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US Helicopters Acrylic Paint Set (3026) ICM via H G Hannants Ltd ICM have recently released their own brand of acrylic paints on the market, and are creating some kit specific sets to go with their major releases, of which this is one. The set arrives 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 with 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 and a bar-code. This set provides the major colours to assist you in painting your recently released choppers, such as the new CH-54 Tarhe or the Cobra, both from ICM themselves, and you will find the following colours in the box: 1071 Camouflage Green 1072 US Dark Green 1001 White 1007 Deep Red 1027 Gun Metal 1011 Clear Red The paint is thick in the bottle, with plenty of headroom between the surface of the paint and the lip of the neck. I dropped a glass stirring ball into each bottle, and they took a few seconds to disappear beneath the surface, indicating their viscosity. On the rear of the pack is an example of the usage of these colours using the kit mentioned above, depicting both the big green Tarhe/Skycrane and the red/white Army Cobra scheme. During testing, 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. Apart from the varnish, the other paints all dry to a matt finish. Bear in mind that the spoons were prepped by a buff with a very fine sanding sponge to give them the best chance of adhesion. Using a brush, the colours cover well two coats with minimal brush marks visible. Conclusion The paints were excellent through the airbrush with nothing in the way of drama during the testing process, including the metallics and varnishes. The solid colours also brushed out very well, as did the varnish, but what happened to the Oily Steel is a mystery to me at this stage, possibly a bad mix, or some other oddity peculiar to my bottle or batch. 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

Soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (16104) 1:16 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd We all know the story by now of the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the war that has raged for just over a year at time of writing. We won’t go further with the discussion of that, but suffice to say, it has resulted in the mobilisation of a lot of brave Ukrainians to defend their country from this incursion, and those efforts are ongoing during the bitter cold of the winter that is more than a bit colder than those we have here in the UK. Stay safe, all of you! This figure as part of ICM’s range of 1:16 larger figures represents a soldier engaged in that conflict, however his stance is that of a man that is away from the front at least temporarily, posing for the sculptor in a relaxed manner, whilst still carrying his war-fighting kit about his person. The kit arrives in a shallow top-opening box, with the usual captive flap on the lower tray. Inside are two sprues of grey styrene, two in black, an instruction sheet and a glossy colour copy of the box art if you would like to display it in your modelling room or somewhere in your home as a symbol of support. The instructions consist of a sprue diagram, a paint conversion chart with ICM, Revell and Tamiya codes alongside the colour names and swatches, then on the reverse is a detailed trio of drawings of the soldier from three angles, complete with part numbers and paint suggestions for the part. A swatch of digital camouflage that is commonly used by Ukrainian troops is also given, although a chicken like me would be looking for some camouflage decals in 1:16, as I have done already for my 1:35 Ukrainian figures. The majority of the parts for the figure are on the larger sprue, including the packs and pouches that a modern soldier carries on his or her tactical vest with its MOLLE loops making everything modular. The figure is broken down in a similar manner to a 1:35 example, although the torso is split into front and rear halves to prevent sink marks ruining the crisply moulded detail, especially the patch on his chest that appears to be of a raccoon. The soldier is wearing a covered modern helmet that is moulded in two halves, and has a pair of goggles in a protective bag strapped to the front, with most of the strap moulded into the helmet halves. The chin-strap is separate and formed from three fine parts that gives you the option to depict it closed or open for a more candid look. The fingers of both the soldier’s hands are also separate, as his hands are draped over and around his AK-74 variant, which has a 40mm Underslung Grenade Launcher (UGL) beneath the weapon’s barrel. He is also carrying a slide-out portable missile launcher across his back, while his AK is fed by the ammunition within the pouches around his waist, which are joined by other pouches and bags, with two types of comms on his chest, and various other small accessories, including a handset for his radio, grenades, bayonet, knife, magazines for his AK, medical shears, and buckles. There is also a choice of an AK without a UGL, and next door on the sprue are the plastic portion of the knee-pads that fit over the moulded-in cushions and straps, plus separate boot soles with finely engraved tread patterns evident. The base is moulded in black styrene, and has a choice of four different surfaces for the top and a flat base for the bottom. The choices comprise a flat asphalt surface plus three styles of cobble or paving stones. Conclusion In line with the stylised flag on the box lid, a brave Ukrainian soldier sculpted in great detail in a natural pose and with realistic cloth drape, that coupled with sympathetic painting should give an impressive result. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

OV-10A Bronco US Marines (48305) 1:48 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd The Bronco was conceived as a light attack, long loiter aircraft of modest size, enabling it to operate from 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 aircraft first flew in 1965 and was destined to serve with the US Navy, Air Force 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 controller platform operating both night and day missions. 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 it carried its own ground attack armament including rockets, machine guns and bombs that gave it the capability of Light Attack Aircraft, and made it a daunting prospect for the enemy to see overhead. The US Navy used it in this capacity in Vietnam, although attrition was quite severe, and later in its service several airframes were used as testbeds for special operations, eventually being transferred to the Marines. Seven export contracts were signed with other foreign operators including Germany, Columbia and Indonesia, the very last of which will be leaving service in the near future after long service. The Kit A reboxing of a new tooling from ICM with new decals and some other minor differences, which arrives in one of their standard top opening boxes with the captive inner lid, and has eleven sprues in grey styrene, one in clear, two sheets of decals and a glossy instruction booklet with spot colour inside and glossy colour profiles on the back pages. Unpacking the sprues reveals the detail is excellent, and the booms have raised as well as engraved rivets on their surface, which is just as it should be if you check out any walk arounds that get close enough to the aircraft to see them. The clear parts have been engineered so that they fit together as individual facets, and 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 looks like it will build into an excellent replica of the aircraft. Construction begins predictably with the cockpit, starting with the crew seats, of which there are two. The base of the seats are made from the curved lower and cushion, while the backs are formed from a shell with two cushions, one for the pilot’s back, the other for the headbox. The two elements are brought together and a small part is added to the headbox, then different rear detail and a launch rail are added to the rear of them both. There are colour call-outs as we go along, and two warning decals are supplied for the seats, although these are shown applied to the cushions, which seems odd, but having checked some references, that’s where they go. Every day’s a school day! The rear seat is glued to the cockpit floor which has a bulkhead and a shelf moulded into the rear, then side consoles are fixed onto the floor around the seat with control column on a lateral support, and a throttle quadrant that sits on top of a raised portion of the port console. A divider between the two seats is prepared with rudder pedals and other details, then has a choice of either of two instrument panels added atop the flat section, based on your decal choice. These are well detailed and have dial decals for each option. The divider is glued in place, then the front cockpit is made up starting with the seat again, but with a different set of launch rail parts with “antennae” to the side of the headbox. He too gets a control column and floor-mounted rudder pedals, after which the seat is bracketed by side consoles that have detailed tops, but no decals which is a shame. A bulkhead for within the footwell of the front cockpit is created from several parts, and fixed in place with the details facing forward, forming the rear bulkhead of the nose gear bay. The pilot gets a well-appointed instrument panel with coaming and decal, plus a number of 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 festive twinkling lights on the real thing. The cockpit is put to the side briefly while the crew nacelle is prepared with interior sidewall details, plus an internal frame that runs up the side of the canopy. You are advised to align this with the canopy sides, which have a shallow groove running top to bottom, so it would be an idea to glue the parts, then tape the canopy sides in place and align the frame with the groove, taping it in place until the glue sets. With the sides complete and painted internally, the cockpit can be secured inside and locked in place by bringing the two halves together. Providing you have painted the front 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 underside of the cockpit floor is then covered over by a well-detailed underside panel that has recesses ready for the stubby weapons pylons, and has a small central strake added toward the rear. Here it will be key to align the nacelle skins before the glue sets to avoid having to make good later and risk losing any of that lovely detail. The weapons “wings” need four holes drilling in their underside if you are going to hang weapons from them, then they are closed around a small rectangular insert that the barrels later plug into, the wingtips are added, and each one has an insert applied to the leading edge that makes up the rest of the fairings for the weapons. These are glued into their recesses on the underside, and are fitted with shackles on the twin pylons on their undersides if you plan on using weapons. Another small nose gear door fits to the diagonal leg, and the four-part nose wheel with separate hub parts 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 set up for a good while before attempting to put weight on it. The addition of the optional four gun barrels to the winglets and a couple of sensors completes the crew nacelle for now. 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 panel 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 each 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 a good field of view has a sight fitted to the top centre before it is glued to the front of the cockpit, then 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 front two sections 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. No doubt an aftermarket company will step-in here. Building of the two nacelles 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. 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 forward 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 tail fins have fairings removed and smoothed off for one decal option, and are then joined around the bay assembly, capped off at the front by the intakes and propeller backing plate. Underneath, the triangular inserts for this variant with their many raised rivets are glued in carefully to avoid damaging that lovely detail. The two-part rudder is fixed to each tail, and an exhaust is made up from two halves, with baffles within. Align these carefully to minimise the join-line and check your references to get this right. A small intake is added to the side of the nacelle just forward of the exhaust. 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 nacelles as they are glued into place under the wings. You might need to grow another hand or two to make this happen, or get yourself one of those wonderful jigs like that of EBMA to help hold everything in place for this. Four optional 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 upper wing. The twin props have the three blades moulded as one, with a front and back boss, and take care to install the correct props on the nacelles, as the blades (and the turboprop engines) are handed, spinning in opposite directions to cancel out the effect of torque steer. 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 needs more air. There are two wing pylons on long supports to add to the outer wing panels if you chose to drill the holes in the underside of the wings, then it’s just a case of choosing which munitions you want to hang from them. There is a diagram showing which weapons can be fitted to which pylons, but if you’re aiming for realism, check your references to establish real-world load-outs for training and live-fire missions. In the box you get the following: 2 x LAU-33 twin rocket pods 2 x LAU-069A 21 rocket pods 2 x Mk.77 Incendiary bombs 2 x LAU-68 6 rocket pods 2 x 150gal fuel tanks 2 x Mk.81 Lowdrag iron bombs with optional daisy-cutter fuse 2 x Mk.81 Snakeye iron bombs with optional daisy-cutter fuse 2 x Mk.82 Snakeye iron bombs with optional daisy-cutter fuse 2 x Mk.82 Lowdrag iron bombs with optional daisy-cutter fuse 2 x LAU-10A 4 rocket pods The detail of the individual weapons is excellent, with multiple parts for fins, fuses and rockets, and only the seamlines to clean up along the way. 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 startling 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. Very handy! Markings There are five options in the rear of the instructions in various schemes, including plain and camouflaged options. From the box you can build one of the following: 155434 US Marine Corps., 1987 155434 Marine Observation Sqn. 1 (VMO-1), Spring 1990 155454 Marine Observation Sqn. 2 (VMO-2), Summer 1990 155465 Marine Observation Sqn. 1 (VMO-1),Saudi Arabia, 1991 155434, US Marine Corps., 1991 Decals are printed by ICM’s usual partners, with good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. The weapons all have stencils to apply, which are shown next to each profile, as their colours varied over time. There are also rear and white tip decals for the props, and the large wide T-shapes on the upper wings are also included as decals, as are the tapered exhaust gas “hiders” on some of the decal options. Conclusion The Bronco is an appealing aircraft, and this new boxing with a wide choice of schemes is an excellent looking model that is crammed full of detail, and widens up the market further for the Bronco loving modeller to include the US Marines. Very highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

My first build will be this ICM kit - I do love a twin boomer! Not too many parts in the kit, though they do look quite nicely moulded (lots on fine detail) Scalemates reckons it's a fairly recent moulding (2016), let's hope it all fits together well. The instructions seem clear enough and the decals should hopefully be fine (look a bit thick but not too many of them). I have a couple of aftermarket bits - some window masks to make my life easy with all that glazing and so PE to make my life hard! I'll be doing one of the in-box schemes, not sure which yet.

WWI US Infantry Acrylic Paint Set (3024) ICM via H G Hannants Ltd ICM have recently released their own brand of acrylic paints on the market, and are creating some kit specific sets to go with their major releases, of which this is one. The set arrives 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 with 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 and a bar-code. This set provides the major colours to assist you in painting the figures of the new WWI US Expeditionary Force boxed set from ICM themselves that you can find here, and you will find the following colours in the box: 1059 Green Ochre 1055 Deck Tan 1061 Green Brown 1050 Saddle Brown 1008 Deep Brown 2002 Satin Varnish The paint is thick in the bottle, with plenty of headroom between the surface of the paint and the lip of the neck. I dropped a glass stirring ball into each bottle, and they took a few seconds to disappear beneath the surface, indicating their viscosity. On the rear of the pack is an example of the usage of these colours using the kit mentioned above, by reproducing the drawings of the figures with arrows showing the appropriate colour swatches for each part. During testing, 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. Apart from the varnish, the other paints all dry to a matt finish. In past tests, the Satin Varnish 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 the best chance of adhesion. Using a brush, the colours cover well two coats with minimal brush marks visible. Conclusion The paints were excellent through the airbrush with nothing in the way of drama during the testing process, including the Oily Steel and Satin Varnish. 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

