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Next up in my 767 collection is LTU SÜD Boeing 767-300ER. LTU SÜD was a subsidiary of Dusseldorf based charter airline LTU,and had its base at Munich airport. It operated a fleet of 757-200s and 767-300ER to various holiday destinations. I remember the 767-300 standing next to our DC-8-63 in Mombasa when we were boarding for our return flight to Switzerland back in october 1992. I was still a teenager back then and as soon as we got home,I went to the local modelshop to pick up the Revell 767 kit with these markings. The result of my build was less than stellar,partially to my limited modelling skills and patience back then and also because of the mediocre decal set provided in the kit. Anyway,I had much fun with my model back then. Now,a good 30 years later,I thought it was time to rebuild this aircraft,this time though,I used the Zvezda kit as a base,just because the kit has the correct window and door layout for the LTU version and I also planned on using only the registration and the white LTU and LTU SUD markings from the afforementioned Revell kit. The whole livery was airbrushed and for the details I used parts from the PAS detail set and decals from my spares box. Compared to the Revell 767,the Zvezda kit is mire detailed and also more accurate in some areas. All panel lines are very fine and recessed,same goes for the flaps on the wings. They are a bit too fine for my liking,on the wings I think the Revell kit is better done. The landing gear and wheels are much better and more detailed on the Zvezda kit. Both kits are very nice and considering the fact that the Revell version came out a good 25 years before the Zvezda kit,it still holds up very well.A big bonus is also the engine option. PW or RR engines are provided on some Revell kits,alas Zvezda gives you only PW engines. Paints used are Gunze white primer,gloss coated with Gunze Premium gloss and Revell red 31. Wings are painted with Gunze light grey 315,and my Tamyia mix of 66 and 56 for the corogard. Metallics are from Gunze as well. Apart from the poir decals from the Revell kit,the build was easy and straight forward.The kit goes together really well. Cheers Alex Some photos to compare the Revell (BA) and the Zvezda kit (LTU)

Here's one just finished, part of a GB on another site. Many thanks to JWM here for providing some references. Only aftermarket used were Kits World 3d decals for the seatbelts, eduard canopy mask and some uschi van der rossen rigging thread. Paint used were AK Real Colors. Note that there is krystal klear still drying in the fuselage port holes! Thanks for looking 20211210_180552 by bryn robinson, on Flickr 20211210_180526 by bryn robinson, on Flickr 20211210_180456 by bryn robinson, on Flickr 20211210_180349 by bryn robinson, on Flickr 20211210_180341 by bryn robinson, on Flickr 20211210_180331 by bryn robinson, on Flickr 20211210_180325 by bryn robinson, on Flickr 20211210_180248 by bryn robinson, on Flickr

Hi to all after period when i had no time for this beautiful hobby, first model finished in "speed" manner. New Zvezda model, easy kit of Hurricane Mk IIc. My impressions, snap kit...yes, with mistakes....yes, but in general great model to build. Very good fit, great details, and finished look is very convincing. Not to bother you more, i used decals from Arma Hobby box, add some details missing for this version, and unfortunately lost somewhere pitot tube..during the battle. Colors gunze, AK washes....end that is all Hopr you like it, till next one best regards

Hi everyone thanks for taking a look at my first build in a few years. I built lots of models back when I was younger but have taken a break for a few years but now i'm in university pursuing a degree in computer science and need to not stare at a computer screen for every waking hour so i'm getting back into my old hobby. I have built a nice little bench and have been gathering some kits and supplies so i'm ready to go, and looking at all the excellent builds on this forum its easy to get some inspiration. First off here is the kit i picked up from my local hobby shop because i was impatient waiting for my kits from Russia to arrive and of course the day after i purchased this they all arrived from Russia but hey I cant complain because you can never have too many kits. And here are the sprues. So first thing in order for me was removing the fuselage parts from the sprues and cleaning up the injection marks and doing a quick tape test fit. Overall I happy with the fit, the fuselage seam is decent so some sanding and Milliput should take care of it. So after this I decided it was time to fill the windows so I placed a piece of tape on the outside of the fuselage and filled the windows with some Ultra Fine Milliput and made sure to really push it through the windows so when I remove the tape the putty will be proud of the fuselage so I can sand it nice and flush. So the final task of the day was to glue in the gear bay sides into the wings so i can airbrush the gear bays tomorrow hopefully. So that wraps up the first day of the build. I hope as I continue on with build I will remember to take pictures. Any feedback is greatly appreciated and I hope you have a great day!

