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  1. Junkers Ju-87D-5 "Axis Satellites" (SH72448) 1:72 Special Hobby The Ju-87 Stuka was conceived as a dive bomber in the early 1930s and proved itself in the Spanish Civil war, then later in the Blitzkrieg in Western Europe. However the Battle of Britain would show that the aircraft was vulnerable to the more modern fighters of that time. As such it was moved to areas when the Luftwaffe had less or no aerial opposition. This also involved supplying axis countries in these areas with surplus German Aircraft. D-series featured two coolant radiators underneath the inboard sections of the wings, while the oil cooler was relocated to the position formerly occupied by the single, undernose "chin" coolant radiator. The D-series also introduced an aerodynamically refined cockpit with better visibility and space. Armour protection was increased and a new dual-barrel 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 81Z machine gun with an extremely high rate of fire was installed in the rear position. Engine power was increased again, the Jumo 211J now delivering 1,400 hp, this enable bomb carrying capacity to be nearly quadrupled from 500 kg to 1,800 kg though a typical bomb load was 500 - 1200 Kgs. The D-5 was designed more for ground attack the the MGs being replaced by 20mm cannons, the window in the floor was reinforced and additional hinges on the control surfaces allowed for higher diving speeds. The Kit Here Special Hobby have re-boxed the Academy kit with a new sprue & PE fret for the D-5 parts in a similar fashion to the recent T-6 kit. As you get all the Academy parts there will be left overs, unused parts on the SH sprues suggest other variants are in the pipeline as well. Construction starts with the cockpit (no surprise there). The two seat frames for the cockpit are assembled and then PE belts are added to the seats. The seats, side consoles and other parts are fitted to the cockpit floor. The cockpit can then be placed in the fuselage and this closed up. The coaming and instrument panel are fitted in the front of the cockpit, and decking at the rear. The aircraft nose including exhausts is then made up and fitted to the front of the fuselage. Now we move to the wings. The lower wing complete with the slats is one part with left/right uppers. A hole will need to be cut n the lower wing for the centreline bomb racks. Once done the wing can be fitted to the fuselage. The tail surfaces and the rugger go on next. Under the main wing the gear and spats are made up and added, along with the radiators and wing bomb racks. Bombs are made from plastic parts with PE fins. One large bomb for the centre line, and 2 smaller bombs per wing are included. The dive brakes are then fitted, these are PE. To finish off the prop is added along with the rear gun. Open or closed canopy parts are provided. Markings The glossy decal sheet is printed in house and looks sharp and in register. There are four decal options available from the decal sheet; Grupal 6 Picaj, Royal Romanian Air Force 1943/44. OK-XAB Slovak Air Force, Piestany Sprinh 1944. These were licensed production aircraft built at STL. B.706 Siraso II (Grave Digger II) Royal Hungarian Air Force, Summer 1944 White 46, 1 Air Group, Royal Bulgarian Air Force late 1944. Yellow ID areas changed to white after Bulgaria Switched Sides. Masks Special Hobby also do masks for the kit. The masks are for the canopies and wheels. Conclusion Special Hobby seem to be well versed in taking an existing tool and making the extra parts for other versions. Highly recommended. Review samples courtesy of
  2. Canadair Sabre Mk.4 Cockpit & Airbrakes (4445 & 4448 for Airfix) 1:48 CMK by Special Hobby Airfix’s new(ish) Sabre has been around now for a while, and some folks have complained about a bit of soft detail in places, especially the rear deck behind the pilot’s head. CMK have created a number of resin sets to improve on the base kit, of which we have two sets in for review. Both sets arrive in their standard yellow blister packs with a card header, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves. Both sets have Photo-Etch (PE) that are separated from the resin parts by a sheet of thick acetate, to avoid damage during shipping. Cockpit Set (4445) This set contains twenty-one resin parts, a fret of PE and a small printed piece of acetate sheet. It replaces the kit cockpit completely with a new resin tub, into which the replacement resin seat and PE seatbelts are fitted, along with the three-layered resin/acetate/PE instrument panel, which has additional PE controls added after has been laminated, and before it is inserted into the front of the tub with the control column. The pilot’s headrest is glued to the armoured upstand and spaced out with another resin part, then the replacement rear deck is joined to the rear of the tub. The fuselage internal sidewalls are sanded/scraped down to accommodate the new resin inserts, and the front coaming is improved by the addition of two small resin parts on the aft corners plus the gunsight, and the while there aren’t any shapes printed on the acetate sheet for the glazing, a little bit of research should allow you to make the parts from the off-cuts around the instrument panel. The kit canopy is last to be augmented, having a well-detailed resin insert to replace the simplistic internal structure, although it does reuse the clear ADF-loop cover from the kit sprues. The final part is the addition of a PE rear-view in the top of the roll-over hoop, which will need some chrome paint adding to simulate the silvered glass. Air Brakes (4448) Containing eight resin parts and a small sheet of PE, this set replaces the simplified inserts that make up the air-brake bays, relegating the kit parts to the spares bin, then replaces the brakes themselves with resin parts that are overlaid on the interior with a pair of PE skins on each one, after adding the triangular resin edges to the main brake. They are then added to the fuselage after the build, with new resin actuator pistons supplied with the set holding them at the correct angle. Review sample courtesy of
