IPMS/USA Reviews

One of the under recognized armaments for after market has been the depth charge. It is fairly simple to find missiles, bombs and other under wing things all very well done and in most scales but not so much depth charges. Brengun has issued a set (which looks like a rerelease of the Attack Hobby set) of the Mk. 54 Depth Charge in 1/72^nd scale.

Looking at the set, you get two gray resin blocks which contain the depth charge body and the nose pin for the front arming propeller. There is also a photoetch fret containing 18 pieces, a set of decals and the instructions for assembly, painting and decaling the set.

Assembly starts with cutting the depth charges free- make sure the front is flat. You will need to drill a hole here for the front arming pole. Don't forget to trim the sprue on each fin. Cut the arming pole free and be careful. They are about 1mm and I managed to lose one. The photoetch comes next. The rear ring is cut free and bent into a circle and glues in place. The rear arming propeller is added. The front arming pole is added and then the propeller and the depth charge is finished except for painting.

The North American A-5 Vigilante was an American carrier-based supersonic bomber designed and built by North American Aviation for the United States Navy. It set several world records, including long-distance speed and altitude records. Prior to the 1962 unification of Navy and Air Force designations, it was designated the A3J Vigilante. The RA-5C was a reconnaissance variant.

This ladder accessory is not identified for use on one specific manufacture's kit. It contains one photo etched tree with enough components to construct two ladders. An assembly guide is also provided.

Assembly was straightforward, and with the use of a PE bending too, the build went quickly. I began by bending the right and left sides to 90-degree angles. Next, I attached the wheels, and finally the two cross bars. After the assembly was completed, I primed it using Mr. Surfacer 1000 and finished painting it Insignia Red.

This is a very nice accessory. It is easy to complete, and I believe it would look very nice propped against any 1/72 RA-5C aircraft.

When I obtained the 1/48 Special Hobby Si204D for review, I knew I was going to need to see if anybody made pre-cut masks for it. It has a large canopy similar to that used on the Heinkel He111, so I didn't relish the task of masking it, especially if I had to cut my own masks. Luckily, shortly after I received the kit a new list of Eduard items was distributed for review and the Siebel masks were on the list. I immediately requested them.

The masks come in the now familiar packaging, with easy to follow color instructions. The material is the usual kabuki tape and is slightly thinner than Tamiya masking tape. The position of the masks is clearly marked on the instructions and they fit perfectly. Included are masks for the canopy and all of the cabin windows. The set also includes masks for the main and tail wheels. I had already painted the tail wheel, so I didn't use that mask. I had also already painted the tire portion of the main wheels, so I only need to use the mask for the hubs.

This is a cast white metal conversion set for the Eduard, or actually any, 1/72 scale Fokker D.VII kit. The package I received contained four airfoil shaped spreader assemblies for the landing gear, and two sets each of the landing gear struts and tailskids.

Not having an Eduard kit available, I used an old Revell Fokker D.VII, and the unit fitted nicely. The spreader bar unit was a little roughly cast, but it was easy to sand it down to where is looked good. Not having an Eduard kit, I'm not sure why the unit needed replacement, as there isn't really much to the gear, just the spreader and the two supporting "V" struts. The struts fit easily into the notches on the bar, but they need a little cleaning up, as there are two molding lines on each set of struts.

Eduard Models has expanded its Look line by releasing a set to enhance their own P-400 model.

This set of the Look line includes a pre-painted resin instrument panel and prepainted photoetch seatbelts, plus prepainted photoetch levers and such.

The instrument panel is provided in two resin parts and they are meant to be drop-in replacements for the original parts. They fit perfectly. You only have to remove them from the casting blocks and you are ready to go.

The prepainted PE is part of the STEEL line. I've been fortunate to review items of that line before and I knew I was in for a treat. Despite the STEEL name of if the PE is very easy to bend to final shape. You only have to remove them from the fret, bend them to shape and glue them in place (use CA).

As you can see in the pictures, the parts look amazing. Talk about a simple and fast way to improve the Look of your model!

Highly recommended.

I would like to thank Eduard Models and IPMS/USA for the review sample.