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Mirage F.1CG Hellenic Air Force (72294) 1:72 Special Hobby The Dassault Mirage F.1 has been a successful point defence fighter for over thirty years, and was developed initially as a private venture by Dassault as a replacement to their ageing Mirage III fighters. It is a single-engined, single-seat fighter aircraft with a high-mounted delta wing and capability of reaching mach 2.2 in short order. Power was provided by a single SNECMA Atar turbojet providing about 7 tonnes-force (69 kN; 15,000 lbf) of thrust. Dassault soon found an eager customer in the shape of the French Armée de l'air, who bought various versions over the years starting on 1974. The French retired the Mirage F.1 in 2014. Greece ordered 40 CG airframes that entered service in 1975, and were well-used with a huge number of flight hours clocked up before their retiral in 2003. The Kit This is a reworking of the superb new tool kit from Special Hobby. This boxing has extra resin pylons. The parts are crisp with engraved panel lines deep enough not to disappear under a coat of paint, but not trench like. From the parts break down on the sprues it is evident more versions are on there way. Construction starts conventionally enough in the cockpit area. The instrument panel and coaming is built up and attached to the front of the cockpit, the rear bulkhead is attached, and the control stick added in. For some strange reason step 3 in the instructions has you placing the cockpit inside the fuselage and closing it up; and step 4 has you adding the front wheel well and exhaust into the fuselage. I would safely say that it's best to reverse these. On the subject of the exhaust, it is a three part affair and the quality of the kit parts is very good. Once the exhaust, front wheel bay, and cockpit are in the main fuselage can indeed be closed up. Once the main fuselage is together the correct nose can be added for your chose decal option. Various nose antenna are added along with the front airbrakes which are moulded in the closed position. The engine intakes are also added at this stage. Next the main wings are added which are of conventional upper/lower construction. Once these are on the rudder, tail planes, and ventral strakes are all added as well. Once the main aircraft is built it is time to switch to the landing gear. All three units are built up and added along with their respective doors. The undercarriage is quite detailed but has been moulded to be in as few parts as possible. The main legs along with their retraction struts are one part, with only a single small section needed for each of the mains. The wheels are one part each and have nice relief for painting. It is then a quick re-visit to the cockpit to build the ejection seat. For the scale this is quite detailed with 4 parts making up the seat. There is a choice of seat back/cushion however no indication of which to use for which option. It is suspected these options are time frame based, and the modeller should check their references. The penultimate step is to add the pylons. A single centre line pylon is added along with wing pylons, &chaff dispensers. Thankfully this time the instructions show which should be added for each decal option. The instructions show only fuel tanks to be attached, although the sprues do contain a nice selection of weapons to be deployed as the modeller sees fit,. Lastly the canopy and front screen are attached. Markings There are four decal options on a sheet from Cartograf so there will be no issues there. No.129 334 Mira (Sgn), 114 Pterix Mahis (Combat Wing), with Greek god Thalos on the fin No.140, 334 Mira, 114 Pterix Mahis in Fantasma scheme No.114, 332 Mira, 114 Pterix Mahis, in French camo Conclusion It is great to see more versions of this new tool from Special Hobby becoming available. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

A while ago, after discovering that Romania had an aircraft industry up to WW2 - and produced a respectable fighter, the IAR - 80, to my surprise I discovered the Aussies had had an aircraft industry before WW2 as well, producing two respectable, if not earth shattering planes - the Wirraway and Boomerang. The Boomerang itself looks vaguely like a Brewster Buffalo and though respectable enough, was not in the same league as the Zeroes it came up against. Odd really as it was well armed, with 2 20mm cannon and 4 .303 machine guns, but other factors prevailed to make it less than equal to the opposition. Though nominally a fighter, it ended up as a light ground attack type, coming into service in 1942, retired in 1945. Special Hobby do both Wirraway and Boomerang in 1/72, and I picked up one of the 1/72 Boomerangs a while ago, and after seeing a build of a Wirraway here after Christmas I decided to start my Boomerang once I had finished the two Austrian Air Force F-5e planes I was making. I should point out this is the second Special Hobby kit I have made where I spent excessive time filling, sanding, priming and muttering strong imprecations at it. The reason? Serious shortcomings in the fit department. Wings and fuselage and cockpit and canopy, mainly. Yes, almost all of the kit didn't fit properly. As I said, copious sanding, filling, cutting and general cursing accompanied more cursing, sanding and filling until I had what looked like an aeroplane model in the hand. And the sprue gates were very, very thick and attached often in awkward places, so some steady cutting and hoping was done. (Which by and large worked). Painting was interesting, Foliage green, the colour recommended for the main camouflage colour seemed difficult to match up. Then in the February 2022 issue of SAM I found a build article of this very kit! Which confirmed the fit issues, and the need for copious filling, sanding, priming, filling, sanding and I expect the author wanted to say cursing too, but thought he might not get it published if he did. But he didn't say what he used for foliage green, so I used tamiya NATO Green (XF-67 which weirdly, doesn't look that far away from the paint used by the magazine contributor. I don't think it's right, but - well, it doesn't look that bad to me. The build was mostly OOB, with peewit canopy masks, some British sutton seatbelts from the spares box, a yahu instrument panel and a bit of albion alloys tube for the radio aerial, and modelling tools' little lenses for the underwing identification lights and the wingtip navigation lights.. After glossing with extracrylix gloss varnish, the decals weren't too bad, but after trying to put some of the stencils on the green sections, decided not to bother with any more; you can't see them, so it was just a few on the white tail. An unexpected problem I came up with was I dipped the canopy in Gauzy glass coat agent, which did impart a decent shine to the canopy; however, when trying to adjust the mask segments into position, the mask took the gauzy layer off. I have since decided to leave the canopy as is. I finished the kit in Extracrylix flat varnish. I am now a little wary of Special hobby kits; previous builds of Tamiya, Revell, Italeri, Brengun, Eduard and Kinetic have had none of the fit issues the two Special hobby kits I've now made have. So it's on to a Tamiya model next, I have one in mind but can't quite make my mind up for certain yet. Music listened to during this build included Welcome to the Planet by Big Big Train, The Zealot Code by Jethro Tull, The Art of Losing by the Anchoress, Powr up by AC/DC and the Wisdom of Crowds by Bruse Soord.

Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.Mk.11 (SH72437) RAF Squadrons 1:72 Special Hobby Yes that an Armstrong Whitworth Meteor, not a Gloster one. Gloster did design the Meteor, however by the time the cold was was upon us the RAF had Meteors in the day fighter role but were still using Mosquitoes in the night fighter role. At the time Gloster were heavily into the design of the Javelin for the RAF so it was put to AW to design and build a Night Fighter version (they did build the majority of Fighter Meteors for the RAF as well). The NF Meteor would come about as an amalgamation of meteor parts already in use, the main body was that of the tow seat T.7 but with the later tail of the F.8. The four 20mm cannon were moved into the wing outer spans to accommodate the AI Mk 10 Radar in the nose. Like the T.7 the crew would not be afforded ejection seats. The first aircraft flew in May 1950. Later on the NF.12 would feature a US built APS-12 radar, the NF.13 being a tropicalised NF.11. The final version of this venerable night fighter would be the NF.14 featuring a more modern blown canopy, As well as being supplied to the RAF NF.11s were supplied to other NATO countries. Belgium received 24, Denmark 20 and France had 41. The Kit This is a recent new tool kit from Special Hobby. As a new tool the moulding are of good quality with good detail and nice recessed panel lines. The kit arrives on 4 main sprues, a smaller sprue and a clear sprue. Construction first begins in the cockpit which builds up to a complete module that slots into the fuselage when built up. The centre bulkhead is added to the floor and then the left side is added. The centre radar console is then built up and installed along with both seats. The rear bulkhead goes on, and in the front cockpit the control column goes in. The right side can then be added. To the underside of this module the nose gear well is then added. This assembly can then go into the right fuselage. The pilots instrument panel then goes in as does the deck behind the radar operator. The fuselage can then be closed up. Construction now moves onto the wings. Firstly the engines and jet pipes need to be assembled. There is a basic representative Derwent which you will see the front face of through the intake. Behind this there is the jet pipe, and exhaust. These go into the one part upper wing. In front of the engines goes the fairing over the front wing spar which is seen through the intake. Single part intake inners are then fitted. The aperture for the fuselage at the leading edge of the wing will need to widened slightly. Moving on the the lower wing the main gear wells need to be built up. The two wing sections can then be joined. The intake leading edges, and exhaust trailing edges are then fitted. The fuselage can now be joined to the wings. At the rear the tail planes then go on. The main gear units are then assembled and added along with their retraction struts and the main gear doors. Like the real units these are complicated and care need to get them right. At the front the nose wheel and its doors are then added also. To finish off the wing and belly tanks are fitted followed by the canopy, gun muzzles and pitot tube. Markings The glossy decal sheet is printed in house and looks sharp and in register. There are marking for three aircraft WD603/C No.29 Sqn., RAF Tangmere, West Sussex, Great Britain, Jul 1953 WM293/B, No.68 Sqn., RAF Wahn, Federal Republic of Germany, 1956 WM223/U No. 151 Sqn., RAF Leuchars, Fife, Scotland, 1954 WD642/A No.256 Sqn., 2nd TAF, RAF Geilenkirchen, Federal Republic of Germany, 1958 Conclusion It is good to see a new kits of the Meteor Night Fighter out there. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

