A26B Invader Pacific Theater

Published: April 12, 2021
Company: ICM

Brief History

The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is an American twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft. Built by Douglas Aircaft Company during World War II, the Invader also saw service during several major Cold War conflicts. A limited number of highly modified United Sates Air Force aircraft served in Southeast Aisa until 1969. It was a… more

Fokker Dr1 Triplane

Published: January 15, 2021
Company: Meng Model

It has been 102 years since the end of WW1 and we still have a fascination with the daring young men and their flying machines. It is amazing that 11 years after the Wright brothers first flew, we had airplanes dogfighting over the battle-scarred fields in Europe. Some of those aircraft were simple single wing models that resembled kites, others were single seat bi-planes and 2 seat cockpits… more

Lancaster B Mk.III Dambuster – Part 3 of 3

Published: March 23, 2020
Company: H-K Models Co.

Welcome back to the final installment of the 1/32 HK models Lancaster B Mk.III Dambuster review.

Last time we finished the bomb bay area, wings, tail feathers and did some initial assembly.

This time we will be masking, painting, decals and final assembly.

Paint

First off this is a big model and requires a bit more paint than other kits. I happened to request… more

Lancaster B Mk.III Dambusters - Part 2 of 3

Published: January 14, 2020
Company: HK Models Co

Welcome back to the second installment of the HK 1/32 Lancaster B MkIII Dambusters review.

Last time was cockpit and interior assembly and painting and fuselage assembly, also turret assembly and painting.

Part 2 will cover the bombay changes, engine assembly and painting and installation on the wings, wing and tail plane assembly and installation on the fuselage.

Bomb… more

Lancaster B Mk.III Dambuster – Part 1 of 3

Published: November 9, 2019
Company: H-K Models Co.

In 2012 Hong Kong models entered their first 1/32 scale model the B25J Mitchell and since that time modelers have been seeing a long line of 1/32 scale kits, multiple B25s, B17E, F and Gs, the Dornier Do 335A and B and the De Havilland Mosquito B Mk. IX/ Mk. XVI and Mk. IV Series II. Now we have the Avro Lancaster B Mk.I which has been reviewed by IPMS member Eric Christianson this year, and… more

Do335 A-0 Pfeil - The Big Finish, Part 3

Published: December 30, 2016
Company: Zoukei-Mura

Big Finish

So we are finally to the point of paint, decals and final assembly. I started out with applying the paint masks for the canopies. The paint masks seem to fit very well and are applied easily. I started the painting by covering the entire fuselage with Model Master Metallics non buffing Aluminum. I do this for two reasons, 1) to find any defects in the fuselage and take… more

Do335 A-0 Pfeil - Fuselage and Wing Build, Part 2

Published: December 13, 2016
Company: Zoukei-Mura

The Build Part 2: Continuing with the build is the 2 Daimler-Benz DB603 inverted V-12 liquid cooled engines. It starts with the two halves of the block with molded in pistons and rods. There are two halves of each bank of pistons that all get put together, then the upper sections are glued to that and the top cap of the whole assembly to finish it off. The valve covers are next along with the… more

Do335 A-0 Pfeil - First Look and Cockpit Build, Part 1

Published: October 23, 2016
Company: Zoukei-Mura

Overview

The Dornier Do335 was a German WWII heavy fighter that had a unique twin engine inline push pull setup that made it the fastest propeller driven German fighter of WWII. The Luftwaffe was desperate to get the fighter into production as soon as possible, but with engine availability problems by the time they got it into the fight there was only a handful of planes available… more

Academy B17E "Pacific Theater"

Published: August 18, 2016
Company: Academy Models

Overview

I won’t go into too much detail on the B17E because its been covered extensively with all the other B17 kits out there. It started the war headed right into the middle of the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The B17s were not armed so they had no way to fight back. They had to land because they were low on fuel. Some were destroyed some damaged and a couple escaped… more

F9F-8 & F9F-8P Cougar

Published: May 25, 2015
Company: Kitty Hawk

Overview

The F9F-8 Cougar was a carrier based early swept wing jet that was light, fast and had good range and load carrying capacity. It was developed from the F9F Panther which was a straight wing jet. The operational career for the F9F was 1951 to 1974. It was also used as a photo recon and two seat trainer.

The Kit

Kitty Hawks 1/48 scale F9F Cougar is the first… more