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Awfulschmitt oneOnine again... Sigh. KA-Models (http://www.ka-models.com/index.php?route=common/home & https://www.facebook.com/KAMODELS2007) is to release (has just released?) two 1/48th Messerschmitt Bf.109 kits. Some people in Hyperscale forum say they've recognized the injected parts from the old Fujimi kits. Time will tell. Source: http://www.themodellingnews.com/2015/01/ka-models-bf-109-g-10-g-6-deadly-new.html ref. KP-48001A - Messerschmitt Bf109 G-6 "Red Tulip" Source: http://www.ka-models.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=643 ref. KP-48002A - Messerschmitt Bf.109 G-10 "Rita" Source: http://www.ka-models.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=644 V.P.

KA-Models is to rebox the Fujimi 1/72nd Grumman F-14A Tomcat kit- ref.???? F-14A 'Jolly Rogers 1978~1991' Sources: https://www.facebook.com/KAMODELS2007/photos/a.390320164315130.111612.185804791433336/1106701499343656/?type=1&theater https://www.facebook.com/KAMODELS2007/posts/1108277229186083 V.P.

Typhoon IB Update Set (for Airfix) 1:24 MK1 Design Mk1 Designs are a company that many of you might not have heard of, but they are associated with KA Model, and produce high quality updates, upgrades and detail sets for ships and aircraft. This comprehensive set includes a long list of items in various media to upgrade, correct and detail your 1:24 Typhoon. It consists of four sheets of Photo-Etch (PE) one of which is plated, a bag of brass rockets, another bag of brass cannon parts with springs, a bag of resin, and a bag of white metal parts. With this you can undertake the following improvements: PE Flaps PE Crew Steps PE Strengthening plates on the tail Metal landing gear legs & oleo-scissors Metal propeller blades Brass & PE RP-3 Rockets x 8 Brass, PE & Resin cannons PE Cockpit updates (some pre-painted) Engine updates Chin filter grilles The cockpit update consists of a complete set of new instrument panels that laminate together to form a highly detailed panel, however the pre-painted aspect of this seems a little grainy, and the print of the dials is a little fuzzy under magnification. A set of seatbelts in bare brass are on one of the frets, with the buckles and fixtures on the plated fret, so that they can be used without painting. A pair of PE rudder pedals are added to the kit rudder bar, and additional dials and equipment is dotted around the side consoles and walls, some of which isn't particularly well documented in the instructions. A quartet of crew steps and hand-holds are included in the set, but their installation isn't documented other than to show where each part is on the finished article. The cannon barrels are built from three turned brass parts and assemble trapping a metal recoil-spring between them, with PE collars holding the gas tube in place. The breech is made from resin, as is the ammunition feeder mechanism, and the set includes a massive seventy-one individually turned brass 20mm shells and four PE belts onto which you place them. This gives the ultimate in accuracy for this area, and just can't be beaten. You can even leave the majority of the shells unpainted to depict the brass casings with… well, real brass! You will need to clip and sand away the stubs of the turning process on each bullet, as well as from the barrel parts, but a pair of nippers and a diamond coated needle file makes quick work of them. Why seventy one bullets? It looks like they just ladle a load into a bag, as from the pictures, you only need fifty eight to fill the supplied belts. The flaps consist of the opening part only, as the designers must be happy with the flap wells as they stand. The ribs are individual parts that are folded in half to achieve thickness and detail, and these are glued into grooves in the inner flap surface, which has a rear part that is folded up. A turned brass hinge-rod is supplied for each of the four flap sections, with sections reduced to correspond with the cut-outs for the hinge-points. Each one is then attached to the appropriate flap bay, although it isn't made clear which one goes where – you'll have a problem putting them in the wrong place though, so don't worry. The rockets are made up from two turned brass parts, namely the explosive head and the rocket motor body. The body had a deep hole cut into it, and some of the parts in my review sample have become distorted during transport. Inserting the back end of a suitably sized drill bit is a simple method for curing these dents, so again, it's nothing to worry about. The fins are made from folded PE, and have another small fold to create a splayed base to improve adhesion. A template isn't provided to help you with setting them at right-angles to each other, so you'll have to rely on one you make yourself, or the Mk.1 eyeball (not supplied, and pun intentional). A circular exhaust insert is placed at the bottom of the drilled out section, and a fuse line should be glued in the centre, leading back to the rail. A pair of folded retention clamps are built up from two strips that are folded into mirror images of each other, glued together and then slid onto the shaft before adding either the explosive head or the tail feathers. Quite a bit of folding, as there are sixteen of them in total! A few small parts are included to detail the engine, and a set of grille parts in plated PE are added to both sides of the chin intake's radiator core. The prop can either use three or four of the supplied white metal blades, which are drop-in replacements to the kit parts, with just the seams to clean up before installation. These weighty items will all go toward increasing the stress on the kit landing gear, but MK1 have you covered there, as there are a pair of white metal gear legs in the box! These are straight replacements for the kit parts, and come with a tow-part oleo-scissor link for each leg. Again, a little clean-up will be required to make them ship-shape, and if you burnish the oleo's exposed piston with a pin, it will come up shiny, and after sealing with some clear gloss varnish can be masked off until the legs are painted, giving a highly realistic finish to that area. The legs are finished off by a set of replacement resin wheels, which are very nicely detailed, but with a 3mm (almost 3" in scale) difference between the width of the top and bottom sidewalls, I think there's way too much sag been moulded in. The same is true of the anti-shimmy tail wheel, which seldom sagged more than a fraction due to being solid rubber. There is also a seam around the main wheels where you'd expect to see one in the kit parts, so you'll have to remove those before painting. Conclusion A superb set that is let down mostly by poor instructions that vary between a photo of the installed parts with arrows and the part numbers, and reasonably well drawn isometric drawings of the parts being assembled. The grain to the painted PE parts is a bit disappointing, as is the excessive sag in the wheels, but that last aspect is subjective, and my not bother you so much. The inclusion of the white metal parts is good news, especially the landing gear, because the additional weight of five frets of PE and many brass parts is going to increase pressure on those legs quite substantially. The set should be available in the UK from all good model shops, or you can purchase it direct from If you'd like to see more photos of the set incorporated into a model, you can check it out here. Highly recommended with the caveats noted above. Review sample courtesy of