I will soon be retiring and moving to Wisconsin, where I went to University many years ago. I thus thought it appropriate to build an aircraft with some DairyLand heritage -- I chose the Lockheed Model 10 Electra of Wisconsin Central Airlines circa 1948: The worklog for this project can be found here: I began with the old, short run kit by Special Hobby, and made numerous changes & corrections. Some of the most significant are: Vacuformed a new canopy (the one in the kit had yellowed with age) Replaced the horizontal and vertical stabilizers with thinner, scratchbuilt items Added seats and details to the passenger compartment Enlarged the engine cowls and installed aftermarket Wasp Jr engines Re-built the main landing gear struts and scratch built tail wheel assembly Decals are custom made by Arctic Decals ( arcticdecals.com ). Mika did a great job on these and helped research the details. Enough yackity-yack, let's see some photos! Some close-up, detail shots: Nose lights and pitot tubes added: Aftermarket engines with added cylinder wiring and valve pushrod covers: Re-built the engine cowl, added exhausts, scratch-built correct landing gear struts, and added the leading edge landing light: Added passenger seating and detailed the interior, little of which is visible now: Mika's decals were very thin, and went on beautifully! Scratch-built rear surfaces to replace the over-thick kit items: Scratch-built tail wheel area: Wingtip and tail lights were made using UV-activated liquid gel, painted with transparent red and blue. As a side project, I converted a 1/72 WWII staff car into a 1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe sedan. Rebuilding the frontend and grille area was a real challenge to my scratch-building skills! Final beauty shots: I never expected this to become a three-plus month project. Shipping delays due to the Coronavirus pandemic left me with a lot of down time while waiting for parts and decals to arrive. But, at long last I can call this job done. My plans are to complete my Wisconsin Central Airlines collection with a DC-3 Dakota and Cessna Bobcat. But first, I have to pack up my workroom and stash for my move to America's Dairyland. That means, I won't be doing any modeling until after I've got my new workroom set up -- Probably November-ish. Wish me luck!

Special Hobby is to release a 1/72nd Bugatti-De Monge 100P racer kit - ref. SH72457 Source: http://www.ipmsdeutschland.de/Ausstellungen/Nuernberg2020/Nuernberg_2020.html More about this racer a/c: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugatti_Model_100 V.P.