Zvezda is to release in 2021 a new tool "easy-build series" 1/72nd Hawker Hurricane kit - ref. 7322 Source: https://vk.com/doc6108131_578170851?hash=b62de4a6f84263e904 V.P.

Irish leasing specialists CityJet were the only European airline with a fleet of Sukhoi SSJ-100s. Between 2017 and 2019 they operated seven SSJs on a mixture of their own services and wet-leases to Brussels Airlines. Four aircraft were painted in full Brussels Airlines livery but despite positive passenger reaction Brussels terminated the leases early without giving any public explanation. Complex maintenance and poor availability of spare parts were probably factors. Matters can’t have been helped by the SSJs not being able to serve LCY forcing Brussels to continue using their elderly Avro RJs. Following the termination of the Brussels leases CityJet disposed of the SSJs and replaced them with CRJ 900s. The Zvezda kit is OOB apart from a few small details from plastic strip. It’s a pleasant build, the only annoyances being the need to fill various sink marks without destroying the detail (thanks goodness for Mr Surfacer 500) and trying to detach the halves of the nose wheel leg from the sprue without breaking anything. White paint is Halfords as usual. Blue is a mix of Revell 54 and 350, roughly 1:2, plus a few drops of black. Light grey is Humbrol 196 with a tiny spot of 42. Natural metal is mainly Tamiya TS-17 Livery decals are available from Drawdecal and Nazca. I had both sheets in my stash. Neither is completely accurate and the best that can be said is Drawdecal are less inaccurate so I went with them. I added Authentic Airliners windows. Detail decals are mainly from the “technical lettering” sheet by Revaro plus a few from the spares box and the kit sheet. It has nothing to do with the build but when I was researching photos of Brussels SSJs I was amused to see EI-FWF apparently suffering from silvering decals on the fin proving that it’s not just a problem for modellers! Thanks for looking and as always constructive criticism is welcome. Dave G

Until @Homebee....next you's know!!! 😁 On Moscow...next you's also know😁....But no one except the Zvezda knows what she will do in 1/48 because it's a secret items!🤔 My bet is on the Star Destroyer!😁😁😁 B.R. Serge P.S. Talk: "veeery secret project that everyone will love".....hmmm, maybe this 100$ in 48 scale ?😁😁😁 O.K., O.K....not 100$!!! It's £100 in 48 scale, only because this British forum!! 😁😁😁

This one is an old and well known kit of this iconic aircraft.The kit itself is pretty rudimentary.I rescribed the panel lines and made the pittotube out of a hypodermic needle.I also replaced the ejection seat because the one in the kit did not resemble anything remote to a KM-1M.The paints used are tamiya and gunze and the decals came from the spares box. Enjoy the photos,Dragan

Hello to all.Here is my latest finished model.The great zvezda/dragon mig-17.I love this kit.The fit is superb.I only upgraded the seat.Made the pittotubes out of needles and the canons out of hypodermic needles.The paints used are gunze and tamiya.The decals came from the spares box.I made a full video of the build process and if you would like you can see it on the link bellow. https://youtu.be/C-Dw2nqAGIg

With my D.520 winding down in the GB, and having a hankering for prop planes, decided to pull this one out for a spin. My first Zvezda kit ever! Box art: Sprue shot: And another first, Quinta 3D decal thingamabobs. Must admit, they appeal to my lazy side so been dying to try them out. Pitchforks are in aisle 2 for those of the puritanical persuasion. Now, there is currently a rather spicy discussion going on in the WW2 section about V.V.S colours used during the G.P.W. (I hope they don't find this WIP. Please don't let them find this...) Anyway, the kit instructions tell me to use Dark Gunship Grey (H125) and Light Gull Grey (H129) for the upper camo. That is surely wrong, what I need is AMT-7 lower, and AMT- 11 & 12 uppers. So, been digging through my VMA stash and will try mixing something from the following that will prevent this comrade going to model gulag. So. The plan. AMT-7 - Going to mix up 71.109 Faded PRU Blue & 71.124 USAF Green and see what happens. Maybe some Dk/Lt Gray if needed? AMT- 11 & 12 - Going to futz around with 71.314 Seaplane Gray AKA FS 36081, 71.097 Med Gunship Grey and 71.277 Dk Gull Gray until I get something that resembles the colours on Massimo Tessitori's page HERE. Well. This should be fun!