  3. Luftschutz Helmets x 2 (P35004) 1:35 Special Hobby 3D Print During WWII, firefighters and rescue workers often laboured while the bombs were still falling in order to save people and buildings from total destruction, or at least to minimise the ravaging fires and reduce the effects on collapsing buildings. Many of these brave folks were volunteers that were either over fighting age or had been invalided out for one reason or another. Nazi Germany too had these people braving death and destruction, and many of them wore a helmet to protect their heads called the Luftschutz. It bore a passing resemblance to the military Stahlhelm, but had extended brims front and rear, with cut-outs over the ears to reduce any effect on hearing that the brims would otherwise have. They were often painted a dark blue and had a winged Swastika on the front, and a leather interior structure to protect the wearer’s head from abrasion and impacts. A leather strap held the helmet on the wearer’s head with a friction buckle keeping it on their head during activity. This set is another direct 3D printed offering from Special Hobby, printed in their pale orange resin using SLA printers for ultimate detail. Inside the standard blister pack are two helmet parts, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) and a decal sheet for use once the model is painted. The helmets have already been removed from their printing base, with just a single support mark on the flat top that can be sanded off with little effort. The four rivets are present, as are the small perforated ventilation holes on the sides, although you can only just see them because they are small at full-scale, so reduce that by 35 times, and they are utterly minute. Thick paint may obliterate them completely, so take it easy when applying it. The instructions show the location of the straps, which are in two parts like the real thing, and also shows the location of the decals for Luftschutz use as well as other times they were seen during the Prague and Warsaw uprisings. If you’re wondering which is the front, look at it from the side and you will see the brim at the front is shorter than at the rear, in much the same way as a modern firefighter’s helmet. No-one wants hot debris down the back of their jackets, especially when their mind is on other more dangerous things. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  4. Special Hobby has just announced a 1/72nd kit of the Gloster Meteor F.Mk.8 "prone" - ref. SH72569. Source: http://www.aeroscale...ticle&sid=12874 V.P.
  5. AH-1G Cobra Spanish & IDF/AF Cobras (SH48202) 1:48 Special Hobby The AH-1 Cobra was the first production Gunship or Attack Helicopter to see US service as a new type of weapons platform. During the Vietnam war the US Army began to see the need for armed helicopter to escort its unarmed UH-1 Hueys into combat. Fortunately, Bell Helicopters had been independently investigating helicopter gunships as early as the late 1950s, so in 1962 Bell was able to display a mock up concept to the US Army, featuring a 20mm gun pod, and a ball turret mounted grenade launcher. It was felt by the Army to be lightweight, under powered and unsuitable. Following this the US Army launched and Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS) competition, which gave rise to the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne heavy attack helicopter that proved to be too advanced and therefore risky for its time, eventually being cancelled in 1972 after 10 years of development (some things never change). Despite the failure of the AAFSS programme, Bell stuck with its idea of a smaller, lighter gunship and invested its own money developing the AH-1 further. They used all of the proven components they could from the UH-1 platform, adding these to a newly designed slender fuselage that had a minimal front profile. When The US Army later asked for plans for an interim gunship for Vietnam, Bell was in a fortunate position to be able to offer the ready-made 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 rapid eight months and won the evaluation battle 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 1,100 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 more damage resilient twin-engined AH-1J Cobras. The M-35 Gun System 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, with 950 rounds of ammunition stored in boxes faired to the side of the aircraft. The system was primarily pilot controlled, but featured dual controls so it could be either pilot or gunner controlled. For this purpose the pilot was provided with a M73 sight. 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 Kit This is a new tool from Special Hobby and brings us a long-overdue update to some of the older kits of the type on the market. This first edition depicts the Spanish Navy and Israeli Defence Force (IDF) airframes, and arrives in a standard top-opening box in Special Hobby’s usual blue and white theme, and inside 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. There are a number of red Xs on the sprue diagrams, as they have been tooled with future boxings in mind, so after you’re done building it, you will likely have a number parts left over. I’d also recommend checking the sprues for parts that have come off the runners during shipping, as a fair few were loose in my bag, so don’t go tossing it in the recycling before you’ve checked them over. Detail is excellent, as we’ve come to expect from SH, 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 windows. 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. 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. 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. Two small intakes are added to the sides, followed by the 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. There is a choice of exhaust ring types, the Spanish one having a short circular type, while the Israeli airframes have a longer, upturned unit that is made from two halves. The Israeli bird also has a half-moon upstand near the outlet, and both types have a clear part mounted on a tapered turret. Speaking of turrets, 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. The 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 safety skid on the rear finish off the main fuselage for now, after which the spinning 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 an angular 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 false-colour 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 both sides, 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 its down to you to find a suitable towing vehicle if you wish. Markings There are four markings options in the box, two each of Spanish and Israeli machines, painted blue and olive green respectively. From the box you can build one of the following: 007-8 Z.14-8 (72-21464) Arma Aerea de la Armada Española, 7 Escuadrilla, Base Naval de Rota, Spain, 1973-84 01-702 HA.14-2 (71-15091) Arma Aerea de la Armada Española, 7 Escuadrilla, Base Naval de Rota, Spain, 1973-84 No.126, Evaluation Unit/First Attack Helicopter Sqn., Chel Ha’Avir, Basis Tel Nof. Israel, 1975-6 No.130, Evaluation Unit/First Attack Helicopter Sqn., Chel Ha’Avir, Basis Tel Nof. Israel, 1975-6 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion A welcome new tool of this gutsy attack helo that stayed in service for a long time and was used by a wide variety of operators. Great detail and simple construction add to the appeal. If you're masking phobic, you'd do well to view our review of the inside/outside masks by Special Masks, here. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  6. AH-1G Cobra Inside/Outside Masks (M48005 for Special Hobby) 1:48 Special Masks If you’ve spent time making your new AH-1G Cobra model from Special Hobby (reviewed here), you should probably consider making the best of the clear canopy using this new masking set from Special Masks. It arrives in a flat pack with a card backing and a sheet of kabuki-style tape sheet inside that has been pre-cut with masks specifically for the new model. these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. The masks are duplicated in a slightly smaller form for the inside of the canopy to allow the modeller to paint the interior for a more realistic-looking finish. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  7. Messerschmitt Bf 109E-7 Trop "Braving Sand & Snow" (SH72462) 1:72 Special Hobby The BF 109 has inherited quite a legendary status and when you look into its service career, it's certainly obvious why. Viewing the design in retrospect, it looks just like a typical fighter of the WWII era, but it was more than that, it was the very platform that the single seat fighter format was born from. Powerful engine, monocoque airframe, all metal construction, enclosed cockpit and retractable gear this was unheard of before hand, it was radical, not typical in the 1930's. Its birth wasn't perfect however, to achieve its performance, some sacrifices were made, particularly in the landing gear arrangement and high wing loading having a negative effect on landing speeds compared to the competition at the time. This inherent design issue was never fully cured and it's estimated that at least 10% of all 109's were lost in take off accidents. Early models (A-D) were powered by the Junkers jumo engine with outputs of around 700hp. The aircraft was first used in combat during the Spanish Civil War where many lessons were learned and these would be later put to good use in battles over France and Britain. The E or Emil model broke the mould in 109 development by changing to the more powerful Daimler Benz DB 601 engine of around 1080hp, a significant step in performance and also in armament due to the introduction of 20mm cannon. By 1939, all earlier variants had been replaced in frontline service. As the variants progressed, so did the level of armour protection for the pilot. Another critical element to improve survivability was the use of twin radiators with cut off valves meaning that if one radiator was damaged, the other could be used to keep it airborne. The Emil was the primary Luftwaffe fighter until 1941 when the F model became widely available with more powerful engine although a few managed to see combat in the Battle of Britain. For an aircraft that broke the mould with fighter technology and performance in the mid 30's, it's evolution meant that whilst it's design had exhausted improvement capability towards the end of the war, it stayed in operational use until 1965 in Europe in the guise of the Spanish licence built HA 1112 using the Merlin power plant. During its 30 year career, more than 33,000 were built, a record that will probably never be beaten. The Kit This is a brand new tool for 2020 from Special Hobby, in collaboration with Eduard. The quality is first class with crisp moulding and fine engraved panel lines. Given the small size of the real aircraft, in 1/72 the model is quite diminutive, but seems well detailed. Construction starts with the cockpit. The rear bulkhead attaches to the floor with the rudder pedals going in as well. The front lower bulkhead is made up and installed onto the floor followed by the instruments panel and the coaming in front of it. The instruments being provided as decals. Into the cockpit go the flight controls and flap wheel, followed by the seat. The belts being provided as decals also. If the modeller is going to display the cover for the guns in front of the cockpit open then full guns are included, if you are doing this closed then only partial ones need to be added. Next up the engine is assembled which seems quite detailed for the scale, the bearers attached and it fitted to the firewall. Inside the main fuselage halves the exhausts are fitted along with the tail wheel and then the whole thing can be closed up. Separate engine and gun covers can be added, or left off as needed. For the tropical version the longer filter is added to the intake. After the tail surfaces are attached to the main fuselage then we can move onto the wings. The lower wing is a single part with left and right uppers. The wheel wells are all boxed in on the lower. To the middle of the lower wing the radiator is first added. The top wings can then go on. All the wing control surfaces are separate parts. To finish the wing the under wing radiators are added. The wing can then be joined with the fuselage. The canopy parts can then be added, along with the head armour. The slats can then be added to the main wing in either the open or closed position as needed. At the front the prop and spinner goes on. Last up for the main parts, the main landing gear is made up and added. A few detail parts now can be added to finish of the kit, the aerial mast, pitot tubes, balance horns,; and even an engine starting handle if you wish to install it. Markings The glossy decal sheet is printed in house and looks sharp and in register. There are four decal options available from the decal sheet; W.Nr 6389. White 9 1.(J)/LG2, pilot Oberleutnant Erwin ‘Ceasar’ Clausen, Mariupol, Germany-occupied Ukraine, the Soviet Union, December 1941 chevron/A, Stabschwarm I./JG 27, pilot grupenadjuntant Oblt. Ludwig Franzisket, April 1941. After being transferred to North Africa, Franzisket's machine still remained in its original scheme of RLM02/71. White 10, I./JG27, pilot Fw. Günther Steinhausen, Ain-el-Gazala, Libya, August 1941 W.Nr.4964, S9+DR, 7./ZG1, El Alamein, Libya, August 1942. The starboard side wing was a replacement still bearing European camouflage colours. Conclusion It is good to see a new tool out of this most famous aircraft. I am no 109 expert but it looks to be a well detailed and engineered kit. Highly recommended. Review samples courtesy of