Small Arms for Volkssturm Set 1 (P35001) 1:35 3D Print by Special Hobby During the closing days of WWII, the people of Berlin and the surrounding areas were pressed into service as make-do soldiers by the desperate hard-core Nazis, and when we say people, it was mostly old men, teenagers and those that had been injured and invalided out of service previously. Some women even took part, and there’s a famous piece of film of a German lady being taught how to use a Panzerfaust by a soldier with a nervous smile on her face. They were given basic training, often no more than on how to operate the weapons they had been given, and sent off to die to delay the Allies from reaching the higher-ups. The weapons were often old and outdated, so overall they stood little chance of giving a good account of themselves against hardened troops and armoured tanks. This set from Special Hobby is part of a new range that is using direct 3D printing using light-cured resins, which is a technique that is rapidly becoming suitable for making realistic models, even at the budget level. These sets are being produced on more high-end machines, and no layers were visible to my eyes, even with magnification! It arrives in a standard blister pack with orange branding, and lots of foam within to keep the parts safe during transport. The instructions are in the rear, sandwiched between the blister and the card header. Inside is a single printed block of parts that are printed in a light orange resin with lots of support struts ensuring that the freshly printed parts don’t sag under their own weight before they are properly cured. There is also a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) for the rifle slings, which should be annealed in a flame to soften it before use for your ease. At first look it looks like a messy Christmas tree, but on closer inspection you can see a number of weapons within that should be removed with a pair of sharp-nosed clippers, being careful that you don’t accidentally also trim a barrel or stock tube as you go. Care is the watchword here. Once released, you can see that there are four guns, as follows: 2 x MP3008 2nd Production (wood stock & tube stock variants) 1 x 6.5mm Karabiner 409(i) (originally Italian Carcano 91) 1 x MG81 Machine Gun The rifles are recipients of the slings, and the instructions show where they fit. The two MP3008s have different stocks and the tube stock variant also has a perforated barrel shroud, giving it a more aggressive look. The 3008 was a last-ditch design for a cheap, easily produced sub-machine gun, so it is apt that it appears in this set. The MG81 consists of three parts, with separate cocking handle and bipod to be glued in place, and no sling. This was a development of the MG34 used primarily by the Luftwaffe when they moved away from the MG15, and again it was an attempt to reduce costs and material use toward the end of the war. As this is a first from Special Hobby, as indicated by the product code, I decided to cut the parts from the supports, as you can’t see them very well half-buried in a forest of self-coloured resin. Cutting them with a single-edged nipper worked well, but take care with the stock tubes and barrels, as they are delicate due to being scale accurate. I managed to snap the barrel on the Carcano 91, but I suspect that was my own fault. Take care though, as they’re too nice to ruin. Conclusion Special Hobby have taken full advantage of the advances in 3D printing here, and the results are exquisite, if a little delicate if you’re a fat-fingered goon like me. Take care when handling, and you will end up with a superbly accurate set of arms to add to your next Battle for Berlin project. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Panzerbefehlswagen 35(t) (SA35008) 1:35 Special Armour by Special Hobby Originally designed and built for the Czech army the 35(T) or LT 35 as it was then known, wasn’t an immediate success. Once its shortcomings had been ironed out however, it became very popular with the crews. This was Skoda’s first tank built with a turret, which mounted a 37mm gun and a co-axial machine gun. With the invasion of Czechoslovakia, the German army captured 244 tanks of the 434 built, pressed them into service and designated them the Panzerkampfwagen 35(t). Used extensively in the Blitzkrieg attacks in the invasion of Poland, France and even the opening attacks against Russia, it was at least partly responsible for the success of the initial advances. The main hull was of bolted construction, the heads of which could shatter and become shrapnel within the vehicle in the event of a hit, even if it didn’t manage to penetrate the armour. Although its armour was on the thin side, it could still cope well with shrapnel, small arms fire and rounds up to around 20mm, after which penetration was likely, and this was partly responsible for its withdrawal as the war led to larger and larger guns carried by both sides. Some tanks were converted to Panzerbefehlswagens, or Command Tanks by the removal of the bow machine gun and the addition of extra radio gear that was coupled to a Frame antenna on the rear of the tank. It was better suited to the task of holding slightly to the rear and issuing orders to the rest of the squad, where its light armour was less of a risk to the crew, especially as it also contained their commander. Most 35(t)s were retired from active service by 1942 and used as training vehicles until spares and wear & tear saw them off. Some of the withdrawn tanks were converted to other uses by removing their turrets and fitting other equipment useful in their new role. The turrets were retained for use in fixed emplacements in defence lines such as the Atlantic Wall. Bulgaria had acquired a number of these tanks for their army, and finally retired their last training 35(t) in 1950. The Kit This is a reboxing of an earlier kit from the Special Armour line, with some additional parts to turn it into the Command variant. It arrives in a medium-sized top-opening box, and inside are four larger sprues in grey styrene, a smaller sprue in white styrene, a strip of five jerrycans on a resin pour stub, a small sheet of Photo-Etch (PE), the decal sheet and A5 stapled instruction booklet on glossy paper with spot colour and profiles at the rear. Although this is an older kit, with the PE having a copyright date of 1998, the detail is good, although the part numbers are engraved on the notional “back” of the sprues, with the majority of the detail moulded on the opposite surface. Other than that, it could be mistaken for a much younger kit, and there’s very little in the way of flash apart from one corner of the track, where a small amount of mould damage may have crept in, but without damaging the parts themselves. The tracks are of the link-and-length variety, with long runs on the straighter sections, and individual links for the highly curved areas. More on that later. Construction begins with the