Here is my finished Boeing 757-236 in 1/144 scale from Zvezda’s new B757 kit in the classic ‘Negus’ livery of British Airways registration G-BIKC “Edinburgh Castle”. This kit, quite literally, goes together seamlessly with very little sanding and filling required. It’s great that is has both engine options as well as having either the newer blended winglets or the classic wing tips. I’ve never built the Minicraft or EE kits but I absolutely can’t recommend this kit enough! The beautiful decals are from Ray at @26Decalsand the B757 detail sheet is from @nazca-decals. The registration I went for, G-BIKC, was fitted with the older style RB211 engines. But I love Edinburgh so I opted to go for an engine upgrade with my build and use the newer RB211 engines. Paints used were Halfords appliance white for the upper fuselage, Humbrol 15 Midnight Blue for the lower fuselage and Halfords Racking Grey for the wings, nacelles and stabilisers. Metals are a mix of Revells aqua range. The decals are excellent, though I did mess up the port side tail decal as they were designed for the Minicraft B757, but Ray kindly provided me with a replacement screen printed one. I am already looking forward to building my next B757 which will be either Thomas Cook or Continental. As always, all comments and feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you for looking! Regards, Alistair

Hey folks, i'm back haha 🙂 after finishing my easyjet 319, i'm now sharing with you a WIP of two A320s. One is a custom order from someone, the other one is for myself. The custom ordered one will be AerLingus and my own will be holiday airlines, an airline most of you probably haven't heard of. Basically my friend @Berko suggested to do something from turkey, which initially wasn't my preference, but then i remembered that i flew to turkey in '94 and in a split second the choice was made. Since i have a weird tendency to build rare birds or things that are neither popular nor beautiful, this color scheme might not wake up everyones interest. People who know me, are aware of whats coming. Lots of scratch builds, details, corrections and ways of doing things a bit different maybe, which doesnt mean it is right or good, but my aim is always to improve my model skills and to share stuff here, so you can supply me with tips or ideas and vice versa. Less talking, here come the first pics. First i was a bit bored and i started with the fuselage halfs. So the surface is made for painting it with a brush, very coarse and not airbrush friendly. I initally filled the main door oulines with superglue. The rear doors are rectangular - which is completely wrong. seems like the CAD designer forgot them. After filling i sanded the stuff and now the surface is nice and the door outlines are gone. this way i dont have any conflict with the door decal dimensions. next up is the flight deck. Added thrust levers and a proper anti glare shield.