Sikorsky CH-54A Tarhe US Heavy Helicopter (35054) 1:35 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd With the advent of the helicopter, their ability to rise vertically into the air led them to lifting heavy loads, and by the end of the Korean War, there were already Heavy Lift choppers in service, most using piston-engines as their motive force, which was a limitation both in terms of power and reliability – a very important factor when you aren’t flying, but are instead beating the air into submission with your rotors. The peculiarly ungainly-looking CH-60 Mojave was reaching the end of its service life, and Igor Sikorsky had already identified the need for a very heavy lift helicopter with the S-60 that was powered by WWII era radial engines. The design was the basis for the Tarhe, but updated and given the more powerful and reliable turbo-shaft engines that were just coming into production. The engines for the nascent CH-54 were created in conjunction with Pratt & Whitney, adapting one of their new JT12 jet engines to their requirements. In an effort to keep the weight of the airframe down, the designers gave the Tarhe a cut-down skeletal fuselage, with only the crew compartment boxed in. This compartment also contained a rearward-facing cab that gave the crane operators an excellent view of proceedings, as well as limited control over the height and attitude of the airframe, due to the fact that the CH-54 had an early form of fly-by-wire that allowed the duplicating of controls in the secondary location, but with the effectiveness of the controls lessened to reduce the likelihood of accidents due to sudden movements caused by the crane-operator. The advanced control system also gave it such luxuries as altitude control, reducing the workload of the pilots during extended hovers. The US Army recognised the potential of the type after a short testing phase, who took over 100 airframes on charge that would see extensive use in Vietnam. A civilian version was created too, called the S-64 Skycrane, while in army service it was often referred to as just ‘The Crane’. Because of its size, The Crane was capable of carrying enormous loads that were hitherto impossible to lift vertically, if at all. It was able to carry a Sheridan Tank, an M101 Howitzer, or up to 90 fully kitted out soldiers in a passenger pod that could be slung under the skeletal bodywork. There’s some fantastic diorama fodder right there. The type was eventually withdrawn from service in the late 80s, as the airframes were ageing and Chinook was taking over in military service, finally leaving National Guard service in the early 90s. Due to their usefulness however, many of them were bought by civilian operators, especially Erickson Air-Crane of Oregon, who also took over type approval to ensure their ongoing airworthiness. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling from ICM, and while I initially rubbed my chin sceptically over the chosen scale, it makes an awful lot of sense when you consider what it can carry. It’s the first of its kind in this scale, and in fact we’ve not been very well served in any scale as far as the Tarhe goes, other than a really old kit in 1:72 from another manufacturer. It arrives in a long top-opening box with a wrap-around painting of the type in action, and inside are a deceptive two lower trays with the usual captive lids, all of which is held in by tape. Take care when opening the box, as it could surprise you when the second box drops out. Once the boxes are open, the sprues have been spread evenly across the two trays to reduce the likelihood of damage to some of the lovely detail that’s within. There are fourteen sprues in grey styrene, one of clear parts, a relatively small decal sheet, and a moderately thick instruction booklet printed on glossy paper with colour profiles in the rear. It’s difficult to get a feel for the scale of the finished model from the sprues, but the length is stated on the box of 774mm or 30.4” long, and 225mm or 8.9” tall. The width isn’t given, but each rotor is 28cm or 11” long, so allowing for the extra width of the centre boss it should be a little more than twice that wide. Detail is excellent, as we’ve come to expect from ICM in recent years, with finely engraved panel lines, raised rivets where appropriate, and crystal clear canopy parts, which will be very visible on the finished model. Without a shadow of a doubt someone will manage to create a diorama that uses the cables to support the finished model above its load to give the impression of flight, and if they also manage to make the blades rotate, they may just achieve modelling godhood. Construction begins with the stepped cockpit floor, which is kitted out with rudder pedals for both pilots, adding the instrument panel and supporting centre console with decals to the centre, then fixing collective and cyclic sticks in position, followed by the seats that are each made from rear frame, seat pad and back cushion, locating in holes in their adjustment rails moulded into the floor. Another seat is made up from a solid base and two cushions, gluing in position on the lower section of the floor, facing aft and forming the first part of the crane operator’s cab. A partial bulkhead separates the front seats from the rear, adding another to the side of the seat that has a small console with joystick sprouting from the centre. Another L-shaped column is added on the inner side, and a short frame with an instrument panel and decal attached to it at the side of the cut-out, which is fleshed out with a pair of curved bulkheads. At the front of the cockpit, the nose cone is mounted in front of the instrument panel, then the sides and underside of the cockpit structure closes in much of the area. Turning the assembly around, the rear is closed in with a panel that wraps under the edge, and under the crane-operator seat, a foot rest with twin supports is slotted into the edge. The back of the cockpit has a lot of glazing, starting with five radiused panes in the starboard corner, one more on the port by the crane-op’s seat, and a large wrap-around section enclosing the operator’s cab. Much of the fuselage of this behemoth is skeletal, and is built up as a separate assembly, including internal bracing to ensure your Tarhe doesn’t become a Droopee. The process starts with the underside of the fuselage structure, which is made from three overlapping lengths that have location grooves for the bracing that comes later. Firstly, the winch is made from two halves that form a drum, capped off with two nicely detailed parts that turn it into a bobbin, which is supported between two angled trunnions that are each laminated from three parts, and braced at one end by rods and by the bobbin at the rounded end. It is glued between two vertical braces that have two more braces slotted in across the front and rear of the winch bay, fixing two exterior panels to the end of the cross-braces, plus another that is slotted in nearer the front. Take care here, as there are two slots, and the aft-most is the correct choice. At the same time, a cross-brace that supports the main landing gear sponsons is added from underneath, and this slots into all four thicknesses, as does another short brace behind and one more in the front, making the assembly stronger, and once it is glued to the underside of the fuselage it should be very strong. On the tapering tail section two more bulkheads are shown being added, but in the next step a longitudinal brace is shown already fitted, which I suspect is part D11, but test fit to reassure yourself when you build yours. The two tail sides with moulded-in fin hides the tail internals, joining together at the tip of the fin, and secured by adding the rear surface, and cutting a raised area off the underside. The topside of the fuselage is then boxed in with three panels, the largest having a hole in the centre for the rotor head later. The full length of the beast can be seen for the first time now, when you mate the cockpit to the front of the fuselage, gluing the side extensions to the bare section to create one assembly. An overhead console is decaled and detailed with levers, and is fixed to the rear bulkhead of the cockpit alongside another, after which the cockpit roof is laid over the area, followed by the windscreen and side doors that give your Tarhe a face. Two small two-part “ears” are made up and inserted in recesses near the rear of the cockpit, as are a couple of other small humps and bumps, the uses for which will become clear later. On the port fuselage side, a thick trunk of cables is fixed to the side and overlaid by a pair of C-shaped assemblies that are each built from three parts. The CH-54 had long legs that allowed it to pull its loads close to the spine to reduce sway, and these are next to be made, starting with a pair of two-part wheels, and the sponsons that support them, each one made from four surfaces, plus the struts, which have a two-part sleeve around the upper area, separate scissor-links and two tie-down hooks, fitting to the end of the sponson by the flattened rear of the outer sleeve. The nose wheel is also two-part, and fits on a short oleo with a one-part scissor-link under the nose. The winch head is also two parts and is added to the winch mechanism while the main gear sponsons are slipped over the supports and the nose wheel is put in place. The tail rotor head is a complex assembly that should remain mobile after construction, made up from eleven parts and fitted on the back of the tail fin along with a small bracing rod at the front. There are also several external trunks added individually on the starboard side and down the leg sponsons, some of which are overlaid by a protective panel near the front, and yet more small lengths are dotted around all over the place, making for a complex, detailed surface that should look more realistic than moulded-in alternatives. The drive-shaft for the tail rotor is also external, and runs up the back of the fin through some additional brackets, and terminating at the bottom with a four-part universal joint. More scabbed-on panels are fitted to the back of the fuselage, and a pair of optional aerodynamic fairings are supplied for the sides of the main gear sponsons. This isn’t even close to the final layer of detail yet, but we take a break from detailing to build the main rotor head next. The rotor-head starts with a bell-housing that has two input shafts from the twin turbo-shaft engines, the main portion of which is two parts, plus two-part end caps that is then placed on a circular base, and has the shaft cover and ring fitted to the top, adding a number of actuators and rods to the side, plus a housing with pulleys and equipment that mounts on the back of the head. The basic assembly is then mated with the opening in the top of the fuselage, after which there are a host of small wires/actuators/hoses that link the two assemblies together. A scabbed-on box is fixed to the fuselage behind the rotor off to one side to accommodate the drive-shaft for the tail rotor later, and a bulwark slots into a groove just in front of the rotor-head, followed by the drive-shaft, which slots through a support and dives through the tail to emerge behind the fin at the universal joint. A two-layer cover is placed over the drive-shaft around half way back, possibly to protect it from blade strikes, but it’s not the only piece of equipment that is sited on the fuselage top, which includes what appears to be a radiator assembly and some kind of exhaust, both installed behind the rotor-head, an area that is getting busy already. More parts are added further enmeshing the various assemblies, then it’s time to build the two engines. The Pratt & Whitney engines are identical in make-up until they reach the exhaust stage, which is handed. The front section is made from thirty-five parts before the handed exhausts are made, each one a mirror-image of the other, and built from eight more parts. The motors are mounted on the top deck with an M-brace between them, adding a few more small parts around them, then building up two intake filter boxes from sixteen parts each, handed to each side, with a scrap diagram showing how they should look from the front. They mount in front of the engine intakes on the ears we made earlier, and have two Z-braces front and rear between them. There are four auxiliary winches for load stabilising placed around the front and rear sides of the fuselage, with a four-part assembly making each one, and locating on a pair of brackets moulded into the fuselage sides. More detail is applied to the cockpit in the shape of four clear lenses underneath, a towel-rail and blade antenna, two more externally routed wires around the rear, and crew step plus three ladder rungs on each side, with two more around the rear. Grab-handles, door handles and windscreen wipers are next, followed by yet more grab handles on both sides leading up to the cockpit roof. More aerials are fixed at the root of the tail boom, and at the very rear, a three-part bumper is fitted under the fin, then an asymmetrical stabiliser is mounted on the opposite side of the fin to the tail rotor. Most traditional choppers have two rotors, and despite its size the Tarhe conforms to that layout, and the tail-rotor is first to be made, starting with the two-part rotor base that accepts the four individual blades, and a two-part actuator crown in the centre. It fits to the axle and should be able to rotate if you’ve been sparing with the glue. That’s the easy, simple part over with, now you must do it again on a much larger scale and with six blades. Work starts with the axle, the lower end of which slips through a centre boss and is covered by the six-point star assembly, which has another smaller star fixed to the centre, six D-shaped inserts added to the tips, and T-shaped spacers added vertically to separate the top rotor “star” from the bottom. The top portion is made up identically to the lower apart from the spacers, then it is closed over the rotor holders after gluing them in place on the lower. Each blade holder then has its four-part actuator mechanism installed over the top, and the whole assembly is topped by a three-part spinner cap. The final act is to insert each of the six blades into the holders, then drop the completed rotor into the rotor-head. Markings There are two decal options on the sheet included in the box, and unsurprisingly, they’re both green. Many of the decals are for the blades, but there are also national and airframe markings, plus the instrument panel decals and some stencils. From the box you can build one of the following: 67-18420, 273rd Assault Support Helicopter Company, Vietnam, 1968 67-18426, 101st Airborne Division, Vietnam, 1969 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 This will make a superbly detailed model, and its size will draw some admiring or envious glances if you take it to a show. Detail is excellent, construction is sensible, and it is a new tool of this monstrous machine. Very highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Armed Forces of Ukraine Acrylic Paint Set (3025) ICM via H G Hannants Ltd ICM have recently released their own brand of acrylic paints on the market, and are creating some kit specific sets to go with their major releases, of which this is one. The set arrives 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 with 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 and a bar-code. This set provides the major colours to assist you in painting your Stugna-P Complex Anti-Tank Missile Launcher with crew from ICM themselves that we reviewed here, and you will find the following colours in the box: 1072 US Dark Green 1035 Grey Green 1041 Buff 1069 Extra Dark Green 1054 Chocolate 2001 Matt Varnish The paint is thick in the bottle, with plenty of headroom between the surface of the paint and the lip of the neck. I dropped a glass stirring ball into each bottle, and they took a few seconds to disappear beneath the surface, indicating their viscosity. On the rear of the pack is an example of the usage of these colours using the kit mentioned above, and also depicts a sample of the digital camouflage that is often worn by the brave soldiers of the Ukraine. During testing, 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. Apart from the varnish, the other paints all dry to a matt finish. In past tests, the matt varnish worked very well diluted with water, sprayed over the spoons that were also partially taped up to perform two functions at once. The matt 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 the best chance of adhesion. Using a brush, the colours cover well two coats with minimal brush marks visible. Conclusion The paints were excellent through the airbrush with nothing in the way of drama during the testing process, including the Oily Steel and Satin Varnish. The solid colours also brushed out very well, as did the varnish, but what happened to the Oily Steel is a mystery to me at this stage, possibly a bad mix, or some other oddity peculiar to my bottle or batch. 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. Currently on back-order, however. Review sample courtesy of

AH-1G "Arctic Cobra" (48299) 1:48 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd Most modellers will instantly recognise the Bell AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopter. The AH-1 was the first production Gunship or Attack Helicopter to see service. During the Vietnam war the US Army began to see the need for armed helicopter to escort its unarmed UH-1 Hueys into combat. In parallel to this Bell Helicopters had been investigating helicopter gunships as early as the late 1950s. In 1962 Bell displayed a mock up concept to the US Army. This Helicopter featured a 20mm gun pod, and a ball turret mounted grenade launcher. It was felt by the Army to be lightweight, under powered and not suitable. Following this the US Army launched and Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS) competition. This competition gave rise to the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne heavy attack helicopter. However this proved to be to advanced for its time and was eventually cancelled in 1972 after 10 years of development (some things don't change!). Despite the AAFSS programme Bell stuck with its idea of a smaller, lighter gunship and invested its own money developing the AH-1. They used all of the proven components they could from the UH-1 platform, adding these to a newly designed fuselage. When The US Army therefore asked for plans for an interim gunship for Vietnam Bell was in a fortunate position to be able to offer the AH-1, or the Bell 209 as it was then called. Given the work Bell had already done the programme was completed in a relatively speed eight months and won the evaluation against the competition. In 1966 the US Army signed an initial contract for 110 aircraft. Some slight modifications were made to the production airframes. The heavy armoured glass canopy was replaced by Plexiglas with an improvement in performance. Wider rotor blades were fitted and the original retracting skids were replaced by simple fixed units. The G model was the initial 1966 production model gunship for the US Army, with one 1,400shp (1,000 kW) Avco Lycoming T53-13 turboshaft. Bell built over 1100 AH-1Gs between 1967 and 1973, and the Cobras would go on to fly over a million operational hours in Vietnam, approximately 300 were lost to combat and accidents during the war. The U.S. Marine Corps would use AH-1G Cobra in Vietnam for a short period before acquiring twin-engined AH-1J Cobras. The AH-1 went on to serve the US Army until it was replaced by the AH-64 Apache. The last one leaving active service in 1999. The AH-1G could be fitted with the The M-35 Gun System, this was a single M195 20mm cannon (a short-barrelled version of the six-barrel M61A1 Vulcan) on the port inboard pylon of the AH-1G. 950 rounds of ammunition were stored in boxes faired to the side of the aircraft. The system was primarily pilot controlled, but featured dual controls to be either pilot or gunner controlled. For this purpose the pilot was provided with a M73 sight. Some Cobras were tested by the US Army in low temperature conditions in Alaska. These were painted white with Arctic Red markings, these were known as Arctic Cobras. The Kit This is a recent tool from ICM & Special Hobby and brings us a long-overdue update to some of the older kits of the type on the market. This edition depicts airframes used in Alaska,. Inside the bag are eleven sprues in various sizes in grey styrene, a large clear sprue with a choice of canopies for upcoming versions, a decal sheet and their usual glossy A4 instruction booklet with spot colour throughout, and colour profiles of the decal options in the rear. Detail is excellent, as we’ve come to expect from ICM, especially in the cockpit, the exterior surface and the rotors, and the instruction booklet takes you through the build process with colour and scrap diagrams used to clarify the process. Construction begins with the cockpit, which will be highly visible through the crystal-clear canopy parts, and this starts with the twin tub (no, not a 60s washing machine), into which the quilted rear bulkhead, twin pilot controls and tail rotor pedals are fitted, followed closely by a pair of instrument panels with decals and deep coamings to reduce glare coming though the big canopy panes. The panels are different for front and rear crew, but their seats are very similar with armoured wings and sides on the cushioned seat, made of four parts each. Remarkably quickly we’re starting prep of the fuselage halves by drilling out a number of holes, adding the nose cone and tail fin, taking care to align them carefully as well as choosing the right one, as there are two tails on the sprues. The rotor-head is installed on a flat plate, allowing the head to rotate if you’re careful with the glue, then it is inserted into the fuselage along with the cockpit tub and the short exhaust trunk, closing it up and leaving it to set up so you can deal with the seams, and fill a small hole near the rotor head. With that done, the cockpit is outfitted with more armour panels on the internal sidewalls and on the port side exterior, adding a number of appliqué panels in two parts. The underside of the fuselage is bereft of detail until you add the two armoured panels under the cockpit, and glue an insert into the hole in the underside after drilling out a pair of holes from within for one variant. Two main intakes above that slot into recesses on the fuselage sides. The Cobra has wings! Little ones that are essentially weapons carriers, and these both have a separate wingtip and root mounted ammo pod under each one, the port pod later feeding the M35 gatling gun and a link between the starboard and port pods. At the rear you have a choice of two styles of tail stabilisers, one covered in rivets, the other nice and smooth. Speaking of the tail, the boom is covered in nicely rendered raised rivets, as is correct for the type. Two pylons attach to the underside of the winglets, one in the tip, another fitting into two holes. The short circular exhaust ring is installed at the open end of the trunking, with two small strengthening plates just underneath them. With the fuselage flipped on its back, the nose turret is next, with a pair of inserts added into the main turret part, and a 7.62mm gatling gun in one aperture, plus a 40mm grenade launcher in the other that you’ll need to drill out the muzzles on if you feel the urge. The very tip of the nose cone is separate, and has a pitot probe added near the top, then it’s time to add a few antennae and clear lights, plus the BIG gun, which has a separate hollow muzzle part, ammo feed and two other small parts, which is suspended from the underside of the port winglet, and linked to the ammo pod as mentioned earlier. The skids with the thicker supports and a whip-like safety skid under the tail finish off the main fuselage for now, after which the rotating parts are made. The Cobra had a twin-blade tail rotor that slots straight into a hole in the top of the tail fin, with an M-shaped control mechanism fixed to the centre, and a couple of clear parts added to fairings nearby. The main rotor sits on a chunky axle, over which a faceted washer slides, that is joined to the base by a pair of actuators. The two main blades are moulded as a single item, and are first detailed with additional parts before they are glued to the top of the drive-shaft, and supported by a pair of long control rods linked to the blades to adjust their incidence. A scrap diagram shows the various parts in grey to help you get everything correctly aligned. It is lowered into the top fairing later and glued into place, but first the canopy is completed. The Cobra’s canopy opens on different sides for each crew member, and has the long narrow top is fixed first, with the windscreen moulded-in. A small instrument is glued to the side of the screen, 3.5mm up from the bottom, after which it is glued onto the fuselage. The pilots exit from opposite sides, so after the sloped starboard section and port rear section are fixed in place, the two openers can be mounted in the open position and supported by props to achieve the correct angle for them. In addition to guns the Cobra could carry rocket pods, and two each of the seven-shot M157, M158 and four of the 19-shot M200 pods are included on separate sprues, the M157 & M200 pods cylindrical and with detail inserts in both ends. The bare tubed M158 pods have two ends, a central section and a curved cover at the top that is attached to the pylon. The final assembly is the optional towing equipment pack. This consists of a pair of graft-on wheels that attach to a pair of pegs on the upper rear of the skids, lifting them off the ground, and a pair of towing bars that also have castors near the skid-end to facilitate movement when they’re off the airframe. The bars attach to the front of the skids, then it’s down to you to find a suitable towing vehicle if you wish. Markings The decal sheet is in house from ICM, the decals look thin, in register and have minimal carrier film. 3 Options are included; 69-16440, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska 1975 67-15767, 120th Aviation Co. "Artic Knights", Fort Richardson, Alaska 1973 66-15250, Fort Richardson, Alaska 1968 Decals are printed by ICM’s usual partners, with good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion Another great Very highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