  8. Short Sunderland Mk.I/II "Flying Porcupine" (SH72438) 1:72 Special Hobby The Sunderland was developed by Short Brothers to an RAF requirement R.2/33 for a long range general purpose flying boat. It is thought Shorts took their work on Imperial Flying Boats to design the Sunderland, however the RAF requirement was released before the Imperial Airways requirements, and Short's decided to pursue both at the same time. The Sunderland would be a large four engined flying boat with both defensive and offensive armaments. The large wings which would mount 4 Bristol Pegasus engine were able to hold 200 Gallons of fuel giving the aircraft a 14 hour range. For defense initially four guns were mounted in a rear turret, two guns in the nose turret, and two guns on each beam. Later a dorsal turret would be added. Offensive weapons were carried internally and winched out under the wings through doors in the aircrafts sides. Later aircraft would also gain 4 fixed forward firing machine guns. German pilots nicknames the Sunderland the flying porcupine and there are numerous cases of Sunderland fighting off superior numbers off attacking aircraft. Radar fitted to these flying boats enabled them to become accomplished submarine hunters. Production shifted to the Mark III in December of 1941. This had a changed hull to improve seaworthiness. With 461 built this was the most numerous mark. The Kit This is a new boxing of the Mark III based on Special Hobby's new tool Mark V from 2019, with new parts for earlier marks. The parts on the sprues enable different marks to be made. In addition for early aircraft this kit contains a small 3D printed set of prop control units as later marks had covers on these. This is an impressive kit with good quality large mouldings and a full interior. Construction starts in the cockpit. The instrument panel and pilots seats are built up onto the deck with the control columns being added. The cockpit bulkhead goes in and there is an additional seat to fit on the bulkhead. At the other side what appears to be the navigators position goes in. The lower deck under the cockpit then is assembled with its bunk areas for crew rest on those long flights. The next stage is to build up the weapons carriers and the rails which winch them out under the wings. 8 bombs are provided. The top and main decks can then be joined and the weapons section added to the rear of this sub-assembly. To the front is added the mooring deck/access to the front turret with a realistic grating effect to the floor, Additional parts can now be added inside both main fuselage halves before you can think about closing them up around the main internal section. The modeler can have the weapons windows open or closed but this needs to be done now as they swing inwards. At the rear of the main cabin the gunners position and access to the top turret parts need then to be added. At the bow the anchor needs to go in. Only once all this is done can the fuselage be closed up. The exterior now needs to be looked at, The main top insert for the turret goes in, then underneath the hull step part is added. Both of these being inserts to allow for the different marks to be kitted. At the rear the vertical fin and separate rudder go on, then the tailplanes, here the moving surfaces are moulded in. The main wings go on next. These are conventional left/right upper/lower surfaces; again the moveable surfaces are moulded in. The wings have large tabs which slot into the fuselage which should help then fit on correctly and not droop over time. If you opted for the bombs slung out under the wings now is the time to add the racks there. We are now on the finishing straight. Still on the main wing the four engines are assembled, each with its own resin exhaust. The two main wing floats then go on. Next up its the gun turrets. All these are fitted from the outside which is a great help when it comes to masking and painting them as separate items. The front turret can be mounted slid back for mooring or in its forward position. The front boarding door can also be open as all the structure behind it is in place. The props and exhausts go on here. The last step is to attach all of the external aerials. Given there are four on the top, eight on each side; and two on the wings it's probably better left until after painting! If wanted by the modeler then beaching gear is provided for the aircraft. Clear Parts These are of the same excellent quality as the other kit parts, and again it can be seen there are parts for other marks on the clear spure. Markings The decals are printed by Cartograf so that guarantees there will be no issues with them. A generous four aircraft can be modelled using the kit decals, Mk.II W3983/RB-R, No.10 Sqn RAAF, Pembroke Wales, 1941. In 1943 this aircraft was damaged attacking a U-Boat and towed in Gibraltar for repairs. Extra Dark Sea Grey/Dark Slate Grey over Aluminum. Mk.II W3981/ZM-W No.201 Sqn RAF, Pembroke Wales,1941. In Dec 1941 she was transferred to Alexandria for transport duties. Extra Dark Sea Grey/Dark Slate Grey over Sky Grey Mk.II L2160/NM-X. No.230 Sqn RAF, Detached to Greece April 1941. Dark Earth/ Dark Green over Sky. Mk.II T9114/E, No461 (RAAF) Sqn, Pembroke Wales 1943. Late Extra Dark Sea Grey/Dark Slate Grey over White High Demarcation Scheme. Conclusion This is great new tool of an important though often overlooked aircraft for the RAF. The kit is very detailed indie and out. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  9. Special Hobby is to release early 2016 a variant from the Azur's Vautour kit (https://www.scalemates.com/products/reviews.php?scale=1%3A72&topic=SNCASO+SO-4050+Vautour), a 1/72nd SNCASO SO.4050 Vautour IIN "Cyrano radar" - ref.SH72333 Source: http://www.mpmkits.net/2015/12/novinky-special-hobby-prvni-mesice-roku.html Box art The same in 1/48th... Sigh. V.P.
