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De Havilland Hornet & Sea Hornet A Detailed Guide To The RAF & FAA's Last Twin-Engine Fighter Richard A Franks - Valiant Wings Publishing The Hornet and Sea Hornet were the skinny younger cousins of the highly successful Mosquito, but suffered as poor relations to the up-and-coming jet engine aircraft of the late war and early post WWII era. Nevertheless it was liked by its pilots due to its easy handling and crisp control response, which instilled confidence in its abilities. Given the impending jet revolution however, it lasted from first flight in 1944 to 1956 when the last airframes were withdrawn from service. The book is perfect-bound in a softback cover, and consists of 144 pages of writing, drawings, plans and contemporary photographs, some of which are in colour, which is nice to see, given the period of operation. If you are familiar with the Airframe Album series, the format will be somewhat familiar, and is broken down as follows: Introduction A brief narrative history of the development and operation use of the Hornet and Sea Hornet by the RAF and RN. Technical Description Detailed coverage of construction and equipment. Evolution – Prototype, Production and Projected Variants 3D isometrics illustrating differences between variants Camouflage & Markings Colour side profiles, notes and photographs. Models 1:72 Special Hobby kit by Libor Jekl 1:48 Trumpeter Hornet kit by Steve A Evans Appendices I Hornet & Sea Hornet Kit List II Hornet & Sea Hornet Accessory & Decal List III Bibliogrpahy The Hornet hasn't been terrifically well-served over the years in terms of kits, but amongst others there are the old Classic Airframes kits if you can track them down, the excellent Dynavector vacforms that are becoming rare too, plus the more modern Special Hobby and Trumpeter kits in 1:72 and 1:48 respectively, and if you're modelling in 1:32, there is the HpH kit as well. Perhaps the lack of kits has been remedied after all, although there are some issues with some of the examples mentioned, which must be at least partly due to the lack of an extant airframe. The wealth of information presented in the book is good to see, and it fills many a hole that stopped my own build of the Dynavector kit (that and my mojo!). There are photos of pretty much every aspect of the interior and exterior, all of which would be a veritable goldmine to anyone hoping to detail their kit, or make it more accurate in shape and detail. One of my personal favourite sections are the 3D isometrics that point out all the major differences between variants, which I find extremely useful due to my poor memory. The builds at the rear of the book at at the top of the quality tree, giving inspiration to anyone reading, with the helpful source list behind them to assist you in getting together any of the parts you might want to add to the basic kit. Conclusion Another very useful issue from Valiant Wings, who this year celebrated their 5th anniversary in business, so congratulations to Mark and the team for another great book. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

The Focke-Wulf Fw.189 Uhu Valiant Wings Publishing Here in 1:48 land we've been treated to a new kit from GWH, which is rather nice once you add in the wing spar running through the cockpit that they missed. I built one a few years back when it arrived, and wish I'd had this book then - It would have made the job a lot easier! The Fw.189 was a quirky-looking twin boomed observation aircraft with more glass than your average greenhouse, although not as weird as its competitor for the job, the BV.141, which Valiant have also done a book on, as it happens. It wasn't exactly a powerful aircraft, but it was well liked by the crews, and good at its job, as well as being able to take a bit of punishment from the Allies swatting at it. As usual with books from this series, it is broken down into sections, as below, and extends to 112 pages excluding covers, in a portrait oriented perfect-bound glossy softback that has a set of interesting desert profiles on the rear cover. Written as usual by Richard A Franks, it has contributions from renowned profile artist Richard J Caruana, and modellers Libor Jekl and Andy Evans. Glossary One page of explanation of various terms and measurements used throughout the book. Preface Ten pages discussing the need that led to its development, use and history in service as well as in prototyping. Technical Description Forty-nine pages going into great depth on various aspects of the aircraft's construction from armament to the tool-roll carried. Evolution – Protoype, Production & Projected variants Fifteen pages of informative drawings showing the differences between the variants, including those that didn't actually see service for various reasons. Camouflage & Markings Twenty pages of pictorial reference with plenty of text pointing out the details, including