The Crew of Stugna-P Anti-Tank Complex (35750) 1:35 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd In Ukrainian, the Стугна-П or Stugna-P, or sometimes Stuhna-P, depending on the translation, is a highly adaptable anti-tank weapon that was originally designed in Belorussia, but after 2014 was fitted with a new control unit of Ukrainian design. It is a capable platform that can attack targets from extremely close to medium range, attacking various types of target that can either be stationary or mobile. Sometimes called Skif, it can penetrate standard or composite armour and Explosive Reactive Armour, and is also able to penetrate bunkers and other soft targets, including helicopters. If there is no incoming fire or other impetus to vacate the area, the missile can be set up by its minimum crew of three and manually guided to target by its operator, but if stealth or absence is good for continued good health, it can be launched in fire-and-forget mode, with no external input required after initial targeting and launch. The weapon is mounted on a tripod in a tubular launcher, and the guidance computer is akin to a ruggedised laptop with a screen and game controller-style joystick. It can be operated remotely by a 50m cable in case there is a chance of the launch plume being spotted by the enemy, firing a HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) round with dual warheads that can penetrate thick armour after detonating appliqué armour with the first charge. It was originally designed with the M1 Abrams in mind during the Cold War, but with a High Explosive fragmentation missile it can be used to create havoc with entrenched troop positions. The Kit This new set combines a Skif unit with a four-man crew, and arrives in a small top-opening box with the usual captive lid attached to the bottom tray. Inside are two sprues, one containing the weapon, the other the parts for the crew. The instruction sheet is printed on glossy paper on both sides of a folded sheet of A3, one side containing a sprue diagram and colour chart, the second page the build steps for the weapon, and the remaining two pages covered with detailed drawings of the figures. Construction of the Stugna-P is a relatively short process, consisting of creating the tripod from three legs, one with the pedestal moulded-in, then making up the missile tube from two halves, building a box that the launch tube sits on from three parts with top and bottom pivots, making up the sighting assembly from six parts, including the lens in a tubular housing, then putting the elements together and joining the two halves of the control “box”, which has additional detailed painting instructions. The weapon is painted either camouflage green or desert sand, then the instructions turn to the figures. The crew are each broken down into torso, arms, legs and head that are moulded separately, plus modern MICH-style helmets, pouches and bags, four AK derivative rifles and a pistol in a holster. The figures are crisply sculpted and are wearing modern combat gear, including MOLLE loop vests and pouches, covered helmets, combat boots and tactical gloves. There are also four sets of goggles to strap to the helmets or over the crew’s eyes if you’re no good at faces, or think they need protecting from debris kicked up by a missile launch. The figures are shown as drawings with arrows pointing out the part numbers and paint letter codes that correspond to the table on the front of the booklet in ICM, Revell and Tamiya systems. To assist with painting the figures’ uniforms, a swatch of digital camouflage that is worn by many of the Ukrainian soldiers is printed with the figure drawings, although I’ll be looking for some camouflage decals to ease the task when I get around to building this set. Conclusion The Ukrainian flag swatch and slogan on the front of the box is good to see, the figures and launcher are finely moulded, and should build up into an excellent model either for display on your shelves or within a diorama. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

American Expeditionary Forces in Europe 1917-18 (DS3518) 1:35 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd The American forces were late to WWI due to isolationist concerns back home, but when they did finally arrive following the April 1917 declaration of war, their troops began flooding Europe, and although they were relatively inexperienced, they put the realistic fear of defeat into Germany and their allies, despite the problems America was having with initial mobilisation and logistics. Once in theatre, they used a combination of equipment imported from home and European kit where convenient, and their troops wore similar uniforms to the British and other allies, including the flat-brimmed battle-bowlers that lingered in British service until after WWII. By the time the Armistice was signed and enacted on the 11th November 1918, the American Army had morphed into a well-rounded, efficient fighting force through experience, some of it bitter. The Set This boxed set arrives in a standard-sized top-opening box, with the usual captive flap on the bottom tray. Inside are three truck kits, three identical driver figure sets, a set of marching infantry figures, and an accessory set containing a plethora of weapons and equipment for the figures and to dot around in the vehicles should you wish. The kits are as follows: Model T 1917 Ambulance (35661) Based upon the first real mass-produced chassis, the ambulance variant was outfitted with an overhanging box body at the rear, and a canvas roof that extended over the driving compartment, with space inside for patients either on litters or seated. By the end of the war, over 4,300 of these useful emergency vehicles were shipped to Europe for use by the Allies, although some enemy casualties were probably transported on occasion. The Kit Arriving on two sprues of grey styrene plus a clear sprue and small decal sheet, this kit is a full representation of the vehicle, and starts with the simple four-cylinder inline engine. The block is in two halves with a separate sump, cylinder head, pulleys, fan and hoses, with an integral transmission to the rear. The chassis is a single part that has the front wings moulded-in, between which the front axle and radiator are fixed so that the engine and two-part fuel tank can be inserted onto the flat area between the wings. The exhaust is joined to the left side of the engine, finishing under the support for the floor, then the rear axle with drive-shaft is laid over it, adding two diagonal struts between the axle and the transmission, and two more on the front axle plus the steering rack. The wheels are all single parts, and slot onto the ends of the front and rear axles to finish most work on the chassis. The body is built on the floor, adding the divider between the cab and rear compartment with a little window in the centre, plus the two sides with slatted benches down each side that should hold everything square. A pair of stretchers are made up on short supports with cross-braces, one of which is slipped into the floor bed before adding the lower rear section of the body. The top section has an entryway in the centre, then the rear bench seat is fixed into the outside front of the body before it is mated with the chassis and work on the cab can continue. The tapering floor has the foot pedals and handbrake inserted in the front, and a cushion that stretches across the width of the cab is glued to the floor so that it matches the rear cushion on the back wall. The firewall has a wide-framed windscreen moulded to the top of it, which can either be fitted with a trapezoid window, or can be removed entirely, depending on which variant you plan on building. A rack of fuel cans is made up to be fixed to the right side, and a steering column stub is attached to the left side of the engine, as this is an American vehicle, so once the cab floor is installed, the rest of the column, steering wheel and stalks can be slotted into the left side. Two side walls are supplied that fit in position against the space under the seat, and the engine is cowled over by a two-part set with a handle on the left side, leaving the possibility for an open engine bay if you wish. A set of running boards have a wooden box added to the front on each side, which mounts on the dropped side panel of the cab, then a C-shaped brace supports the windscreen against the body. The canvas roof that extends over the cab and body is a single part that has slat detail moulded onto the inside, and another stretcher is inserted into the body on the supports inside. The exterior is detailed by adding what looks a bit like a cooler box on the left, a rolled-up canvas door on the back of the body, a spare tyre and a locked box on the right running board, old skool lamps on the front of the cab, and two more modern circular units with clear lenses either side of the radiator at the front. A set of eyelets screw into the area next to the cowling. Another old-timey lamp is added to the rear corner next to a pair of stowed shovels on the left side, plus a hand-cranked horn on the side of the cab next to the driver. Markings There are four options on the small decal sheet, three of which are American, the last one is in French blue if you feel like breaking the theme. From the box you can build one of the following: Ambulance, USA, 1917 Ambulance, 524 SSU, AEF, France, 1918 Ambulance, 625 SSU AEF, France, 1918 Ambulance, 36 SS, French Army, France, 1918 The decals are by ICM’s usual partners, and are predominantly white, while the decals with multiple colours are in good registration, and all have good sharpness and colour density. FWD Type B WWI US Army Truck (35655) Built by the Four Wheel Drive (FWD) company, this was a very early truck used by the military of Britain and the US during WWI, beginning in 1915 with a small order from the British Army. It was full of unusual technology from a modern standpoint, but then vehicles of this type were still in their infancy, so that’s hardly surprising that there were a few dead-ends. It was originally supplied with solid tyres and the front wheels had a strange toed-in look due to the suspension geometry set up to give a light steering load. Its T-head engine produced a monstrous 36bhp for rice-pudding skin removal, and it could be connected to all four wheels or either front or rear in the event of necessity or damage to either drive-shaft. It also had a distinctive pig-nosed front because the engine was mounted below the cab, with only the radiator housed in the front and precious little (read: none) cover for the driver and crew. Over 12,000 were made up until the end of WWI, with them finding a ready market in the post-war period in the civilian sector, sometimes with pneumatic tyres added to improve the ride quality. The Kit This is a relatively new tooling from ICM, widening their WWI vehicle range again. There are four sprues in grey styrene plus a tiny clear sprue, a similarly small decal sheet and the instruction booklet with colour cover and spot-colour inside. It benefits from the same attention to detail that they have lavished on their other WWI kits and you get a full model that includes engine and chassis details not supplied in some other manufacturer’s kits. Construction begins with the double ladder chassis with suspension and cross-rails included and adding the axles, brakes and drive-shafts, most of which are broadly familiar but a little odd looking into the bargain. The larger rails of the chassis denote the rear of the vehicle, and at the front the steering linkage is added before the wheels are made up from three layers each plus hubcap, then fitted to each corner of the vehicle. The radiator core has its sides fitted then it is dropped into the front of the chassis, to be joined by the peculiar engine, which is very well detailed with almost 30 parts devoted to its construction. Once it is painted and in place the exhaust is threaded through the chassis and attached to the manifold outlets, with the diagram helpfully ghosting one of the wheels to improve your view. Power transfer boxes are suspended from the underside of the chassis rails with more drive-shafts, then up at the front the chassis is widened by adding tread-plated “shelves” to the sides before beginning work on the cab and snub-nosed bonnet. This assembly also includes an engine cover that ends up with the crew sitting on it and in the gap between the cowling and radiator the crew have a small footwell with driver controls and a fire extinguisher present, louvred side panels to the cowling and cooling fan for the radiator that is surrounded by a shaped cowling that plugs into the back of the radiator later. The fuel tank is made up from four sections plus two supports, then the lovely deeply upholstered crew sofa is put together with moulded-in buttons giving it a Victorian drawing room feel. The steering wheel and control levers are added to the sides of the cowling, then the seat is dropped on top with a nice cosy fuel tank right behind it for a frissant of danger. Exposed to the elements, high up and with extra heating in the summer, plus a big flammable tank right behind your seat. Awesome! The old-skool railway-style front lamps and U-mounted searchlight are put in place on the front and stowage is placed on the left foot-plate, presumably tied down so you don’t lose it on the corners, and the hand-crank starter can optionally be inserted into a socket on the front chassis rail if you wish. The 3-ton load bed begins with the floor and has five cross-beams slotted into position underneath, a front panel and two side panels that have braces added down the sides before they are installed, located on the pins on the end of each cross-beam. The tail gate is made up from frame and panel parts, then two stowage boxes are built up and fitted to the underside front of the bed, which is then mated with the chassis on several tabs and slots. You can model your truck with the tilt stowed or in place, with the former having five hoops fitted down the side panels to complete the assembly. For the covered bed there are five parts to make up the canvas tilt with some nice sag moulded-in. Hide the seams and paint it accordingly and you’ll end up with a believable looking tilt. Markings There are two decal options on the tiny sheet with just stencils on the sides to differentiate them from each other as they are both painted olive green. US Army, 1918 US Army, France, 1918 The few decals on the sheet are all white, so there’s no worries about registration, but colour density and sharpness are good. Standard B Liberty Truck (35650) The Liberty truck was a collaboration between the major US manufacturers and the Quartermasters Corps to reduce the need to carry spare parts for every weird and wacky truck that might find its way into service. The aim was to cut down on the breadth of inventory they needed to keep in stock to maintain the vehicles, and to reduce the training needed for their mechanics who only needed to be familiar with one main design. Production began in mid-1917 as America was becoming more involved in the Great War and with very few alterations over 9,000 were made before the end of hostilities. The vehicle's engine was also a collaboration and pushed out a staggering 52hp linked to a 4-speed box that drove all wheels, propelling the truck to a break-neck 15mph on a good road, drinking a gallon every seven miles at best, which with a 22-gallon tank gave it a short range. The Kit This isn't a brand-new tooling, but was released in 2018 so it's barely out of the "new" range. It is a high-quality kit with a lot of detail that provides a full interior, erected tilt and bare frame options, plus engine. There are four sprues in grey styrene, plus a clear sprue and decal sheet between the pages of the instruction booklet. Construction begins with the chassis with leaf suspension fore and aft, then spacer rails to join them together, radiator, axles and steering mechanism. The rear axle is a substantial chunk and has large drum brakes with a drive-shaft leading to a central transfer box in the middle of the chassis. Front mud guards, bumper bar with rebound springs are added, then it's time to fit the wheels with two singles at the front, and two pairs at the rear all with spoked hubs and moulded-in solid rubber tyres around the rim. There is a choice of hub caps on the front wheels, then the engine is made up from 11 parts and dropped in place on the chassis behind the radiator along with a two-part manifold and short exhaust pipe that you'll have to take a small drill to if you want the tip hollow. The connection to the radiator from the block sprouts from the top of the engine, and at this early stage the gear shifter is installed on the top of the box, ready for the crew cab later. The cab is formed on a stepped floor part that has tread-plate moulded in, to which the sides, full-width bench seat and the firewall with dashboard and fuel tank are attached. Two foldable crew steps are stowed under the floor, and the steering column inserts almost vertically into a hole in the floor, then the assembly is added behind the engine allowing the cowling to be fitted together with a perforated grille that sits forward of the cowling by a few scale inches. The hand brake attaches to the side of the transmission hump, and then it's time for the load bed. The floor is stiffened by five lateral ribs and the front wall is added and braced by the side panels, which also have 4 stiffeners, then two stowage boxes are glued in place under the floor at the front. The tailgate is made up from two layers and is added at whatever variation of open or closed you fancy, then the whole bed is fitted to the chassis on tabs and depressions to get the correct location. Back in the cab the steering wheel, searchlight with clear lens and horn are all fitted, the last two on the top of the dash, and two headlamps again with clear lenses are fixed to the outside front of the cab. The area is then decorated with a multitude of grab handles, closures and two towing hooks at the front of the chassis rail. A starter handle is inserted into the front, and the cab's tilt is made up from three styrene parts with two clear portholes and it too is fitted to the cab. The cover for the cargo bed can be modelled either hidden away with just the framework visible, or with the canvas draped over for a bit of variety. The framework option is quite delicate, so care will be needed when taking the frames off the sprues to avoid breakage. There are five of them and they fit at intervals to the sides with a substantial overlap for strength. The covered parts comprise front section, two sides with the exposed parts of the frames sticking down, a rolled-up rear cover, and separate roof section. All have realistic drape and creases moulded in, and your only task is to hide the seams before you apply paint, whilst avoiding breaking off the ends of the frames that hang down. Markings There are two decal options for the truck, both of which are the same colour, olive green for the body, and khaki for the canvas areas. The sheet is small and includes a few stencils, divisional badges and a warning to carry no more than 3 tons. US Army, 1918 US Army, France, 1918 US Drivers 1917-18 (35706) There are two figures on each of the three identical sprues, and the one doing the driving is a private with putties and utility belt with braces, while the co-driver is his commander with knee-high leather boots and Captain's rank insignia on his shoulder boards. They are both in the seated position as you'd expect and the driver has his hands out grasping the wheel with his feet appropriately angled for the pedals. This is ICM, so sculpting is excellent with simple parts breakdown along natural seams speeding up assembly and preparation for paint. Each figure is broken down into head, torso and separate arms and legs. The hats are separate parts to achieve a better brim and these have a flat contact patch with the equally flat-topped heads, plus moulded-in detail of the hat band with tassels. An excellent addition to your Liberty truck at a good price, or any other vehicle used by the US Army in WWI, although the driver may require a little adjustment if the controls for the driver are different. US Infantry 1917 (35689) This set arrives on a single sprue, and has parts for four WWI American soldiers, wearing a cavalry-style hat. They are all dressed in appropriate uniform for the era, and three of them are carrying their kit bags, apparently marching with their rifles slung over their shoulders. The other figure is taking a photograph with a period camera, which probably prompted the wave from one of the marching figures. The figures are sensibly broken down as torso, head, arms and legs, with the hats separate for fitting onto the flat tops of the heads. The extra parts on the sprue include the afore mentioned kit bags, pouches, and satchels. Some of the additional parts that are shown installed on the figures are from the accessories set below. WWI US Infantry Weapon and Equipment (35688) This set is spread over a single sprue that is stacked with additional equipment that can be used with the figures, vehicles and so forth. The set includes the following: Lewis Gun Chauchat CSRG Mle 1915 Machine Gun Browning M1918 BAR Machine Gun M1918 BAR Pouches (left) M1918 BAR Pouches (right) Springfield M1903 Rifle Springfield M1903 Rifle with Bayonet M1905 Bayonet M1905 Bayonet with Scabbard M1905 Bayonet Scabbard Springfield M1903 Rifle with Rifle Mortar Rifle Mortar Grenade Winchester M1897 Trench Gun with Bayonet M1897 Bayonet Scabbard Trench Knife Springfield Pouches x 3 Springfield Pouches x 2 Small Pouch Colt Army M1917 Revolver Smith & Wesson Army M1917 Revolver Army M1917 Revolver in Holster (left) Army M1917 Revolver in Holster (right) Revolver Ammo Pouch Colt M1911 Pistol Colt M1911 Pistol in Holster Colt M1911 Ammo Pouch M1 Grenade Shovel Shovel in Case Pickaxe Pickaxe in Case Axe Axe in Case Trench Periscope (Wood) Trench Periscope in Case Canteen Respirator in Bag Officer Bag Binocular Binocular Case M1917 Steel Helmet Compass Cover Some items are individuals, while others are supplied in multiples on the sprues, and yet more are built from a few parts, such as the magazine added to the top of the Lewis Gun, a choice of bipods, and separate bolts for the Springfield rifles. The instructions show line drawings of the items along with a numbered list as above, and on the opposite side of the page is a paint code table that corresponds to the letter codes in red. Conclusion This boxed set from ICM is about as densely packed as is possible in a relatively small box, containing three vehicle kits, four figure sets, and an accessory set to round out the package. Like most of their boxed sets, the instructions have been gathered together into a card binder, with all the decals stowed inside the front of the booklets. Excellent detail, realistic-looking figures, and a lot of modelling fun in a box. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Hi everyone, I'd like to introduce to you my latest release at Hypersonic Models. B-26K Coutner Invader wheels, in 1:48, for the ICM kit. The set is created in CAD to accurate dimensions and all components are delivered as 3D printed parts. Tyres and hubs are separate pieces, in order to facilitate the best printing result and make painting easier. Print supports are kept to a minimum, clean-up is roughly equal to a good resin cast item although each individual support is easier to clip away than a thick casting block. The detail includes very fine brake detail, valve stems, tyre sidewall detail (kept as small/faint as possible) and weighted/bulged tyres. The axle holes correspond to the ICM gear struts and also fix the off-centre issue of the kit hubs. Direct link: https://www.hypersonicmodels.com/product/b-26k-wheels I hope you'll like this set. Thanks for looking, Jeffrey