Mi-24P Hind-F (4812) 1:48 Zvezda HobbyPro Marketing Instantly recognisable to enthusiasts of Cold War aircraft, the Mil Mi-24 'Hind' has formed the backbone of the Soviet Union/Russian Air Force's attack helicopter force since the 1970s. The need for a battlefield attack helicopter became obvious following the experience of American forces in Vietnam. Mil developed the Hind as a response to this need, using the successful Mil Mi-8 'Hip' transport helicopter as a basis. It was transformed by the addition of a small pair of wings positioned to the rear of the passenger compartment for carrying weapons, a machine gun in the nose and a tandem cockpit for the flight crew. It was capable of carrying eight troops as well. The Mi-24V Hind E is one of the later, and more capable Hind variants, introduced into service in the 1980s. It is capable of carrying the highly effective AT-6 Spiral anti-tank missile on the hard points under its wings, as well as the four barrelled 12.7mm machine gun in the nose turret. It is capable of carrying a range of other ordnance, including the UPK-23-250 23mm cannon pod and the B-8V20 rocket launcher. The later Mi-24P or Hind F is a gunship version, which replaced the 12.7mm machine-gun with a fixed side-mounted 30mm GSh-30-2K twin-barrel cannon. As aiming the canons depends on manoeuvring the helicopter controls are moved for this to the pilot. First seeing use in Afghanistan these models also saw combat in Chechnya and later in Syria. They are still in service today with Russia and other nations. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling from Zvezda, fresh off the presses in Russia, so it is a modern kit and has plenty of detail moulded-in, and options to have many areas of the kit opened up. Its great to have a new tool model of the Hind in a manageable scales, as nice as the Trumpeter one is 1/35 is a bit large! The only issues I can see is that there are no rivets at all on the fuselage? Having seen a couple of these close up they are covered in rivets and the lack of them on the model is strange. I can understand this would have cost more to mould onto the kit but there is just something about seeing the kit smooth that is not right. As well as the main fuselage parts there are another 6 sprues of parts in grey plastic, and a clear sprue. The rotors have their characteristic droop moulded in. Before you start its worth considering if you want the engine covers, doors, engine compartments open or closed. Once this is done construction can start with the cockpit. Here two figures are supplied if the modeller wants to use them. The tandem tub is moulded as one part to which the seats are added along with the flight controls and side controllers. All instruments are provided as decals. The cockpit sides go on and then the cockpit section attaches to the floor of the rear troop compartments. Next up we concentrate on the engine decking which also forms the roof of the troop compartment. The main gearbox is built up and added along with other engine ancillaries to the top. Rails are added to the underside. The mount for the gearbox is added along with the separating bulkhead between the two engine. The rear bulkhead for the troop compartment is added and then the roof/engine decking can be added on making sure the central seating part for the troop compartment goes in. The two engines can the be assembled and added to the engine deck. Inside the troop compartment the seat bases are added. Moving to the main fuselage sections holes need to be opened up and additional parts added inside the main cabin area. If closing up the fuselage then engine panels and the troop compartment doors can be fitted in the closed positions. Next up the cockpit section is flipped upside down and the front section including the wheel well is added. At the rear the main wheel well is assembled ad added in. The main fuselage can then be closed up around the cabin section. At the front the pilots main panel goes in and then the front fuselage side can go on. The forward sensor fairing is also fitted. At the rear of the tail section the small wings are fitted as well as the tail rotor gearbox. The wings for carrying the weapons are built up and added at this stage along with the pylons. The rear top mounted IR jammer is also now installed. At the front the engine intakes and covers go on. The clear canopies can now be fitted. The last major area for completing the fuselage is the construction and addition of the landing gear. If building the Afghan version then IR diffusing exhausts are fitted. Onto the rotors. The main rotor head is built up with the blades adding onto the rotor head, the lower plate is added and control linkages join the two. This can then be added to the helo. The tail rotor is a single part. To finish up the main fuselage the side mounted 30mm cannon is built up and installed along with various aerials, and the large external chaff/flare dispensers. The large spure for the weapons is the same as for the previous kit as it also contains the under chin turrets. There are four fuels tanks, four rocket pods and four anti-tank rockets. Markings There are five painting options included on the decal sheet. From the box you can build one of the following: 262nd Separate Helicopter Sq,n Soviet Army Aviation, Bagram Airbase, Afghanistan, 1989. 334th Centre of Combat Employment and Personnel retraining. Russian Army Aviation, Torzhok Airbase, 2014. Aviation Group of the Russian Air & Space Forces in Syria. Khmeimim Airbase 2017. 5th Helicopter Sqn, (Hubschrauber - Geschwader) East German Army, Basepohl Airbase, 1988. 86th Helicopter Aviation Unit, Hungarian Military Forces, Szolnok Airbase 2019. The decals are well printed with a red band around the edge that is reminiscent of Begemot’s work, but that’s just my guess. The colours are dense, printing sharp, and what little registration there is on the two large Russian logos is good, with a satin carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion It’s a very nicely moulded kit, A welcome addition to the range. Recommended. Available from all good model shops online or in actual buildings. Review sample courtesy of

Hi there! My choice of model for this GB: The fuselage. Hellcat is there for size comparison. Masks are the only aftermarket item I'll be using. Decals. Huuuge walkway decals for the wings. I think I will paint them instead. Not sure yet on my choice - but it will be either the ROKAF one with green/grey camo or the Japanese grey/blue camo. Both look really nice. I was so excited that already made a start, but I just realised that the GB has not started yet! Oh well, I think I'm still safe below the 25% mark - I'll just wait up few days until I continue It is looking really sweet model and excited to build something BIG for a change.