just over six pages of side profiles by Richard J Caruana. Models The first ten pages are taken up by superb builds of the Condor 1:72 kit by Libor Jekl and the 1:48 GWH kit by Andy Evans, including a page of a possible 1:32 kit coming from HpH, asll being well. Appendices Three pages of kits, bits and reference for the inspired modeller. As already mentioned, this book will be tremendous use to anyone planning on building a 189, as the technical section especially is simply crammed with pictures, drawings and diagrams that should give you pretty much everything that's missing from the kit, as well as in inkling as to what is hiding away in the less seen areas of the aircraft, which tempts one to start opening panels. Conclusion Presentation is top-notch as usual, and the detail that has been sourced for this title is excellent, and even extends to the thwarted "Cylonesque" ground-attack variant, and the less seen trainers with their reduced glazing set. Until I opened this book I had no idea there was even a sea-plane proposed with a pair of floats suspended under the booms instead of the landing gear. Sadly, the prototype was never completed, but there's always the ski equipped variant from GWH if you wanted to model something out of the ordinary without Whiffery. It's a great book to dip into and skip through the pages reading the copious captions, and will be of great use if you're planning on improving or upgrading your model of any scale. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

The Bristol Blenheim Valiant Wings Airframe Album 5 Valiant Wings' Airframe Albums are a goldmine for the modeller that is familiar with an aircraft, but lacking in references and the finer details that make one an expert. Perfect for the likes of me that has more enthusiasm than knowledge of most types, and a great way to become an "instant expert" when compared to your former self. Written by the prolific Richard A Franks, illustrated by Richard J Caruana, and with line-art by Wojciech Sankowski, the book is perfect-bound with a soft cover, and extends to some 128 pages packed with pictures text, diagrams, and information that will be most useful. The book is broken down into the following sections: Preface. This doesn't appear in the index at the front of the book, but extends to twelve pages that are going to be perfect for the novice to read and get up to speed with the Blenheim's use and development before reading the rest of th4e book. Technical Description. Discussing construction and equipment that was carried. Evolution – Prototype, Production & Projected Variants. This section is full of useful isometric drawings illustrating the differences between marks, with helpful call-outs to assist you. Camouflage & Markings. Colour side profiles of the various schemes worn in both British, overseas operators, giving an idea of how widely the Blenheim was actually used. Production. A full list of all Blenheim & Bollingbrokes produced with serial ranges. Appendices Blenheim/Bollingbroke Kit List. Blenheim/Bollingbroke Accessory List. Blenheim/Bollingbroke Decal List. Bibliography. Of course the available kits, accessories, decals & bibliography are a snapshot of what's available at the time of production, which will become less relevant as time goes by, but as it only takes up four pages, it's hardly a big imposition on the rest of the book. Conclusion Without giving away too much about the content, there are absolutely tons of pictures, diagrams and drawings that a modeller will find useful in addition to the text, and given how reasonably prices these titles are, they deserve to do well. It's a must have for anyone detailing the interior of their Blenheim too! Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Airframe & Miniature No 7 Owing to the mass of material that has got to be included Airframe & Miniature No 7 - The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Radial-engine Versions (including Fw 190A, B, C, F, G & S) – A Complete Guide To The Luftwaffe’s Butcher Bird by Richard A. Franks is going up in size to a massive 224 pages - their biggest book to date. Just to give you an idea of the scope of material, the picture art count alone exceeds 190 illustrations of all variants. However the even better news is that there will be no change to the cover price of £18.95 per copy, and all pre-order postage offers will be honoured at the current rates. If you want to make substantial savings on shipping now is the time to do it. Plus you get a chance to win one of two Eduard Fw 190A-8 or one of two Airfix Fw 190F-8 kits, as you will automatically be entered into a competition when ordering from Valiant Wings' website. they anticipate publication in early August. Order your copy now from www.valiant-wings.co.uk In response to demand they will also be reprinting Airframe & Miniature No 3- The Focke-Wulf Fw 190D & Ta 152 to accompany Airframe & Miniature No 7. Mike.