I-16 Type 10 with Chinese Pilots (32008) 1:32 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd The I-16 was a ground-breaking design that first flew in 1934, as it was both a monoplane, and benefited from having retractable landing gear. It was designed by the Polikarpov Design Bureau, and was also intended to have a totally enclosed cockpit, but Soviet pilots disliked being ensconced within their aircraft, perhaps harking back to the days of open-topped biplanes, and all this was despite the freezing temperatures that they had to endure, even at zero feet. It was a small aircraft that led to some diminutive nicknames such as Burro or Rata, depending on where it was in service. Early variants saw action in the Spanish Civil War as well as in Chinese hands against the Japanese invaders, and by the time WWII came around they were one of the major fighters in service with the Soviet Air Force in terms of numbers. Action against the Bf.109s of the Legion Condor during the Spanish conflict left the designers with the distinct impression that it was outclassed by larger, more modern designs, but production did not cease immediately thanks to the remaining development potential of the basic airframe. By the time the Type 10 came into production, it was fitted with four 12.7mm machine guns, two synchronised in the cowling, two more in the wings. It was also powered by a Wright Cyclone R-1820 engine, and had a sliding canopy, which many pilots still discarded by preference to improve their situational awareness or whatever their excuses were. Subsequent variants improved the armament further, installing 20mm cannons with the same designation (why??) for extra destructive power, and increasing the power and supplier of the engine, although the improvements there were incremental rather than revolutionary. By the middle of WWII the type was obsolete, and was retired in favour of more advanced and powerful designs. The Kit This is a reboxing of their recent kit that is based on the initial tooling that dates to 2017, but with the addition of a set of Chinese aircrew figures to sweeten the deal. It arrives in a medium-sized top-opening box that has a captive flap on the bottom tray, and inside are five sprues in grey styrene, a clear sprue, decal sheet, and instruction booklet. Detail is excellent, and you may notice immediately that there are a few extra large parts on the sprues that you will end up leaving there, as it’s cheaper and more efficient to do so, rather than retool existing sprues. The addition of the figures gives some potential for a diorama or vignette, or you could just stand them next to your finished model on a bare shelf. Unusually, construction begins with the wings, that are full-span underneath and has the gear bays moulded into the centre. It is closed over immediately with the upper surfaces, and a pair of formation lights are inserted into the tips, then the ailerons are made from two halves each and are fitted in place, deflected if you wish, inserting a perforated cowling into the gap in front of the gear bays at the same time. The cockpit is created in stages, starting with the rear bulkhead and seat, which is then suspended in the port fuselage half, which has ribbing moulded into the interior. A front frame and equipment are also added to the sidewall, and the floor is slipped through the two bulkheads from the front, locking in place on a couple of cut-outs in the correct locations. A couple of bottles are installed around the rear of the cockpit, some pilot controls that include rudder pedals and control column are fitted in the main area, followed by the clear instrument panel with decal and the pilot’s seat pan, plus a few more detail parts, with yet more on the starboard sidewall. At the same time, a firewall bulkhead has a saddle-tank applied to the front surface, and two gun troughs extending from the rear toward the pilot, ready for additional parts once the fuselage is closed up. In preparation for that, the rudder and elevator halves are joined, and the upper cowling over the gun troughs has a pair of clear lights inserted from within. Predictably, the rudder is trapped between the fuselage halves on closure, allowing it to pivot if you are careful with the glue. The deck in front of the cockpit is then inserted, and the cockpit door is also glued into place, after which dealing with the seams would be a good plan before you join the wings from beneath. The elevator flying surfaces form a single assembly when complete, and are trapped between the halves of the elevator fins, which attach to the rear of the fuselage on triangular tabs, closing them in with a short fairing later in the build. Your Rata is bereft of an engine at this stage, so a circular mount with zig-zag supports is built, followed by the rear of the motor with intake piping that slides into the centre along with an ancillaries box. The nine-cylinder radial engine is supplied as a front and rear half, with push-rods moulded into a separate shallow bell-housing. The back of the motor is peppered with nine exhaust tubes, each one a separate part, and individually shaped to exit the cowling at the rear through the various holes. A little test-fitting would be sensible before resorting to glue to ensure they all exit where they’re supposed to, after which you can join the mounts to the back of the engine and insert the whole assembly into the front of the fuselage, taking care not to knock off any exhausts as you do. The cowling is next, starting with the front, with the three-part intake with adjustable cooling made up first, leaving the centre section mobile in case the temperature drops on your workbench. The prop shaft is slipped through a hole in the centre, through a perforated spinner plate and two-blade prop, which is covered over by a stubby spinner cap. The prop is then glued to the lower cowling and a pair of guns are slotted into the gun troughs, then the remaining three parts of the cowling can be glued into position or left off at your whim. The windscreen is then glued into position over a clear gunsight, then it’s time to make the wheels. Each gear leg is made from a triangular combination strut that has a three-part captive door applied to the outside, plus a retraction strut that has its own door fixed to it near the top. Take care during this process, as some small areas should be removed with a sharp blade or file to make the main doors and struts accurate to the type. The wheels are two parts each and slide onto the axles perpendicular to the ground. The tail cone has a small light at the tip, and a skid keeps the back end from dragging on the ground. The final few parts include the wing-mounted guns, a pitot tube, and a strange ‘dongle’ hanging from the starboard cowling. WWII China Guomindang Air Force Pilots (32115) We’ve reviewed this three-figure set before, and it’s nice to see it again. The single sprue contains parts for three figures, one crew chief or officer, and two pilots, who are dressed in flight overalls, flying helmets and their parachute packs slung low to the rear. Each figure is highly detailed, and broken down with separate torso, legs, arms and heads, plus parachute packs for the pilots, and a satchel for the uniformed gentleman. He also has separate coat tails for realism, and a two-part cap with separate peak. Markings There are four decal options included on the sheet, each one having half a page of colour profiles devoted to the detail, with just a single wing depicting the underside to show the location of the national markings. From the box you can build one of the following: China Guomindang AF, 1939 23rd Chantay of China Guomindang AF, 1939 24th Chantay of China Guomindang AF, September 1940 24th Chantay of China Guomindang AF, Chengdu, June 1941 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 The I-16 is a small aircraft, even at this scale, and adding the three figures to the package gives it some human scale. Good detail and ICM’s usual fit and finish round out the package. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Ki-21-Ia Sally (72205) 1:72 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd The Sally, as she was known by the Allies during WWII was a heavy bomber designed by Mitsubishi as a replacement for the Ki-20, in competition with Nakajima, who although they lost out on the design of the aircraft, were given the contract for the power plants, as their HA-5 engines were found to be superior to Mitsubishi’s offering originally installed. A small number of airframes were also built by Nakajima too, with a total of just over 2,000 built between them. It first flew in 1936 and was intended for long-range bombing missions against Soviet and Chinese opponents, first entering service in 1938 in operations against China. Initial experience showed that the design was lacking in some respects, extending to the crucial oxygen system that was found to be unreliable. The Ib was intended to address most of the issues, including the lack of armament and changes to the flying surfaces. It also had a remote tail gun installation, and could mount an additional fuel tank for extreme range missions. The type was pretty much obsolete by 1940, and mounting losses prompted the type’s withdrawal from front line service, and sale of some of the airframes to friendly nations. Uses were still found for the type with the Japanese forces however, and the remaining aircraft were used until the end of the war as cargo transports, trainers, troop transports and communications hacks. The later variants had improved engine performance with Mitsubishi units, some with alterations to the greenhouse behind the cockpit, which was changed to a turret on some, and removed entirely on transport variants. The Kit This is a reboxing with an additional sprue of a brand-new tool from ICM, who continue to produce new kits despite the difficult circumstances in their home country. The kit arrives in a shallow top-opening box that has a captive top flap on the bottom tray. Inside are six sprues in grey styrene, a clear sprue in a separate bag, decal sheet and the instruction booklet, which is printed in colour with colour profiles on the back pages. Detail is well up to modern standards, and extends to ribbing on the interior of the fuselage, full representation of the engines and a nice cockpit, plus a set of crystal clear glazing parts. Construction begins with the fuselage halves, which have the armed Ib tail added to the rear, a lozenge-shaped detail insert to make the wing root recess flush, and the side windows, plus an equipment insert in the cockpit area, and a line of trunking that extends from the trailing edge of the wing to the tail. The cockpit floor is a long part, with a recessed front end for the flight crew, detailed by adding the rudder pedals for the pilot, and the two seats, which both have separate seat cushions. The twin ‘bow tie’ control columns are inserted into the floor in front of the seats, and near the rear of the floor are two large tanks that attach on pins. The assembly is inserted into the starboard side of the fuselage, and has a bulkhead fixed just in front of the crew steps under the mid-fuselage greenhouse. The front bulkhead has a small circular seat glued to the side of the fuselage and additional details with instrument decals, a choice of two clear chin inserts with an instrument panel, gun mount and a rack of bottles added to it during installation, with a choice of two types of machine gun for the belly window that has two spare mags nearby. The port fuselage is prepared with new (older) tail fin, wing insert and windows, plus ammo cans and forward fuselage details, more racks of oxygen bottles and a side-mounted machine gun. The fuselage can be closed around the cockpit after adding the main instrument panel, which has a centre throttle quadrant and dial decals added beforehand. The mid-upper gunner’s suspended seat is also inserted into holes, but can probably be inserted after gluing the fuselage halves together by flexing the support struts. His twin machine guns are added to a mount on a bracket, with a pair of magazines on top, after which it is fitted into the insert that is then glued into the opening in the fuselage behind the main canopy. The main canopy and greenhouse gunner’s canopy are fixed on top of the fuselage along with the nose glazing, which has a choice of two types of machine gun inserted from the inside. Completion of the earlier tail begins by adding the elevator fins from the new sprue, which have separate flying surfaces and rudder panel, then the wings are prepared by inserting a two-part bay in each one before joining the upper and lower halves together, adding the ailerons and landing lights in the leading edges. They are then glued onto the wing root fairings on the fuselage, which have a lip to improve fit and joint strength. The wheels are installed under the wings before the engines and lower cowling are made up, starting with the tail-wheel in its yoke, and then adding the two-part wheels to the H-frame main gear, which has a support frame fitted to the front, and a long yoke with mudguard that links the strut lower to the back of the bay. Four small parts are fixed to the wing inside the bays, and the lower cowlings are made up out of two halves plus a round bulkhead, and a pair of intakes top and bottom, then sliding the lower nacelle over the completed wheels and mating the edges with the recessed lip of the lower wing. The engines are built-up on bulkheads with the cooling flaps moulded-in, a separate exhaust stack underneath, and a depiction of both cylinder banks, plus the front bell-housing with push-rods, hiding the prop axle inside without glue so that the props can spin later. The finished engines are covered by two cowling halves and a separate lip, gluing them to the front of the nacelles and finishing them off by adding the three-bladed prop and separate spinner. The model is completed by installing an antenna post and D/F loop over the canopy, and a curious-looking cranked pitot probe in the leading edge of the port wing. Markings There are four options on the decal sheet, all in light green-grey, differentiated by their unit markings. From the box you can build one of the following: Ki-21-Ia Sally, 60th Sentai, China, Early 1939 Ki-21-Ia Sally, 58th Sentai, China, probably 1940 Ki-21-Ia Sally, 14th Sentai, China, late 1941 Ki-21-Ia Sally, 105 Hyoiku Hiko Sentai, China, presumably 1942 Decals are by ICM’s usual partner, 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 130 thanks to the extensive greenhouse glazing. Conclusion A nicely detailed revised new tooling of this short-lived (in front line service at least) heavy bomber, which should put older toolings from other manufacturers out to pasture. Now, can we have one in 1:48 please, nice kind ICM? Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