  10. Vautour IIB French Jet Bomber (SH72415) 1:72 Special Hobby The Sud Aviation Vautour (Vulture) stems from a 1951 request from the Armée de l'Air for a jet aircraft capable as acting as a bomber, light attack aircraft, or an all-weather interceptor. The renamed Vautour II would subsequently be built in all three versions, entering service in 1958, and leaving active front line service in 1978. Various test aircraft stayed around through to the 1990s. The aircraft would feature an all-metal fuselage with a mid-fuselage mounted wing. The engines were mounted in underslung pods in a similar manner to the Me.262. A distinguishing feature of the aircraft was the main undercarriage units on the centre line with outriggers stowed in the engine pods. The Cyrano Radar was originally developed for the Mirage but were fitted to some Vautours for testing and one such aircraft was sold to Israel. The Aircraft would never see any combat with the Armée de l'Air, however it would with its only export customer the Israeli Defence Forces. Israel purchased 28 Vautours and they were used in the six-day war and the War of Attrition. In fact, the type did score an aerial victory over an Iraqi Hunter. 15 aircraft were lost to combat and they were replaced by Skyhawks in 1971. The Kit The original kit was released by Azur in 2011, and is now being marketed under the Special Hobby brand. This kit represents a Vautour IIB two-seat bomber with glass nose seating a bomb-aimer, and arrives in a top-opening box with four sprues of grey styrene, a sprue of clear parts, a number of resin detail parts, a Photo-Etch (PE) sheet, a printed clear acetate film, instruction booklet on glossy paper with spot colour, and decal sheet. The detail of the plastic parts is good for the age, and is augmented by the resin and PE parts, bringing it thoroughly up-to-date. Construction begins with the cockpit, starting with two seats that have five-point belts in PE. The instrument panel has PE rudders attached to its rear, and a lamination of PE and acetate dials at the front, topped off with a coaming, and set aside while the bomb-aimer’s seat is glued to the short floor and a rear bulkhead is added. The pilot’s seat is glued to the top of the nose gear bay, which has a pair of half bulkheads underneath and a shaped bulkhead behind the pilot, to which the side-consoles are added. The control column and PE foot plates are ensconced between the consoles, and the nose gear leg is made up from a number of parts and is inserted under the cockpit floor, with a two-part wheel on each side of the cross-axle, with a side drawing showing the completed assembly with the pilot’s seat and floor in profile. Two more gear bays are made for the outer side engine nacelles for those weird stabiliser wheels, and another more standard bay is made for the rear gear as the nacelles are being built, comprising two halves each with a shallow bay, plus resin intake and exhaust, the latter having two tiny PE parts glued into gaps in the lip. The fuselage is closed up after inserting the two cockpits into the right fuselage half along with additional resin and PE detail parts, with more in the left side, and instructions on how and where to paint the fuselage insides. The left fuselage is closed up with the addition of the rear gear bay and coaming, with a pair of holes drilled in the rudder fin before final closure and the addition of the separate rudder. The airframe comes together quite quickly once the fuselage is complete, adding the two wings to slots in the sides, which have the outer panels moulded as one, and small inner panels fleshing out the lower surface. Each of the elevators are single parts, and the already complete engine nacelles are inserted into the gap in the lower surfaces, plus a clear nose cone for the bomb-aimer, and two small parts under nose and tail. The rear gear is glued in with the aid of a scrap diagram, and has the twin wheels fixed later, while a pair of PE wing fences, a resin gunsight and the canopy complete the cockpit, and more small parts are glued to the rear. The stabiliser gear legs and wheels are inserted into the shallow nacelle bays, made up from resin and styrene parts, and having twin bay doors opening upwards, both of which have resin hinges. The main bays are also bracketed with simple doors that have additional hinge parts fixed before installation. Markings Post war shiny metal is the theme for the markings options on the decal sheet, and there are four to choose from. From the box you can build one of the following: No.627/92-AP, 92e Escadre de Bombardement, Armée de l'Air No.638, Armée de l'Air, základna RAF Wethersfield, Great Britain, Wethersfield Armed Forces Day, June 17, 1961 No.634/JD, Escadron de Remorquage 05/106, Armée de l'Air, 1978 No.621/92-AN, 2/92e Escadre de Bombardement „Aquitaine“, Armée de l'Air Decals are by printed in good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion A welcome re-release of this early post war French jet bomber that often gets overlooked, sadly. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  11. Spitfire Mk.Vc Resin Update Sets (for Airfix) 1:72 CMK by Special Hobby These new sets from Special Hobby’s CMK line are intended for the Airfix kit to upgrade the details beyond what is possible with injection moulded styrene, giving your model much better detail, and hopefully enhancing the finished product’s realism. Each set arrives in CMK’s usual blister pack, backed by a card header, and with the instructions trapped between. Where Photo-Etch (PE) is included, a clear sheet of acetate separates the resin from the more delicate and easily bent PE, whilst allowing everything to be seen by the casual observer. Each set is separate and available in isolation, so pick and choose what you want to focus on, or what your budget allows. Cockpit Set (7485) This set requires the removal of the cockpit sidewall detail from the kit fuselage, plus the drop-down access door, after which you