road wheels, starting with the drive sprocket and idler wheel pairs, all of which are made from three parts each, with small sprocket pegs on the idlers, which is unusual. The eighteen road wheels are mounted in sets of four pairs on bogies with twin leaf-suspension between the two sides, and the wheels remain mobile because no glue is needed to hold them in the bogies. In all, four bogies are made for use later in the build. Firstly, the lower hull must be made up, starting with a floor that has angled front and rear sections, which match the angles on the two side panels that are fitted with a bulkhead that helps to hold the chassis square. Two small torus shapes should be removed from the inner edges of the front sides before they are mounted, as per the accompanying diagram. The glacis plate is laid over the front of the chassis after removing a small upstand in front of a hatch, then eight pairs of return rollers are glued to the inverted chassis, with the final drive housings at the rear and the idler wheel axles at the front. The four bogies are fitted to their mounting points on the sides in pairs, and the drive sprockets and idler wheels are slotted in place without glue to facilitate building of the track runs. The tracks are of link and length style as already mentioned, with two long lengths per sides and another four short lengths, joined together by the addition of fifteen individual links, with the drawings showing the correct orientation of the links to assist you in avoiding mistakes. This is repeated on each side, then it’s on to the turret, with fenders fitted later. The turret is built up on the main part that encompasses three sides and the roof, to which the mantlet and its sides are attached, then the cupola is installed with three side inserts and a domed top. There doesn’t seem to be an option to open up the hatch and insert a figure, as per the box art’s suggestion. The lower surface of the turret consists of two parts on a circular base, but before that the coaxial machine gun in the mantlet and the main gun must be built in. The coax is a single part, and the main gun has the barrel and recoil tube moulded as one, with a two-part perforated muzzle added to the tip that gives the impression of a hollow barrel. This is inserted through the mantlet from within, and held in place by a U-shaped cleat that you glue in place. Attention shifts back to the hull, making the upper half from one large section with the upper glacis panel added to the front and fitted out with aerial base, headlamp (no clear parts), circular appliqué panel over the location where the bow gun would have been, a horn and some pioneer tools down each side of the upper hull. On the right side a two-part exhaust is added toward the rear, and the towing cable is heated to bend it into shape and glued onto the sloped part of the engine deck. The upper hull is joined to the lower along with the fenders, which locate on a pair of lugs on the sides of the lower hull. The rear bulkhead with some extra detail parts is affixed to the rear along with some spare track links on the right fender, a pair of PE panels are glued to the upper sides of the hull under the turret, and a couple of lengths of 0.5mm wire from your own stocks are added to provide the wiring to the standard antenna at the front, and the large frame antenna at the rear. More wire is added on the left side to another base, and the bed-frame antenna on the white sprue is made up and glued in place over the engine deck. There is a PE number plate frame on the rear bulkhead near the convoy light, and there is yet more wire added around the front of the chassis, so make sure you have plenty to hand before you begin. Finally, the resin jerry cans are freed from their casting blocks, and after clean-up are strapped together in PE brackets in sets of two and three. The set of three fit to the sloped side of the engine deck on the left, and the two-pack sits on a stand on the fender on the same side. A resin convoy lamp is drilled into the front of the left fender near the inner edge. Twist the turret into position, and that’s the build complete. Markings There are two options on the small decal sheet, both wearing the same panzer grey camo that was typical of early war German armour. From the box you can build one of the following: A03 3rd Panzer, Panzer Abteilung 65, 6. Panzer Div., Oberleutnant Marquart, France, Summer 1940, Russia, June 1941 A01 1st Panzer, Panzer Abteilung 65, 6. Panzer Div., Abt. Commander Oberleutnant Schenk, France, Summer 1940, Russia, June 1941 The decals are printed anonymously, and there is no registration, just yellow or white markings with black decal numbers, all of which have good sharpness, although yellow is always of mild concern with decals, especially when applying them over dark colours. Conclusion An interesting reboxing of this little tank, and the decal options show a pair of Panzers that saw action in two of the major campaigns of the war, during Nazi expansion through Europe before the tables turned. Time has been kind to the moulds, and detail is excellent for the age of the original tooling. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Tempest Bomb Racks with 500lb & 1000lb Bombs (4442 & 4443 for Eduard/Special Hobby) 1:48 CMK by Special Hobby The WWII Hawker Tempest was a capable fighter with power to spare, so that it could become a fighter bomber by the addition of a pair of stubby pylons, one under each wing to which the bombs were lashed, with sway-braces keeping the bombs steady during flight. It was able to carry either two 500lb or 1000lb bombs, which is the aim of this pair of sets from CMK. Arriving in their usual blister pack with instructions and card header keeping the parts inside, each set contains resin parts for two bombs, plus a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) separated from the resin by a sheet of clear acetate. Both sets are broadly similar to build, with one exception. The larger bombs have separate fuses in their nose. Otherwise, it’s a case of removing all the parts from their casting blocks, adding the sway braces to the pylons, which are handed with L & R next to each other on the block, then adding the four PE stabilising vanes, spinner on the rear, and surrounding the PE vanes with the tubular outer fin. A scrap diagram shows the correct location for the pylons, and as mentioned the larger bombs have a short fuse inserted into a depression in the nose. Bomb Racks & 500lb Bombs (4442) Bomb Racks & 1000lb Bombs (4443) Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi This is my finished Tempest MkII from Special Hobby at 1/48th I choosed the Pakistani scheme for his colorful who change from the classical temperate scheme I painted the serial and nationality marks The kit is a pleasure to build and has no problem except the light transparent piece who are too big and need to sand it. Some others pics at this address Hawker Tempest MkII