For part two of my reparations to Col I shall be taking my build to the other temperature extreme from the deserts of North Africa, the freezing cold of the Russian front in Winter. I have an interest in the equipment flown by Germany's allies and have wanted to build up a collection of 109's in their various markings so this seemed as good a place to start as any. I was going to go with a Romanian E but the Airfix decals I have for them are a bit pants with the yellow looking very faded which will only get worse when put onto a dark green camouflage scheme, I then thought about a Finnish G-2 but thought I would save that for the Scandinavian GB later this year, Bulgaria is being expertly covered by @Ray_W in great detail, I already have an Italian ANR G-10 so that left Hungary and Slovakia, and Hungary was the best option in my opinion. The Hungarians operated almost every version of the 109 so there is a lot to choose from, including a great variety of colour schemes. The version of 109 I am going with is the F-4 which in my opinion is the best looking 109 version, and the kit I am going with is the recent offering from Zvezda which is a very comprehensive kit of around 200 parts, not all of which are used as there are parts in the kit to allow you to build an F-2 as well and there are options of open or closed panels on the wing undersides and complete engine should you decide to display your model that way. Here is the ubiquitous box top shot, with some pretty nice art work; And the untouched sprues; And a look at some of the details on the wing interiors; And the aftermarket decals by SBS that I will be using for this build; And the sheet itself; Don't think I will be using the decals for the tail stripes, paint will work much better. And a look at what for me was the absolute stand out scheme on the sheet; I do love a winter camouflage scheme! Also gives plenty of scope for weathering, the plan is to paint the aircraft in it's normal 74/75/76 scheme and then apply the decals and then to carefully mask them and spray the white over the top, just like they did in the field. I need to get Emil either finished or very close before I can make a start on Friedrich, hopefully that will be soon. Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig.

In the framework of the recent toy tradefair Mir Detstva 2017, held at Moscow, Zvezda is reported having announced a "surprise" new tool 1/48th aircraft kit for 2018. Bets are open La-7, Fw.190... To be followed. UPDATE : IT'S A YAKOVLEV YAK-130 "MITTEN" https://vk.com/wall-29859496?own=1&w=wall-29859496_2175134 Source: https://vk.com/wall-29859496?own=1&w=wall-29859496_2000050 Source AlexGRD: http://master194.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=100171&sid=b7252e4ad3d849de8e26c4c009281a81 V.P.

British Infantry Tank Valentine II (6280) Art-Of-Tactic Wargaming Series 1:100 Zvezda Zvezda have a wargaming system called Art of Tactic, and while I’ve never heard of it, that doesn’t mean much, as I’m not into wargaming, so what do I know? You can visit the site here if you’re interested, where you’ll find all sorts of rules, expansions and a substantial list of existing products that are available from the range, including Starter Sets, Expansions, and history behind the scenarios. The kits are predominantly 1:72 for ground troops and equipment, and 1:144 for aircraft, and 1:100 for armour, with a growing range available. This set arrives in slim end-opening box, with two sprues in sand coloured styrene inside plus a sheet of instructions in Russian and English. On the rear of the box are a few CGI profiles of the tank, and you don’t have to apply glue or paint if you don’t wish to. For some folks it’s all about the gaming, others like their pieces to be attractively painted, and if you add some glue, they’ll stay in one piece for longer, which is always good news. Just because these products have been designed with wargaming in mind, you shouldn’t dismiss them as model kits in themselves, as the moulding has been done to a high standard, using modern techniques that bring a good level of detail to the sets. As they are fairly straight forward to build, I thought it would be a good idea to actually put it together as if in preparation for a gaming session. Often when you hear “snap fit” it’s a slightly misleading title, as there are usually parts that are a looser fit, so prone to working loose. Not in this instance however, although one or two parts will last longer with glue. Once the majority of parts are together, they stay together regardless of glue, but the glue helps to side the joins. You can see the results below, and the only delicate part is the gun barrel. The turret is made from top and bottom halves with the barrel trapped between, and the hull is also two parts, with a large exhaust box on the port fender, and two sets of tracks, which have smaller parts added to the rear before they are inserted under the fenders. That’s it! There’s a flag included on the sprues that inserts in a hole under the rear of the hull, and that’s of use to the gamer to avoid handling the model itself. Conclusion Not my scale of course, but what a nice little model! The tracks are crisp, the wheels are detailed, and so is the rest of the hull. I’d go as far as to say that it’s of better quality moulding than many 1:72 AFV kits I’ve seen over the years. Highly recommended. Available from all good Model Shops. Review sample courtesy of