The Westland Whirlwind Valiant Wings Publishing With the recent release of a 1:48 kit by Trumpeter, there's renewed interest in this quirky little aircraft, which this book hits just at the right time. The book is written by Richard A Franks, a man with prolific output who must have a monumentally large reference library, with a strapline "A Detailed Guide To The RAF's Twin-Engined Fighter". It has 8 pages (excluding covers) of glossy paper in a softbacked perfect bound portrait format that's around A4 in size. Inside the front cover is the following index: Technical Description. Detailed coverage of constructions and equipment. Evolution – Prototype, Production and Projected Variants. 3D isometrics illustrating differences between variants. Camouflage & Markings. Colour side profiles, notes and photographs. Production. Concise history of each airframe built. Appendices. Kit list, Accessory List, Decal List, Bibliography. A preface and introduction to the Whirlwind takes up the first 8 pages, with the next 31 covering the technical description. Evolution takes up another 14 pages, with another 17 pages taken up with camouflage and markings. 7 pages are allocated to the production section with a variable number of lines of text for each one, depending on how interesting its history was. The last three pages are covered with the appendices, and it's nice to see they are so compact, rather than drawn-out to pad out the back of the book. The text of the rest of the book is closely spaced around the numerous photos, diagrams and drawings that are everywhere without being hard to read or appearing cluttered. The aforementioned pictures are of high quality and will be of great interest to the modeller as well as the amateur historian, or just anyone interested in aviation in general and the Whirlwind in particular. The colour profiles in section four are of high quality and are accompanied by notes appropriate to each airframe depicted, helping to answer any questions the reader might have. Conclusion This a very accessible book for the modeller or interested reader, and serves up buckets of information that isn't easily available on the web, while not appearing too technical. The Whirlwind has been long overlooked in the history of British early WWII fighters, and it is a welcome sight to see that being remedied in kit form, although no kits are perfect, as well as in print. Well worth a read, and great reference material. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Airframe Constructor No1. The P-51 Mustang Valiant Wings This is the first in what I imagine will be a great series of books from Valiant Wings, that take one particular model and describe the processes and challenges throughout a build. In this case it’s of the Zoukei-Mura 1:32 P-51D Mustang. Inside the glossy cover there are sixty four pages of information, starting with the preface, which covers the history of the P-51. The rest of the book is on the build itself. The pages are very well printed and the photography of each stage of build is superb. Rather than an out of the box build the author, Daniel Zambaride Suarez has taken the standard kit and modified it with some fairly simple scratchbuilt items to build a post war aircraft of the Guatemalan Air Force. The author has written and interesting build narrative which precedes the build pictures and explains his reasoning behind the build, how certain effects were achieved and how he painted and weathered the completed model. After this there are thirty six pages of photographs showing each stage of the build. Each picture is annotated stating the process of building, painting and weathering each assembly, plus any additions which were scratchbuilt. Even if you weren’t building the ZM kit the book is still a very useful reference of the various techniques that can be used on any model. After the build section there is a small section on how to paint a bare metal scheme including weathering, which some may not agree with, but it may be somewhat exaggerated, but could still be useful. After this there are five pages of colour profiles, each page with five different schemes, all nicely drawn by Richard Caruana. The profiles are followed by a six page walkround of P-51D in the markings of Ser No. 413704 along with diagrams taken from the pilots manual. The last couple of pages consist of lists for all the aftermarket items available for 1:32 scale P-51’s plus the ones available from Zoukei-Mura themselves specifically for their first P-51D release. Conclusion[/size] Considering this is the first book in the series I think Valiant Wings have done very well indeed. It feels like a quality book which also really shows in the photography. The brief history at the front along with the period photos is a nice touch, as are the side views and walkround, all of which will come in very handy to anyone wishing to build a P-51. The build section itself is an absolute mine of information and I hope to use some of the techniques in my future builds. Highly recommended Review sample courtesy of

