neat curved leading edges so they look right when deflected. The flaps include the rear section of the soon-to-be-fitted nacelles, which are added as separate parts to avoid sink-marks, and these coupled with the ailerons run almost full-span, terminating at the wingtip joint. This variant was fitted with the under-fuselage gondola, and each side has separate glazing panels inserted from inside, and a seam running vertically along its length, draping more PE seatbelts for the crewman there. It is added to the hole in the underside of the fuselage, with the front and rear glazing plus a choice of two rear machine guns or a forward-firing cannon later in the build. The landing gear is made up on a base that accepts the main strut and retraction jacks, plus an A-frame and separate oleo-scissor links, adding them to the underwing in preparation for the installation of the nacelle cowlings. The engines must be built first, consisting of a three-part block and high ancillary part count with plenty of detail, mounting them on a rear firewall that fits securely inside the cowling after adding a curved rib at the mid-point. Even though this is an in-line engine with an inverted V-piston layout, the addition of the annular radiators gives it the look of a radial, with their representation added to the front of the cowling, obscuring much of the engine detail, the side panels can be left off to show all that detail however. The cooling gills around the cowling are separate parts, and the exhausts have separate stacks, which aren't hollow but are large enough to make reaming them out with a drill a possibility. The completed nacelles fit to the underwings over the top of the main gear installation, securing them in place with four pegs, two on each side of each nacelle. For one marking option a cannon is fitted in the gondola, consisting of a breech with moulded-in barrel, separate ammo can, and a chute that takes the brass to an exit point below the gondola. A highly detailed bomb sight is created from two styrene parts and four more decals and PE parts, siting it in the main cockpit, and choosing the appropriate nose glazing for your decal option. The main greenhouse for the cockpit has a choice of two guns, one with a double “snail” magazine, a sighting decal that is applied to the windscreen, and PE panels that fit over the rear horizontal panes. A grab handle and PE instrument box are also fixed in the windscreen, adding a two-part PE travel lock for the windscreen gun after the canopy is installed. The rear portion of the canopy is made from two halves due to its double "blown" shape to accommodate the two rearward gun positions, so that the gunner's head isn't pressed against the canopy. The guns are fitted through the two circular ports on the rear, adding a ring and bead sight, although no ammo feed is supplied. The props are made from spinner, backplate and a single piece containing all three blades, sliding onto a pin projecting from the engine front, which will require glue if you want to keep them on. The alternative gondola guns at the rear have a zwilling mount, and a blank glazing panel or the afore mentioned cannon in the front. Under the wings the dive spoilers are added with four bomb crutches on aerodynamic fairings between the fuselage and engine nacelles, with bombs supplied that have two of their fins moulded separately, along with the stabilising struts that fit into notches in the fins. An antenna and aileron actuators are added while the model is inverted, fixing the new resin wheels with PE rings at the rear, and twin main gear bay doors, with two more for the tail-wheel. Addition of the canopy mounted antenna and pitot probe in the port wing leading edge completes the build, and an extra diagram shows where the antenna mast wire should be run, including where the fly-lead enters the fuselage. Markings There are a generous six decal options included on the sheets, although the box art option is the most tempting from my perspective. There are a wide range of schemes including winter distemper, desert, splinter and other more unusual camouflages, to widen the appeal. From the box you can depict one of the following: 1./KG 1, Kharkov-Voichenko, Soviet Union, January 1943 Hptm. Klaus Häberlen, CO of Stab I./KG 51, Bagerovo, Soviet Union, April 1943 4./KG 54, Catania, Sicily, spring 1943 W.Nr. 140206, Hptm. Heinrich Paepcke, CO of Stab II./KG 77, Gerbini, Italy, October 1942 W.Nr. 1016, Lt. Johannes Geismann, CO of 1./KG 77, Catania, Sicily, September 1942 Lt. Gerhard Brenner, CO of 1./LG 1, Eleusis, Greece, March 1942 The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. The masks supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape provide you with a full set of masks for the extensive greenhouse canopy plus its optional parts, adding more for the other windows around the model, and masks for the wheels to allow you to cut the demarcation between tyres and hubs with ease. Conclusion The ICM kit is a great model from the box, but adding Eduard’s extras in the shape of PE details and resin wheels adds more appeal, as will the varied decal options, which offer a few standard choices, and some fairly unusual alternatives to test your painting skills. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

B-26F Marauder Upgrade Sets (for ICM) 1:48 Eduard There won’t be many modellers that haven’t seen or at least heard of the new range of 1:48 kits that ICM have been doing of the Marauder, which was woefully overlooked by other manufacturers for what seemed like the longest of times. Now we have a new range of kits that depict different variants throughout its short but illustrious career during and shortly after WWII. Eduard's new range of sets are here to improve on the kit detail in their 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 (491552) Two frets are included, one nickel-plated and pre-painted, the other in bare brass. Kit parts that require adjustment are marked out in red for removal, or orange for sanding back. The rudder pedals are cut away at the bottom and have new perforated parts glued in to replace them, doing the same for a lever on the starboard side of the centre console that is also stripped of its moulded-in detail. The console has side skins overlaid, plus highly detailed new control panels, throttle quadrants and their attendant levers, wheels and adjusters. The instrument panel is sanded back and replaced by a new layered panel, cutting a section out of the cockpit floor to extend the crew hatch further into the fuselage, inserting a folded rectangular tunnel with retaining flanges, and a riveted strip laid on the forward edge. Hatch doors are made from new PE parts with handles, hinges and attachment points that should give a strong joint behind the crew seats. Speaking of seats, they have their adjustment rails removed and replaced by new PE parts, while the seats themselves are also replaced by several new PE parts that are folded to shape. The short forward bulkhead between the cockpit and nose is given a detailed skin with a couple of extra detail parts, then the rear bulkhead gets a pair of grab handles to ease crew passage through the narrow hatch. The cockpit sidewalls are littered with new boxes formed from folded layers of PE that have painted fronts, removing some parts from the separate side consoles to replace them with new painted details on both sides. The prominent nose gun is given a visible ammunition feed, folding up a PE length of link, then fitting it between the gun’s breech and a new ammo box, fixing a ring and bead sight to the breech and tip of the barrel, the latter after inserting the gun in the nose dome, adding a windscreen wiper to the flat spot through which the bomb-aimer views his target. The main canopy is detailed with an interior skin in between the two roof hatches, fitting extra detail parts in the centre, plus grab handles around the side windows, and an instrument in its own box in the centre of the windscreen. Zoom! Set (FE1552) 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 below. Whatever your motivations for wanting this set, it provides a welcome boost to detail, without being concerned with the structural elements. Seatbelts STEEL (FE1553) 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. The entire crew are given belts, which are lap-belts for the most part, save for the flight crew. Two belts are made for right and left of the crewman, one having a comfort pad under the buckle, showing them used for the rear gunner, waist crew, fight crew, and the pilot, who gets a set of shoulder belts to keep him in place during rough conditions. The upper gunner is also set up with a pair of lap-belts that should just be visible in the turret once completed. Exterior (481172) This larger bare brass set contains some important upgrades, although many of them aren’t quite exterior. Work starts with the cover panels that fit between the spars, facing inward into the bomb bay. They are stripped of raised detail, then have a new skin applied over the top, folding down two ribs and rotating them into position, with a pair of brackets toward the rear, one for each wing root. The engine nacelles are fitted with oval meshes over the intake horns, and have a square panel mounted in the centre of the forward bay bulkhead facing aft, adding two lightened braces across the rear. Before they are fitted to the wings, a skin is added inside the roof on the lower wing, with a small bracket at the rear, offering a much more detailed view into the bays. The engines have a full suite of wiring harness sections, each part forming a pair of leads, one per cylinder, with a C-shaped link between the tops of all the cylinders, following the scrap diagrams to locate them correctly. There are two of course, and it will be a lot easier than doing the wiring manually with your own wires, to which I can testify, as I have done that. The truest exterior part is the replacement of the kit’s deflectors to the front of the waist gunner positions, which are moulded as angular lumps on the kit by necessity. After removing these blobs, they are replaced by a pair of baffled deflectors that are double-thickness, and have a bracket added to the rear, plus a length of your own 0.5mm plastic rod to act as the retraction jacks, using a 1:1 drawing to assist you with cutting them to the correct length. Bomb Bay (481173) This set will be of use to anyone posing the bomb bay doors open, as it supplies replacements for the outer bomb ladders, which are chopped from the kit’s bay wall inserts before beginning. The new ladders are folded in half end-to-end, adding a set of bomb plates to each “step”, and mounting the ladder on a backing plate that has contoured sides with additional skins to add detail. The same process is then carried out for the longer central ladders, but without the contoured sides. The bombs all have a shackle fitted vertically, with scrap diagrams showing how the bombs should interface with the steps on the ladders. Rear Interior (491553) This set consists of two frets, one nickel-plated and pre-painted, the other in bare brass. It covers the waist gunner and upper turret positions, increasing the detail there substantially, particularly the waist position, which is noticeably simplified in the kit. Equipment boxes are folded up from rear parts with coloured faces, making three sets for use around the interior. The waist gun windows have the kit retraction rails used, but the ammo run that travels down much of the length of the fuselage is replaced by a new PE track that has ammo inside, rather than the kit’s blank surface that you have to paint and stripe yourself (like I did). Two of the equipment boxes are fitted either side of the starboard window, and the entire window frame is replaced by a two-layer PE assembly that sandwiches a piece of clear acetate between it, curving it to match the fuselage shape, using the kit parts as a template. The two guns are given a pair of ring-and-bead sights from PE, and are fed by a complex pair of ammo cans that are slid into a frame that is held in place by a pair of lateral beams, plus two V-shaped supports on each side. A length of ammo feeder track with link inside is also included, exiting the front of the ammo boxes and entering the breeches of the guns. The kit surround of the upper turret has a box removed from one corner, covering it over with a detailed skin, plus a handle on one side that is absent from the kit. The final assembly is the front bulkhead of the rear compartment, cutting away a moulded-in box and replacing it with another that has a pre-painted face added along with a handle near the top. The third of the equipment boxes made earlier is applied to the starboard side of the moulded-in hatchway, completing the set’s upgrade. Review sample courtesy of