I personally still dont like the look of the A350,esp. the nose section is imho one of the ugliest designs ever. But as I had flown on the CX A350-1000 back in 2019,it had to be added to my "I flew on it" collection. But I must admit,the flights were great on it,being not only very comfortable but also very quiet. The landings were so smooth,I didnt even notice the touchdowns.In these aspects,the A350 ranks among the best flying experiences of me,although they cant compare to the 747 flights,but as far as its Airbus related,the A350 was the best. The kit comes from Zvezda,and as one comes to expect from this manufacturer,the model is superbly designed and every part fits almost seamlessly. Puttying and sanding were almost inexistent with just the very long fuselage needed a little bit of filler in some places. The rest is basically falling together. It also has a nice and for that scale sufficiently detailed cockpit which can be seen through the very clear windscreen. The engines are very detailed and cleverly designed,which allows to paint the hot sections and the cowlings separately. Paints are Gunze white primer for the fuselage,clear coated with Gunze Premium gloss and Gunze Grey 315 for the wings and stabilizers. The cheatline was more difficult to find the right shade. On my research I came across Lifecolor WW2 Australian Airforce grey,but that was not available in my place.The only other option that was stated to be similar was the Gunze blue-grey,but in my opinion its a bit too much on the green side. I only realized it after I had sprayed the white around it.But depending on the light and angle you look at the model it differs a lot.I am still satisfied with the outcome. The decals are from PAS Decals and are nicely printed and easy to use. The windowframes for the cabin windows although are not usable as they are just thin black frames instead of silver. To solve this,I used the ones from the kits superb decal sheet and some from a 26decals Qatar A350-900 sheet that I had in my spares. All in all,a very nice and trublefree build all around and a highly recommended kit. Cheers Alex The stand provided presents the A350 nicely and so it can also be build with gear up. Here with "something else" to show the sheer size of that aircraft

Hi All, I haven't posted for a while, quite simply because I haven't got around to it, so here are three of my latest builds for your perusal. This is the MIG-31 by Zvezda, this is the first time I built a model produced by this company and I have to say I was very impressed. Very little flash and an excellent fit for all the pieces. Built entirely out of the box and painted with Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics. Thank for looking, as usual all comments and criticisms are welcome

Comments on my waffen ss/elite troops by zvezda are welcome. I was trying to build up the colours to get the autumn colour scheme right and found this difficult, I had created a nice contrast between the orange, green, brown etc but then ruined it by re-touching and so all looks like just one colour of light brown...oh well experience for next time I guess!

Good after noon fellow modelers, I've made one entry in this GB, but, why only one? So, bravely, as I'am not 😄, I 've decided to start another one Bf109, this time, Zvezda is a producer. Aside from very poor and shallow panel lines, Zvezda's kit si exeptional. Cokpit is almost finish... Thanks for watching!

Ilyushin IL-62 is probably one of the most successful Soviet built intercontinental airliners. The plane carried max. 186 passengers to a max. distance of 10.000 km. Its maiden flight took place in January 1963 and a total of 292 planes were built during the years. Its main operator were Aeroflot and it was also the biggest plane used by Interflug, the East German state airline. The company operated a total of 24 planes. IL-62 was also widely used by many other Soviet block airlines. Ilyushin IL-62's were in use until the early 2000 but because of stricter noise regulations and new and more economical plane types they went almost totally out of commercial traffic. The only airline still using the plane for domestic tourist flights are Air Koryo of North Korea. I built the Interflug IL-62M from a Zvezda 1/144 kit with BOA decals I ordered from the web. I also used a photoetch set from Extratech. The Zvezda kit was of very high quality, very detailed and its fit was excellent. I primed the fuselage with white Tamiya Fine Surface primer which I then sprayed with Tamiya rattle can gloss varnish. The lower part of the fuselage, the wings and stabs were painted with Xtracolor X137 light gull grey. For the smaller details, wheels, lights, etc. I used Humbrol enamels and Vallejo acrylics.

