IPMS/USA

Deluxe Materials is a company I was not familiar with. It is based out of the Great Britain and it certainly provides quality supplies to the hobbyists in Great Britain and beyond. They have created a water washable, fast drying and low odor filler, that is easy to clean up and work with. I had a drop tank with some holes on it that I wanted to fill. I just applied a bit of the filler with a small spatula and after about one minute of drying time, I used a lightly damp piece of paper towel to clean up the excess filler. You can see yourself the great finish it delivered.

There is an official video on different applications for this filler at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stLzShlnrEk

It is interesting to notice that among the alternative uses of this filler, it is possible to apply it with a syringe to make weld beads in armor vehicles. I would have never thought of that!

There are a number of companies that produce air compressors for the artist and hobbyist, and an even larger number that produce larger and more powerful compressors that can be “regulated down” into the “hobby range”. This review focuses on the Iwata IS 875HT Smart Jet Plus Tubular Compressor.

This Iwata-Medea compressor is a top-of-the-line tool that delivers tremendous quality for the price. A comparison of the characteristics of this compressor and the characteristics of any high-quality compressor will show the reader why this compressor is rated so highly by this reviewer.

• Four-brush set – stock # BRF-4P, $26.99
• Five-brush set – stock # BRUF-5P, $32.99

Flex-I-File is a company that produces many tools for modelers. They are known for their saws, sanding products, and the touch and flow applicator. These brushes are new product that they have released.

These brushes are handmade in Germany. Some real nice features of the brushes are the long, well balanced handle for the comfort of handling, and the triangular handles that prevent them from rolling off your workbench.

For my review, I was provided with the four- and five-brush sets, but the brushes can also be purchased individually from the Flex-I-File website.

So, how do you review a paintbrush? Well, you paint with it! Included in my review photos is a photo of a piece of plastic card that I used each brush on to show off the capabilities of that particular brush.

I highly recommend these brushes. I have always heard that if you want to paint well, you need to buy good brushes. Wel,l these fit the bill.

I want to thank Flex-I-File and IPMS/USA for allowing me the opportunity to review this product.

The Product

Described as a highly flexible, softened, transparent gray film suitable for uneven surfaces and producing templates for applying paint by a brush or airbrush with reduced surface tack.

The Working Test

I decided that a current review project was to be the test subject, a 1/72 scale Cobra helicopter. I believe the film should be cut by scoring the film and removing it from its backing. I found cutting the film and backing material together a little fussy, even while using a new #11 X-Acto blade. The film is very pliable and stretches easily. The adhesive tack strength is a couple clicks below Tamiya tape.

I cut the gray film and applied it over a painted (gloss white) surface. I also used the clear film for the tail number block (see photo). Using an airbrush, I first applied yellow paint, followed by the red. I then used a 5/0 size paint brush for the black areas. After removing the film, I found paint bleeding along the panel lines and lifting around curved surfaces, causing under-spray. However, I saw no problems where I used a paint brush.

Once, I heard that a “modeler can only be as good as his tools”. While I think some modelers can be better than their tools, I know that in my case my tools are the best I can get, which is why I try to get the best tools I can.

This arrow-head shaped tool is extremely handy to create “hand grabs” (for an armor vehicle, an aircraft canopy, or maybe a ship ladder) which will all have the same size and dimension. This tool might find uses in trains and maybe for hydraulic lines in an aircraft, or for internal wiring inside an AFV or a car.

The tool has 28 pre-set lengths, or notches, so you only need to choose which one to use and then simply bend the piece of wire or photo etch to the length you need.

Simply brilliant design. Every single handle will have the same size.

I would recommend this tool for modelers who work with photo etch or scratchbuild parts.

I want to thank UMM-USA and IPMS/USA for the review sample.

This review is for the 1/35 MiniArt Ardennes Street, which is a road section with a damaged building and a small culvert.