Flak Bait B-26B 322nd Bombardment Group (48321) 1:48 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd Instigated on the eve of WWII in Europe, the Marauder was a medium bomber developed over two years by the Glenn L Martin company, entering service in early 1942. Due to its high wing and relatively small planform, loading was high, which resulted in a faster than usual landing speed, which could cause problems for an inexperienced crew during final approach, and similarly if a single-engined approach was necessary. Its stall speed would bite the pilots aggressively if they varied even slightly from the documented landing procedures, resulting in excessive losses due to accidents, which earned it the nickname ‘Widowmaker’ amongst crews. To counter this, changes to the aircraft’s aerodynamics and wing length were undertaken, together with additional crew training, a combination that proved successful, and led to the type’s loss rate being amongst the lowest of the Allies bomber fleet. After initial orders, more followed, and improvements led to the B-26A, and soon after the B-26B, which by Block 10 benefited from longer wings and the other improvements that gave its pilots a longer life-expectancy. The type saw extensive service in Europe, flying with the US Army Air Force and with the RAF, where it was known as the Marauder Mk.1 for B-26A airframes, and Mk.1a for the B models. It also saw service in the Pacific, with a total of over 5,000 airframes built, 500 of which were flown by the RAF, with all airframes withdrawn from service by 1947, after which the A-26 Invader was given the B-26 designation, creating confusion amongst many aviation buffs and modellers over the years. Powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine in nacelles under the wings, the rotund fuselage could carry up to 4,000lbs of bombs in a bay between the wings with a range of 1,500 miles at a substantially higher cruising speed than a B-17, giving it a better chance against fighters and flak, which contributed to its low attrition rate. An early adaptation saw the main armament increased from .303 machine guns to .50cals in all four turrets that could take a bigger bite out of any enemy fighters that ventured too close. Flak Bait was a B-26B-25MA Marauder that holds the record for the greatest number of bombing sorties of any aircraft during WWII at 202, often coming home shot-up, and sometimes on fire, but she still managed to make it back. The name was a comedic riff on the first pilot James J. Farrell’s name for his dog “Flea Bait”, and she truly lived up to that name, with over a thousand holes poked in her by shrapnel or rounds during her illustrious career, with two instances of landing back at base with only one functional engine, one of which was still on fire during approach. She took part in many major campaigns after her debut in 1943, ending the war intact, and flying for the last time in Spring 1946, after which she was dismantled and crated to be flown back to the US. Her nose went on display at the National Air and Space Museum Washington, DC in the 70s, while the rest of her stayed in storage until 2014 when she began being restored, a process that continues at time of writing. The Kit This is an airframe-specific boxing of a new tooling from ICM, of an aircraft that has been neglected for many years in 1:48 scale, so there was much joy when the kit was announced, and many of us, myself included, waited as patiently as we could for its release. I fell victim to its pull as soon as the first boxing landed, although I’ve yet to finish mine due to various drains on my modelling time, but check out my build thread here if you’re minded. The kit arrives in a top-opening box with an attractive painting of a brace of Marauders braving flak over Europe, and under the lid is the usual captive flap on the lower tray, and under that are eight large sprues in grey styrene, plus one of crystal-clear parts, a large decal sheet and the instruction booklet that is printed on glossy paper in colour with painting and decaling profiles on the rear pages. Detail is up to ICM’s modern high standards, with most of the fuselage full of detail that includes the cockpit, bomb bay and fuselage compartments around the turrets and waist gun positions. Construction begins with the fuselage halves for a change, preparing the interior by drilling out some flashed-over holes for gun packs used on two decal options, and adding the outer bomb racks plus other small details, along with the windows and hinges for the bomb bay if you plan to pose them open. There are also two decals to be applied to parts of the nose compartment, one on each side. The nose bay is built upon its roof, adding side walls and details to the interior, then the cockpit floor is layered on top, fitting the pilot’s four-part seat and separate rudder pedals, making the centre console from another five parts, and attaching the instrument panel to the rear, both it and the console receiving decals to depict the dials. The cranked control column has a bow-tie yoke, applying them to the floor in front of the pilot’s seat, and a bottle behind it, plus a single-part co-pilot seat, two-part yoke, and a stiff neck from straining to view the instrument panel. In the front of the floor is the bomb aimer’s seat, with a three-part sight for him to look through when the time for dropping bombs arrives. The bomb bay front and rear bulkheads have spars moulded-in and show off the circular cross-section of the fuselage, detailing both with small parts, and joining them together via the roof, which is ribbed for strength. Six bombs are built from two main parts with a separate spinner trapped inside the fin structure, gluing three to each of the central bomb ladders, then mounting those onto a pair of rails that fit into the bottom centre of the two bulkheads during the installation of the bay roof. The completed assembly is inserted into the port fuselage half, hiding the short empty sections of the fuselage by inserting another bulkhead behind the bomb bay and in front, the latter having the cockpit floor slotted into it before installation. Before the fuselage halves can be closed, there is a lot of armament to be built, starting with the rear gun turret, which has two guns glued to a central support, sliding the barrels through the two slots in the rear cover, and adding a tapering bracket to the top. The fuselage waist defensive armament is stowed away inside until needed, mounting the two guns facing aft on a section of flooring via two supports, which is depicted with two options, although I can’t see any differences between the two, but it’s late. The waist guns are glued into the rear fuselage on a flat area, inserting the rear turret in the aft, and fitting an armoured bulkhead forward, which the gunner sits behind on a circular seat that is also included. The top turret has the front section with ammo cans built first, inserting it and the gunner’s seat into the turret ring from below along with the control levers. The twin .50cals are inserted from above with the sighting gear between them, slotting the completed interior into a surround, then sliding the glazing over the barrels and securing it with a non-fogging glue before it is slipped into the cut-out on the upper fuselage. Another ovoid bulkhead with a hatchway is inserted between the rear gunner and waist gunners, suspending a box overhead in the waist compartment, then sectioning off the nose from the cockpit with a horseshoe-shaped bulkhead. If you skipped ahead and prepared the starboard fuselage half to speed through painting and weathering, it’s all good, otherwise the starboard fuselage is drilled out and dotted with detail parts, windows, braces and bomb racks, plus bomb bay hinges if you are leaving the doors open, then closing the two halves after putting 50g of nose weight in the space between the cockpit and bomb bay to keep the nose wheel on the ground when the model is complete. The tail fin is a separate assembly on this kit, starting by gluing the two halves of the fin together, then building the stabilisers as a single unit made from a full-span lower and two upper parts plus two smaller inserts. The two assemblies are brought together at the rear, covering the rear of the fuselage, and adding a curved insert behind the cockpit, covering the nose weight, whilst giving you a last chance to add some if you forgot earlier. The rudder and two elevators are each made from two halves, and can be glued into position deflected if you wish, to add some individuality to your model. The bomb bay has four actuators fitted to each of the fore and aft bulkheads, installing the four doors folded into pairs, or covering the bay with a pair of doors if you intend to close it. Two of the decal options carried cheek-mounted gun packs, which mount on the holes drilled earlier, after building each one from fairing, barrel, and nose cap for each of the four, with the instructions advising to install them after applying decals in that area. The main canopy and tail gun glazing are attached, adding two clear roof panels to the canopy, and making the nose glazing with a rectangular box on one side, and a gun in the centre before it too is glued in place. Two detail inserts are applied between the spars that project from the wing root, with the detail facing inward, so remember to paint those at the same time as the rest of the interior for your own convenience. The wings are each separate, and slide over the spars that are moulded into the bomb bay bulkheads. Before closing the wing halves, the gear bay structure is made, consisting of three parts forming an H-frame, adding two more ribs in the forward compartment, and closing off the rear of the bay with a final stringer, painting everything as you go. A bay insert is also included for the ailerons, and this is fixed to the lower wing as the upper is brought in and the two halves are mated. The two-section flaps are each made from upper and lower halves, as is the aileron, and all three are fitted in the trailing edge of the wing, attaching actuator fairings, detail parts inside the nacelle roof, a landing light in the leading edge, and a tip light over the moulded-in recess, which has a likeness of a bulb moulded into the area. A pitot probe is cut from near the wingtip, then the same process is carried out on the opposite wing in mirror-image, setting the completed wings to one side while the engines and their nacelles are built. Each Double-Wasp engine is made from a layer of six parts, depicting both banks of pistons and push-rods, adding the bell-housing and magnetos to the front, trapping a prop axle between them without glue, and inserting the intake ‘spider’ at the rear, with nine exhaust stubs mounted behind the engine. The completed engine is then locked between two circular carriers, and two exhaust collector parts are attached at the rear next to the cooling gills that are moulded into the rear carrier. The cowling is a complex shape that has a substantial portion moulded as a single part, inserting a curved plate inside to create a broad intake trunk in the base, then fitting two more inserts into the top sections of the cowling that fit into position, creating the familiar intake ‘ears’ at the top. The engine slides into the cowling from the rear until the cooling gills butt up against a cut-out, then attention shifts to the nacelle, which is made from two halves after adding covered exhausts and hinge-points to the gear bay sides on a single carrier per side, then gluing the two halves together with three bulkheads holding everything to shape. Once the glue has cured and seams have been dealt with, the engine and cowling are glued to the front and fitted under the wing. Again, the same process is carried out in mirror image for the opposite nacelle, after which the wings can be slid into position and glued in place. The Marauder was another tricycle gear equipped bomber, and the nose leg is made from the main strut with scissor-links added on both sides, fitted into the bay with a retraction jack behind it. A crew access ladder is provided, and is fixed into the roof at the rear of the bay, locating the two bay doors on the sides after fitting hinges along the upper edges, with a small retractor jack installed at the mid-point to complete the area. The main gear legs are fitted with twin supports at the top and door openers mid-way down, inserting them into the nacelles along with a V-shaped strut, and a pair of bay doors on each nacelle. The main wheel tyres are made from two halves, with two more parts for the hubs, as is the nose gear wheel, but with flat hub caps, all three installing on stub axles so that the model can sit on all three wheels, or the rear two if you forgot the nose weight. I can’t laugh, as I recently did that, but got away with it. An aerial and a faired-in D/F loop are fixed under the belly, removing one under the nose, and another aerial is mounted behind the cockpit, with just the two four-blade props with separate spinners to complete the build. Markings There are four decal options on the large sheet, representing Flak Bait at various points of her career, the mission indicators growing in number as time goes by. From the box you can build one of the following: 322nd Bombardment Group, England, Mid-1943 322nd Bombardment Group, England, Summer 1944 322nd Bombardment Group, combat missions in Europe, Spring 1945 322nd Bombardment Group, Bavaria, Summer 1945 Decals are by ICM’s usual partners, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. As is common now with ICM kits, there is a page of the instruction booklet devoted to the masking of the canopy, using the printed shapes on the bottom of the page and the diagrams above to create your own masks if you wish. It consists of only thirty-two elements, some of which are used on the side windows, landing lights and around the cowlings at the front of the engine nacelles. Conclusion This particular Marauder saw over 700 hours of combat action, so amongst the four options