s.E.Pkw Kfz.70 with Zwillingssockel 36 (35503) 1:35 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd The Horch 108 was developed and then built by Horch as well as Ford Germany as a heavy off-road transport for troops, light transport, searchlight and anti-aircraft installations. The passenger variant was known as the Kfz.70, but with the addition of the anti-aircraft mount in the passenger compartment, it was sometimes known as the Kfz.81. They were widely used by the Wehrmacht in various roles throughout their spheres of operation, and this model was employed as a mobile light anti-aircraft unit, having MG34 machine-guns on a twin mount that was capable of rotating 360° and was effective out to 2,000 metres in a similar manner to the ground-based MG34s, with a high rate of fire that often led to them being employed as fire support when they were handily placed. Eventually the type was withdrawn in favour of the more flexible kubelwagen. The Kit This is a relatively new tooling from ICM, dating from 2015, but adding a twin machine-gun mount in the rear to improve the overall value and give it a more aggressive countenance. The additional instructions for the machine-gun mount are given on the last two page of the booklet, once the vehicle itself is completed. The kit arrives in a top-opening box with a captive inner flap on the bottom tray, and inside are seven sprues in grey styrene, plus a clear sprue, a sprue of flexible black rubberised tyres, a small decal sheet and the afore-mentioned instruction booklet. The model is built up on its ladder chassis, including the engine, transmission, suspension with nicely moulded springs, plus body supports, brake hoses and exhaust system. Overall it's a very nicely detailed underside, with the engine being the focal-point. The hubs are split between inner and outer halves, which facilitates easy painting of the wheels and tyres separately, and installation of the tyres on the hubs without struggle. The coachwork is assembled on the floor plate, which has the rear wheel arches moulded in and stops at the firewall, with spaces for the driver's pedals in the left footwell. The body sides are added, with moulded-in framework, and the dashboard is fitted between them to stabilise the assembly. The dash has a decal for the instruments, a handgrip for the co-driver, heater ducting and a lever beneath the steering column, which is added later. The front inner arches are glued to the underside of the body, and a rear load cover with moulded-in seat back is applied over the rear arches, after which the two rear doors and their handles are installed. A delicate (in this scale) framework is fitted between the rear seats and the driver's area, with the fifth wheel behind the driver, and a set of bench seats in the back of the rear compartment, which also have delicate framework under their cushions. The front seats are individual, but of similar construction, and have space for the supplied KAR98 rifles between them, with two more pairs fitted in the rear compartment. The windscreen is of the flip-down type, and has two separate panes added to the frame, with no windows supplied for the sides, as it is modelled with the hood down. The doors can be fitted opened or closed, with their own separate handles inside and out. Once the chassis and body are mated, more of the underpinnings are added, and the radiator with cooling fan are attached along with the louvred bonnet and front bumper irons. At the rear the hood is constructed from four parts, sitting on top of the load cover in a folded state, as there isn't an option for a raised hood on this variant. Wing mirrors, pioneer tools, front headlights with clear lenses, and number plates are dotted around to finish off the main build. To make up the gun installation, the ammo cans are made up first, joined to the twin frame, which then has the gun mounts fitted on top. The guns are still fitted with their bipods, which along with the breech cover are moulded separately to the rest of the guns. If you’re a detailer, you may want to drill out the muzzles very carefully with a tiny bit in a pin vice. With the guns on their frame, the outer frame is fitted around it in two halves, slotting into the pivot points moulded into the frame, and supported by a cross-brace lower in the frame. Another bracing strut fits across the front and has a canvas brass catcher curtain suspended beneath it that is attached to the tube by a series of rings moulded into the part. The conical base is built from two parts and inserts into a socket in the underside of the outer frame, then it’s a case of making up the seat that fits at the very rear of the outer frame, and choosing the correct sighting part for your chosen pose, pivoting the guns to an appropriate elevation during the process. A pair of greyscale scrap diagrams shows the two finished poses. Markings There are three markings options on the decal sheet in various camo schemes, ranging from panzer grey, dunkelgelb and a camouflaged version striped with both the colours of the other options. From the box you can build one of the following: Russia, Autumn 1942 Sapper platoon of Heavy Panzer Battalion 501, Schw.Abt.501, Tunisia, 1943 Russia, Summer 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 well-detailed model of a common vehicle in Wehrmacht service, with added fun-factor thanks to the twin MG34s in the rear that take up the room previously allocated to an extra bench seat. Imagine the noise! Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Pilots of the Soviet Air Force 1943-1945 (32117) 1:32 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd Adding figures to a model gives it scale and realism that is hard to otherwise achieve, and often this is done with resin figures that are both expensive and for those not too keen on resin, this can be off-putting. Styrene figures however are simple to deal with, and with advances in sculpting and moulding techniques they are becoming more detailed and realistic as time passes (unless I paint them!). This new set from ICM, who have an excellent reputation for injection moulded figures, depicts a group of WWII Soviet pilots stood relaxing. It arrives in a top-opening box, with the usual inner flap on the lower tray, and a single sprue of medium grey styrene inside, together with a sheet of instructions on glossy paper. The figures are moulded very crisply, and at 1:32 they are large enough to show off subtle details such as pockets, buttons, boot details, insignia, and other badges. Couple this with the sensible breakdown of parts, and you will have a highly detailed set of figures once you have assembled them. The moulding seams are minimal, with slender sprue gates that also won't need much clean up, and the parts join at convenient breaks such as waists, trouser seams etc. The obvious pilot figure is still wearing his flight helmet, but is otherwise dressed similarly to your average Soviet soldier of the period in a smock jacket, riding pants and calf-length boots. He’s accepting a healthy, nutritious cigarette from another officer that is dressed almost identically apart from his peaked cap and a few more bottle-caps on his chest, and both are wearing a leather belt that carries a holstered pistol with an extra magazine in an external pouch. The third figure is wearing overalls and a forage cap worn at a jaunty angle over one eyebrow. He too is wearing a leather belt around his ample waist, and he has his right hand in his pocket, the other pointing at something. The instructions show the part numbers and paint codes on the same diagram, which relates to a table on the rear in ICM, Revell, and Tamiya codes with the colour names in English and Cyrillic text. Conclusion Excellent sculpting, sensible part breakdown to maximise detail, and three figures in the one box make for a good value package that will be of great use to large scale WWII Soviet Air Force modellers. Very highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

OV-10A Bronco US Navy (48304) 1:48 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd The Bronco was conceived as a light attack, long loiter aircraft of modest size, enabling it to operate from 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 aircraft 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 controller platform operating both night and day missions. 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 it carried its own ground attack armament including rockets, machine guns and bombs that gave it the capability of Light Attack Aircraft, and made it a daunting prospect for the enemy to see overhead. The US Navy used it in this capacity in Vietnam, although attrition was quite severe, and later in its service several airframes were used as testbeds for special operations, eventually being transferred to the Marines. Seven export contracts were signed with other foreign operators including Germany, Columbia and Indonesia, the very last of which will be leaving service in the near future after long service. The Kit A reboxing of a 100% new model from ICM with new decals, which arrives in one of their standard top opening boxes with the captive inner lid, and has ten sprues in grey styrene, one in clear, two sheets of decals and a glossy instruction booklet with spot colour inside and glossy colour profiles on the back pages. Unpacking the sprues reveals the detail is excellent, and the booms have raised as well as engraved rivets on their surface, which is just as it should be if you check out any walk arounds that get close enough to the aircraft to see them. The clear parts have been engineered so that they fit together as individual facets, and 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 looks like it will build into an excellent replica of the aircraft. Construction begins predictably with the cockpit, starting with the crew seats, of which there are two. The base of the seats are made from the curved lower and cushion, while the backs are formed from a shell with two cushions, one for the pilot’s back, the other for the headbox. The two elements are brought together and a small part is added to the headbox, then different rear detail and a launch rail are added to the rear of them both. There are colour call-outs as we go along, and two warning decals are supplied for the seats, although these are shown applied to the cushions, which seems odd, but having checked some references, that’s where they go. Every day’s a school day! The rear seat is glued to the cockpit floor which has a bulkhead and a shelf moulded into the rear, then side consoles are fixed onto the floor around the seat with control column on a lateral support, and a throttle quadrant that sits on top of a raised portion of the port console. A divider between the two seats is prepared with rudder pedals and other details, then has a choice of either of two instrument panels added atop the flat section, based on your decal choice. These are well detailed and have dial decals for each option. The divider is glued in place, then the front cockpit is made up starting with the seat again, but with a different set of launch rail parts with “antennae” to the side of the headbox. He too gets a control column and floor-mounted rudder pedals, after which the seat is bracketed by side consoles that have detailed tops, but no decals which is a shame. A bulkhead for within the footwell of the front cockpit is created from several parts, and fixed in place with the details facing forward, forming the rear bulkhead of the nose gear bay. The pilot gets a well-appointed instrument panel with coaming and decal, plus a number of 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 festive twinkling lights on the real thing, especially at Christmas. The cockpit is put to the side briefly while the crew nacelle is prepared with interior sidewall details, plus an internal frame that runs up the side of the canopy. You are advised to align this with the canopy sides, which have a shallow groove running top to bottom, so it would be an idea to glue the parts, then tape the canopy sides in place and align the frame with the groove, taping it in place until the glue sets. With the sides complete and painted internally, the cockpit can be secured inside and locked in place by bringing the two halves together. Providing you have painted the front 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 underside of the cockpit floor is then covered over by a well-detailed underside panel that has recesses ready for the stubby weapons pylons, and has a small central strake added toward the rear. Here it will be key to align the nacelle skins before the glue sets to avoid having to make good later and risk losing any of that lovely detail. The weapons “wings” need four holes drilling in their underside if you are going to hang weapons from them, then they are closed around a small rectangular insert that the barrels later plug into, the wingtips are added, and each one has an insert applied to the leading edge that makes up the rest of the fairings for the weapons. These are glued into their recesses on the underside, and are fitted with shackles on the twin pylons on their undersides if you plan on using weapons. Another small nose gear door fits to the diagonal leg, and the four-part nose wheel with separate hub parts 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 set up for a good while before attempting to put weight on it. The addition of the four gun barrels to the winglets and a couple of sensors completes the crew nacelle for now. 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 panel 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 each 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 a good field of view has a sight fitted to the top centre before it is glued to the front of the cockpit, then 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 front two sections 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. No doubt an aftermarket company will step-in here. Building of the two nacelles 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. 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 forward 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 have a couple of holes drilled on each side, and these are joined around the bay assembly, 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 avoid damaging that lovely detail, and two optional towel-rail antennae are glued into the holes on the sides of the nacelle. The two-part rudder is fixed to the tail, and an exhaust is made up from two halves, with baffles within. Align these carefully to minimise the join-line and check your references to get this right. A small intake is added to the side of the nacelle just forward of the exhaust. 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 nacelles as they are glued into place under the wings. You might need to grow another hand or two to make this happen, or get yourself one of those wonderful jigs like that of EBMA to help hold everything in place for this. Four optional 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 upper wing. The twin props have the three blades moulded as one, with a front and back boss, and take care to install the correct props on the nacelles, as the blades (and the turboprop engines) are handed, spinning in opposite directions to cancel out the effect of torque steer. 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 needs more air. Fun with weapons is next, and this modeller thinks that the Bronco looks best when loaded for bear, as they say. There are two wing pylons on long supports to add to the outer wing panels, then it’s just a case of choosing which munitions you want to hang from them. There is a diagram showing which weapons can be fitted to which pylons, but if you’re aiming for realism, check your references to establish real-world load-outs for training and live-fire missions. In the box you get the following: 2 x LAU-33 twin rocket pods 2 x LAU-069A 21 rocket pods 2 x Mk.77 Incendiary bombs 2 x LAU-68 6 rocket pods 2 x 150gal fuel tanks 2 x Mk.81 Lowdrag iron bombs with optional daisy-cutter fuse 2 x Mk.81 Snakeye iron bombs with optional daisy-cutter fuse 2 x Mk.82 Snakeye iron bombs with optional daisy-cutter fuse 2 x Mk.82 Lowdrag iron bombs with optional daisy-cutter fuse 2 x LAU-10A 4 rocket pods The detail of the individual weapons is excellent, with multiple parts for fins, fuses and rockets, and only the seamlines to clean up along the way. 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 startling 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. Very handy! Markings There are four options in the rear of the instructions in various schemes, including blue and camouflage green. From the box you can build one of the following: #155470/RA-8, VS-41 Shamrocks, NAS North Island, 1969 #155470/RA-8, VS-41 Shamrocks, NAS North Island, 1971 #155473/RA-09, /VS-41 Shamrocks, NAS North Island, 1971 #1554880, Naval Air Service test Centre, NAS Pax River, early 1980s Decals are printed by ICM’s usual partners, with good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. The weapons all have stencils to apply, which are shown next to each profile, as their colours varied over time. There are also rear and white tip decals for the props, and the large wide T-shapes on the upper wings are also included as decals, as are the tapered exhaust gas “hiders” on some of the decal options. Conclusion The Bronco is an appealing aircraft, and this new boxing with Navy schemes is an excellent looking model that is crammed full of detail, and opens up a new market for the Navy loving modeller. Very highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