Building the Heinkel He.219 Uhu Valiant Wings - Airframe Constructor Few of us can have escaped the release of the beautiful (to me at least) Zoukei-mura He.219 that was released in the back half of 2013, and is available for sale from their website here. It ticked all the boxes when it comes to accuracy and detail – boxes that the Revell version sadly didn't tick, leaving those of us looking for a cheap alternative to the ZM kit disappointed. I'm sure that many additional sales of the ZM Uhu have been made as a result, and Valiant Wings have recognised this and come up with a modelling manual that is specifically targeted at this kit. It is not a "building the Uhu from any manufacturer" book, but entirely dedicated to this one model. With a cover price of only £13.95, it would be churlish not to possess it when you have spent over £100 on your model once the shipping and import duty has been added to the purchase price. It covers an Out of Box (OOB) build with the exception of the main wheels, which the author Daniel Zamarbide decided to replace with a set of Barracuda Studios resin wheels, due to the additional detail. I have to say, he was right IMHO. The book starts at the very beginning of the build after a short preamble and a "build narrative", which summarises the build in broad brush-strokes before diving into the nitty-gritty. The sub-assemblies are many, and are handled in turn, and in great detail, in order to give the modeller tips and tricks on how best to complete them to the best of their ability. If you've not "gone to town" on a model before, you might find yourself buying some tools and fluids new to you, but if you can re-use those skills on your next build, it's money well spent. The build is broken down into sections as follows: Fuel Engines Propellers Weapons Undercarriage Fuselage Cockpit Wings Assembly Painting Details The build unsurprisingly rounds out on the Finished Model, which will have you blown away by the quality of finish on every part, nook and cranny of this highly detailed model kit. At the rear of the book is a triplet of appendices, covering aftermarket items available from third parties for the kit at the time of publication, a bibliography for additional research, and finally a list of the upgrade parts available directly from ZM for purchase with your kit. Why the two sections are split by the bibliography is not clear, but it's not a big deal either way. Conclusion Daniel is clearly a highly talented modeller, and the easy fluid style of writing and high picture content should make the job of understanding much simpler than a wordy tome would, as the old adage that a picture speaks a thousand words still holds true. Some of the techniques used are probably quite well known, while others might not be, and I certainly came across a few new ones, the most notable of which was the painting of the wooden decks within the airframe. I'll certainly be trying that out the next time I need to replicate wood, although it's unlikely to be a 219 sadly. Everyone but the truly gifted will find something of interest within the pages of this book, from the highly competent modeller through to the novice to this type of modelling. It is jammed full of attractive photos of the build and useful information to help you on your way, and should be a boon to anyone using it to help them with their build. Even to someone like myself that doesn't yet have the kit (I can dream, can't I?), it's interesting from a technical point of view, and if you happen to have the Revell kit, it's probably a good source of detailing information. The author Daniel Zamarbide was responsible for the first book in this series that dealt with the ZM P-51D kit, so if you've seen that, you'll know what to expect. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