there’s plenty of opportunities to depict a well-weathered example, and as it’s a famous airframe that’s still in existence, there should be plenty of reference photos online. Very highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Marauder Mk.III (48326) WWII RAF/SAAF Bomber 1:48 ICM via The Hobby Company Instigated on the eve of WWII in Europe, the Marauder was a medium bomber developed over two years by the Glenn L Martin company, entering service in early 1942. Due to its high wing and relatively small planform, loading was high, which resulted in a faster than usual landing speed, which could cause problems for an inexperienced crew during final approach, and similarly if a single-engined approach was necessary. Its stall speed would bite the pilots aggressively if they varied even slightly from the documented landing procedures, resulting in excessive losses due to accidents, which earned it the nickname ‘Widowmaker’ amongst crews. To counter this, changes to the aircraft’s aerodynamics and wing length were undertaken, together with additional crew training, a combination that proved successful, and led to the type’s loss rate being amongst the lowest of the Allies bomber fleet. After initial orders, more followed, and improvements led to the B-26A, and soon after the B-26B, which by Block 10 benefited from longer wings and the other improvements that gave its pilots a longer life-expectancy. The type saw extensive service in Europe, flying with the US Army Air Force and with the RAF, where it was known as the Marauder Mk.1 for B-26A airframes, and Mk.1a for the B models. It also saw service in the Pacific, with a total of over 5,000 airframes built, 500 of which were flown by the RAF, the last batch being the F models, which the RAF knew as the Mk.III, which had the incidence of the wing increased by a few percent to improve slow flight characteristics, fitting new oil-coolers to the engines, a different tail-gun with a canvas cover, and a new bomb-sight, as well as other British equipment fit. This was later standardised as the G, of which the British and South African Air Forces took a total of 350, split between Fs and Gs, all under the Mk.III designation. Post-war, drawdown of the Marauder was relatively fast, with all airframes withdrawn from service by 1947, after which the A-26 Invader was given the B-26 designation, creating confusion amongst many aviation buffs and modellers over the years. Powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine in nacelles under the wings, the rotund fuselage could carry up to 4,000lbs of bombs in a bay between the wings with a range of 1,500 miles at a substantially higher cruising speed than a B-17, giving it a better chance against fighters and flak, which contributed to its low attrition rate. An early adaptation saw the main armament increased from .303 machine guns to .50cals in all four turrets that could take a bigger bite out of any enemy fighters that ventured too close. The Kit This is a reboxing of a recent tooling from ICM of an aircraft that has been neglected for many years in 1:48 scale, so many modellers were highly excited on its release. This boxing has a new fuselage to represent the revised angle-of-incidence, and has acquired a new sprue of parts that includes the necessarily different spar/bulkheads, plus sundry other parts required to depict the new variant. The kit arrives in a top-opening box with a painting of a solitary Marauder flying over a mountain with an ocean vista in the background, and under the lid is the usual captive flap on the lower tray, and beneath that are nine large sprues in grey styrene, plus two of crystal-clear parts, a large decal sheet and the instruction booklet that is printed on glossy paper in colour, with painting and decaling profiles on the rear pages. Detail is up to ICM’s modern high standards, with most of the fuselage full of detail that includes the cockpit, bomb bay and fuselage compartments around the turrets and waist gun positions. Construction begins with the fuselage halves for a change, preparing the interior by drilling out some flashed-over holes for gun packs used on some decal options, and adding the outer bomb racks plus other small details, along with the windows and hinges for the bomb bay if you plan to pose them open. There are also two decals to be applied to parts of the nose compartment, one on each side. The nose bay is built upon its roof, adding side walls and details to the interior, then the cockpit floor is layered on top, fitting the pilot’s four-part seat and separate rudder pedals, making the centre console from another five parts, and attaching the instrument panel to the rear, both it and the console receiving decals to depict the dials. The cranked control column has a bow-tie yoke, applying them to the floor in front of the pilot’s seat, and a bottle behind it, plus a single-part co-pilot seat, two-part yoke, and a stiff neck from straining to view the instrument panel. In the front of the floor is the bomb aimer’s seat, with a new three-part sight for him to look through when the time for dropping bombs arrives. The bomb bay front and rear bulkheads have spars moulded-in and show off the circular cross-section of the fuselage, detailing both with small parts, and joining them together via the roof, which is ribbed for strength. Six bombs are built from two main parts with a separate spinner trapped inside the fin structure, gluing three to each of the central bomb ladders, then mounting those onto a pair of rails that fit into the bottom centre of the two bulkheads during the installation of the bay roof. The completed assembly is inserted into the port fuselage half, hiding the short empty sections of the fuselage by inserting another bulkhead behind the bomb bay and in front, the latter having the cockpit floor slotted into it before installation, leaving space for nose weight aplenty. Before the fuselage halves can be closed, there is a lot of armament to be built, starting with the waist gunners’ MGs that are applied to the floor on pivots, then the rear gun turret, which has two guns glued to a central support, sliding the barrels through the two slots in the canvas cover, and adding a tapering bracket to the top. The armour and controls for the rear guns has a window, rest and control handle fitted to the front, inserting it and the turret mechanism in the rear, sitting the gunner behind on a circular seat that is also included. The top turret has the front section with ammo cans built first, inserting it and the gunner’s seat into the turret ring from below along with the control levers. The twin .50cals are inserted from above with the sighting gear between them, slotting the completed interior into a surround, then sliding the glazing carefully over the barrels and securing it with a non-fogging glue before it is slipped into the cut-out in the upper fuselage. Another ovoid bulkhead with a hatchway is inserted between the rear gunner and waist gunners, suspending a simplistic ammo box overhead in the waist compartment, then sectioning off the nose from the cockpit with a horseshoe-shaped bulkhead. If you skipped ahead and prepared the starboard fuselage half to speed through painting and weathering, it’s all good, otherwise the starboard fuselage is drilled out and dotted with detail parts, windows, braces and bomb racks, plus bomb bay hinges if you are leaving the doors open, then closing the two halves after putting 90g of nose weight in the space between the cockpit and bomb bay to keep the nose wheel on the ground when the model is complete, which is a substantial increase from the original 50g. Once the glue has set, your last chance to install nose weight in the space between the detailed areas expires when you install an insert over the back of the cockpit, using either a flat or domed astrodome, drilling a small hole in the port side of the part before fitting it. The tail fin is a separate assembly on this kit, starting by gluing the two halves of the fin together, then building the stabilisers as a single unit made from a full-span lower and two upper parts plus two smaller inserts. The two assemblies are brought together at the rear, covering the rear of the fuselage, then mounting the rudder and two elevators that are each made from two halves, and can be glued into position deflected if you wish, to add some individuality to your model. The bomb bay has four actuators fitted to each of the fore and aft bulkheads, installing the four doors folded into pairs, or covering the bay with a pair of doors if you intend to close it. All the decal options carried cheek-mounted gun packs, one only mounting one rather than a pair per side, which mount on the holes drilled earlier, after building each one from fairing, barrel, and nose cap for each of the four (or two). The main canopy and tail gun glazing are attached, adding two clear roof panels to the canopy, and making the nose glazing with a rectangular box on one side, and a gun in the centre before it too is glued in place, adding a bumper under the rear fuselage. Two detail inserts are applied between the spars that project from the wing root, with the detail facing inward, so remember to paint those at the same time as the rest of the interior for your own convenience. The wings are each separate, and slide over the spars that are moulded into the bomb bay bulkheads once completed. Before closing the wing halves, the gear bay structure is made, consisting of three parts forming an H-frame, adding two more ribs in the forward compartment, and closing off the rear of the bay with a final stringer, painting everything as you go. A bay insert is also included for the ailerons, and this is fixed to the lower wing as the upper is brought in and the two halves are mated. The two-section flaps are each made from upper and lower halves, as is the aileron, and all three are fitted in the trailing edge of the wing, attaching actuator fairings, detail parts inside the nacelle roof, a landing light in the leading edge, and a tip light over the moulded-in recess, which has a likeness of a bulb moulded into the area. A pitot probe is cut from near the wingtip, then the same process is carried out on the opposite wing in mirror-image, setting the completed wings to one side while the engines and their nacelles are built. Each Double-Wasp engine is made from a layer of six parts, depicting both banks of pistons and push-rods, adding the bell-housing and magnetos to the front, trapping a prop axle between them without glue, and inserting the intake ‘spider’ at the rear, with nine exhaust stubs mounted behind the engine. The completed engine is then locked between two circular carriers, and two exhaust collector parts are attached at the rear next to the cooling gills that are moulded into the rear carrier. The cowling is a complex shape that has a substantial portion moulded as a single part, inserting a curved plate inside to create a broad intake trunk in the base, then fitting two more inserts into the top sections of the cowling that fit into position, creating the familiar intake ‘ears’ at the top. The engine slides into the cowling from the rear until the cooling gills butt up against a cut-out, then attention shifts to the nacelle, which is made from two halves after adding covered exhausts and hinge-points to the gear bay sides on a single carrier per side, then gluing the two halves together with three bulkheads holding everything to shape. Once the glue has cured and seams have been dealt with, the engine and cowling are glued to the front and fitted under the wing. Again, the same process is carried out in mirror image for the opposite nacelle, after which the wings can be slid into position and glued in place. The Marauder was another tricycle gear equipped bomber, and the nose leg is made from the main strut with scissor-links added on both sides, fitted into the bay with a retraction jack behind it. A crew access ladder is provided, and is fixed into the roof at the rear of the bay, locating the two bay doors on the sides after fitting hinges along the upper edges, with a small retractor jack installed at the mid-point to complete the area. The main gear legs are fitted with twin supports at the top and door openers mid-way down, inserting them into the nacelles along with a V-shaped strut, and a pair of bay doors on each nacelle. The main wheel tyres are made from two halves, with two more parts for the hubs, as is the nose gear wheel, but with flat hub caps, all three installing on stub axles so that the model can sit on all three wheels, or the rear two if you forgot the nose weight. I can’t laugh, as I recently did that, but just got away with it. An aerial and a faired-in D/F loop are fixed under the belly, and another three are arranged behind the cockpit, with just the two four-blade props with separate spinners to complete the build. Markings There are three decal options in this boxing, all wearing British RAF roundels. From the box you can build one of the following: HD545, Martin Field, Baltimore, Spring 1944 HD561.B ‘Bilksem’, 21 Sqn. (SAAF), Italy, 1944-45 HD505/V ‘Vindictive Viking’, 12 Sqn. (SAAF), Italy, Winter 1945 Decals are by ICM’s usual partners, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. As is common now with ICM kits, there is a page of the instruction booklet devoted to the masking of the canopy, using the printed shapes on the bottom of the page and the diagrams at the top to create your own masks if you wish. It goes up to 34 thanks to the extensive glazing. Conclusion Like a lot of modellers, I’ve had a soft spot for the Marauder for a while, and I’m grateful that a new well-detailed model has been released by ICM, with various boxings following on from the initial offering. The Marauder saw a lot of action, so there’s plenty of opportunities to depict a well-weathered example, and I’m looking forward to seeing them popping up on the forum. Very highly recommended. Available from all good model shops now. Review sample courtesy of via importers