Hello friends, The Aichi E16A1 was a seaplane that the Imperial Japanese Navy used on their battleships in a reconnaissance role in 1944-45 and were also active in the Japanese defense of the Philippines from their seaplane bases. The design included the unusual feature of dive brakes on the forward float struts, allowing it to double as a dive bomber. This kit had very light surface detail, some of which I could not preserve, but I think there is enough to keep visual interest. I used the good old sponge chipping method to portray the late war Japanese paint that was so susceptible to flaking from exposure to the sun and salt air. The resin engine was a little work of art and it's a shame it is not really visible. I used a lot of filler on the seams - a typical short run kit from 1999. Thanks for looking, and enjoy!

15cm TbtsK C/36 WWII German Atlantic Wall Gun (MV126) 1:72 CMK by Special Hobby This 15cm gun was originally designed for a range of new destroyers commissioned by the German Navy, but their weight caused some issues that often led to a turret being removed and another replaced by the C/38 twin gun in order to keep the barrel count the same. This left a number of “spare” turrets that eventually found their way to form part of the supposedly impenetrable Atlantic Wall that was the purview of Erwin Rommel in the run up to the inevitable invasion by the Allied forces. Because they didn’t yet know the location of the impending attack, the wall was stretched thin along most of the northern French coat, and up as far as Norway. These guns were mounted upon a concrete casemate that kept them stable and able to rotate as necessary to engage targets. The gun has a splinter shield on the front, sides and roof, but with an open rear that could mean a cold post if you were unlucky enough to be assigned to one during the winter. There were two sighting hatches at the front, and four inspect covers around the bottom of the shield to inspect the powerful electric motors used for traversing the assembly. Needless to say, many of these guns were pummelled into extinction by the Allied invasion force from offshore, overhead, and from behind once the troops reached the shores. The Kit This is a rebox from Special Hobby via their Planet Models brand, and it arrives in a small white cardboard box with the front adorned with a large sticker that shows you what’s inside in the shape of a number of 3D renderings. Inside are seventy-one resin parts on a number of casting blocks, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) parts, and the A5 folded instruction booklet. Detail is excellent, although a few parts had come off their blocks in transit on my example, and a tiny bicycle-style seat had gone missing somewhere along the line. Check your kit when it arrives, just in case. Construction begins with the breech, which is exceptionally well detailed, fitting a toothed wheel at the base, and then adding the working floor, aiming and elevation gear to the sides, and a set of two triangular supports for the foot-plates. The turret shroud has the majority of its apertures flashed over, and the trailing edge needs the moulding attachment points sanding away, after which the various doors and hatches are installed along with their supports. The shroud is then slid over the internals and glued in place. The cylindrical base attaches to the underside, and the big barrel tube can then be super glued into the breech through the front to complete the job. A number of scrap diagrams show how the model inside the shroud should look once built, so you have one last chance to check your work before you get too far. The back two pages of the instructions are covered with adverts for recent releases. Conclusion A very unusual model that might not otherwise have been made in this scale, although the contents of the box could have been protected a little better to prevent damage to parts. My sample had a few styrene peanuts in the box, but maybe a few more were needed. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

P-39 Airacobra Wheels (4441 for Hasegawa or Eduard) 1:48 CMK by Special Hobby Kit wheels are generally moulded in two halves, which means you have the resultant joins to deal with, possible mould-slip issues on single part wheels, and sometimes less than stellar detail due to the moulding limitations of styrene injection technology, especially in the tread department. That's where replacement resin wheels come in, with their lack of seamline and superior detail making a compelling argument. They are also usually available at a reasonable price, and can be an easy introduction to aftermarket and resin handling, as they are usually a drop-in replacement. This set arrives in Special Hobby’s yellow themed blister pack, with a header card and the instructions forming the slot-in back to the package, and holding the resin in place within the blister, using a sheet of clear acetate to separate the Photo-Etch (PE) parts to the rear. Inside are two main wheels and a choice of two types of nose wheels, plus two front hubs for the main wheels, with all but the hubs on separate casting blocks. The PE parts are caps for the narrow-tyred nose wheel, covering up all that nice detail. All the wheels are attached to their casting blocks at their flat-spots where the tyre is slightly deformed to give the impression of the weight of the aircraft on its undercarriage, so clean-up will be simple, and after a wash in warm soapy water, they’re drop-in replacements for the kit parts. The interior of the main wheels and the outer hubs should be painted first, then the hubs can be glued in place after a little bit of weathering to bring out the details that will be seen through the spokes, which should have the flash removed with a sharp blade or awl before use. The balloon tyre equipped tyre is simply dropped in between the two arms of the yoke, while the shallow tyre just needs the PE covers adding with a dab of super glue (CA). Conclusion Once painted, they will give a much better impression of realism than any kit wheels, raising the level of detail for a comparatively small outlay in time and beer tokens. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi all For the new year and the finish of a model, it's time to start a new kit This time I choosed to exit from my stach the Hawker Tempest MkII of Special Hobby at 1/48th scale Special Hobby realised a kit with the Eduard collaboration. The first box come from Special Hobby with the add of wheels and the engine in resin parts. Eduard realised two boxs a little futher later but with no add resin parts The Special Hobby box propose different schemes. Some for English plane, one for a Indian plane in aluminium color and one for a Pakistani plane in brown scheme I choosed the Pakistani color scheme

Special Hobby is to release a 1/32nd Mansyū Ki-79 "Japanese Trainer" - ref. SH32084 Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/SH32084 V.P.