US Helicopter Pilots – Vietnam War Acrylic Paint Set (3023) ICM via Hannants Ltd ICM have long been a plastic model company that is well-known to most of us, but until recently they haven’t had their own paint range, which has now changed. There are 77 acrylic colours in the initial collection, plus three varnishes in matt, satin and gloss, all in the same 12ml plastic bottles. A conversion chart is available that will give you equivalents in AK, Tamiya, Humbrol, Gunze, Testors, RLM, RAL, FS, Revell, AK Real Color, and even Citadel paints, although there aren’t many direct cross-overs in that last one. The paint is undiluted, so will need thinning by between 40-60% with water or acrylic thinner for use with an airbrush, and they naturally have a semi-gloss finish that can be adjusted later by the use of varnishes, and are waterproof when dry like most acrylics. During my testing I used Ultimate Thinners, my go-to thinners for any acrylic paint, which helps keep the number of large bottles in my spray booth to a minimum. The paint comes out of the bottle quite thick and viscous, so it’s possible you’ll have to dilute for serious brush painting use although I used it neat during testing, so a small bottle will go a long way in either case. It sprays well when diluted, and like a lot of acrylics a light coat is best initially, then followed quickly after by heavier coats until you have the coverage you require. It dries quite quickly, and is touch-dry in 5-10 minutes in those long-gone summery 20-23oc temperatures, unless you’re in the antipodes as I write this. I have used them to create a number of spray-out cards and spoons for other sets in the range, and they both spray and brush very well, with little issue other than my inexpert application by brush. We recently reviewed a 1:48 figure set from ICM by the same name, which depicted pilots and crew suitable for posing around helicopters of the Vietnam era, which you can read here. This set is intended to complement these figures, and it includes the following colours, but it would be useful to add white if you don’t already have it for lightening the colours to create many other shades: 1060 Middle Stone 1062 British Khaki 1002 Black 1072 US Dark Green 1073 4BO 2001 Varnish Matt On the rear of the box are drawings of the figures that are identical to the set mentioned above, with colour call-outs the appropriate codes, outlined with a box of the same colour. Whilst it was intended for this particular ICM figure set, I doubt they’d complain if you used them in conjunction with other manufacturers’ kits or for other uses. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

US Helicopter Pilots – Vietnam War (48089) 1:48 ICM via Hannants With new 1:48 helicopter kits on the increase, this new set from ICM is timed rather well, which is more than likely no coincidence. It arrives in ICM’s usual top-opening box with captive inner lid, although it’s a smaller one than usual. Inside is a single sprue and a glossy instruction sheet with spot colour profiles of the five figures that can be found on the sprue in parts. There are two figures that are clearly flight crew, dressed for flight and complete with combat vests and one with a flight helmet, while the third crewman is wearing olive drabs and a cavalry hat, one hand on hip, the other pointing, likely telling everyone how much he loves the smell of napalm in the morning, or something similar. The other two figures are dressed in BDU trousers and tshirts, one kneeling, while the other is leaning against something with the other hand on his hip, probably rolling his eyes at the Robert Duvall-type character’s over-dramatic nonsense. There are a few accessories around the edges of the sprue, including a cap, pistol in holster, and pouches. Sculpting is excellent, with an abundance of crisp detail throughout, even down to the seams on the clothes and the toggles on the cavalry hat. The poses, breakdown of parts and fabric drape is also beyond reproach as usual, and they should build up into an excellent set of figures to dot around the US chopper or choppers of your choice. Conclusion Adding some figures to a model, diorama or vignette gives scale as well as a human dimension, and this set will provide just that with the addition of some skilful painting and shading, which is key. Very highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Soviet Military Airfield 1980s (DS7203) 1:72 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Cold War might of the 1980s was exemplified by the Mig-29, of which there were many examples of this new technology on airbases across their territory, serviced by crews and vehicles so that they were ready to fend off the supposed attacks from the NATO ‘horde’, who were just as terrified of the Soviet horde and nuclear Armageddon, coincidentally. The Mikoyan MiG-29, NATO reporting name 'Fulcrum', is an air superiority fighter designed and built in the Soviet Union in the 1980s. As with many other frontline aircraft of that period such as the Su-27, F-16, F-15 and Panavia Tornado, it was produced in significant numbers and is still in fairly widespread service with air arms around the world today. The MiG-29 was developed as a lighter, cheaper aircraft when compared to the visually similar Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker. As with the Su-27, the engines are spaced widely apart, with the area between the engines being used to generate lift and improve manoeuvrability. The MiG-29 is powered by two Klimov RD-33 Turbofans, each of which can generate over 18,000lb of thrust in reheat. The aircraft is designed to make use of rough airstrips, with engine air intakes that can be closed completely when on the ground, allowing air to be drawn through louvers on the upper surfaces of the blended wing roots. Armament includes a combination of Vympel R-27 medium-range air-to-air missiles and R-73 or R-60 short-range air-to-air missiles, as well as a GSh-30-1 30mm cannon. The MiG-29S, also known as the Fulcrum C, features a number of improvements over the Fulcrum A, including the addition of the L-203BE Gardenyia-1 Electronic Countermeasures System in a prominent dorsal hump, improved avionics and control systems. The Kit This set includes four kits, one of the Mig-29 9-13, a ZiL-131 Command Vehicle, and another Zil-based vehicle the APA-50M, an airfield mobile electrical unit, plus a bag of PAG-14 pre-cast concrete plates that are used to quickly create a flat, textured surface on an airfield that can accommodate fast jets as well as heavy transport types. The set arrives in a medium top-opening box, with a captive lid on the lower tray, and inside each kit is individually bagged, with a printed orange label showing the original product code. Detail is good, and the quantity of modelling fun packed into the box is great value. The instructions have been gathered within a card folder, each with the decals hidden within, protected by a sheet of absorbent paper. The decals are by ICM’s usual partner, and have good register, sharpness and colour density. Mig-29 9-13 Fulcrum (72141) This is a reboxing of ICM’s 2008 tooling of this classic Cold War Soviet-era jet, but with new decals appropriate for the subject matter. The kit arrives in a stylishly appointed top-opening box with captive inner lid, and inside are three sprues of medium grey styrene, a small clear sprue, two sheets of decals and the instruction booklet, which shares the same design as the box lid, and has spot-colour throughout, including full colour profiles on the back page. Detail is on par for the era of its original release, with engraved panel lines, raised and recessed detail where appropriate, cockpit and gear bay detail, and a complement of weapons and fuel tanks, the latter remain unused. Construction begins with the cockpit, which has an ejector pin mark in the middle of the floor that will be covered by the ejection seat, but should be cut flush to ensure everything fits properly. A control column and instrument panel with raised and recessed detail moulded-in completes the cockpit, although the Zvezda K-36 seat could do with a little additional work, including adding the tubular housings for the ejection stabilisation beams that sit at each side of the headbox. The cockpit inserts into the upper fuselage from below, after which it can be closed up ready for the other components. There aren’t many stages to the instruction booklet, and we see the wings, elevators and stabilisers added at the same time as the two-part canopy. Two inset diagrams show the twin engine nacelles being made up with integral FOD guards before they too are joined to the underside of the fuselage, with the exhausts also made up from inner and outer parts in more inset diagrams. The included weapons also have inset diagrams, and you can make up two each of R-27 Alamo, R-60 Aphid and R-72 Archer air-to-air missiles, but bear in mind that the weapons sprue has a little flash, so some clean-up might be needed. Each missile has its own pylon, and the larger R-27s have separate fins perpendicular to the seamline. They are all shown inserted into the holes in the wing undersides at the same times as the main and nose gear, which have separate wheels and retraction jacks, plus gear bay doors and a clear landing light in each main gear well. The nose gear bay has three doors, and at the tip of the nose a pitot probe will poke out your eye if you look too closely. Markings There are two decal options included on the sheet, but with greyscale profiles, it’s difficult to imagine the look of the options without referring to the colour charts. From the sheet you can build one of the following: MiG-29 “9-13” type, 733 IAP (Fighter Regiment) of Russian Air Force, Damgarten (Germany), 1994 MiG-29 “9-13” type, 40th Fighter Wing of Ukrainian Air Defence, 2000 APA-50M (ZiL-131) Airfield Mobile Electric Unit (72815) This range of kits was originally started by little-known company Omega-K as a truck with canvas tilt in the 90s, before the tooling was taken over at the turn of the millennium by ICM, since when it has been re-released many times and with various alterations to the basic kit and its chassis. This boxing arrives in a relatively small top-opening box that has a captive lid to the lower tray, and inside are five sprues and two loose cab parts in grey styrene, a clear sprue, a small decal sheet and the instruction manual, with colour profiles on the rear pages showing the decal options. Even though its base kit is of a certain age, the detail is excellent throughout, and small amounts of flash are easily removed to expose that detail. Construction begins with the one-piece ladder chassis, which first has two supports removed from each side that are marked in red for your ease. The underside of the engine, transfer box, drive-shafts and various tanks are installed around the ladder, then the twin axles at the rear and single front axle are both inserted below the rails on leaf-spring suspension with the axles interlinked by numerous drive-shaft elements, and a steering link for the front. Underneath, the twin exhaust pipes merge into a muffler then make their way out to the rear as a single pipe, near to a large towing hitch. The six road wheels are all moulded in two halves with chevron tread, and have a separate hub cap for extra detail, with just the seam to clean up in the middle, conveniently located at the centre of the tread pattern. If you want to add some weighting to them, a quick swipe with a coarse sanding stick should do the trick, after which you can glue the wheels with the flat-spot at the bottom. The cab is a really nice crisp moulding that has a little flash here and there, but it’s well worth the effort to remove it, after which the cab floor with various controls and the wheels are inserted from below, then the crystal-clear windows, windscreen and headlamps are inserted to the front, with cages finely moulded, although suffering a little flash that will take care to remove, but again it’s worth the effort. Door mirrors, a small spotlight and a fire extinguisher on the rear corner finish off the detailing of the cab, after which the load box is begun. The floor panel is bracketed by a front and end bulkhead before the sides are added, then two narrow sections of roof, and an upstand with separate roof and curved sides are attached to the centre section, giving the roof a stepped surface. A pair of rails are glued to the edges of the lower roof section, quickly finishing it off, then the three subassemblies can be mated by fixing the cab and body to the chassis, whilst adding the chunky front bumper iron, a section of treadplate between the outer sections behind the bumper, and adding a couple of towing/tie-down hooks to either side of the radiator. Markings There are three decal options on the sheet, with two green examples, and one in bright yellow for a little variation. From the box you can build one of the following: 738th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Zaporozhye, 1982 Unknown Military Unit, Soviet Armed Forces, 1980s Civil Aviation of the USSR, 1980s ZiL-131 Command Vehicle (72812) This is another Omega-K based kit that started life as a ZiL-131 truck with canvas tilt in the 90s, taken over at the turn of the millennium by ICM and developed from there. It is a variant of the truck reviewed above, so most of the sprues are the same in both bags, adding new parts in grey styrene for the box body, and a small additional clear sprue for the windows. Construction begins with the one-piece ladder chassis and cab, which are built in the exact same manner as above, so we’ll skip over those. The command cab is a slide-moulded part with five sides, just needing the floor adding, then detailing with vents in the roof, hand-rails at the edges, a spare tyres, ladder and other small parts, then it can be mounted on the chassis, finishing it off with mud guards, number plate holders, fuel tank and front bumper iron. Markings There are two decal options on this sheet, generic vehicles with and without camouflage. From the sheet you can build one of the following: Standard painting scheme of ZiL-131 vehicles Camouflage painting scheme of ZiL-131 vehicles PAG-14 Airfield Plates (72214) There are thirty-two of these plates in the bag, each one measuring 82mm x 28mm, and no instructions are needed, as they simply lay in serried rows next to each other. The diamond pattern engraved into the surface stops short of the edge all around, and there are small cut-outs equally spaced around the corners where the real thing has a hole with a bare rod spanning the gap that permits lifting cranes access to put them into position next to each other without having to move around them later. The purist may want to cut away the holes and add some rod, but most of us would just pop a little grass into the area, as they filled up with greenery quickly in the summer, or ice in the winter. They should be painted a grubby concrete colour, with plenty of scope for adding dirt or ice in the engraved diamond pattern, and you can create an area of approximately 14cm x 17cm with just ten of them, so 32 should supply enough to situate all the other components of the set with ease. Conclusion A great value set that brings together four linked elements to create the ingredients for a diorama, with little else needed other than your usual modelling tools and a piece of base-board to mount the PAG-14 on. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Try Me Acrylic Paint Set (3020) ICM via Hannants ICM have recently released their own brand of acrylic paints on the market, and are creating some kit specific sets to go with their major releases, but this one is a sample set that includes some generic colours that would be useful to someone to try the brand out before committing. The set arrives 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 with 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 and a bar-code. This set provides a variety of colours to assist you in deciding whether the brand is for you, and you will find the following colours in the box: 1001 White 1002 Black 1027 Gun Metal 1073 4BO Green 1011 Clear Red 2004 Grey Primer The paint is thick in the bottle, with plenty of headroom between the surface of the paint and the lip of the neck. I dropped a glass stirring ball into each bottle, and they took a few seconds to disappear beneath the surface, indicating their viscosity. If you look closely at some of the colours in the range (not necessarily this set), you'll notice that the colour of the paint seems lighter in places. That's not a reflection on the actual colour inside the pot though, so don't be put off, as it’s just some pigments seem to be drawn to the container wall. Lifting the lid shows the true colour, which is a much better representation of the colours, and that’s the shade that can be seen in the darker areas. What causes the lighter pigments to adhere to the bottle sides is a mystery, but it's cosmetic only so not something to worry about. During testing, 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, as some brands don’t spray very well though anything less than a 0.3mm needle if they’re coarsely (cheaper) ground. 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. Apart from the varnish, the other paints all dry to a matt finish. In past tests, the paint 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 the best chance of adhesion. Using a brush, the colours cover well two coats with minimal brush marks visible. Conclusion The paints are an excellent new(ish) brand, and whilst there is a little less paint in the bottles than some brands, they’re about average on balance. 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