Here we go then: For a little while I as debating if I was to start the Airfix Vampire instead, but I haven't built a modern ICM-kit so I think it's about time to do something about that. Yeah yeah yeah, build them both and allt that...but maybe I should finish that P-61, or the two P-38:s or even that Sea Vixen that has been laying about for ages instead? In any case, for this Bronco I got some goodies: Since I'm also a sucker for Euro-1, I got this little sheet: This should be fun!

ICM Acrylic Paint Sets ICM via H G Hannants Ltd In 2021 ICM released their own Acrylic Paint range, and soon after began offering boxed sets that matched with their recent kit releases, which is good marketing, and helpful to the modellers building these kits. The sets arrive in a cardboard box with six screw-capped bottles inside, each containing 12ml of paint. The bottles are clear Polypropylene, and are capped with cylindrical tops that have knurled sides, and a one-time security seal that you break on first opening. A label on the side gives you basic information about the colour and code, a little information regarding application in English and Ukrainian, plus a bar-code. As is sensible with a new range of paints, we undertook some testing of the first issues to establish whether the paint was good for brushing and airbrushing, and what sort of finish you can achieve with their products. They have released many sets since then, and so far we’ve been reviewing them separately, which is not only time intensive for us, but also means that they’ll be scattered throughout the Tools & Paint Review area, due to the time between releases and the volume of reviews that we post. To counter this, we’ll be putting all the sets in this thread going forward, so that anyone with an ICM kit can check the availability of a suitable set, and only have to read that they have a polypropylene bottle holding 12ml of paint the once. It should cut down on the instances of déjà vu too, which is always nice. Below you can see the results of our initial testing, complete with painted spoons that help to show off the smoothness and effect that light and shade has on the colours. The individual sets will be listed below these, with photos and a note of the colours included for your reference. Testing with Airbrush I used Ultimate Acrylic Thinners to dilute the paint to spray through my Gunze PS770 airbrush, which has a 0.18 needle chucked in. The paint dilutes well once it has been mixed thoroughly, and sprays well through my airbrush, which has a smaller than usual needle that is a good test of the finesse of the pigment grind of any brand, some of which don’t spray very well though anything less than a 0.3mm needle. There were no problems with blockages at all, and the coverage was excellent after my usual ad hoc dilution method, which was probably nowhere near the 40-60% thinners or water that’s suggested on the pack. The photo below shows the five actual colours sprayed out onto plastic spoons that have been prepared by buffing with a fine grade flexible sanding stick of the kind you use in the penultimate step before buffing to a shine. As the paint dried it obtained a highly matt finish with the exception of the Oily Steel paint, which is clearly semi-gloss. The Satin Varnish also worked very well diluted with water, sprayed over the spoons that were also partially taped up to perform two functions at once. The satin patina that resulted is exactly what was expected, and the tape lifted no paint at all, despite my best efforts to do so. Bear in mind that the spoons were prepped by a buff with a very fine sanding sponge to give them a chance of adhesion. There was very little damage to the cured paint from scraping my fingernails across the surface too. There were track-marks of course, but no lifting of paint at all. Testing with Paint Brush As usual I used a #6 synthetic filbert brush from AMMO, which has slightly curved edges to keep tramlines in the paint to a minimum. The colours brushed extremely well with one exception, which was the Oily Steel. It appeared to pull up when over-brushed during application, despite the surface remaining wet, which resulted in the appearance of tiny fibre-like structures in the paint that led to a gritty finish that was also translucent even after two coats, obtaining a rather lumpy opaqueness after three coats. The rest of the colours covered perfectly after two coats with minimal brush marks visible, which was thoroughly impressive to this long-lapsed brush painter, and some were almost completely opaque after one coat, save for the fact that they were laid down over a white surface. The undiluted Satin Varnish brushed out well over the matt surface of the brush painted spoon undersides, and I had to leave it until the next day to have my evening meal. The satin effect was excellent again, and the paint was tough enough to stand up to my fingernail test without lifting, although you can’t avoid leaving tracks across the surface due to the deposition of tiny particles from your fingernail on the surface. The Sets We’ve updated this review with all the sets that we’ve reviewed over the last couple of years (how time flies!), and will keep adding the new ones so that it becomes a comprehensive reference. WWII Marder I (3003) This set contains the following colours: 1060 Middle Stone, 1071 Camouflage Green, 1050 Saddle Brown, 1038 German Grey, 1027 Gun Metal, 1002 Matt Varnish B-26K Invader (3007) This set contains the following colours: 1072 US Dark Green, 1058 Tan Earth, 1069 Extra Dark Green, 1002 Black, 1024 Silver, 2002 Satin Varnish OV-10A Bronco (3008) This set contains the following colours: 1071 Camouflage Green, 1031 Warm Grey, 1032 Blue Grey, 1026 Oily Steel, 1002 Black, 2002 Satin Varnish Laffly (3009) This set contains the following colours: 1072 US Dark Green, 1042 Pale Sand, 1052 Hull Red, 1039 Rubber Black, 1027 Gun Metal, 2001 Matt Varnish Basic Colours (3010) This set contains the following colours: 1001 White, 1002 Black, 1003 Deep Yellow, 1004 Deep Red, 1005 Dark Blue, 1006 Deep Green The rear of the box shows the following: USAAF Pilots 1944-45 (1012) This set contains the following colours: 1002 Black, 1008 Deep Brown, 1052 Hull Red, 1068 Olive Green, 1044 Basic Skin Tone, 1059 Green Ochre American Civil War Union Infantry (3013) This set contains the following colours: 1037 Dark Grey, 1026 Oily Steel, 1075 Grey-Blue, 1050 Saddle Brown, 1017 Gold, 1043 Light Flesh German WWII Aviation (3014) This set contains the following colours: 1074 Pale Blue, 1034 Dark Sea Grey, 1003 Deep Yellow, 1070 German Field Grey, 1035 Grey-Green, 2002 Satin Varnish WWII Soviet Aviation (3016) This set contains the following colours: 1032 Blue Grey, 1033 Sky Grey, 1036 neutral Grey, 1069 Extra Dark Green, 1071 Camouflage Green, 2003 Gloss varnish The rear of the box shows the following: Bundeswehr Vehicles & AFVs (3017) This set contains the following colours: 1026 Oily Steel, 1060 Middle Stone, 1072 US Dark Green, 1039 Rubber Black, 1052 Hull Red, 1073 4BO The rear of the box shows the following: WWII Royal Air Force (3018) This set contains the following colours: 1054 Chocolate, 1069 Extra Dark Green, 1037 Dark Grey, 1032 Blue Grey, 1027 Gun Metal, 2002 Satin Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: US Cargo Trucks (3019) This set contains the following colours: 1046 Blood Red, 1003 Deep Yellow, 1066 grass Green, 1068 Olive Green, 1001 White, 2003 Matt Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: Try Me (3020) This set contains the following colours: 1001 White, 1002 Black, 1027 Gun Metal, 1073 4BO Green, 1011 Clear Red, 2004 Grey Primer The rear of the box shows the following: WWII Japanese Aviation (3021) This set contains the following colours: 1063 Green-Grey, 1023 Aluminium, 1025 Natural Steel, 1062 British Khaki, 1073 4BO Green, 2002 Satin Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: US Helicopter Pilots – Vietnam War (3023) This set contains the following colours: 1060 Middle Stone, 1062 British Khaki, 1002 Black, 1072 US Dark Green, 1073 4BO Green, 2001 Matt Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: WWI US Infantry (3024) This set contains the following colours: 1059 Green Ochre, 1055 Deck Tan, 1061 Green Brown, 1050 Saddle Brown, 1008 Deep Brown, 2002 Satin Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: Armed Forces of Ukraine (3025) This set contains the following colours: 1072 US Dark Green, 1035 Grey Green, 1041 Buff, 1069 Extra Dark Green, 1054 Chocolate, 2001 Matt Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: US Helicopters (3026) This set contains the following colours: 1071 Camouflage Green, 1072 US Dark Green, 1001 White, 1007 Deep Red, 1027 Gun Metal, 1011 Clear Red The rear of the box shows the following: Ghost of Kyiv (3027) This set contains the following colours: 1028 Offwhite, 1033 Sky Grey, 1034 Dark Sea Grey, 1037 Dark Grey, 1038 German Grey, 2002 Satin Varnish US Aviation 1980-90 (3028) This set contains the following colours: 1055 Deck Tan, 1056 Light Earth, 1039 Rubber Black, 1072 US Dark Green, 1032 Blue Grey, 1011 Clear Red The rear of the box shows the following: Ships of the Kriegsmarine (3029) This set contains the following colours: 1007 Deep Red, 1018 Brass, 1037 Dark Grey, 1056 Light Earth, 1027 Gun Metal, 1011 Clear Red The rear of the box shows the following: Civilians (3030) This set contains the following colours: 1005 Deep Purple, 1008 Deep Brown, 1009 Deep Green, 1030 Ivory, 1047 Matt Red, 1077 Dark Blue The rear of the box shows the following: Fire Trucks (3031) This set contains the following colours: 1001 White, 1007 Deep Red, 1039 Rubber Black, 1023 Aluminium, 1060 Middle Stone, 1012 Clear Blue The rear of the box shows the following: WWII German Tank Crew (3032) This set contains the following colours: 1024 Silver, 1004 intense Pink, 1002 Black, 1036 Neutral Grey, 1070 German Field Grey, 2001 Matt Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: WWII RAF Pilots (3033) This set contains the following colours: 1077 Dark Blue, 1075 Grey Blue, 1003 Deep Yellow, 1054 Chocolate, 1060 Middle Stone, 2001 Matt Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: American Civil War Confederate Infantry (3034) This set contains the following colours: 1075 Grey Blue, 1076 Deep Sky Blue, 1036 Neutral Grey, 1055 Deck Tan, 1020 Bronze, 2002 Satin varnish The rear of the box shows the following: Personal Protective Equipment (3035) This set contains the following colours: 1045 Medium, Orange, 1035 Grey Green, 1011 Clear Red, 1039 Rubber Black, 1015 Clear Yellow, 1024 Silver The rear of the box shows the following: WWII Aircraft Armament (3036) This set contains the following colours: 1071 Camouflage Green, 1057 Ochre, 1037 Dark Grey, 1002 Black, 1072 US Dark Green, 1026 Oily Steel The rear of the box shows the following: WWII US Infantry (3037) This set contains the following colours: 1041 Buff, 1058 Tan Earth, 1031 Warm Grey, 1072 US Dark Green, 1008 Deep Brown, 2001 Matt Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: Wehrmacht Trucks (3038) This set contains the following colours: 1038 German Grey, 1040 Beige, 1029 White Grey, 1052 Hull Red, 1072 US Dark green, 2003 Gloss varnish The rear of the box shows the following: Combat Vehicles Armed Forces of Ukraine (3040) This set contains the following colours: 1001 White, 1011 Clear Red, 1027 Gun Metal, 1072 US Dark Green, 1039 Rubber Black, 1073 4BO Green The rear of the box shows the following: WWI British Infantry (3042) This set contains the following colours: 1018 Brass, 1059 Green Ochre, 1071 Camouflage Green, 1062 British Khaki, 1052 Hull Red, 2001 Matt Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: Military Equipment Armed Forces of Ukraine (3039) This set contains the following colours: 1027 Gun Metal 1008 Deep Brown 1072 US Dark Green 1041 Buff 1002 Black 1073 4BO Green The rear of the box shows the following: Armed Forces of Ukraine (3041) This set contains the following colours: 1028 Off White 1072 US Dark Green 1058 Tan Earth 1062 British Khaki 1054 Chocolate 1031 Warm Grey The rear of the box shows the following: WWI & WWII Weapon & Equipment (3043) This set contains the following colours: 1025 Natural Steel 1027 Gun Metal 1035 Grey Green 1031 Warm Grey 1053 Leather Brown 1002 Black The rear of the box shows the following: WWI German Infantry (3044) This set contains the following colours: 1008 Deep Brown 1037 Dark Grey 1070 German Field Grey 1034 Dark Sea Grey 1038 German Grey 1072 US Dark Green The rear of the box shows the following: WWI French Infantry (3045) This set contains the following colours: 1075 Grey Blue 1076 Deep Sky Blue 1046 Blood Red 1055 Deck Tan 1008 Deep Brown 1002 Black The rear of the box shows the following: Luftwaffe Pilots (3046) This set contains the following colours: 1077 Dark Blue 1002 Black 1003 Deep Yellow 1054 Chocolate 1028 Off White 1024 Silver The rear of the box shows the following: WWII US Aviation (3047) This set contains the following colours: 1071 Camouflage Green, 1001 White, 1068 Olive Green, 1002 Black, 1023 Aluminium, 2002 Satin Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: Wehrmacht Afrika Korps (3049) This set contains the following colours: 1059 Green Ochre, 1041 Buff, 1038 German Grey, 1058 Tan Earth, 1060 Middle Stone, 1061 Green Brown The rear of the box shows the following: WWII British Royal Navy Aviation (3050) This set contains the following colours: 1074 Pale Blue, 1069 Extra Dark Grey, 1033 Sky Grey, 1022 Burnt Tin, 1028 Off White, 2002 Satin Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: WWI US Vehicles (3051) This set contains the following colours: 1071 Camouflage Green, 1056 Light Earth, 1002 Black, 1060 Middle Stone, 1037 Dark Grey, 1051 Dark Rust The rear of the box shows the following: WWII Military Vehicles of Britain (3052) This set contains the following colours: 1069 Extra Dark Green, 1060 Middle Stone, 1061 Green Brown, 1028 Off White, 1071 Camouflage Green, 2002 Satin Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: WWII German U-Boats (3053) This set contains the following colours: 1033 Sky Grey, 1034 Dark Sea Grey, 1037 Dark Grey, 1018 Brass, 1026 Oily Steel, 1011 Clear Red The rear of the box shows the following: US Cars 1930-40s (3048) This set contains the following colours: 1077 Dark Blue, 1009 Deep Green, 1007 Deep Red, 1031 Warm Grey, 1064 Lime Green, 1065 Interior Yellow Green The rear of the box shows the following: WWII British Infantry (3054) This set contains the following colours: 1069 Extra Dark Green, 1027 Gun Metal, 1062 British Khaki, 1059 Green Ochre, 1008 Deep Brown The rear of the box shows the following: Civil Aviation (3055) This set contains the following colours: 1001 White, 1077 Dark Blue, 1007 Deep Red, 1024 Silver, 1045 Medium Orange, 1034 Dark Sea Grey The rear of the box shows the following: WWII Japanese Pilots (3056) This set contains the following colours: 1050 Saddle Brown, 1026 Oily Steel, 1061 Green Brown, 1052 Hull Red, 1041 Buff, 1072 US Dark Green The rear of the box shows the following: Firefighters (3057) This set contains the following colours: 1059 Green Ochre, 1002 Black, 1038 German Grey, 1011 Clear Red, 1054 Chocolate, 2007 Green Primer The rear of the box shows the following: Humvee US Military Cars (3059) This set contains the following colours: 2005 Black Primer, 1056 Light Earth, 1052 Hull Red, 1072 US Dark Green, 1073 4B0 Green, 1038 German Grey The rear of the box shows the following: WWII Royal Navy (3060) This set contains the following colours: 1049 Medium Rust, 1034 Dark Sea Grey, 2004 Grey Primer, 1074 Pale Blue, 1037 Dark Grey, 1042 Pale Sand The rear of the box shows the following: Animals (3061) This set contains the following colours: 1039 Rubber Black, 2009 White Primer, 1043 Light Flesh, 1008 Deep Brown, 1006 Deep Orange, 1053 Leather Brown The rear of the box shows the following: American Cars of the Early 20th Century (3058) This set contains the following colours: 1010 Deep Blue, 2005 Black Primer, 1069 Extra Dark Green, 1068 Olive Green, 1066 Grass Green, 2003 Gloss Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: WWII US Armoured Vehicles (3062) This set contains the following colours: 1027 Gun Metal, 1041 Buff, 1071 Camouflage Green, 1072 US Dark Green, 2005 Black Primer, 1001 White The rear of the box shows the following: WWII Imperial Japanese Navy (3064) This set contains the following colours: 1049 Medium Rust, 1036 Neutral Grey, 1047 Matt Red, 1038 German Grey, 2004 Grey Primer, 2003 Gloss Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: German Civilian Cars of the 1930s (3065) This set contains the following colours: 1046 Blood Red, 1040 Beige, 1002 Black, 1024 Silver, 1010 Deep Blue, 2003 Gloss Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: Medieval Warriors (3066) This set contains the following colours: 1025 Natural Steel, 1026 Oily Steel, 1058 Tan Earth, 1053 Leather Brown, 1017 Gold, 1019 Rusty Brass The rear of the box shows the following: Ancient Warriors (3068) This set contains the following colours: 1024 Silver, 1020 Bronze, 1047 Matt Red, 1019 Rusty Brass, 1026 Oily Steel, 1053 Leather Brown The rear of the box shows the following: WWI German Aviation (3069) This set contains the following colours: 1001 White, 1002 Black, 1046 Blood Red, 1056 Light Earth, 1072 US Dark Green, 1076 Deep Sky Blue The rear of the box shows the following: Napoleonic Wars (3072) This set contains the following colours: 1006 Deep Orange, 1007 Deep Red, 1009 Deep Green, 1017 Gold, 1028 Offwhite, 1077 Dark Blue The rear of the box shows the following: Leopard Tanks (3073) This set contains the following colours: 1070 German Field grey, 1039 Rubber Black, 1026 Oily Steel, 1028 Offwhite, 2005 Black Primer, 1052 Hull Red The rear of the box shows the following: ’Flak Bait’ B-26B (3074) This set contains the following colours: 1002 Black, 1036 Neutral Grey, 1068 Olive Green, 1071 Camouflage Green, 1072 US Dark Green, 2004 Grey Primer The rear of the box shows the following: Black Hawk US Helicopter Acrylic Paint Set (3067) This set contains the following colours: 1002 Black, 1033 Sky Grey, 1038 German Grey, 1056 Light Earth, 1072 US Dark Green, 2003 Gloss Varnish The rear of the box shows the following: Hochseeflotte WWI Imperial German Navy (3075)) This set contains the following colours: 1047 Matt Red, 1034 Dark Sea Grey, 1056 Light Earth, 1008 Deep Brown, 1033 Sky Grey, 2005 Black Primer The rear of the box shows the following: Wargame Colour Set #1 (3076) This set contains the following colours: 1007 Deep Red, 1003 Deep Yellow, 1044 Basic Skin Tone, 1025 Natural Steel, 1010 Deep blue, 1042 Pale Sand The rear of the box shows the following: Luftwaffe Night Bombers (3085) This set contains the following colours: 1071 Camouflage Green, 1069 Extra Dark Green, 1074 Pale Blue, 1039 Rubber Black, 1037 Dark grey, 1002 Black The rear of the box shows the following: Conclusion The paints were excellent through the airbrush with nothing in the way of drama during the testing process, including the metallics and varnish. The solid colours also brushed out very well, as did the varnishes. There is a little less paint in the bottles than some brands, but a shade more than others, so it’s about average. That is more than offset by the very reasonable price they’re asking for the set, even at RRP. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Hey everyone! I really enjoy building captured, stolen, or exported aircraft — basically, planes wearing markings that don’t belong to their original country. There’s just something visually fascinating about that contrast. I recently posted my MiG-15 in US markings here, and today I’d like to continue that theme with another build I finished back in 2023 — the LaGG-3 from ICM in 1/48 scale. As soon as I came across historical photos of a LaGG-3 bearing Japanese hinomaru markings, I knew right away I had to build it. I used the ICM kit — not a great one, but at the time there really wasn’t an alternative, as Zvezda hadn’t yet released their new LaGG-3. I upgraded the model with photo-etched parts from Microdesign — including a colored cockpit interior and some exterior details. I also replaced the gun barrels: the machine gun was made from a syringe needle, and the cannon from a piece of Revell glue tube (I heated it up beforehand to get that natural heated metal color effect). On top of that, I added the mechanical landing gear position indicators and stretched a fine antenna wire. On some photos of the real aircraft, there’s an interesting contrast — some of the black camouflage patches look darker than others. I assume the darker ones were repainted by the Japanese, while the lighter ones are part of the original Soviet camouflage. I wanted to capture that look, so I tried to make the Soviet black areas appear more faded, and the Japanese black patches and yellow leading-edge stripes more fresh and vibrant — as if newly applied. To emphasize the wear on the original paint, I added chipping effects: bare metal chips on metal parts, and layered yellow primer and wood chipping on wooden areas (since these planes were primed with yellowish primer). The hinomaru decals I designed myself in Adobe Illustrator and had custom-printed. I think the result turned out quite unique and visually interesting. Can’t wait to hear what you guys think!