build up the instrument panel from four layers, two of PE, two of clear acetate with dials printed upon them. This is glued onto the panel’s frame with the footwell below. The seat frame is next, adding the supports, armour and the resin seat, with four-point seatbelts from the PE sheet. The main floor has the seat frame inserted, a pair of PE rudder pedals, resin control column and the instrument panel set in place, bracketed by the detailed cockpit sidewalls. The painted assembly can then be put in place between the fuselage halves, and later on the resin crew door is glued in place. Wing Guns – 2 Cannons (7486) Consisting of ten resin parts, this set includes the two gun bays, cannons and removable access panels for the wing armament. To begin with the upper wing is cut to remove the panels along their lines, while the lower wing has the skin thinned as much as you dare, and the cannon barrels nipped off the leading edges. The resin bays are inserted within the wing halves, the new long cannon barrels are glued into the leading edge of the wing with the kit stubs next to them, and the two panels per wing cast aside by the armourers. The short cannon barrels are for the spares box. Control Surfaces (7487) Containing sixteen resin parts and two PE parts on a small fret (not pictured), this set replaces all the flying surfaces of your Spitfire except for the rudder, and will require a little kit surgery before you can install the flaps and ailerons. The upper wings have their ailerons removed and chamfered to suit the new parts, and the flap bays thinned from the inside, while the lower wing has the small inner flap sections removed. The small resin parts are used to box in the inner flap sections, and the bays are glued into the underside of the upper wing, then once the wings are together the flaps and ailerons can be glued in place with super glue. The elevators are replaced completely with two parts per side, allowing you to deflect them to give your model a more candid look. The final parts are the small PE indicators on the upper wing that are installed perpendicular to the surface. Wing Guns – 4 Cannons (7493) Consisting of ten resin parts, this set ostensibly looks identical to the two gun set, but includes different gun bays with two cannon breeches per bay instead of one, four cannon barrels and removable access panels for the wing armament. To begin with the upper wing is cut to remove the panels along their lines, while the lower wing has the skin thinned as much as you dare, and the kit cannon barrels nipped off the leading edges. The resin bays are inserted within the wing halves, the new long and short cannon barrels are glued into the leading edge of the wing, and the two panels per wing cast aside by the armourers, which of course means you can nibble away at the kit panels, as they will no longer be needed. Conclusion A great group of sets that details up your Spitfire, along with making it heavier. Superb detail, relatively easy assembly that could be accomplished by everyone but the novice modeller. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  12. Despite the recent release of the Italeri's Sunderland Mk.I (review: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=234927542), the Special Hobby Short Sunderland Mk.V project seems going on. Some CAD drawings are proposed in ModelForum: http://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=97&p=1362198#p1362198 Future kit reference is SH72162. Wait and see. V.P.
  13. Hello all, this is the latest from the shed. A fabulous kit with every part falling together and lots of marking choices on the decal sheet prited by Cartograf. I chose the Portuguese version just because I haven’t made many aircraft used by this country and I liked the large emblem on the side. The aircraft was designed by Claudius Dornier after moving to Spain post WW2. Then after the Dornier works were rebuilt in Germany the aircraft was assembled there, 428 being built and supplied to users all over the world. The model depicts an aircraft from Sintra A/F Base, Portuguese Air Force. Its painted with my first go at using Colour Coats paints. As they are matt this involves using gloss varnish prior to decaling then matt/semi varnish to finish. The only difficult part of the build was getting the yellow spiral decal onto the prop boss. Lovely little kit! Hope you like it. Thanks for looking Pete 🇺🇦
  14. Hi All, My next project will be Special Hobby's Albacore Mk.II. I built Tamiya's mighty Swordfish last year and had another biplane itch, so what better than the Stringbag's replacement to scratch it ?! (ICM's 1:32 Gladiator almost got the gig, but I fancied an FAA build!) Here's the box art: You can see that an Operation Torch aircraft is one of the schemes included - here's all three options: I'm not sure that any of those schemes really float my boat - more on that later. Here's the sprue shots: All usual SH fare, with their hard mid-grey plastic and what looks to be good surface detail. Here's the decals, PE and instrument panel film: All look to be nicely done. Here's the resin components for the engine, machine gun and other assorted bits & pieces: Finally to the ordnance. This kit is supplied without a torpedo, but fortunately I did not use the tin fish from my Swordfish build, so here it is in all its glory: That will do nicely! As to the scheme, I'm rather tempted to have a go at a TSS/Night combination such as this one, X8942 of 828 Sqn FAA, based at Hal Far in 1942. There are a few nice photos of aircraft in similar schemes: All show a significant amount of wear, which I shall attempt to replicate. So, on with the build! Thanks for looking, Roger
  15. The Special Hobby Caproni Ca.311 & Ca.311M kits are ready for release - ref. SH72307 & SH72311. Source: http://www.mpmkits.net/2014/08/sh72307-caproni-ca311-sh72311-caproni.html More here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234961737-172-caproni-ca311-311m-special-hobby-sh72307-309/ V.P.