As with most of these MiniArt kits you get extras, and these are worth it too. There is a full door, some window panes and some window shutters plus a rail fence. The culvert is really neat too, and I plan to dress mine up with a small piece of pipe, and some trickling water.

The building is not difficult to build, but it does need some reinforcement in the form of styrene stripes. As you can see in the photo, it helps the building stay together, and it provides a place for the putty later on. I have built three of these MiniArt 1/35 buildings, and while I do like them my main pet peeve is that they don’t have much surface for glue to grab onto. However, as you can see from my previous two reviews, once the putty work is done and once they are painted they do look nice.

As you can see there is plenty of room for a Tiger, so most vehicles you might want to put on the base will fit.  Do not worry about the gaps in the top of the building, as you see from the photos, the roof will cover those gaps.

Plusmodel from Czechoslovakia continues to add to its list of quality aftermarket and modeling supply products, this time with a package of two 0.4mm styrene sheets.  The bright white sheets of plastic measure 110x190mm (about 7.5 by 4 inches – the size of a small notepad) and the 0.4mm thickness converts to about 16 thousandths of an inch (0.016).

The cards are a handy size and cut/scribe/snap easily for use in scratchbuilding and just about any other way you can think of using them.  I personally find them the perfect thickness for creating support tabs for assembling those new heavy vacuform diorama bases being produced.

I recommend this Plusmodel product for any modeler who needs to use styrene sheet for his hobby.

I would like to thank Plusmodel for providing the sheets for review and IPMS USA for giving me the opportunity to try them.

Xuron has released another pair of high-quality clippers from their line of consumer products used by modelers.  The extra-long, ultra-sharp tips cut through PE like butter without bending or twisting it.  The ergonomically shaped handles offer superb control and stability, as well as comfort.  A return spring brings the tool back to the open position after each cut.

First and foremost, these are scissors, not clippers.  The shearing point comes mid-way between the two blades, just like a pair of scissors.  What this means is that they are excellent at cutting PE parts off the sprues, but they do not cut them flush against one edge, as Xuron’s excellent sprue cutters do with plastic.  I was hoping that the company had come up with a way for me to snip off PE parts without having to sand the edges where the tiny metal nubs might remain, but that's just personal preference on my part.

• Accurate airbrush ( ALC 9200 ) $ 69.99
• Precise airbrush ( ALC 9220 ) $ 79.99

Alclad II has brought to market two styles of airbrushes manufactured by one of the well known airbrush suppliers. The brushes bear the Alclad II trademark.  There are two models available, both single action with internal mix.  These are offered as complete sets that include the following:

• Airbrush
• Braided Hose
• Flush-mount color cup
• Adapter for bottles of Alclad II 1 oz bottles**
• Protective cap for airbrush nozzle

**This is a major time saver in that all that is necessary is to shake the color to be applied, screw on the adaptor cap, and spray. (All Alclad II products are pre-thinned and ready to spray.) Easy cleanup as well by simply shooting lacquer thinner through the brushes.

Xuron Corporation makes a number of hand tools useful for modelers. One, the Professional Sprue Cutter, is the subject of this review.

Often, sprue cutters (diagonal cutting pliers) are hard on plastic parts, especially small ones, when removing them from their sprues. The compression forces they impart can damage small parts, especially when cutting the first of two or more sprue connections.

These Professional Sprue Cutters are designed to shear, rather than compress (or pinch) the plastic, reducing the compression force. Xuron calls this a Micro-Shear®. To quote Xuron, “Shear cutting reduces cutting effort (as compared to traditional compression cutting) and extends blade life because the sharp edges are not meeting edge-to-edge. Shear cutting also produces clean, flat cuts.”

I found this to be somewhat the case. If a part, or sprue, is cut with the tip part of the blades, then there is mostly flat cutting with only a small amount of compressive cutting evidenced. The further back away from the tip one cuts, the more compressive cutting occurs, leaving two small beveled areas and a central flat area of the cut.