Ford A Gangster Car (24052) 1:24 ICM via The Hobby Company After the runaway success of the Model T Ford, it was eventually replaced eighteen years later by the more modern Model A, reaching showrooms at the end of 1927. It was produced until 1932, by which time almost 5 million units had been sold with various bodyshell options, although it was more likely referred to as coachwork at that time. The chassis ran a 3.3L inline four-cylinder petrol engine that could propel it to a maximum speed of around 65mph, which might seem a little slow to today’s motorists (unless they’re on modern British motorways strewn with cones for no discernible reason), but with only drum brakes slowing each wheel, it was probably for the best. The more standard bodied variants of the Model A was available in two- or four-door formats, and the gearbox gave a single option of a three-speed unsynchronised (crash) gearbox, plus one reverse gear. Due to the difference in controls that were offered by most competitors by this time, the previously quirky and individualistic layout of the driver’s controls were standardised to clutch, brake and accelerator pedals left to right on the floor, and a shifter in the centre for gear selection. It was replaced by the Model B after ‘32, and just to carry on confusing people, the Model 18. The A was a prime choice for criminals that could still roam around America robbing banks and carrying out daring and sometimes foolhardy raids that gave a few a kind of Robin Hood-style notoriety, free from the threat of Police in fast cars, monitoring by CCTV, and airborne tracking that led to the reduced uptake of bank robbery as a career path for the majority of modern criminals, especially if they wanted to stay free, or in many cases within the US where guns are routinely carried by Law Enforcement, alive. The Kit This is a new boxing of a recent tooling in this scale, with more variants likely to come. The kit arrives in a top-opening box with a captive lid on the bottom tray, and inside are ten sprues in grey styrene, a clear sprue, a bag of five flexible black tyres with short lengths of runner still attached, and a small decal sheet that is slipped inside the colour instruction booklet that is printed with a glossy cover and matt paper inside, having a colour profile on the back cover. Detail is up to ICM’s current high standards, portraying the full chassis, engine, interior and bodyshell in glorious detail, plus a removable soft-top that can be fitted or removed at will once complete. Construction begins with the main chassis rails that are set apart by five cross-members of various shapes and widths, adding bell-housings near each end, L-shaped front bumper supports, and a steering column with box at the bottom end attached to the left chassis rail, as this is a left-hand drive model. The engine block is made from two halves and a sump, making the transmission and clutch housing from four parts, emplacing the cylinder head, and ancillaries such as the generator, fan & belt, and the exhaust manifold, bringing the sub-assemblies together before it is inserted into the front of the chassis along with a long drive-shaft to the rear axle, which has the differential moulded-in to slot between the two axle stubs moulded into the chassis. The front axle with short laterally oriented leaf-springs is fixed to the front cross-rail, and a two-part exhaust with tapering muffler is slung under the chassis, mating with the down-pipe of the manifold. Rear drum-brakes have small parts fitted to their rear before they are glued to the ends of the axle, adding small pivots and more L-shaped supports along the outer length of the chassis rails, plus a brake actuator rod that fits to a pivot. The front drum-brakes are single parts, adding links to the axle, and more control rods running down the outer faces of the chassis rails, plus an extension to the chassis, and two diagonal supports under the rear on either side of the drive-shaft. Three more control rods attach to the brake drums and pivots, linking the hubs together, and adding a V-shaped damper bar between the two ends. By this time wire-wheels were available, and this kit has five made from two styrene parts that are joined together, trapping a flexible black tyre in position, sliding four of them onto the ends of the axles, and leaving the last for the spare later in the build. The bodyshell is made by fitting the combined arches and running boards that have their texture removed and made good to a tapering floor, and strengthening the assembly by adding another layer on the underside, sandwiching the sides between the two layers. This is carefully mated with the chassis, making a small three-part fairing for the front of the car under the radiator, taking care to arrange the two triangular parts with the slots on the outside. The firewall is augmented by adding a diagonal kick-board, steering column, lever and foot pedals, plus a stylish dashboard with lower fairing that slots into place horizontally, applying decals to the central instrument binnacle after choosing a colour to paint the assembly, depending on which colour option you have chosen. Panels are made up from dual layers, fitting to the sides of the firewall and supporting the dash, with a scuttle to the top, a filler cap for the fuel tank, and dash pots on the engine side, fitting it to the growing assembly at the front of the floor. Three foot pedals are mounted on holes in the kickboard, adding a steering column and lever on each side of the floor, installing it at the front of the cab area with a central lever. The body’s side panels are fitted with three interior cards per side, adding handles and a rear panel that is best placed on the floor pan during curing of the glue to ensure it sets straight, mounting a three-part radiator and housing to the front, with engine cowlings linking it to the rest of the bodywork, and a pair of catches on each side, plus the top-cowling that is moulded as a single part. The front and rear bench seat cushions are layered from three parts each, and are located on L-shaped raised marks, fitting a rear shroud to the front seat to support the back, which is a single part, and has a pair of tapered arms added to the sides of the shroud, painted to match the seat cushions. The same style of rear cushion is fitted to the back seat, supported by the rear of the bodyshell, but without arms, mounting the steering wheel and control stalks on the column, and the gear shifter on the transmission tunnel. A two-part rear-view mirror is fixed in the centre of the clear windscreen, adding a wiper motor casing to the top frame, which operates the single wiper that is moulded into the windscreen part. The remaining wheel is mounted on a back-plate with a diagonal tube that links it to the back of the car, adding short double-rail bumper stubs, light clusters and an optional number plate holder to the sides, and side-lights on the rear corners of the bodywork. The front of the car is finished off by a full-width bumper, a pair of headlights with clear lenses, horn and optional number-plate on a curved rod that is placed between the forward arches, adding a pair of clear wind deflectors to the sides of the windscreen, completing the vehicle by building the removable roof from top and rear segments with a small window in the latter, making a frame from five parts that hold it to shape when it is in position between the windscreen and the rear of the car. This car’s usefulness to the American Gangster was partly because it had plenty of seating room, and a turn of speed that increased their chances of escaping justice if they could get it started in time. The new sprues include a pair of Thompson “Tommy” guns, one with a stick mag, the other benefitting from the high ammo count of a drum magazine, both separate parts to the main weapon. Two three-part loot bags are also included of a design typical for the time, with a pair of handles at the top, and a studded underside that is a separate part, fixed under the two-part upper that is moulded that way to include the handles. A brace of 1911 pistols are also on the sprues, although because there aren’t any build steps to follow, it isn’t featured in the instructions, but appears on the profiles page along with the other accessories. Markings There just one option depicted on the decal sheet, as Gangsters often chose a black car for the sheer malevolence of it, and it was a common colour at the time. From the box you can build the following: There is a printed newspaper page from the time next to the profiles that you can fold according to the instructions printed nearby and place somewhere within the vehicle to add a little candid gear to what’s already included in styrene. The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. As is common now with ICM kits, there is a page of the instruction booklet devoted to the masking of the windscreen, using the printed shapes on the right of the page and the diagrams on the left to create your own masks if you wish. Mask shapes for the rear window and deflectors aren’t included, as they can be left off until after painting to avoid ruination by overspray or errant brush-strokes. Conclusion Modelled in the dominant scale for vehicle kits, this Gangster’s get-away car is even supplied with some bullet-hole decals for that “just escaped” look, and includes everything but the criminals that drove it. Good detail, and the extras really make it clear that it’s a car used for nefarious deeds. Highly recommended. Available from all good model shops now. Review sample courtesy of via importers

After the giant 1/35th kits (link), ICM is to release in 2025 1/72nd Sikorsky CH-54 Tahre kits. Source: catalogue 2024. V.P.

In 2024 (originally in Q4 2023, but...) , ICM is to release a 1/32nd Henschel Hs-123A-1 kit - ref. 32014 Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ICM32014 Box art V.P.

Well here's a bit of a first: I'm possibly the first to start a WIP thread on this model. I don't often do WIPs, let alone the first on a new kit, but there's a first time for everything. One caveat though: I may be the first to start a WiP, but it is quite possible someone may beat me to producing a finished model. Anyway, here we go. This arrived Saturday, and I started it Sunday, again something of a record. It does mean it has not known the coziness of settling down into the stash for a long sojourn before being built, but it will have to live with that. So, the boxtop. I'm afraid I didn't bother with sprue shots, but leapt straight into it. This is one of those rare times when the box art actually drew me to the kit, even though I do have a liking for the subject anyway. I generally start by labelling the sprues with tape for easy ID, and removing a lot of "clutter" from the box by taking the main airframe parts - wings and fuselage parts - off the sprues immediately. There's a little matter of cockpit detail to go into the fuselage, but I did leap ahead in the instructions' build sequence to clean up and glue the main wing parts. The fit is excellent - the seams almost don't need any clean-up whatsoever. I did remember to drill out the hole in the top wing centre section as indicated in the instructions - I don't often. The plan is to do option 4, mainly one green on the upper surface, with the instructions indicating the top wing in pre-war three-colour camouflage. The third option, the boxtop subject, is tempting as well, and I may well try my hand at a winter white finish. I've been corresponding and talking with a friend who is very into this type. First, as would be logical from the time period, the cockpit interior would have been RLM 02. Secondly, the question of pre-war three-colour splinter camouflage on the top wing of two of the options. Apparently the entire production run of Hs 123 A and B models emerged from the factory in the three-colour splinter, and thus any machine in a different scheme has undergone repainting. Sometimes the top wing was left "as is": it was rare, but did happen. There is a photo (sorry, can't share) showing the fourth option (<4+-); such is the angle of this that it could be interpreted as showing the early camouflage on the top wing, or equally could be light effects on a single colour. I'm ambivalent - if I do this one I am inclined to do the three-colour camouflage purely as it will add interest; but then again, I may do the single colour. Decision to be made later. And that's where we are, except that I've just ordered up a set of generic "Luftwaffe Fighter" seat belts, given that there are none specifically for this type - yet. More when there's more to show. Please feel free to tag along, no need to ask permission

Henschel Hs.123A Legion Condor (32016) 1:32 ICM via The Hobby Company Designed as a successor to the Heinkel He.50, the Hs.123 was a stop-gap that was intended to serve with the nascent Luftwaffe until the highly anticipated Junkers Ju.87 Stuka was ready for production. Although it was developed in competition with a Fiesler design for the same contract, it was established early on that the Henschel design was far superior, so work on the less-streamlined Fi.98 was eventually dropped. The 123 was a sesquiplane design, having substantially smaller lower wings attached directly to the fuselage, while the upper wing was suspended above the fuselage on simple, strong interplane, and finer cabane struts, requiring no drag-creating rigging to maintain structural rigidity. It first flew in April of 1935, but after losing two of the four prototypes due to structural failures whilst executing high-speed dives, the centre-section struts were strengthened to prevent this happening, after which it was cleared for production. The Hs.123 was well-liked by pilots, and as such quickly eclipsed the He.50, which went out of service quickly with front-line squadrons, relegated to dive-bomber training schools, only to have one last gasp as night intruders on the Eastern Front in 1943 where they served for a little over a year until disbanded. The initial Hs.123A-0 were little more than pre-production test airframes, used by the Luftwaffe for evaluation, followed quickly by A-1s that were modified with headrest and cockpit armour, and removable spats, plus fairing around the tail-wheel. The A-1s saw little active service initially, until they were sent to assist the Condor Legion in Spain, where they were disliked in the dive-bomber role due to their relatively light bomb load, which was complicated by their comparatively short range, requiring the use of a disposable drop-tank in the belly position that was originally intended to carry a larger bomb on a crutch. Instead, the bombs were carried on four pylons under the wing that gave a maximum load of 200KGs, which was insufficient for a dive-bomber intending to destroy infrastructure or armoured targets. Where it excelled however was as a ground-attack aircraft where the 50KG bombs could be used effectively against personnel and soft targets, while the airframe could soak up punishment from incoming fire that would have destroyed other aircraft, limping home to fly another day, and more importantly bringing the difficult-to-replace pilot back to carry out more missions. They were known as the ‘Angelito’ or Little/Dear Angel by the Spanish, who ordered another batch of airframes to complement their existing stock. The Chinese used a small number as dive-bombers during the Sino-Japanese war in the run-up to WWII, whilst the remaining airframes in German service were used in Poland, carrying out their role effectively where its ruggedness paid dividends both in the air and on the ground, as it was also easy to maintain and repair. Although generally considered obsolete by the Luftwaffe by the outbreak of WWII, they remained in service during the other Blitzkrieg operations that led to the conquest of France, where they impressed with their high availability for back-to-back missions, taking little time to re-fuel, re-arm and carry out minor repairs. They were effectively retired after France fell, as their short range meant the Channel was an insurmountable obstacle, and yet their service was not ended there, as thirty-two of the thirty-nine Blitzkrieg veterans were still airworthy, so were assigned to work in the Balkans campaign, then on to Operation Barbarossa. They were modified to remove the spats to prevent mud, ice and snow blockages, fitting more armour around the cockpit, and suspending a further two machine guns or cannons in pods under the wings. The last airframes were taken out of service after the battle of Kursk, the squadrons having finally received their Junkers Ju.87s, only seven years after the intended in-service date, by which time the Stuka was also struggling to remain competitive against the Soviet enemy without fighter cover. The Kit The origins of this kit only stretch back to 2024, so this is a genuinely new tooling, and is the third boxing of the kit so far. The kit arrives in a medium-sized top-opening box with a captive flap on the lower tray, and inside are eight sprues of grey styrene, a small sprue of clear parts, a decal sheet, and instructions that are printed in spot-colour on glossy white paper, with colour profiles of the decal options on the rearmost pages. Detail is good, and extends to finely engraved panel lines, raised access-panels, and engraved cooling vents, plus a well-rendered cockpit, bombs with or without retarded fuses, and a drop-tank for longer missions. Construction begins with the starboard fuselage half, which has details added to the sidewalls, a rear bulkhead and flashed-over half-hole reamed out for use later, linking the sides with the bulkhead over the next few steps, then building the seat with mounting bracket on the starboard, plus another with moulded-in adjuster on the port side. This is mated with the rear bulkhead, then the forward floor is detailed with a tube beneath it, and three-part rudder pedals on the top side, putting it aside while the lower instrument panel is detailed with levers and handles. The front bulkhead has the floor section fixed to form the footwell area, with the panel applied to the opposite side, and the two-part control column mounted to the base of the bulkhead, before gluing the completed assembly in the starboard fuselage half. The port fuselage half is prepped with more detail parts, then the two can be joined, trapping a two-part intake in the lower nose, and building the upper nose insert by inserting guns into their troughs with additional trough length added from extra parts, plus the upper instrument panel that is fitted with a gunsight and other parts under the coaming, fixing it in place with a cap at the front that forms the firewall behind the engine. A pair of cockpit sill inserts are fitted to the sides of the opening, then the model is inverted to add another insert to the rear fuselage that also traps a V-shaped support for the elevators in place. Further forward, the lower wings are made from full-span lowers and two upper panels that have recesses for the interplane struts, then these are mated to the remaining cut-out under the belly, dealing with the seams in your preferred manner. Elevator panels are made from upper and lower halves, fitting them to raised areas either side of the tail, mating with the braces fitted earlier. Their flying surfaces are installed later, after the engine is made. The full BMW 132Dc 9-cylinder radial engine is depicted by front and rear halves of the piston bank, adding a bell-housing with push-rods plus a deflector at the front, and intake trunk spider to the rear, trapping an axle inside the bell-housing by installing a circular stator frame to the front. Once painted (and wired if you’re brave), twin exhaust manifolds are added to the rear, permitting the motor to be mounted on the firewall, locating it using two asymmetric plugs to ensure it is correctly oriented. Once installed, two sets of additional intake and exhaust trunks are inserted, the intakes mating the spider with the duct under the nose to complete the assembly. The engine cowling is made from nine sections, beginning with a flattish lower portion, then working up both sides until the cowling is complete, resting the forward lips on the stator at the front of the engine. A small outlet is fitted under the nose, and two ports are applied to the top two cowling panels to let the bullets pass through unfettered, leaving the interruptor gear to avoid smashing the prop blades as they pass. The reason for the many facets of the cowling is due to the close-fitting design that necessitated teardrop fairings on the outer surface to clear the cylinder heads. The open cockpit of the Hs.123 would have been a boon in the warm climate of Spain, but the converse was true when it went to the Eastern Front, the pilot having only a three-panel screen to deflect the blast of the oncoming wind. This is represented as a single part, and is glued into the front of the cockpit cut-out, with the facility to make your own masks by tracing the shapes printed in black at the end of the main instructions, cutting tape sections to match. You will also need to mask off the open part of the cockpit, ensuring that paint can’t get to the inner face of the canopy. A protective piece of tape cut to size and attached to the inner face of the windscreen would be useful here, as it will be easy to remove after main painting thanks to the open canopy. The empennage is completed with two-part rudder and elevator flying surfaces, which have actuator linkages applied once the glue has cured, which will need adjusting if you have elected to deflect any flying surfaces, either lengthening or shortening the rods as appropriate. The robust interplane struts are each single parts, as are the Z-form cabane struts, all locating in sockets, but it would be wise to first make the upper wing from its two main parts, puttying a hole in the centre, and using that without glue to ensure that the struts are correctly aligned before the glue cures. The aileron cut-outs have a portion of spar fitted to the openings, providing the hinges on which to mount the two-part ailerons, which can be deflected if you wish. There is no rigging to be done, which will please anyone phobic about the process, and as such there aren’t any rigging diagrams. You will however need to portray the antenna wire that leads to the tail, which you can see on the kit box art. Fixed landing gear is always easier to build than retractable, and reduces the choices unless your model can be displayed with or without spats. This boxing is fully spatted due to its era and location, and even the tail-wheel has an aerodynamic fairing. The main gear is built in two steps, making the wheels from two halves, then mounting them between twin yokes, with a short mudguard affixed to the rear, and backed up by another yoke with support struts to the rear. The upper portion of the leg is faired-in by two aerodynamic parts, followed by a two-part spat with oval fairing at the front that requires the removal of an arc from the support struts, a task that is best done prior to assembling the legs. The completed main gear units are attached to the lower wing in recesses, adding an attachment shackle for a two-part drop-tank in the next step. The tail-wheel is a single part trapped inside a two-part fairing and glued into the fairing under the tail. Each lower wing holds two bomb pylons that are each two parts, attached by pins to holes in the wing surface, followed by a pair of crew access stirrups that fit in holes in the trailing-edge root fairings, and a short length of stretched sprue is mounted under the engine cowling, with a T-shaped antenna on the upper spine, finishing the build with its two-bladed prop. You have a choice of bomb load for your model, building four from two halves plus perpendicular fins and four “screamer” tubes attached to the fins. The same build process is carried out with the retarded bombs, which use different body parts that have an extended fuse actuator in the nose to detonate above ground and perform what became known as daisy-cutter operations. Your choice of bombs is fitted on the carriers under the wings. Markings There are three Legion Condor options included on the decal sheet, complete with black circles with and without white crosses, plus black or white crosses that helped avoid friendly fire from other Fascist units. From the box you can build one of the following: Hs.123A 24*3, VJ/88, Legion Condor, Spain, 1937 Hs.123A 24*4, VJ/88, Legion Condor, Spain, 1937 Hs.123A 24*5, VJ/88, Legion Condor, Spain, 1937 Decals are by ICM’s usual partners, 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 welcome release of this short-lived precursor to the Stuka, in some interesting pre-war Legion Condor schemes, and some excellent detail in the cockpit and exterior. Highly recommended. Available from all good model shops now. Review sample courtesy of via importers