The CAC Boomerang, a Detailed Guide Valiant Wings Airframe Album The CAC (Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation) Boomerang has the distinction of being the first combat aircraft designed and manufactured in Australia. Historically at the Start of WWII Australia relied on British manufactured Aircraft, and to a lesser degree some USAAF supplied aircraft. CAC examined the possibility of designing and manufacturing their own fighter, this was a fairly big challenge as only two aircraft were in production at the time locally, the Bristol Beaufort and the CAC Wirraway which was based on the North American Harvard. CAC recruited Fred David who had worked for Heinkel in pre war Germany as well as Mitsubishi & Aichi in Japan. Technically he was an interned enemy alien but this seems to have been overlooked due to his excellent technical knowledge. Authorisation to proceed was given in December 1941, and when presented to the Australian Government it was quickly accepted. Given the speed of manufacture no real prototypes were even produced. The first aircraft was flown in May 1942. The type went operational with the OTU in October 1942, and with the first operational squadron (no 84) in March 1943. This time frame may seem very quick but at this time there was a great threat of invasion looming from the Japanese, this must have given great impetus to all involved. Once the RAAF received faster types from the RAF & USAAF the Boomerang would go onto to become an excellent Army Co-operation aircraft, what we would now call ground attack. In all 250 aircraft were built. Written by Richard A. Franks, this book has been designed as a useful guide for all those modellers who have an interest in this fighter, aside from the modelleing information it provides a look at a period in the aviation history of Austrailia not widely mentioned. The clearly defined sections cover pretty much every aspect of the Boomerangs history. The sections include:- Chapters Technical Description -This is an extensive selection of images and diagrams, this section includes; Fuselage (Cockpit interior, canopy, Main & Aft fuselage, fuel, hydraulics, oil & oxygen systems. Undercarriage (Main, Tail Wheel & Brake system) Tail (Tailplanes, Vertical Fin & Rudder) Wings (Wings & Undercarriage Bays) Engine (Engine, Cowling, Exhaust & Propeller) Weapons & Drop Tanks (Armament, Ordnance & Sighting) Electrical Equipment (Radio & Misc Electrical) Misc (Access panels & Misc Equipment) Evolution - A full look at the evolution of the Boomerang. Camouflage and Markings - A comprensive look at this subject including colour profiles Survivors - A look at those aircraft still with us. The Alley Cat 1:32 Boomerang - a look at the the new 1:32 Kit from Alley Cat. Appendices Boomerang Kit List - All scales Boomerang Accessory List - All scales Boomerang Decal List - All scales Serial numbers - A list of ALL Boomerangs built Bibliography Conclusion There can be no doubt when reading this book that a lot of time and research has been done to provide such a detailed study of this aircraft, its design, building and use. Rarely for me have I read a title cover to cover instead of skimming through it like some reference books. Since researching for this review it has been brought to my attention that whilst Richard Hourigan is mentioned as a contributor, and actually provided a lot of information to the author, he wasnt able to proof read the final draft. Apparently there are a number of typos, factual errors and incorrect colour profiles, which have been pointed out by Mr Hourigan who actually owns a Boomerang, so should know what hes talking about. It has also been stated that the selection of photographs are excellent and most of the colour profiles are correct. Therefore, if you are interested in the Boomerang, Australian Aircraft History, Pacific Theatre Operations; or even just something different then I can happily recommend this book. Review sample courtesy of To purchase the Alley Cat Kit mentioned in book follow this link

Hawker Typhoon, a Complete Guide Valiant Wings Airframes and Miniatures The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was designed to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, as a direct replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems were encountered, and it never completely satisfied this requirement. Its service introduction in mid-1941 was plagued with problems, and for several months the aircraft faced a doubtful future. However, when the Luftwaffe brought the formidable Focke-Wulf Fw 190 into service in 1941 the Typhoon was the only RAF fighter capable of catching it at low altitudes; as a result it secured a new role as a low-altitude interceptor. Through the support of pilots such as Roland Beamont it also established itself in roles such as night-time intruder and a long-range fighter. From late 1942 the Typhoon was equipped with bombs, and from late 1943 RP-3 ground attack rockets were added to its armoury. Using these two weapons, the Typhoon became one of the Second World War's most successful ground-attack aircraft. Written by Richard A. Franks, this book has been designed as a useful guide for all those modellers who have an interest in all things Typhoon but also includes lots of information on its predecessor the Tornado. The