I thought it might be better to start a new forum topic rather than keep cluttering up the original post regarding converting the 1/72 Monogram/Revell F-82G into a P-82B. I recall reading and saving an article several years ago that compared both kits and illustrated the corrections need to make the Monogram kit into an accurate P-82B. For the life of me, I couldn't find it, and after a frantic and exhaustive search thru the bazillion kit review/build article file folders on my hard drive, I located it! Eureka! (That's french for "I'll be d---ed!") The builder seems to have his information correct. I hope this article will be useful to thsoe of you wanted a Merlin-powered P-82B in 1/72 scale. Mike https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/72nd_aircraft/f-82g-t8972.html

Hi there Here are some pictures of my 1/72 Seafang recently completed. A number of changes were made to the AZ plastic parts in the kit. The following parts were stolen from. Special Hobby Seafire FR 47: Spinner and propellers, spinner tip shortened by 2 mm Cylinder head covers Carburetter intake Complete tail section and tail wheel SBS exhausts and cannons were used as well as Barracuda Resin wheels Plastic card undercarriage doors were made. Decals came from Modeldecal. And here are 2 pictures with the Seafang and an Airfix Mk 1 Spitfire I built at the same time. Regards Toby PS There is a build thread as well but my linking skills are not too good.

Supermarine Sea Otter Mk.I, FAA, Maryborough, Australia, June 1945 Sea Otter was the successor to Walrus and entered service late in WW2. It was the last bi-plane type to enter service in RAF or FAA - but it still rescued airmen in the 1950 for example in the Korean war. Kit: Special Hobby 1/72 Supermarine Sea Otter Mk.I 'WWII Service' (SH72429) Scale: 1/72 Paints: Hataka Red Line Weathering: Flory Models, Vallejo, Tamiya & Ammo Mig Rewarding but challenging little kit by Special Hobby (originally Azur). Wing construction was the challenging part, other than that it was very nice kit - but packed with lots of tiny PE and resin bits which could be quite fiddly. I also added some details of my own like the railings and rope which are lead wire. Rigging (my first) done with rubber wire found from an undisclosed source. Painted with Hataka acrylics and weathered using Flory wash and different enamel and acrylic based weathering products. WIP:

This is not my usual build, which is most of the time cold war jets with some 1:48 WW2 planes in the mix which I build for my dad. But I've been checking this kit out for a while now and I've been tempted to give it a go. Clearly not your most straightforward build but with patience I'm sure I can make it work. Good amount of resing and some PE parts in the mix - also a bi-plane which is a first for me. Rigging... well, we will see how it goes when I get there Model itself looks nice - even if bit low on details. I also picked up some Hataka paints - of which I've had really positive experience so far. Despite the PE and resin additions the cockpit was feeling bit plain so I added some fuselage framing from plasticard. Just so that it looks like there is some details when looking thru the big clear part. Paint and weathering done for the cockpit. I painted it black first and then couple of layers of Hataka Interior Grey Green all the pieces in place. I think I add a map or something to the rear seaters table to make it bit more interesting. I'm trying to go slow with this build so that I don't run into any big issues - but so far the build is going smoothly.

Hello all, here’s the first one finished from the shed this year, the Special Hobby (Ex MPM) boxing of the HA-220 Super Saeta. Following the end of WW2 Willi Messerschmitt emigrated from Germany, eventually settling in Francoist Spain where he was employed at the Hispano Aviacion works. There he played a major part in the design of the Saeta HA-200 trainer which was the basis of the HA-220 close support aircraft. This variant had uprated engines, pylons for external stores, gun pods and where the rear seat used to be an extra fuel tank. Although only in service for 10 years with the Spanish Airforce the HA-220 saw active service during the Polisario uprisings in the Western Sahara. The type was retired from service in 1981. The kit differs from the original MPM kit in that it has extra resin and photo etch parts along with an injection moulded canopy. The plastic parts are still short run style and were re scribed as the engraved lines were almost non-existent. Also due to a poor moulding I had to replace the strake on the nose with plastic card. I made the aerials and probes under the nose from scratch and shortened the overly long U/C legs. It’s finished with Xtracolor enamels and varnishes with a little weathering and panel lining. The decals were excellent. I enjoyed making this little aeroplane, its about the size of a JP, and I am pleased with the way it turned out. So onto the pictures. Hope you like it, thanks for looking. Pete

Dear fellow Britmodellers, here's my 1/72 Special Hobby A-20 Boston with Red Stars. The model was painted with Mr.Hobby acrylics. Photographs by Wolfgang Rabel. Thanks to @Kjetil Åkra, @dogsbody, @DLinevitch for their help in research. This kit was first released in 2007 under the MPM brand. Special Hobby added specific parts for the VVS Version with UTK turret (plastic, resin and etch). Unfortunately the turret transparencies are not as clear as the cockpit glazing, and they don't fit well. The oversized defense gun was replaced with a metal item from Mini World. I scratch-built the life raft in the cockpit with paper tissue. The bomb bay was cut open and loaded with Soviet bombs (from a Tamiya Il-2). Photo-etch from Eduard. Previous owner's markings (RAF?) overpainted. This was a pretty challenging build with poor fit throughout. I'd only recommed this kit to seasoned and very patient modellers. Thank you for your interest, best greetings from Vienna! Roman

Special Hobby is to re-release in Autumn 2022 the MPM/Xtrakit (link) 1/72nd de Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen FAW.1/.2 kit - ref. SH72336 Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/SH72336 V.P.