In Q4 2023 Q1 2024 ICM is to release a 1/48th Martin B-26B Marauder kit - ref. 48320 Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ICM48320 V.P.

Montgomery’s Office with Staff (35604) 1:35 ICM via The Hobby Company Bernard Montgomery was born in 1887, and grew up with his family, who moved around during his early life, but had returned to live in London by the time Monty, as he had become known, was old enough to join the British Army, studying at Sandhurst, where he was apparently close to expulsion due to his extremely aggressive and belligerent behaviour. By the outbreak of WWI he was a temporary Captain, and was shot in the chest by an enemy sniper, puncturing a lung, with a subsequent round damaging his knee, enforcing a lengthy period away from the front lines while he recovered. He rejoined the fight, having been promoted to Brigade Major, taking part in several well-known battles before the Great War ended, by which time he was a Lieutenant-Colonel, although he reverted to Captain (Brevet Major) the year following an end to hostilities. He stayed with the army between the wars, reaching the rank of Major-General by the time hostilities recommenced, serving with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) during the Battle of France. The offensive training he had insisted on doing with his troops before battle commenced in earnest paid dividends, although they weren’t involved in the heaviest fighting, returning to the UK relatively intact. Whilst at home he upset the War Office by his forthright criticism of the BEF’s overall performance, but was nevertheless put in charge of anti-invasion defences of areas of the South of England, where he antagonised the overall commander, which may have accounted for his switch to another location, but at all times he was training his troops for the forthcoming battle, even after the invasion of Britain became unlikely. He was given command of the North African campaign in late 1942, where he performed well, endeavouring to fight the enemy as a unified force that involved cooperation between Army, Air Force and Navy, supported by Prime Minister Churchill, who was a staunch advocate of his. During his time there he was promoted to full General, and was eventually victorious over the Axis forces in Africa, after some set-backs that are overshadowed by the victories. He then went on to fight in Italy, where he was critical of the lack of coordination between disparate units, and was engaged in intense fighting that saw the Germans retreat from one defensive line to the next, inflicting heavy casualties on his men. He returned to Britain in early 1944, relieved to be away from a campaign that he once described as a ‘Dog’s Breakfast’, which for those unfamiliar with British slang, generally means a complete mess. Despite his often-abrasive personality, Monty had his champions, and was heavily involved with the D-Day landings and ensuing fighting to free France from the clutches of Nazi Germany, where he again faced his old enemy Rommel, who he knew from the North African campaign, finally breaking out from the Normandy beachhead and fighting their way across France with frequent difficulties that were eventually overcome, often at great cost in men and machinery. Perhaps the most famous set-back was the Allied defeat during Operation Market Garden, the legendary “Bridge too Far”, which he continued to assert for the rest of his life could have succeeded with adequate support, although he did concede that it was also his worst mistake. Monty’s command of elements of the US forces during the Battle of the Bulge led to resentment from US command staff, which lingers today, repeated and amplified over the years, outshining his many successes. His abrasive nature probably contributed to this, and he continued to be a thorn in people’s sides until long after the war was over, first commanding the British Army on the Rhine (BAOR), then serving as deputy to Eisenhower again with NATO until his eventual retirement in 1958. He died in 1976 at his home aged 88, and he is buried in Hampshire. The British Army remembered the usefulness of mechanising transport that it learned during WWI, so when war became likely, British companies such as Leyland were tasked with creating a modern truck chassis to be used in the forthcoming conflict. The Retriever was a six-wheeler chassis that could be outfitted with truck bodies, cranes, or even command wagon bodies such as that used by Monty during his campaigns in Europe and the Middle East, which now resides in the Imperial War Museum as part of their exhibition. It was a flexible type, and thanks to its 6-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine outputting over 70hp, it could carry a healthy 3 tonne load almost 200 miles before refuelling. Around 6,500 were made in total before the end of WWII, and many were put to good use after their military service in civilian use. The Kit This is a reboxing of a recent tooling from ICM, and is another in a series of kits using the same chassis, which already includes the early General Service (GS) cargo body that we reviewed, and Monty’s HQ boxing without figures that we initially missed. This is far from the standard GS Cargo, and arrives with extra sprues specific to its use in ICM’s usual top opening box with captive inner lid. Inside are fourteen sprues in grey styrene that includes a set of four figures that represent Monty and his command staff, five small clear sprues, seven flexible black tyres, a postage-sized fret of Photo-Etch (PE), and a modest decal sheet that is found inside the glossy instruction booklet with colour painting guide on the rear page. Detail is crisp, and slide-moulds have been used to add detail to the chassis rails, with the steering wheel having a delightfully crisp set of finger grips on the inside of its circumference. Some of the sprues are the same as the earliest boxings, using the same sprues included in the original figure-free boxing of the caravan. Construction begins with the ladder chassis, adding cross-rails, front suspension and the mounting point for the powered double rear axle, after which the Leyland engine is made up from a substantial number of parts along with the four-speed (plus reverse) transmission and ancillaries. With the block mounted between the chassis rails at the front, the exhaust downpipe and muffler are installed from below, with a scrap diagram showing the location of the downpipe once in place. The rear axles are mounted either end of a pair of large leaf-springs that pivot around trunnions under the chassis, and these are joined to the motor with drive-shafts as they are slotted into the springs from above, then several linkages are inserted in two stages to complete the bogie. The front wheels are free-wheeling, and have brake drums at either end of the steering rack that is made from either three parts or a single simpler option, which is then joined to the underside of the front springs and again linked to the chassis and steering wheel by rods. The rear hubs have brake drums added to the backs of them before they have well-moulded tyres slipped over the rim, while the front wheels have a flat back that joins to the drums already on the axle. Finally, the spare is fitted onto a three-part hub and fixed to a bracket, then it is further attached to a larger frame for stowing between the cab and office. The cab starts with a firewall and integral windscreen frame to which the instrument binnacle is added on the right (correct) side, removing two moulded-in details from the interior for some decal options, with the driver’s controls are attached to the right hand footwell, and wiper blades once the clear parts are in place. Canvas door covers are added in rolled-up tubes on each side of the cab, then the two floor halves are joined once the foot pedals and other controls are applied and some detail painting is done, mating them with the bulkhead once complete. The delicately moulded steering wheel and column with brace are slid in through the small hole in the footwell, and the engine cover is constructed from a fixed central section and two L-shaped life-up inspection panels that allow maintenance without removing the whole cab, adding a grab-handle to the moving parts for ease. What initially looks like a pair of stowage boxes at the rear of the cab are in fact the crew seats, which have short back rests on the rear bulkhead that is joined by a pair of short sidewalls with grab-handles and a shovel on brackets. A pair of curved mudguards are attached underneath the floor, then the lower cab is glued to the chassis over the engine compartment, with the radiator assembled from styrene with a PE grille, filler cap and a pair of PE branding badges top and bottom, the bottom badge having the option of a decal. With the chassis flipped over, a cross-brace is fixed across the chassis to stabilise the mudguards, the outlet for the exhaust is slipped through a bracket and joined to the back of the muffler, then it’s time to make up the fuel tank, which has separate end caps, and twin mounting brackets that allow it to fit into the space between the cab and load area alongside the spare wheel. This kit is of Monty’s mobile office, and work on the load-bed begins with two planked running boards with separate brackets aft of the cab, fitting a stowage box to the right-hand one. The cab is then covered by a canvas tilt on top, with side flaps aft of the doors, each having a small window fitted. Getting to the meat of the load-bed, an internal bulkhead has a choice of two or three picture frames fixed on small locating holes, which contain decals of photos of various German generals and higher-echelon commanders so that he could know his enemy. A bulkhead light is added, and the assembly is slotted into the floor, painting the floors of the two compartments different colours, fixing handles to the bathroom door, which you can pose open or closed as you wish with the help of a pair of scrap diagrams. A stowage area for the floor is made from four parts, adding an internal base of three large packages moulded as one, adding five more two-part packages to the top to complete it, then mounting the assembly on the right side of the office area, backed up by another five-part box, and another assembly in the bathroom that hides a lavatory in a box-shaped outer. A pair of L-shaped boxes are created from two parts each, adding handles to the doors, which when inserted into the rear corners of the floor, create more storage for the busy General. The office sidewalls are created from two layers, the internal layer having ribbing moulded into it, with space for window frames and more photo frames with their decals. The external surface has addition window frames and clear parts to complete the glazing. The left interior is bedecked with two folding benches that are fitted out with a pair of flexible lamps with separate shades and bulbs, a dual inkwell holder, strip-light, mirror, and a rectangular fitting nearer the front. A wall cupboard is also built from four parts plus handles to stage over the space between two windows, adding what looks like a pair of coat hooks high up on the wall, just to the right of the desks. Bringing the second wall in on the left allows the rear bulkhead to be made, with a door in the centre that has two clear panes in the top, and handle, adding it to the frame either open or closed. The front bulkhead completes the bathroom, adding a mirror, shelf, dual towel-rail, faucet and two-part wash hand basin, which is supported from beneath by two angle brackets, plus a quadrant of pipe for the waste water. A toilet roll holder, soap dispenser and towel rail are fixed to the right side of the bulkhead, and on the exterior, two beams are attached to the upper area, gluing the completed assembly to the front of the office. A corner cupboard is fitted to the floor of the bathroom that is carpeted by a printed green area on a page of the instructions, and a rug can be cut from the instruction booklet to depict the one used, on top of which is a ten-part folding chair that is made during three steps, adding a short shelf to the right of the desk. The office roof is a single large part with ribbing to the interior face, fitting two lamps and a vent to locations marked with recesses, then gluing it in place. Inverting the office sees two longitudinal beams with five C-shaped cross-braces slotted into the engraved grooves along its length, and five brackets, four of which have an L-shaped profile, one set per side. To each outer side of the beams are stowage boxes and diagonal mudguards, adorning the rear bulkhead with a roller shutter for the door, two brackets for a small shelf, an outer handle for the door, two C-shaped grab-handles to ease entry, and a looped bracket on the outer corners. Along the sides, each window is fitted with a rolled-up shutter, with a C-shaped guide beneath each window, repeating the same work on both sides. A bevelled four-part stowage box is made and glued to the front bulkhead over the cab, which would have smoothed the airflow over the roof slightly, in a similar manner to modern trucks sometimes use air deflectors. The completed office is then mated to the chassis, in preparation for the outfitting of the exterior of the truck, first with three-part headlights, two-part sidelights on short stalks, a horizontal “shelf” on the left of the grille, and a hose with hand-pump at the lower end, that indicates the over-cab box contains water for use of the staff, having a little faucet under the circular pump, which has a winding handle as a separate part. A manual starter handle is also inserted in a small hole in the front grille. A few decal option specific fitments are built during the final steps, their creation dictated by which period you have chosen. A four-part rolled-up canopy is made for the rear bulkhead over the door, with two supports slotting into the brackets and the ends of the awning, with another assembly depicting it deployed, using the same supports, but a new taut canopy to shade the door from the sun. Finally, a short ladder is built from two side rails and five treads, latching the finished item under the door’s frame. Figures This figure set from ICM depicts the general and his staff poring over a map somewhere behind the front-lines in Europe after D-Day, and was previously available separately. It consists of one large sprue of grey styrene, and a sheet of instructions that double as a painting guide, using arrows to point out part numbers, and red letter codes for paint colours that correspond to a chart under the sprue diagram on one side of the instruction sheet, which give colour names, swatches and ICM’s own paint codes. It also advises that their paint set #3054 is suitable for use with the figures, which includes six shades intended for use painting WWII British infantry. There are four figures in the set, one of which is Monty, plus three of his staff, one wearing a pair of headphones and carrying a notepad, most likely the radio operator. Two other officers are included, one holding a map folio and pointing, the other supporting the other side, while Monty looks on with his thumbs in his hip pockets and a tanker’s beret on his head. There is a reproduction map printed on the instruction sheet, with the instructions to cut it out and paste it into the centre of the folio, folded to fit. The radio man is bare-headed to accommodate his headphones, while the two officers are both wearing flat-topped hats typically worn by British officers of the period. The parts for each figure are found in separate areas of the sprue for ease of identification, and parts breakdown is sensibly placed along clothing seams or natural breaks to minimise clean-up of the figures once they are built up. The sculpting is typically excellent, as we’ve come to expect from ICM’s artists and tool-makers, with natural poses, drape of clothing and textures appropriate to the parts of the model. Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery consults with British General Horrocks (left) and Prince Bernhard (right) in Belgium in early September 1944. (Photo: Imperial War Museum.) Markings There are three painting options for Monty’s office, depicting major theatres in which he served during WWII, namely North Africa, Tripoli in Libya, and Germany. From the box you can build one of the following: North Africa, Autumn 1942 Tripoli, Summer 1943 Germany, Spring 1945 Decals are by ICM’s usual partners, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion Monty was a resourceful General with many successful campaigns under his belt, and the men under his command seemed happy to follow him anywhere. This rendition of his mobile office was a crucial part of that success, giving him a familiar place to plan and strategise. Detail is excellent, and the figures are faithful representations of known personalities, adding a little human scale to this busy vehicle. Highly recommended. Available from all good model shops now. Review sample courtesy of via importers