WWII German Mortar s.Gr.W34 with or without crew (35715 & 35716) 1:35 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd The Granatwerfer 34 was an 8cm mortar in service with the German armed forces during WWII, continuing through the entire conflict thanks in part to its accuracy and rate of fire, plus the ability to add additional powder charges to the munitions to increase the range over standard. Over 70,000 units were made, and over 70m rounds were manufactured in either blast, fragmentation or smoke variety, with some training rounds for practicality. They were typically crewed by three to four soldiers, although fewer men could operate it if there were sufficient rounds already nearby and the need arose. The Kit This new kit from ICM has been produced in two boxings, one with a crew of four soldiers, the other as a stand-alone item that can be used as diorama fodder or as stowage on a vehicle. Each kit is delivered in an appropriately sized top-opening box with the usual captive flap on the lower tray, and the sprues are enclosed in a resealable clear foil bag, hiding the instruction booklet underneath. German Mortar s.Gr.W34 (35716) Consisting of one sprue and a small instruction booklet, the mortar barrel is assembled from two halves, then has the two-part adjustment mechanism clamped around it from both sides that receives the top of the support frame and another adjustment lever. The bottom end of the barrel is inserted into the base plate, which has the self-entrenching fins moulded into the underside, a nice detail that will need trimming back or removing if you are fixing it to a flat base. There are three ammo boxes included on the sprue that have one end moulded separately, and can either be depicted closed by gluing the lid over them, or with three rounds in place and the lid glued open. The instructions show the rounds painted orange or green, and a quick rummage round Google shows up pictures of both colours, although the paint has darkened over time. German Mortar s.Gr.W34 with crew (35715) The box for this set is slightly larger because it contains three sprues, including the same sprue as the kit above. The largest sprue includes parts for four crew figures, three of whom are kneeling in various poses, the other is running with an ammo box under each arm. Each member of the crew is dressed in standard Wehrmacht uniform for the period with stahlhelm and either a Kar98 rifle or MP40 machine pistol slung over their shoulders. The third sprue contains a variety of accessories that are appropriate for WWII German troops, including helmets, pouches, holsters, binoculars, mess kits, water bottles, gas mask canisters, and even a spare MG34 with ammo cans if you should need it. The figures are well-sculpted and moulded with separate torsos, heads with flat tops, arms and legs, with some of the hands separated for detail’s sake. One figure also has one of his coat tails separate, and each figure has their own over-shoulder bag that has matching straps moulded into the torso of the figure. The ammo boxes and rounds for the mortar are included on the mortar sprue, and the one not under being carried can be assembled opened or closed as described above. Conclusion Get whichever set you prefer and enjoy the detail. Excellent sculpting on the figures, and fine detail on the mortar with sufficient accessories to satisfy most needs. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Unimog S404 ‘Koffer’ (35136) 1:35 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd Unimog was the brand-name used by Mercedes for their truck, tractor and commercial vehicle range that began post WWII as an agricultural brand, initially built by another company for them whilst using their engines. The range broadened in the late 40s and early 50s to include trucks, of which the 404 series was one, entering production in 1955. It is a small (1.5 tonne) 4x4 truck that was driven by a 2.2 litre M180 straight-6 Mercedes engine and has impressive off-road performance due to a change that had been required by a customer, the French Army, who wanted the spare tyre to be stored clear of the load compartment. The designers altered the shape of the rear chassis rails to allow the wheel to sit under the floor, the downward sweep giving the chassis extra flexibility that smoothed the ride on rough surfaces, assisted by coil springs, rather than traditional leaf springs. The four-wheel drive system could be disengaged on smoother ground, leaving just the rear wheels engaged, thereby saving fuel and wear on the front drive-shafts, and generally improving performance all round. The 404 series was the most numerous of the Unimog line, and was available as a short or long-wheelbase chassis, with the shorter option phased out at the beginning of the 70s, while the longer wheelbase continued on for another decade before it too was retired. The nascent West German Bundeswehr were a major customer, buying substantial quantities of the 404S as a workhorse for their forces, taking on many roles in their service. A total of over 62,000 of the 404S were made over its lengthy production run, with many of them still on and off the roads to this day due to their rugged engineering. The name Koffer was short for Kofferaufbau, which roughly translated via Google stands for case body, which often had a turbo-heater fixed to it as well as a variety of windows and ventilation outlets that varied with time and use. The Kit This is a rebox with additional sprues of a new tooling from Ukrainian company ICM of this Bundeswehr pillar of their transport arm. It arrives in a top-opening box with a captive lid on the lower tray, and inside are seven sprues of grey styrene, two clear sprues, five flexible black tyres, a decal sheet and a glossy printed instruction booklet with colour profiles on the rear pages. Detail is excellent throughout, and includes a full chassis and engine, plus the bodywork and new load area, all crisply moulded as we’ve come to expect from ICM. The grille of the vehicle is especially well-done, as are the coil springs on each corner, and the wheels are very neat with multi-part hubs. Construction begins with the ladder chassis, which is joined together with a series of cylindrical cross-members, plus front and rear beams, the latter braced by diagonal stiffeners to strengthen the area around the towing eye at the rear. The suspension is next, adding an insert to the opposite side of each spring to avoid sink-marks, but care must be taken to align them neatly to minimise clean-up afterwards. Triangular supports for the fuel tanks are added on each side, then attention turns to the six-cylinder Mercedes motor. Beginning with the two-part cylinder block and gearbox, the basic structure is augmented by ancillaries, fan, pulleys and drive-shaft for the front wheels, after which the engine is mated to the chassis and has the long exhaust system installed, adding a muffler insert around the half-way point, and siting another drive-shaft adjacent. Two stamped fuel tanks are each made from two parts, with the forward one having a filler tube and cap glued to the side, sitting on the out-riggers that were fitted to the chassis earlier. The front axle is made up from five parts to capture the complex shape of the assembly, to be installed between the suspension mounts and mated to the forward drive-shaft, plus the stub axles for the front wheels. A stowage box is made for the opposite side of the chassis from the fuel tanks, then the rear axle is built with similar detail and part count, fitting between the suspension and having larger circular stub-axles that have the drum brakes moulded-in. The front wheels have separate drum brakes, and both front and rear axles are braced with damping struts, while the front axle has a steering arm linking the two wheels together, with more parts connecting that to the steering column. With the chassis inverted, the front bumper and its sump guard are fixed to the front, and a curved plaque on the rear cross-member, plus another pair of diagonal bracing struts for the rear axles. Each wheel is made up from a two-part hub that goes together much like a real steel hub, but without the heat of welding, around the flexible black tyres. The front and rear hubs are of different design, so take care inserting them in the correct location. Lastly, the chassis is completed by adding the radiator and its frame at the front of the vehicle. The cab is the first section of the bodywork to be made, starting with the floor, adding foot pedals, shaped metalwork around the gearbox cut-out, sidewalls and the internal wheel wells below the floor level. Several additional parts are glued beneath the floor for later mounting, then the lower cab is built up on the floor, including the front with recessed headlight reflectors; bonnet surround, dashboard with decal, plus various trim panels. The floor is then lowered onto the chassis with four arrows showing where it should meet with the floor, taking care with the radiator. Once in place, the bonnet and more interior trim is installed along with a bunch of stalks between the seat positions. The seats are made from the basic frame to which the two cushions are fixed, much like the real thing, then they’re mounted inside the cab, followed closely by the two crew doors, which have handles on both sides, and pockets on the interior, and can be posed open or closed. More grab-handles, controls and other small parts are fixed around the dash, and the windscreen with two glazing panels are put in place, with a highly detailed steering wheel that has the individual finger ‘bumps’ on the underside, and for your ease, it’s probably better to put the wheel in before the windscreen is fixed in place. The cab is finished off by adding the cabrio top, which starts with an L-shaped top and rear, to which a small rectangular window and two side sections are added, dropped over the cab when the glue is dry and the seams have been dealt with along with the side windows that consist of the frame with two glazing panels in each one. Later on, the recessed headlight reflectors should be painted with the brightest metallic you can find before they are covered by the clear lenses and their protective cages, joined slightly outboard by combined side-light/indicator lenses, a choice of two styles of door mirrors, and a pair of windscreen wipers to keep the screen clear. The load bed begins with a flat rectangular floor, several supports and two lateral beams that takes the weight of the bed once complete. The sides of the load area are covered with raised and recessed detail, and comprise four parts, one for each side, with windows and optional grilles added from the inside. The roof has two options, one has moulded-in hatches, which are covered by a tubular framework, the other is much simplified. A set of poles are glued to the side in a rack, handles are added to the recessed areas of the doors, with a frame fixed to the front of the load box to carry the turbo-heater that is built next as a clasped case and a tubular assembly. Underneath is a rack for a nicely detailed jerry can, several stowage boxes and optional racks or steps, and the spare wheel on a dropped C-shaped mount, built in the same manner as the road wheels. A choice of two number plate holders is hung under the rear, also holding the rear lights for that side, with another less substantial part on the opposite side. Markings You might guess that most of the decal options are green, but there is one in NATO camouflage that is so typical of how I remember the Unimog in West German service. From the box you can build one of these three: Bundeswehr Artillery Unit, 1970s Bundeswehr Aviation Unit, 1970s Bundeswehr Armoured Unit, 1980s <ul style="list-style-type:upper-alpha"> The decals are printed by ICM’s usual partners, and consist of dials, number plates, stencils and a few other small decals, with good register, sharpness and solid colours. If you don't think you have the correct paint shades in stock for this kit, there is a new Acrylic Paint Set from ICM specifically designed for this model, our review of which you can see here. Conclusion The Unimogs were ubiquitous in Cold War West German army service, so there ought to be a good market for a modern tooling of the type, with many more variants still to come in due course. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Bristol Beaufort Mk.IA w/Tropical Filters (48311) 1:48 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd The Beaufort was originally designed as a torpedo bomber by Bristol, using the experience they had gained in developing the then-excellent Blenheim. They were ready in time for the outbreak of WWII, and as well as their prescribed role, they were also used as light bombers, undertaking many ‘Rhubarb’ missions over enemy territory in the so-called ‘phony war’, embarking on daylight missions that saw heavy casualties, although the accidental loss tally outstripped combat losses, surprisingly. Roughly 1,200 were built in the UK, with the total being elevated to almost 2,000 by additional Australian-built airframes that were known as DAP Beauforts. They were rapidly overhauled by the German fighters and were withdrawn from frontline service as early as 1942, by which time they had also been tasked with Aerial mine-laying. From then on, they were assigned to serve away from the front, and saw extensive use as a trainer, which might go at least some of the way to explain the high attrition rate due to accidents. The Mk.IA had an improved turret fitted at the rear of the crew compartment spine, that was notable because it was more square in profile, and torpedo bombers were fitted with early ASV radars , the antennae for which were mounted on the leading edges of the wings. A further development of the Beaufort was the Beaufighter, which used important components of the Beaufort that included the wings and engines, with a new cut-down fuselage that was comparatively low and streamlined, with a powerful cannon armament under the nose that was useful in its assigned duties as long-distance heavy fighter, and later nightfighter, where it excelled. Some obsolete Beauforts were even converted to Beaufighters to make further use of the shared parts, which gave many of the original airframes a more honourable end than they would otherwise have seen. In an attempt to improve on the original Mk.I that took up the majority of production, the designers created additional variants that used other engines, had faired over turrets when they were to be used as trainers, and even a project that saw the fitment of a pair of Merlin XX engine that didn’t achieve the desired effect, so was cancelled, in much the same manner as the Merlin powered Beaufighter that managed to be “underpowered” despite the pedigree of the engines that propelled it. The Kit A lot of modellers that build in 1:48 have been waiting with baited breath for this new tooling from ICM, and now it is with us, despite the horrible circumstances that besets the Ukrainian people at the time of writing. This initial boxing rightly covers the Mk.I torpedo bomber, and there is another boxing on the way with a tropicalised engine fit that should arrive pretty soon. This new issue arrives in a reasonable-sized top-opening box with their usual captive lid on the lower tray. Inside are eight sprues in mid-grey styrene, a large clear sprue, decal sheet and glossy instruction booklet that has colour profiles on the rear pages. Opening the resealable bags reveals the detail that has been lavished on this kit that includes lots of internal ribbing, a set of ribbed flap bays and flaps, a representation of both banks of the Bristol Taurus engines, detailed gear bays and bay doors, and a torpedo to complete the package. Construction begins with a narrow torpedo bay under the fuselage that is glued to a section of the aft floor, then detailed with ribs, flipped over and joined to a bulkhead that has a doorway cut in it, then has a chute made up on one side before it is attached to the rest of the interior floor, which is initially free of detail, apart from underneath, where it has bomb shackles moulded-in, and a semi-cylindrical bay toward the front of the fuselage, which will allow the torpedo to nestle into the fuselage part way. The starboard fuselage half has an insert fitted into the wing-root depression to match the crisp moulded ribbing that is all over the interior as far back as the trailing edge of the wings, and extends into the tail-wheel bay. The side windows are inserted from inside, swapping the rear one out for an opaque cover if appropriate, then the floor is mated on several slots into the fuselage sides ready for the twin spars and a good quantity of detail. The forward spar is detailed with four parts to depict the radio gear with a plotting table below it, and on the other side a section of fairing is fixed, then the assembly is glued into its slot, joining the bottom of the spar with the fuselage blank. The cockpit is a two-tier assembly that is started by joining the two halves of the side console together, adding a raised floor panel, the instrument panel with five dial decals and rudder pedals, a short half-bulkhead and the swivelling front seat. Another simple seat is made up and glued to the rear spar along with another step-like fairing, and it too is slipped into the rear slot in the fuselage and glued in place. The pilot’s seat is made up from two parts and has a bow-tie control column placed in front of it, while to the rear, an Elsan toilet is dropped onto a raised plinth in the rear fuselage floor. The tail wheel bay is made up from ceiling with two small bulkhead ends, and it is glued into the very rear, which already has ribbing moulded into the sides. The tail-wheel and strut is a single part than inserts in the bay ceiling on a peg, so can be left off until after main painting. The port fuselage half is prepared in a similar manner to the starboard, save for the optional rear window, and a 0.9mm hole that is drilled in the ceiling. Just before closing up the fuselage, another detail part is fixed to the bulkhead behind the pilot’s seat, with more glued into the nose, which might be better added before you paint the cockpit. The main canopy is glued over the cockpit aperture, and the nose is glazed by four additional clear parts, and a choice of port-side aft door with a circular porthole or gun port fitted over the hole in the fuselage, which can have a Lewis machine-gun with dinner plate magazine on a spar across the opening. If you are installing the gun, the clamshell door part should be left off. The Beaufort had mid-mounted wings, so each one is separate, and made from two halves. The port wing has a small landing light bay inserted before it is closed, and a small dome is removed from the leading edge, then the clear glazing is inserted once the glue has set up. A clear wingtip is fitted, and a one-piece aileron is added and able to be offset if you feel the urge. You also must make a choice whether to fit the wing surface over the inner flaps with a trio of strakes in a nacelle extension, or a straight section with curved root fairing. The same process is carried out minus the landing light bay on the starboard wing, then both wings are slotted over the two spars that have corresponding guides moulded into the inside of the wings to ensure good location. The elevator fins are each two parts and are mounted in the usual slot/tab method, to be joined by one-piece elevators and rudder, which the latter having a pair of horns near the hinge. Two flap sections are added to each wing’s underside, then the two nacelles are made up from halves along with a bulkhead near the front, and another that is glued into the wing before the nacelles are put in place. The roof of the bay is free of any detail, and is the location that the twin strut gear legs and their actuators are fixed once they are built up. The main wheels are each two halves, and they flex-fit into the lower section of the main leg, which has a curved tubular framework added to the top section, probably to assist with the smooth opening and closing of the door bays. The lower section of the main gear forms a twin triangular framework that is linked by several cross-members before the lower section is glued into the sockets in the upper section, and has another pair of actuators added at the rear to brace the top section. Both assemblies are inserted into the bays on each level of the ceiling, then the twin bay doors with their ribbed inners are added to the sides of the bays on hinge tabs. At the same time, the bomb bay has a small insert attached to the front bulkhead to add detail to the area. Each Taurus radial engine is formed from two well-detailed banks of cylinders with a circular collector ring attached to the centre by three stators, plus a complex system of tubes installed around the circumference in between the cylinders, and another at the rear of the engine that has a square peg at the back for fixing them to the wing through the cooling flaps at the rear of the cowlings. Two holes on the top of the nacelle receive a different two-part intake, then the cowling is wrapped around the engine, comprising two halves and a pair of curved exhausts for each engine. She’s looking very much like a Beaufort now, but needs some defensive armament in addition to the optional Lewis gun in the side. The new mid-upper turret is mounted in the back of the cockpit “hump”, and is built upon a separate section of the fuselage with a circular base that receives the guns’ mount and gunner’s bicycle-style seat below the lip, gluing the majority of the turret into position along with a fairing lip around the end, then deciding whether to mount the clear glazing in the top of the nose, or the alternative that mounts another two Lewis guns in the nose. The bomb/torpedo bay forms a cruciform shape when viewed from below, as it was lengthened to accept the torpedo, and has the mount fitted into the wider centre section, and if not carrying a torpedo, two inserts close off the bomb bay from its two narrower sections. The bay doors are in three sections, the narrower front and rear sections having one door per side, while the wider bomb bay section has two doors each side that fold together, minimising the aerodynamic drag, as well as fitting in the space below the aircraft when on the ground. If you plan on posing all the bay doors closed, there are three additional conjoined parts to ease your path, which is always nice to see. The torpedo has been seen in a separate box before, and its build is covered on the last page of instruction steps, making it up from two halves, adding a three-part H-tail with twin spinners, and another spinner-plus-spacer at the business end. There are also five steps to create a trolley for moving your Torp about and loading it onto the Beaufort on rising scissor-links if you want to add a bit of diorama appeal to your model. The torpedo is mounted with all bay doors open, and glues onto a long curved rectangular frame in the centre of the bomb bay. While the model is inverted, the underslung nose turret can be built from three parts for the gun and two-part dome, or a blanking plate is fitted over the aperture. A pitot is also mounted under the nose, a towel-rail antenna under the fuselage, and three small outlets are mounted on the wings and just behind the bomb bay. Back on its wheels, the cockpit hump is detailed with two more antennae, and another either flush with the roof in a typical D/F loop fairing. The radar antennae are reminiscent of TV aerials, formed from a main antenna with several dipoles perpendicular, one under each wing, mounted on two brackets that fit into holes drilled in the wings earlier, and another offset under the nose on a single post. These are most definitely best left of until the very end so that they survive without damage. Markings ICM have begun to include templates for masking material with each of their new kits, which can be found just in front of the colour profiles for you to place tape over, cut around and apply to your model, thanks to drawings above that indicate what goes where. There are four decal options included on the sheet in a variety of schemes. From the box you can build one of the following: DD959 Q, No.217 Sqn., Malta, 1942 L9965 T, Mediterranean Sea region, 1942 DX157, presumably Indian Ocean region, Spring 1944 EK979, RAF Training Unit, Bilbais, Egypt, 1944 The decals are printed by ICM’s usual partners, and include dials for the instrument panels, with good register, sharpness, and solid colours. 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 allow you to create your own masks if you wish. It goes up to 64 thanks to the copious glazing of the Beaufort. Conclusion I was looking forward to the initial release, and I’m wasn’t disappointed, and this rebox with new parts is just as good with another theatre of operation opening up in terms of subjects. It’s another Beaufort in my preferred scale, there’s plenty of detail, and a good choice of decal options. Very highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

