IPMS/USA Reviews

Eduard has issued two resin radiators to upgrade the radiator in their SE.5a kit:

• 648319 SE.5a Radiator - Hispano Suiza for 4 blade prop 1/48 $7.95
• 648320 SE.5a Radiator - Hispano Suiza for 2 blade prop 1/48 $7.95

These radiators are for the Hispano-Suiza engine version of the SE.5a. The upgraded radiators include resin and photoetch parts with much finer detail than the kit parts.

The Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5 was introduced in 1917 with a 150 HP V8 Hispano-Suiza 8A engine with two-bladed counter-clockwise (left) rotating propeller. The SE.5a was an improved version of the SE.5 and was one of the fastest fighters of WWI. The SE.5a aircraft was originally produced with a 200 HP Hispano-Suiza 8B gear-driven engine ('Hisso'), with a counter-clockwise (left) rotating four-bladed propeller. The gear-driven engines proved unreliable, and were quickly replaced with the 200 HP Wolsely Viper direct drive engine with clockwise rotating (right) two-bladed propeller.

The AIM-9 Sidewinder has been a mainstay of the US Air-to-Air arsenal since the 1950s. The AIM-9G/H was used extensively in the Vietnam War by US Navy. Most of the Navy kills during the war were with the AIM-9G. The later AIM-9H was a navalized version of the AIM-9G and had the highest kill ratio of the Vietnam War. The difference between the two missiles were all internal with the H having solid state electronics. The AIM-9H missiles were used well into the 1970s when they were superseded by the AIM-9L.

The CBU-105 Cluster Bomb Dispenser was an improved version of the unguided CBU-97. The primary change was the including of a GPS system and tail fins to more accurately place the weapon. This also allows the interior bombs, BLU-108 submunitions to rain down and destroy tanks, antiaircraft and more.

Eduard has produced a wonderfully detailed set of six resin cast CBU-105 bomb in this release. The set is cast in the standard Eduard gray resin. Prep work involved cutting the fins and the front bomb off the casting blocks, sanding smooth and then gluing together. One note, make sure you glue the rear fins on in the correct orientation- the drawings are excellent so follow them! I fixed any seams with putty smooth with lacquer thinner. This was then primed with Alclad gray primer.

Painting is simple. I base coated the body with Tamiya Olive Drab. This dried and I masked the rear fins and shot them Tamiya Silver. The two primer cords on top were given a coat of black. Lastly, the front part of the fuse section was painted silver. The entire unit was given a gloss coat in preparation for decals.

Eduard has combined three wonderful resin sets into a combo set called the BigSin set for the Tamiya F-14A. I would think it would also work with other F-14's but watch the variant so you could match it to the missile variants. The set comes in an excellent box with a full set of four AIM-54A Phoenix missiles, four AIM-7E Sparrow missiles and four AIM-9G/H Sidewinders with launch rails and seeker head covers. Each set comes with full stenciling and individual instructions in color including the color call outs for painting. Let's look at the sets individually.

Plus Model was established in 1990 in The Czech Republic. Their product range is comprised primarily of 1/35th scale resin kits, conversion sets, and accessories which are vacuum cast from polyurethane plastic

• Square Topped Window
  • Item# 498
  • $17.30
• Round Topped Window
  • Item# 502
  • $17.30

They offer a superb line of quality dioramas made from a specially hardened gypsum, styrene sheets, of varying thickness for your own use and design, and other modeler accessories or tools. They also have a wide range of printed-paper 1/35^th scale accessories - scale posters, road signs, rations boxes, tents, etc.