Hello, everybody! Starting with a new model(s)... well actually started with these a while ago, but due to a slow progress haven't yet published it here. The kit is ICM ANZAC Ford Model T 3in1 kit, of which I'm building two. I have a Microdesign PE sets for both of them, a GasPatch Models beautifully made Lewis gun set and one figure from D-Day Miniature Studio for now. There is a small diorama setting with those two vehicles and a few more figures in my mind. Here are all the goodies I have at hand. The mudguards and the frame are molded into one piece and have quite a few KO marks underneath that will not be visible really, but I filled these anyway. One thing I wanted to try is to make the front axle movable at least on one of the vehicles to make the setting more lively. It required some on-the-edge surgery, but turned out to be not as hard as one might expect, As both of the kits have double details for the axle and the steering parts it made it a lot easier to do. Underneath I added brake linkages and rods. Again - won't be much visible, but an the other hand, why not. To date I'm a bit more than on a halfway there with the engine compartment, that included some added wiring and replaced piping. Here is the thing with the details dry-fitted. And with another one that is disassembled. Cheers! Kristjan

Tupolev Tu-2T (72030) 1:72 ICM via Hannants Ltd. The Tupolev Tu-2 was a twin-engined, high-speed light bomber, comparable to the Junkers Ju-88 and, to a lesser extent, the De Havilland Mosquito. It was developed during the early part of World War Two and first flew in late January 1941. It entered frontline service in March 1942 and served until well after the end of the war. The aircraft was powered initially by two Shvetsov ASh-82 14-cylinder radial engines, a Soviet powerplant which could trace its origins back to a licence-built version of the famous Wright Cyclone. These engines gave the Tu-2 a maximum speed of 325mph and the ability to carry over 8,000lb of bombs. The Tu-2T ‘torpedonosets’ was a torpedo-carrying variant that was in testing at the end of WWII and was handed over to the Navy in that dedicated role in 1946, serving into the 50s in reasonably small numbers. The Tu-2 was well regarded by its pilots for its speed, manoeuvrability and ability to withstand damage, as well as its considerable load-lugging abilities. By the time production ended in 1948, almost 3,000 examples had been completed. Some examples found their way into the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force and saw action against the British during the Korean War. The last examples were not retired from Chinese service until the late 1970s. The Kit This is a re-release of a kit that has its origins back to 1997, although new parts have been added along the way with various reboxings and editions. While it isn’t high-tech and modern, it does have a lot of surface detail in the shape of engraved panel lines as well as raised surface details and rivets that are very fine and give the impression of the slightly uneven surface of your average WWII Soviet aircraft. Time has introduced a little flash into some of the parts, and although that will slow down production, it is preferable to short-shot parts any day of the week. The clear parts are also of a similar quality, although they should be adequate for most of us, being a lot thinner than many, even today. The kit arrives in a shallow top-opening box with captive lid to the under-tray, and inside are five sprues in grey styrene, a clear sprue, decal sheet and the instruction booklet, which is printed in colour with some pictorial steps to the build, and colour profiles on the rear pages. Construction begins with the cockpit floor, which is a long part with a downward slope toward the front and a pair of supports forward and aft. Seat, control yoke, rudder pedals and consoles are fixed to the floor, with a pair of crew figures added if you wish later, and the instrument panel attached to the fuselage when it comes time to close it up. Meantime, the twin ASh-82FN engines are made up, or rather aren’t, as they are negative space hidden away within the cowlings, covered over at the front with a ring of shutters. The cowling tube is made from two halves, with the lip and shutters added to the front, and the prop bracketed by front and back halves of the spinner and inserted into a central hole in the cowling. A washer holds it in position, and careful gluing should result in it being left able to spin. The two main gear legs and their wheels are built, with two halves per wheel, and three parts for the struts, while the tail-wheel has a split yoke, and a single wheel, attaching to a small shield-shaped bulkhead that fits the fuselage at that point. The gunner figure is cemented to his two-party seat on an insert that forms the bottom of the fuselage when installed. Completion of those assemblies mean it’s time to close up the fuselage, trapping a pair of long spars, the cockpit, instrument panel, radio shelf, three circular windows in each side of the aft fuselage, the tail-wheel and the pilot with his hunched-up buddy in a simple chair behind and to his left. Flipping the fuselage over shows that the underside is open, which is remedied by adding the mid-upper gunner on his ‘canoe’ and a bomb-bay cover, with another pair of inserts on the topside that leave a hole for the gunner and the tail assembly. The elevator is a single part with two-part rudders, and a fairing at the rear. Before starting to work on the wings, a number of holes are drilled in the inner wing lower panels to accept the torpedo shackles later on. The upper wing is glued to the spars and fuselage, then has the two lower wing sections and the engine nacelle halves added, with an exhaust ring secured inside the front of the nacelle. The landing gear assembly and power pod are both added, and the lower nacelle is built up from two parts to form an intake. A retraction jack joins some struts that were added earlier, and two bay doors are cut from a single part to fix on either side of the bay. Apart from a landing light under the port wing, the starboard wing and nacelle builds up in a similar manner. The glazing starts to see action at this point, with your Tu-2T starting to look the part. Under the tail is a window with gun projecting through, and two small bay doors for the tail-wheel, again cut from one part. A clear light also fixes to the very rear of the fuselage. The canopy has an antenna and machine gun inserted, with the bomb-aimer’s window in the lower nose, then another canopy is fixed over the mid-upper gunner with the addition of his gun and mount. A pair of tubular intakes are glued into the top of the engine nacelles, and an optional machine gun barrel in the leading edge of each wing root, then it’s torpedo time! Two torpedoes were carried under the inner wings of the aircraft, with the bomb bay housing an additional fuel tank to extend the mission range, which was generally longer over water anyway. The torpedoes are each made from two halves with a two-part screw trapped between the halves at the rear. The perpendicular fins are separate parts, and a shackle with contoured fixture is glued to the half-way point of the body, forming a rudimentary pylon that is augmented by a pair of vertical supports with struts preventing sway in-flight. A pair of photographic steps show how the torpedoes fit on the wing and against the fuselage. Markings There are three decal options available on the included sheet, all in different camouflage styles to appeal to a wide audience. From the box you can build one of the following: 5th Mine Torpedo Aviation Regiment, Black Sea Fleet, late 1940s 25th Mine Torpedo Aviation Regiment, Bulgarian Air Force 1950s Pacific Fleet, late 1940s The decals are printed by ICM’s usual partner and are in good register, sharpness and colour density, with some simple instrument panel and side console decals to add a little detail to the cockpit. Conclusion It’s not the youngest kid/kit on the block, but it should build up into a good model with some care, and now I’ve seen it carrying a pair of torpedoes, it makes me want one in my preferred scale. Oh, and it’s also given me an issue with typing the word 'torpedo' that I never had before. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Next kit selected from the stash is the ICM Ki21 1a Sally. This will be the first time I've attempted an ICM kit, the plastic looks good and the instructions look fairly comprehensive. I haven't decide if I should go for option one or four as yet. Also picked up a mask set as I didn't fancy masking all the 130 windows the Sally had. The clear parts look good with no distortion. Option 1 of 60th Sentai, China early 1939. Options 2 and 3, 58 and 14 Sentai, China 1940-1 Option 4, 105th Kyoiku Hiko Rentai (training flight Regt) 1942.

Dornier Do.217M-1 (48274) 1:48 ICM via The Hobby Company The origin of the Do.217 was the Do.17 ‘Flying Pencil’ as it was colloquially known, with a brief to extract more power from the engines, extend its range and give it a heavier bomb load amongst other improvements. The resulting airframe was sound, and left other early war designs in its wake, becoming known as a heavy bomber in Luftwaffe service despite it only having twin engines, a category of bombers they were continually short of throughout the war. It was also a versatile aircraft along the same lines as the Ju.88, and was adapted to many other roles like its predecessors, including the night fighter role, to which it was eventually well-suited, although it initially disappointed. Various engine types were used through the endless rounds of improvements, with radial and inline engines fitted in a seemingly random pattern throughout the aircraft's life. The 217E was the first of the production airframes, using BMW engines for level and dive-bombing roles, skipping to the K that adopted the stepless, all-glazed forward fuselage that had been deemed a standard requirement for the He.111 and later He.177, the design for the K very similar in shape to that of the 177. The K-1 was the bomber standard, adding extended wings and the capability to carry the Fritz-X glide bomb to the -2, and the -3 capable of carrying both the Fritz-X or Hs.293. A switch of engines to inline DB.603s saw the mark changed to M, while the sub-variants stayed the same, but with an extra 100+ horsepower under each wing improving performance, and probably reducing drag slightly thanks to the sleeker cowlings. The night fighters ran concurrently with the bombers, had a crew of three in an enlarged cockpit and solid nose sporting four MG17 machine guns and another four 20mm cannons in the front of the gondola for concentrated forward fire initially. The J-1 was disliked and the J-2 was little better, the upgrades still not enough to quell the complaints from the crews, leading Dornier to produce the improved N series, which eventually entered service in small numbers as the N-1 and N-2 variants before the type was phased out of service by mid-1944. The Kit This is a tooling revision from ICM, based upon the sprues from previous boxings, of which there have been many. This is the first time an injection-moulded kit of the M has been released, the previous option being a long out-of-production conversion kit for the aging Revell kit. As a modeller that enjoys German bombers, and has a long-standing liking of all-glazed cockpits, this hits a sweet-spot for me on a personal note, and anyone that is interested in the type will appreciate both the ease of creating this unusual variant, and the wide availability that it should now enjoy. The kit arrives in a standard ICM top-opening box with the usual captive flap on the lower tray, the lid decked with a M-1 flying high over broken cloud. Inside the box are nine sprues of grey styrene, two sprues of clear parts, a large decal sheet, and a thick instruction booklet that is printed in colour on glossy white paper, with full colour profiles for the four decal options on the rearmost pages. Detail is up to the standard of the other kits from ICM and the Dornier Do.17/215/217 range of kits with which we’ve been blessed over recent years. Construction begins with the well-detailed cockpit and fuselage, adding sidewall details to the two halves, and fitting additional details such as seats with supports, one on each side. The cockpit floor has a raised section for the pilot, to which the two-part bomb sight, a bulkhead insert, and the pilot’s five-part conformal seat, control column with separate yoke are installed. The completed assembly is inserted in the starboard fuselage half, adding a further stepped bulkhead behind it, and a stepped spar that slides through slots on the fuselage sides, linked to a smaller bulkhead behind the bomb bay by the bomb bay roof part, which has ribbing detail moulded-in, although it won’t be seen if you close the bay. The port side console has an instrument panel with two dial decals applied, plus another four-part swivel chair that is placed behind the main cockpit for the rear-facing gondola gunner. As the fuselage parts are brought together, a bracket is trapped in the tail wheel bay, dealing with the seams in your preferred manner before moving on. A new clear domed nose is supplied, widening the hole for the nose machine gun if you intend to fit the double, or zwilling MG81Z there. Your choice is slid through the appropriately-sized hole and is joined above by a two-part instrument cluster attached to the top frame with another decal, gluing it to the front of the fuselage at the same time as your choice of tail fairing is fitted, either with or without twin rear-facing machine guns. The rear of the nose gondola has a single machine gun slipped through the hole in the glazing, fitting it below and behind the cockpit to close the underside, building the tail-wheel assembly from a yoke with surround, and two-part wheel with radial tread moulded-in, which fixes in the recess under the tail. The bomb bay can be left closed by use of a single part to depict the twin doors in the closed position, or you can add extra parts to the sides of the bay along with a triple-laminated C-shaped bulkhead to the rear, and a choice of bombs from the included weapons sprues, which mount on simple crutches with moulded-in sway braces. The bay doors are formed from outer doors, plus a two-part inner door on each side, with a scrap diagram showing the correctly folded layout when the area is completed. The upper wing is full-span, and is glued over the fuselage and short spar, closing it by adding the separate lower halves, followed by the elevator and H-tails that all have separate flying surfaces, as do the wings, with separate single-part ailerons, all of which can be posed deflected to give your model a more candid appearance. The engine nacelles and cowlings are built first after cutting off the forward area marked in red if you wish to display the engines on the finished model, with three parts making up two bulkheads for both options. This of course is done twice before making the 1,750 hp DB603A engines, building them from two halves with lower insert between the cylinder banks, adding a top-cover, reduction gear bell-housing and drive-shaft to the front, then building the radiators from a C-shaped fairing with separate lip, adding the core to the interior, and fitting a splitter horizontally to the front, then making two upper fairings with a shallow intake and oil-cooler radiator, both assemblies added top and bottom to the front of the nacelles. If you are leaving the engines exposed, a more detailed set of parts go toward their make-up, adding cylinder heads, wiring loom, four-part oil cooler, intake and supercharger “snail”, followed by two engine mounts, and identical parts to both sides of the engine. A saddle-tank is placed over the bell-housing, mounting the engine in the shortened nacelle without the two fairings for the radiators. The enclosed nacelles have a supercharger intake horn and twin tubular flare-hider exhausts applied to the cowling sides, whilst both options are fitted with a four-bladed prop with spinner and backing plate, leaving them off until after painting if you are so minded. Main gear retraction jacks are installed into the bays from below before they are fitted to the wing, as are the twin main oleos, mudguards and the two-part wheels with balloon tyres. You can also add in the gear bay doors at this point if you’re a masochist, or leave them off until final assembly. The underside is completed by adding in the engine nacelles under the wings, and mounting the tail-bay doors to the sides, with a prism-shaped strake forward to complete the area. Flipping the model over shows the open cockpit, which needs the remaining detail parts adding before the glazing can be glued in place. A flying bulkhead or divider is inserted into the rear of the cockpit, adding a circular turret base behind it, then building the Pielgerat 6 (PielG.6) sensor and base to a hole in the forward section of the canopy, a pair of aft-facing guns on the rear “cheek” inserts of the canopy, each one fitted with a separate gun. The canopy can then be glued into place behind the nose glazing, adding the domed turret glazing and another machine gun in the larger hole at the rear of the glazing, plus an antenna mast on the wing behind it, with three more under the wings and on the aft fuselage, low down on the side. If you intend to leave the bomb bay open, the three last instruction steps show the three types of bomb that can be carried. SC500J, SD250Jb and SC250Ja can be fitted, all made from two halves plus a pair of perpendicular fins, braced by struts that link the fins, and in the case of the SC250Ja, a set of four “screamers” that cause the bombs to whistle on the way down to terrify their intended victims even more. The Jb and Ja bombs are options, using one or the other behind the larger 500kg units. Markings There are four decal options available from the decal sheet, with a variety of paint schemes, three using splinter on the upper surfaces, the other a crazy-paving variant. From the box you can build one of the following: 9./KG2, France, Summer 1943 2./KG2, Kolomye, Ukraine, early 1944 1.(F)/Nacht, Kastrup, Denmark, Spring 1945 2.(F)/Nacht (Presumably), Prague- Ruzyně, Czechoslovakia, 1945 Decals are by ICM’s usual partners, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. As is common now with ICM kits, there is a page of the instruction booklet devoted to the masking of the canopy, using the printed shapes on the right of the page and the diagrams on the left to create your own masks if you wish. It goes up to 54 thanks to the extensive glazing. Conclusion Another detailed kit of a lesser-known variant of the Flying Pencil and its relatives, filling a dwindling gap in the range that’s now available from ICM. An M-11 next? Highly recommended. Available from all good model shops now. Review sample courtesy of via importers