KFK Kriegsfischkutter (S.018) 1:350 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd During WWII the German Kriegsmarine realised the potential of a low-technology small patrol boat to aid in their operations, and made an order for just over 1,000 examples, fitted out with equipment and armament to suit the task to which they were suited. The hull was of wooden construction that was cheap to make using existing facilities that used up little in the way of strategic materials other than for the frames, with propulsion provided by a diesel engine. It was intended that after the war, they could be converted back to civilian use as a trawler, but the majority used after the war were from post-war production and had never seen action. Production began in 1942, and was undertaken within Germany, but also at other occupied locations, including the Ukraine, for operation on the Black Sea. Many of the type were used as small guard boats or for security patrols, fitted with two circular gun platforms, one on the fore deck, the other set high behind the wheelhouse, offering a better view of larger vessels for the gunner. The war ended before the full contract was completed, with over 600 built in total, some as patrol boats, training vessels, mine sweeping, and for basic anti-submarine warfare. Measuring only 24m long with a displacement of 110 tonnes, the 220hp diesel motor could only propel it to around 9 knots, so it was hardly a fast patrol boat, barely able to keep up with a standard trawler, but it still saw service in every sea where the Nazis fought during WWII. The Kit This is a brand-new tool from ICM, and it’s plain to see where the motivation for it came from, as some vessels were built in ICM’s home country of Ukraine. The kit arrives in a small top-opening box with captive top flap on the lower tray, and inside is a single sprue of grey styrene and the instruction booklet in colour, with painting profiles on the rear pages. Detail is good for the diminutive size of the model in this scale, and as well as having the option of full-hull or waterline models, you also get a simple stand to pose your completed model on if you opt for full-hull. Construction is straight forward and begins with creating the keel up to water level from two halves, then the rest of the hull is made from two more halves plus a deck panel that has planking and some of the deck furniture moulded into the top. Gluing the keel to the upper hull is optional, and a flat blanking plate is also supplied for the waterline modeller to give it some structural rigidity. The wheel house has the stepped rear made up from three parts, plus the vertical front, which also includes the railings for the small (barely) flying bridges to the sides of the enclosed bridge. The two deck gun emplacement bases are situated on the fore deck and behind the wheel house, adding the screw in front of the moulded-in rudder if you have glued the lower hull to your model, and a life ring that straps to the railings on the bridge. The wheel house has a heavy weather-resistant roof added, and a life raft is attached to the front on two pegs, while the single mast is made up out of three parts and inserted into its socket at the rear of the aft gun emplacement. The emplacements each have two-part circular railings that extend to most of the perimeter, which are butt-joints, so make sure you give them adequate time for the glue to cure before carefully putting them into position. The guns are moulded into their conical bases in the idle position, pointing at the sky, and they fit into the centre recess on each emplacement, with the model finished off by adding the anchor in the bow, and another life ring to the other flying bridge. If you wanted to go the extra mile and some more detail to your model, there are vertical posts moulded into the hull sides for the handrails, and you could easily (easy for me to say!) add the horizontals to give it some more realism. The display base is a single part with the shape of the keel moulded into its top, and a concave conical profile that would only take a gloss coat of brass to do a creditable impression of a more expensive metallic base. Markings There are no decals in the box as they aren’t required, but there are two suggested schemes in the back of the instruction booklet, as follows: Multi-purpose boat KFK Kriegsfischkutter, 1944 Multi-purpose boat KFK Kriegsfischkutter with camouflage paint applied, 1944 Paint colours are called out with letters in red boxes that correspond to a table on the front of the booklet that gives you Ukrainian and English names, plus ICM, Revell and Tamiya paint codes that should permit most modellers to choose colours from their preferred range. Conclusion It’s a tiny little model measuring barely 7cm or 3” from stem to stern, but there’s quite a bit of detail included, and it’s another unusual subject that some folks (self-included) might not have heard of. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Junkers Ju-88A-8 Paravane (48230) 1:48 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd 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 in the nose and sent it against tanks and bombers, with variable success. The A series sported a pair of Jumo 211 engines in cylindrical cowlings producing over 1,000hp each, and was improved gradually up until the A-17. During the Battle of Britain the British defenders flew balloons, or Aerostats above their main centres of population, tied to the ground via strong steel hawsers, with the intention of snagging unwitting enemy aircraft and bringing them crashing to the ground. To combat this, some German aircraft were fitted with wire cutting blades in arrow-headed arrangements around the front of the aircraft to cut or deflect the cables and save the aircraft from becoming another casualty of the wily Brits. The Ju-88A-8 was outfitted with such a contraption, referred to as a Paravane, and to counter the extra weight the crew was reduced to three, and the engines were upgraded to Jumo 211F-1 that produced more power at higher revs to counter both the weight and drag. It wasn’t wholly successful, as the performance was worse despite the attempts to ameliorate this. They were of course only of use at lower altitudes to which aerostats could be raised. The Kit This is a new variation on the original tooling of an A-5 and subsequent A-11 that were release by ICM, with new paravane parts on a single additional sprue added to make it specific to this boxing. The box is the usual top-opening with an inner lid on the lower tray, and inside you will find nine sprues in grey styrene, one in clear, a decal sheet and a glossy covered instruction booklet with spot colour inside, and the decal options in full colour on the rear pages. If you have been lucky enough to see the other kits, you'll know that detail is right up there in terms of quality and crispness, with ICM improving leaps and bound over the last several years despite impediments, which is great news for us modellers, as they aren't frightened of tackling what to us may seem niche subject matters. Construction begins with the addition of sidewall details in the capacious cockpit area of the fuselage. Rear bulkhead, side consoles and seats are all added to the cockpit sides for a change, with an insert in the fuselage for the circular antenna and tail wheel added into the starboard side. The instrument panel is supplied with decals, and fits into the fuselage during joining. The missing floor is added to the lower fuselage panel that includes the lower parts of the inner wings and gives the structure extra strength. It also receives the rudder pedals, control column, and the two remaining crew seats before being joined to the fuselage. The tail plane has articulated flying surfaces, and the wings are supplied as top and bottom halves, with the flaps and ailerons separate from the box, having neat curved fairings so they look good when fitted at an angle. 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 and the ailerons run full-span, terminating just as the wingtip begins. This variant was fitted with the under-fuselage gondola, and each side has separate glazing panels inserted from inside, and a seam running vertically through its length. It is added to the hole in the underside of the fuselage, with the front and rear glazing plus zwilling mounted machine guns later in the build. At this time the landing gear is made up on a pair of upstands that are added to the underwing in preparation for the installation of the nacelle cowlings. The engines must be built up first though, with a high part count and plenty of detail, mounting on a rear firewall that securely fits inside the cowling. Even though this is an in-line engine with a V-shaped 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, and I'm sure someone will be along with some in-scale opened panels in due course. The cooling flaps around the cowling are separate, and the exhausts have separate stacks, which aren't hollow but are large enough to make boring them out with a drill a possibility. The completed nacelles fit to the underwing over the top of the main gear installation, securing in place with four pegs, two on each side of each nacelle. The props are made from spinner, backplate and a single part containing all three blades, sliding onto a pin projecting from the engine front, which will require some glue if you want to keep them on. At this point the instructions recommend adding the canopy glazing, which consists of a choice of two faceted nose cones, and the main greenhouse for the cockpit aperture. The rear portion is made from two additional parts due to its double "blown" shape to accommodate the two rear-facing gun positions, so that the gunner's head isn't pressed against the canopy. The guns are fitted through the windscreen and the two circular ports on the rear, although no ammo feed is supplied. Under the wings the four bomb crutches on aerodynamic mounts are built up with anti-sway braces and installed, with bombs supplied that have two of their fins moulded separately, along with the stabilising struts that fit into notches in the fins. While the airframe is flipped over, the two-part wheels, tail-wheel bay doors and twin main gear bay doors are added, both having good detail and the former a radial tread. Exhaust covers are fixed over the individual exits, and a small number of actuators are glued to recesses in the ailerons. Addition of the canopy mounted antenna completes the standard build, but the paravane parts are yet to be added. There are four wing-mounted supports for the cutting blade, each one an A-frame that attaches above and below the wing. They are joined by two more angled A-frames that project from the sides of the nose, all six supporting the two blade symmetrical sections that meet up in the centre and at the wingtips. This and the other delicate parts are best left off until main painting is complete, but that’s your decision, not mine. Markings The kit includes three markings options, and although there are no Swastikas on the sheet, they are supplied in halves for those that want them. From the box you can build one of the following: Junkers Ju 88 A-8 Paravane, 5./KG 30, 1941 Junkers Ju 88 A-8 Paravane, KG 30,1941 Junkers Ju 88 A-8 Paravane, KG 51, 1941 The colours are picked out using letters that correspond to a table on the front page, which gives the names and paint codes in ICM, Revell and Tamiya ranges, so should be easy to convert to your paint system of choice. The decals are printed in good register, colour density and sharpness, with additional instrument dials included on a clear carrier film to help with cockpit painting. All the stencils are legible, with a thin carrier film cut close to the printing. 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 64 thanks to the faceted greenhouse glazing. Conclusion ICM's range of Ju.88s, He.111s and Do.17s are a good example of how far they have come in recent years, adding value to their brand, and improving their reputation with each release. The kit is well-detailed and comprehensive in what it includes, and the Paravane gear is a little bit out of the ordinary, which is always fun. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of