clearly defined sections cover pretty much every aspect of the Typhoons history, both in full size airframes and in miniature. The sections include:- Airframe Chapters • Evolution Tornado • Evolution Typhoon • Typhoon Production Variants • Drawing Board Projects • Camouflage and Markings • Survivor • Colour Profiles Miniature Chapters • Hawker Typhoon Kits • Building a Selection • Building a Collection • In Detail: The Hawker Typhoon IIb Appendices • Tornado and Typhoon Kit List • Tornado and Typhoon Accessory List • Typhoon Decal List • Tornado and Typhoon Production • Bibliography The information contained in these sections will be invaluable to those who build Typhoon kits of all scales. The detailed diagrams, and colour views combined with the great selection of wartime photographs make for a superb reference point to build a super detailed model. The kit, accessory and decals lists make it easy to see what has been released and will be very useful to make a project list up just from reading one book. At the very back of the book is a pull out double sided section with six view plans of the Typhoon Ib Car Door and Bubble Top variants with profiles of the fuselage, all in 1:48 scale. Conclusion This is a comprehensive and well laid out book, that’s easy to read yet packed full of information. The photo selection has been well thought out and the photographs of the kit builds are well shot. Even if you don’t build a kit of the Typhoon it is still an interesting read. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Some news from Valiant Wing's Resin folks: To coincide with the release of the new Airfix Typhoon kit, Valiant Wings Publishing are offering their extensive 1/72 Typhoon detailing set at only £8.50 (normal RRP £9.95) for one day only to all visitors to their stand at the Milton Keynes ModelKraft show on Sunday April 21st. (Prices quoted here include UK VAT). Details of the contents can be found by following this link. http://www.valiant-wings.co.uk/172-hawker-typhoon-detailing-set-20-p.asp

Hawker Typhoon Detailing Set 1:72 Valiant Wings We’ve reviewed a number of resin upgrade sets from Valiant Wings on these pages recently. This comprehensive upgrade set for the Hawker Typhoon seems to be their pièce de résistance, however, such is the amount of resin they have packed into the box. The set is universal, which means it isn’t designed for any particular kit. In my view, the Academy Typhoon is pretty much the pick of the models available at the moment, but Valiant Wings seem to have been remarkably prescient in preparing this set, as new kits from Brengun and Airfix are just around the corner. This fabulously comprehensive set includes the following parts: Replacement main landing gear wheels and tail wheel; Replacement three and four blade propellers and spinners; Early drop tanks; 90 gal drop tanks and hardpoints; 250lb, 500lb and 1000lb bombs and hardpoints; Three types of rocket rails, 25lb Armour Piercing, 60lb High Explosive and unarmed; and Shrouded and unshrouded cannon barrels; There are eight of each type of rocket/rail included. The 25lb rockets are very welcome as most kits only include the 60lb variety All of the parts are all cast in smooth, grey resin. Casting is undertaken by CMR of the Czech Republic on behalf of Valiant Wings. The finish of the parts looks excellent. Details are sharp and precise and there are no apparent flaws in the resin. This is a high quality of this set, and considering what you get in the box, it is excellent value too. My advice is to stock up one some of these sets in anticipation of the release of the new kit from Airfix. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hawker Hurricane Mk.I Detail Set for Airfix Kit 1:72 Valiant Wings Airfix’s 1:72 scale Hawker Hurricane Mk.I is another stalwart of the Margate-based manufacturer’s range, having been around since the late 1970s. It enjoys a pretty good reputation for accuracy, with the exception of a slightly narrow nose. The kit is fairly basic and features raised panel lines, but on the other hand it’s much easier to get hold of that a Hasegawa Mk.I and cheaper than the Mk.Is available from Sword or AZ Model. If you want to build a Mk.I Hurricane (who wouldn’t?) then Valiant Wings have just made the Airfix option a lot more tempting with the release of this resin upgrade set. Included in the sturdy cardboard box are the following goodies: Replacement De Havilland propeller blades and spinner; Replacement main landing gear wheels; A much-improved replacement air intake; and A new pitot tube. All of The parts are all cast in grey resin. According to Valiant Wings, the casting was undertaken by CMR of the Czech Republic. The resulting item is just the sort