After the Do.17 (thread) ICM is to release Dornier Do.217 kits. Expected in Q4 2018 Q2 2019 a 100% new tool 1/48th Dornier Do.217N-1 - ref. 48271 Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ICM48271 V.P.

At the Moscow "Мир детства 2021" expo, ICM has announced a 1/35th Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe kit for 2022. Source: AlexGRD V.P.

Bronco NOGS (48306) 1:48 ICM via The Hobby Company The Bronco was conceived as a light attack, long loiter aircraft of modest size, enabling it to operate from unprepared fields and roads close to the combat zone. As so often seems the case, the final design turned out to be much larger and heavier due to the requirements of the avionics and ejection seats, thus limiting its use to conventional airfields. The twin boom prototype first flew in 1965 and was destined to serve with the US Navy, Airforce and Marines as a replacement for the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog & O-2 Skymaster. The Marines were the first to take the OV-10 into service as a forward air control platform operating both night and day missions. NOGS stands for Night Observation Gunship System, which was an upgrade that the Marine engineers applied to just two of their OV-10As, adding a triple-barrelled 20mm M197 machine gun in a turret slung under the belly toward the aft of the fuselage pod, slaved to a FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) turret under the nose. It could also designate its own targets with a laser, but despite working well in Vietnam, it was not approved for production, although some of the technology was incorporated into the later OV-10D, minus the gun turret. Whilst the Bronco is best known for its operations in Vietnam, it also served in later conflicts as late as the Gulf War before being retired from US service in 1995. The USAF received Broncos in 1968 and deployed the aircraft in the Forward Air Control (FAC) role, using smoke laying methods initially, and later using laser targeting designators. Eventually after extensive modernisation to the afore mentioned -D model with the addition of a FLIR turret and new avionics, another upgrade to the -D+ version that involved replacement of much of the avionics and further stiffening of the wings to enable it to carry more and fly harder. By this time it carried its own ground attack armament including rockets, machine guns and bombs, plus targeting equipment that gave it the capability of Light Attack Aircraft, and made it a frightening prospect for the enemy to see overhead. The last action of the Bronco in US Marine service was the first Gulf War, where a mixture of As and D+s fought side-by-side bravely carrying out the Forward Air Controller (FAC) task against enemy forces, although they did suffer some losses due to equipment inadequacies and possibly because of its relatively slow speed making it an easier target for the anti-aircraft assets of the enemy. Seven export contracts were signed with other foreign operators including Germany, Columbia and Indonesia, each having their own letter suffixes, but only a few airframes remain in service with civil operators or as warbirds after restoration by enthusiasts and collectors. The Kit This reboxing of a recent tooling from ICM that relieved our community from the trauma/burden of having to build the ancient Testors kit with its legendarily incorrect wings and nacelle locations, if you can remember that far back. After a short gap in new releases of this kit during which time a 1:72 was tooled, it has been partly retooled to reflect the changes to the standard A that began to resemble the D. It arrives in a standard top opening box that has a captive inner lid on the bottom tray, and inside are seven sprues in grey styrene, two in clear, a sheet of decals and a glossy instruction booklet with spot colour inside and glossy colour profiles on the back pages. The detail is still excellent, and the new parts match the original perfectly. The larger clear parts sprue is the same as previous boxings, and has been engineered so that they fit together as individual facets that are crystal clear, allowing the modeller to see their hard work in the cockpit, providing they don’t put any gluey fingerprints on the glazing during the build. Overall, it will build into an excellent replica of the aircraft. There is also a diagram containing templates for masking up the canopy in the rear of the booklet, which will be useful if you don’t trust your own masking skills or have the Eduard masking set that is available in single- or double-sided variants, the latter (my personal favourite) known as Tface. Construction begins predictably with the cockpit, starting with the crew seats, of which there are two. The base of the seats are made from an integrated lower and back cushion, while the backs are formed from a detail insert and launch rail, the pilot’s seat receiving an additional armour panel between it and the rail. The rear seat is glued to the cockpit floor, which has a bulkhead and a shelf moulded into the rear with two side consoles added, then a divider between the two seats is prepared with rudder pedals, instruments plus decal, and other detail parts. The front seat with its canopy-breaker “ears” is inserted into the cockpit, and side consoles are fixed onto the floor around him with control column and pedals on a lateral support. The console tops have detailed surfaces but no decals, which is a shame for those that don’t have steady hands. A bulkhead within the footwell of the front cockpit is created from several parts, and is fixed in place with the details facing forward, forming the rear bulkhead of the nose gear bay, then the pilot gets a well-appointed instrument panel with coaming and decal, plus two small parts sitting on top of the coaming. This is glued in, and more details are added to the rear shelf in the shape of equipment boxes that probably have blinking lights on the real thing, just in time for Christmas (at time of writing we’re on the countdown to Halloween). The cockpit is put to one side briefly while the crew nacelle is prepared with interior sidewall details, plus a separate internal frame that runs up the inside of the canopy. You are advised to align this with the canopy side panes, which both have a shallow internal groove running top to bottom, so it would be good practice to glue the parts, then immediately tape the canopy sides in place and align the frame with the groove, taping it in position until the glue fully cures. With the fuselage sides complete and painted internally, the cockpit can be secured inside and locked in place by bringing the two halves together with a front nosegear bay bulkhead and linking hose added into the nose, which has a new fuselage underside that adds the gun turret and FLIR recesses. Once the fuselage is closed and the seams dealt with in your preferred manner, a small insert is glued into the hole in front of the coaming, adding a pair of small intakes to either side, low down on the tip of the nose. Providing you have painted the front interior of the crew nacelle, the nose gear bay is already complete and just needs the main strut, a diagonal support that goes far back under the canopy, and a pair of bay doors. The weapons winglets weren’t present in this variant, presumably to avoid blocking the machine gun’s line of fire. Speaking of which, this is next to be made, starting with the breech, base and trunnions, totalling twelve parts in all, dropping the completed assembly into an armoured turret that is open at the bottom, and has a cut-out to accommodate the triple barrels. It plugs into the hole under the rear of the fuselage with an intake, adding another small nose gear bay door that fits to the diagonal leg, and the four-part nose wheel with separate hub parts that is first trapped between the yoke, which is then glued to the bottom of the nose strut along with the other half of the oleo scissor-link. I suspect this could be a weak point of the nose gear, so ensure you leave this to cure for a good while before attempting to put weight on it. The FLIR turret under the nose is a single part that is inserted in the depression, with the lens painted a light blue colour. The upper wing of the Bronco is a single full-width part that also has a section of the fuselage upper and the twin boom tops moulded-in, while the underside is in four sections. Before the two surfaces are joined, two spar sections are attached to the upper wing straddling the future location of the engine nacelles, and if you plan on adding wing pylons, there are a few holes to be drilled in the outer lower panels of the wings. All the flying surfaces are separate and the twin flap sections per side are made of three parts laminated together, while the ailerons are a single part to which are added balances and trim actuators. When completed, the six flying surface sections are fitted to the cut-outs at the rear of the wing unit along with a pair of actuators for the ailerons, a pair of exhaust deflectors on top of the engine nacelles, and a large sensor blister at the centre-rear. The wing assembly is then mated to the crew gondola, and the canopy is begun. The blown windscreen that offers the pilot such a good field of view has a clear sight fitted to the top centre before it is glued to the front of the cockpit, then it has the clear canopy roof put in place, bridging the gap between the windscreen and cockpit rear. The two canopy sides are next, and these parts are each single pieces, which doesn’t give the modeller the opportunity to prop the two access windows in the open position without taking their life in their hands and cutting the parts with a razor saw or fine scriber and a lot of trepidation. Aerocraft have stepped-in here with clear resin canopy openers and 3D printed actuators to help those of us that like to pose our cockpit open, myself included. Building of the two booms begins with the gear bays, which starts with the making of the gear legs that have two main parts and a Y-shaped insert that traps the lower section in place but leaves it movable unless you accidentally flood it with glue. Two more parts make up the suspension strut, which are also trapped in place by a V-shaped insert, and then glue is applied to the previously mobile joint, setting the correct angle for the leg permanently. It is glued to the stepped bay roof with several small parts, after which it is joined by the detailed sidewalls, rear bulkhead and another few parts to close over the rear of the roof and add more detail. The nacelle sides are joined around the bay assembly after drilling optional 1mm holes for towel-rail antennae, then they are capped off at the front by the intakes and propeller backing plate. Underneath, the triangular inserts with their many raised rivets are glued in carefully to fine-tune alignment, and avoid damaging that lovely detail. The two-part rudder is fixed to the tail, and an exhaust is made up from two halves, with baffles within that slots into a recess in the nacelle side next to an auxiliary intake. Align these carefully to minimise the join-line and check your references to get them right. This process if carried out twice of course, in mirror-image so your Bronco doesn’t fly round in circles. The large horizontal elevator panel is made from top and bottom surfaces plus the elevator itself, and this is slotted into position between the booms as they are glued into place under the wings. You might need to grow another hand or two to ease this process, or get yourself a jig like those offered by EBMA to help hold everything in place for this. Four optional deployed shark-fin spoilers can be glued onto their corresponding slots in the top of each wing if you wish, or leave them in the box for a clean look. The twin props have three short square-tipped blades moulded as one, with a front and rear boss, and take care to install the correct props on the nacelles, as the blades (and the turboprop engines within) are handed, spinning in opposite directions to cancel out the effect of torque steer, which can be lethal near the ground. A windscreen wiper and various sensor lumps are added around the fuselage, with more underneath, at which point you’ll notice that the main gear is without wheels. Each of these are made of a two-part wheel and two-part hub, with no weighting moulded-in, although that’s easily remedied by a quick sanding of a flat-spot on the bottom, just don’t overdo it so it looks like it has a puncture. The weapons are next, and they consist of two simple LAU-069A 21 shot rocket pods that are built from four parts, and are fixed to two wing pylons under the outer wing panels, both optional. The canopy is about as clear as can be, so it’s going to be important to mask it up before you inadvertently ruin the excellent clarity. Although masks aren’t included in the box, there is a handy template near the back of the instructions that you can place tape on and cut out masks for your use on the model. Each section is numbered and there is another drawing showing their location on the canopy. Markings There are four options in the rear of the instructions in two schemes, which is generous, given that there were only two airframes. From the box you can build one of the following: YOV-10D NOGS 155395, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, 1971 YOV-10D NOGS 155396, Naval Support Activity Binh Thuy, summer 1971 YOV-10D NOGS 155395, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, August 1973 YOV-10D NOGS 155396, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, 1975 Decals are printed by ICM’s usual partners on bright blue paper, with good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion It’s a niche Bronco that played an important role in the type’s development, the cannon under the rear is appealing, and it should build into an excellent looking model that is crammed full of detail. Very highly recommended. Available from all good model shops now. Review sample courtesy of via importers

Early Cobras had the UHF/VHF antenna (Part C52 in the kit) in the doghouse. Configuration A, B, and C in this TM illustration: Early Cobras were built with two landing lights in the nose Later, it was switched to a single one under the nose. However, this was retro-fitted to early aircraft and, in this case, both can be seen: Some Cobras had the bulbs removed from the clear nose and left clear while others were repainted: It is nice that ICM included both fin caps but there is work to do regardless of which you choose. If B27 for a very early aircraft, like this one below, you will need to remove the side bumps as they're not there since the position light is at the tip. It is molded solid but should be clear. If using B26, leave the bumps but you need to add the position light bulbs.

ICM is to release in 2016 two new variants from its Junkers Ju-88 kit. Already released: Ju-88A-5 kit http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234975682-148-junkers-ju-88a-5-by-icm-released/ - ref. 48233 - Junkers Ju-88A-4 - WWII German Bomber - released Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ICM48233 - ref. 48234 - Junkers Ju-88A-14 - WWII German Bomber - released Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ICM48234 V.P.