Special Hobby is to release new tool 1/72nd Lockheed Hudson Mk.IV/V/VI kit - ref. SH72425 Sources: https://www.specialhobby.info/2022/01/news-from-special-hobby-012021.html https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/SH72425 V.P.

In Autumn 2022, Special Hobby is to release a new tool 1/72nd Curtiss-Wright CW-21 Demon - ref. SH72436 Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/SH72436 V.P.

DH Chipmunk T.10 Main Wheels (Q48397 for Airfix) 1:48 CMK by Special Hobby Kit wheels are generally in two halves, which means you have the resultant joins to deal with, possible mould-slip issues on single part wheels, and sometimes less than stellar detail due to the moulding limitations of styrene injection technology, especially in the tread department. That's where replacement resin wheels come in, with their lack of seamline and superior detail making a compelling argument. They are also usually available at a reasonable price, and can be an easy introduction to aftermarket and resin handling, as they are usually a drop-in replacement. This set from CMK’s Quick & Easy line is exactly that, and arrives in a flat-pack plastic bag with header card and instructions stapled to it, holding the two replacement resin wheels on one casting block. Detail is exceptional, and includes the raised manufacturer name and tyre stats on the sidewalls, a circumferential tread on the contact patch, and hub detail in the centre, including brakes on the inner side. The tyres have a slight sag to imply the weight of the aircraft on them, and they are joined to the casting block there, so clean-up is simple and you don’t risk damaging the detail. Once liberated from their block, they are a drop-in replacement. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi All, My first completion for 2022 is Special Hobby's 1:48 Blackburn Skua. The model was completed as L2963 of 803 Sqn FAA, pilot Lt C H Filmer, TAG Midn T A Mckee DSC, flying from HMS Ark Royal. The aircraft was shot down during the raid on the Scharnhorst on 13th July 1940, and force landed near Trondheim with both crew being taken as PoWs. The aircraft was recovered by German forces, and several good photos of the aircraft therefore exist (copyright Michael Balss - images used for discussion only and will be removed on request). There are a couple of notable things about the scheme: - The non-standard centre to the fuselage roundels - The interesting personal marking by the cockpit, which shows an arm in naval uniform firing a Luger at a wasp with a human Hitler head (of course) - The propeller is finished with an aluminium front and black rear Here's the scheme as presented by SH: I have replicated the non-standard fuselage roundels, but chose to use standard 'B' type roundels on the wings instead of the 'A' type provided, as I felt these would be more appropriate(due to their small size I used 1:72 wing roundels from a Wildcat, which were the perfect size ). I also retained the black & white underside, although there had been an Admiralty order around this time to overpaint the underside in Sky (invoking Modeller Rule #1 - it's my model and I shall do as I wish!) The kit as presented has a couple of inaccuracies, some of which I chose to correct (some of which I learned about too late!). In no particular order: - The underside cavity for the bomb is the wrong shape - it should be rectangular, rather than the 'lozenge' shape presented. - This aircraft should only have a landing light on the port wing, rather than both (this was serial number dependent) As I had applied primer before I was aware of these inaccuracies, I chose to let them lie. I did however make a number of additions which hopefully have improved the end result: - Scratch built the rear bulkhead in the TAG position - Boxed in the landing lights and added lamps - Added wingtip formation lights using clear sprue - Scratch built the distinctive bomb release crutch using plastic rod - Drilled wingtip hand holds - Modified the main undercarriage legs to emulate the distinctive vertical stance - Added non-slip walkways to both wing roots - Changed the a/c code letter on the tail from black to blue, as was standard FAA practice at this time Here's the WIP if anyone is interested: I've thoroughly enjoyed learning about this unusual type, and the quality of the build has been helped immensely by several contributors, including @iang, @mick b, @Grey Beema, and @Heather Kay - thank you all very much for your advice and contribution. Anyway, enough waffle and on with the photos! Finally (and just to illustrate scale, you understand ), I took a couple of shots with FAA contemporaries the Fairey Swordfish and Vought Chesapeake (one of which was a lumbering old dog, and the other was a Swordfish 🤣): I've very much enjoyed building this most unusual of aircraft, and learning more about its significant contribution in the dark early days of the war. The desire to build a companion Blackburn Roc has significantly increased, as it would be rather rude not to! Thanks for looking, Roger