  16. In 2022, Special Hobby is to re-release its 1/72nd Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave kit - ref. SH72075 Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/SH72075 V.P.
  17. Hello all Here are some photographs of my Special Hobby P-40N. My original idea was to build the famous "Lulu Belle II" of Burma Banshees fame but I later decided to build "Mary Lou" instead. I can't hide it, pin up nose art attraction! 😉 "Mary Lou" was Lt David Winternitz mount, an 8th FS/49thFG aircraft flying from New Guinea in 1944 (decals are Exito decals). The big "Lulu Belle" skull will be for a future P-40 built. Below are some building details. Build was nearly from the box as kit is complete and very well detailed. Furthermore shapes look right to me. I had build both a Hasegawa and Academy P-40Ns before and their chin air intakes have something that look wrong to me. Cockpit need just a few details like throttles or a few levers. Seat is bit thick and though well shaped it was replaced with a resin part. Same with wheels, CMK wheels are a real plus. I would have preferred thinner panel lines - a common observation on SH models). Subtle painting can hide most of them. Worst shortcoming of the SH P-40 models actually is the fact that there are no walls to seperate the 3 different inlets. The huge P-40 front air intake actually are 3 different inlets for different equipments. I had to build these walls from very thin plastic card. Rest of the build was quite straightforward. Regards Eric B.
  18. Special Hobby have recently released a 1/72nd scale kit of the futuristic looking Bugatti 100 racer, as the real aircraft had no markings, the kit contains no decals which got me thinking what if the French turned the Bugatti into an interceptor aircraft? The real aircraft was designed in response to German advances in aviation, it was constructed from wood in a similar fashion to the superlative Mosquito and was powered by two 450hp Bugatti engines which drove contra-rotating two bladed propellers via a common gearbox (similar to the Fairey Gannet). Its calculated speed was a phenomenal 885km/h, that's an astounding 553mph to you and me! The aircraft never actually flew and was hidden away during the war but a replica powered by two motorcycle engines did fly in 2015 only to crash, sadly with fatal consequences in 2016. When I got the kit I recalled that the Caudron C.714 was a lightweight fighter based upon earlier Caudron racing aircraft, if they could do that with the Caudron, maybe they could do the same with the Bugatti... The Back Story In my alternative history... ...In 1938 with the storm clouds of war gathering the Ministère de l'Air was scrabbling around for modern aircraft types to re-equip the Armée de l'Air. The Ministère had become aware of Etore Bugatti and Louis de Monge designing an aircraft to win the 1938 Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe aeronautical speed competition. Bugatti and de Monge were confident the aircraft could reach the unheard of speed of 885km/h, the Ministère de l'Air were extremely interested, like Caudron were doing with the C.714, could the racer be adapted into a fighter. Bugatti and de Monge being patriotic Frenchmen rose to the challenge and set about adapting their design. Cramming military equipment such as guns, a radio and some armour protection for the pilot into the same airframe would increase the aircraft's weight and it's top speed would be reduced but the two men were confident it would still be the fastest thing in the skies, estimating its speed to be in the region of 750km/h. By the time the work was done the 750km/h estimate proved to be somewhat over optimistic but it could still achieve a useful 700-720km/h (437-450mph), unfortunately, the aircraft was difficult to fly and by attempting to keep the airframe identical to the original racer concept, there was precious little fuel, a long sortie would last no longer than 45 minutes, typical combat sorties would use the fuel up in about 30 minutes or less. The Ministère de l'Air was desperate though and accepted the aircraft as a point defence Intercepteur. The aircraft would be stationed at strategic points and would be launched at the very last minute using their, for the time, phenomenal speed to climb and intercept incoming raids. A handful of aircraft were assigned piecemeal to units and only the most experienced pilots were assigned to fly the aircraft. Pilots praised the aircraft for its high speed but flying it required constant attention which made it tiring to fly, it was a good job sorties were short. As the fortunes of war turned against the French, unserviceable aircraft were burned to stop them coming into German hands as the French forces retreated, finally, at the armistice there were fewer than a dozen aircraft left at Le Bourget airfield. Determined the Germans weren't going to learn the secrets of the aircraft, pilots and groundcrew set fire to the remaining aircraft so that none survived. The original prototype and all documents associated with the aircraft were hidden and only rediscovered post war. The model... The model comes in three plastic sprues (one clear), plus a number of resin parts, the latter are used for the main wheel wells, the radiator faces in the tailplane structure and the exhaust fairings, as previously stated, there's no decals, I have some spares kicking around which will hopefully do the job, I'll dig those out later in the week. Anyway, here's the stunning boxart showing the racer in flight... ...here's the kit contents... ...I've made a start glueing some parts together, here you can see the fuselage halves, the long cylindrical fairings on the cockpit wall are, I think, for the engine drive shafts. Locating these fore and aft is left to the modeller, I used the cockpit rear bulkhead to align them but I might need to fettle them later. Special Hobby suggest the cockpit interior to be red, frankly, that's not a very military colour for a cockpit so I went for something resembling bleu de nuit, a dark blue which was used on many French aircraft cockpits, I actually used Humbrol 104 for this. I also painted the wheel wells a chamois colour which is typical of many French aircraft (I used Humbrol 93). Special Hobby state the wheel wells are in a wood finish, great for a racer but again, not in keeping with a military aircraft... I'm leaving the paint to dry whilst I start getting dinner ready (steak and chips with a red wine and mushroom sauce in case you're interested). More updates in the coming days.