of high-quality product that you would associate with CMR. The parts look accurate in shape and the finish is pin-sharp, particularly the beautiful air intake. The resin is smooth and the casting is flawless, with no bubbles in sight. Whilst designed to address some of the weaknesses of the Airfix kit, there is no reason why these parts can’t be used on other Hurricane kits. Given the overall quality of this set, I certainly wouldn’t have any hesitation in using it on one of the more expensive Hurricane kits. This set is very good value too, and so can be highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Airfix Improvement Sets – Hurricane, Stirling & Defiant 1:72 Valiant Wings Valiant Wings have brought out a range of 1/72 aftermarket products to improve or convert existing kits. These particular samples are for a selection of Airfix kits. Their range covers vac form, etch and resin upgrades and as their website states, they aim to “offer simple to use modelling solutions to improve or upgrade kits that have been on the market for some time”. Their niche is focussed on those who are venturing into the realm of aftermarket for the first time having gained some experience building kits ‘out of the box’. Having this clear focus behind a product range is quite refreshing. That said, the solutions they have aren’t just restricted to novice builders, they can be used for any level. Additional to what is described below, the instructions that come with the sets is very comprehensive. Apart from very detailed guides on how to use the parts contained, you also get tips on further correction / conversion work required to the kit including additional correction sets on the market as well as references to relevant books that will help in your research. Boulton Paul Defiant – Nose Correction Set for Airfix kit Here is a replacement nose section to replace the very poor kit profile. The nose is moulded as one piece with a separate prop spinner. The parts are formed on a resin back plate, so I recommend the purchase of a razor saw if you don’t already have one to remove the parts. The parts are nicely moulded with no visible bubble holes. Fine surface detail is presents on the nose cone. There is some flash behind the moulded in exhausts, so you will need to trim this off, a modelling knife should do the trick here. Short Stirling Mk.IV Nose Conversion for the airfix kit If you’re wanting to build a Stirling, then there is Hobsons choice, the venerable old Airfix kit. As standard, the kit comes as a Mk.I/III with the front mounted turret, however this conversion allows you to build the Mk.IV Transport / Tug used successfully later in the war. Moulded as a single vac form piece, this makes for the easiest way of upgrading the nose, requiring you to cut the existing nose off the kit 26mm from the front. The instructions also offer guidance on the other modifications to complete a Mk.IV. Hurricane II Improvement Set for the New Tool Airfix Kit Although the new tool kit from Airfix is pretty good, this set improves it in several areas. The kit prop I believe is about 3mm too small in diameter so a replacement is provided. Replacement wheels, carb intake, cannon, underwing pitot tube and two types of exhausts (fishtail and normal) all benefit from the fine detail you can get from resin moulding compared to plastic injection moulding. This set will sharpen up the look of your Mk.II and true to their objective, all parts are direct replacement for the kit parts. Care will need to be taken removing the prop from its support plate as there are thin connections running the full length of two of the blades. A sharp modelling knife will be required to do this. Hurricane I Photo Etch Improvement Set for the Airfix kit This set provides a simple pre-coloured etch set to enhance the Hurricane Mk.I. Primarily designed for the airfix kit, it should fit most kits in the scale too. You get a new panel built up in 3 layers, seatbelts, radiator grill, pitot tube, canopy handles, rear view mirror and control column. This is a great starter set if you’re new to using photo-etch details. I recommend some fine tweezers for handling these parts if you don’t currently have any. Conclusion The range of products offered by Valiant Wings is well thought out. I’ve been daunted by some of the aftermarket sets I’ve had in the past both in terms of skill needed (that I never had !!) and shear number of intricate parts, so I do appreciate a range of products that caters for people who are newcomers into this aspect of modelling. The quality of the parts is good and a selection of respected aftermarket producers such as Eduard and CMR are used to make the parts on behalf of Valiant Wings. Review sample courtesy of