British Headquarters WWII & Soviet Motorcycle M-72 with crew (6174 &6277) Art-Of-Tactic Wargaming Series 1:72 Zvezda Zvezda have a wargaming system called Art of Tactic, and while I’ve never heard of it, that doesn’t mean much, as I’m not into wargaming, so what do I know? You can visit the site here if you’re interested, where you’ll find all sorts of rules, expansions and a substantial list of existing products that are available from the range, including Starter Sets, Expansions, and history behind the scenarios. The kits are predominantly 1:72 for ground troops and equipment, and 1:144 for aircraft, with a growing range available. These two sets arrive in slim end-opening boxes, with a single sprue inside plus a sheet of instructions in Russian and English. On the rear of the boxes are examples of how the sets can be posed, and you don’t have to apply glue or paint if you don’t wish to. For some folks it’s all about the gaming, others like their pieces to be attractively painted, and if you add some glue, they’ll stay in one piece for longer, which is always good news. Just because these products have been designed with wargaming in mind, you shouldn’t dismiss them as model kits in themselves, as the moulding has been done to a high standard, using modern techniques that bring a good level of detail to the sets. We received two sets for review, and I decided that as they are fairly straight forward to build, that it would be a good idea to actually put them together as if in preparation for a gaming session. Often when you hear “snap fit” it’s a slightly misleading title, as there are usually parts that are a looser fit, so prone to working loose. Not in this instance however, although one or two parts will last longer with glue. Once the majority of parts are together, they stay together regardless of glue, but the glue helps to side the joins. You can see the results under each heading below. British Headquarters WWII (6174) This set includes four figures that can be mounted on individual bases or on a larger combined base so that they can be moved as a unit. The officer is pointing toward a distant target with his walking stick, pipe in hand, while another rank observes the scene with binoculars with what appears to be a map in hand. A kneeling man is offering the officer a field telephone, while the fourth man is saluting at attention for reasons best known to themselves. Sculpting is good, and the equipment they wear is appropriate for the era, with the figures going together well. You’ll need to find a bit of wire if you plan to detail the telephone waving man, but other than that, a scrape of the seams and some glue to hide the seams, and you’re good. I assembled these chaps on individual bases, but you can see the group base next to the figures, complete with a flag that allows simple movement of the set without excessive touching of the figures. Soviet Motorcycle M-72 with Sidecar & Crew (6277) This set can only be made up on the large base due to its size. The motorcycle has a pair of exhausts added, running down its sides from cylinder blocks, with a frame added to the right side for the sidecar. The two figures are well-moulded to fit in their places, with a choice of handlebars in case you want to model it without crew. One set of bars has hands moulded to it, which can be attached to the rider with a little glue, giving a more realistic look. The passenger is inserted into the sidecar and has a machine gun with dinner-plate magazine on the top (that’s one piece that needs glue), which mounts to the front of the sidecar with a triangular bipod that clips into the front fairing – the gun is also best glued to the tripod. At the rear is another cowling with a spare tyre on top, then the third wheel is fixed to the frame, and finally the whole assembly is mounted to the base on three large pins that won’t come loose even without glue. This set also has a flag at the rear for easy movement. Conclusion I’m not a wargamer as already mentioned, but from my point of view these sets are suitable for modellers as well as gamers due to their level of detail. The only alteration that would improve the detail further would be to cut away the web that joins the motorcycle rider’s gun barrel to his shoulder, which is a moulding necessity. Nicely detailed, and reasonably priced into the bargain. Highly recommended. Available from all good Model Shops. Review sample courtesy of

I've not entered an airliner in a Group Build for well over a year, so time to make amends: This will be the Zvezda A321 kit with RicWarcup decals and Bra.Z winglets to build N701FR "Otto the Owl". Having relatives in Colorado, we have flown to / from Denver several times in recent years and I'm always drawn to have a walk around Concourse A and get photos of the Frontier aircraft that are on the gates. Mike

Hello Here is my Zvezda Lockheed C-130E #314 of the Israeli Defence Force in 2012. The kit is quite easy to build and I picked some decals from my huge stock. Patrick