  19. Bugatti 100 Air Racer (SH72457) 1:72 Special Hobby Bugatti’s streamlined air racer was custom designed for flying the circuits in 1939, using twin engines behind the pilot that ran a pair of contra-rotating props in the nose, which gave it a sleek aerodynamic profile and a compact size. It was also inventive in terms of the tail, which was a V-shape and had a gearbox to split the pilot inputs accordingly between the fins. Before it could be tested and put into the air however, the German invasion began, which forced the engineers to dismantle the aircraft and hide it on Mr Bugatti’s estate until after the war, although he died in 1947 so development stopped there. Over time, the engines were raided for car projects and the airframe fell into disrepair until the 70s when a restoration project began, after which it was placed in a museum. A replica was made using more modern technologies where sensible, and this flew briefly using a pair of more readily available Suzuki engines. After a prop strike during landing, where the aircraft veered off the runway following a brake failure, its third test flight ended in disaster when the aircraft went out of control, killing the pilot who had played a major part in its production, and completely destroying the replica. It had been promised to a museum in England after this flight, which clearly couldn’t now happen. Quite a sad tale overall. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling from Special Hobby, and I really wish it was in my preferred scale, as it’s a rather cool-looking aircraft. Please Sir, can I have one in 1:48? It arrives in a short figure-sized end-opening box, and inside are two sprues in grey styrene, a clear sprue, a bag of resin parts and gasp! No decals. It’s a wee little thing, and that much is brought home when you see the fuselage, which is under 10cm long on the sprues. Construction begins with the transmission at the front of the cockpit, which takes the power from the two engines and adapts them to the contra-rotating prop machinery. The instrument panel is attached behind to the back of a short coaming, which must have made for quite a noisy cockpit. The fuselage halves have sidewall detail moulded-in, and this is painted up before the panel is inserted with a drive-shaft in the front, then backed up with the cockpit floor, seat back and rear bulkhead, with representation of the rudder pedals inserted under the panel next to two tubular drive-shaft covers running forward along the sides of the cockpit. The fuselage is closed up with a fluted insert added in a hole in the spine, and the V-shaped tails with more inserts to replicate the intake louvres on the leading edge, which is fitted later after the wings are completed. Like a lot of air racers, the 100 has a short span, but at the root the chord is wide with a large root fairing, the chord tapering rapidly to the tip. The lower half is a single piece, which has a pair of resin bay wall inserts fitted into the marked recesses, then closed up with the upper wings after a lick of paint. The fuselage is dropped into the space in between the wings, and a pair of small cylindrical pots are inserted into the very front of the fuselage. Underneath, the rudder/tail wheel has an insert with more louvres glued in, with the moulded-in tail wheel painted later. At the rear a pair of bulged resin exhaust outlets are fixed to the fuselage in recesses in the aft section of the wing root fairing, then the landing gear is installed after flipping it over onto its back. The gear legs are a single piece with the wheels clipping into the yoke, and a pair of captive gear bay doors affixed to the outer side, after which the model can stand on its own three wheels. The contra-prop has four sections to its spinner, two trapping each of the two-bladed props in between. The pointy one goes in the front, of course! This is glued to the prop-shaft, and the clear canopy is fitted to the aperture as a single part, with no option for leaving it open. Markings There are two markings options given on the instructions, which are replicated on the rear of the box, one of which is the actual blue scheme it wore, the other a what-if scheme that has red and white fan-shaped stripes on the wings and tail, which looks quite patriotic. From the box you can paint whatever you fancy, but these two are suggested: There aren’t any decals, so they’re perfect for the job. Very light weight and impossible to lose. Conclusion I’m smitten with this little aircraft, and Special Hobby have done a great job with the moulding, using resin where sensible, and giving us plenty of detail in a tiny kit. Now. About my 1:48 one? Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  20. 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
  21. 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.
  22. 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
  23. 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!
  24. 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.
  25. 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
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