IPMS/USA Reviews

The Mi-24 Hind is one of the meanest attack helicopters on the battlefield. It is huge, ugly and spectacularly brutish. The Hind-D/E had a 12.7 YakB machine gun mounted in a turret under the nose. This gun was capable of carrying 1,470 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition and firing at a rate of 4,500 rounds a minute. This gun is a whole lot of whoop ass to go along with its brutish looks.

Master Model has started to release some helicopter armament systems in their turned metal barrel range. The third in the 1/35^th scale series is the gun and DUAS Probe for the Mi-24D/E.

Contained on a stiff cardstock backing sheet, is a ziplock baggie that contains three turned metal pieces and two resin pieces in light grey plastic. The resin pieces are things of beauty. There is no cleanup required, which is a Godsend since the DUAS vanes are very fragile. The resin pieces are protected by foam and some very light tack tape to hold them in place. The other resin piece is the actual gun barrels already mounted together.

David Doyle's latest book is with a brand new publisher, G-104 Press. Founded by Scott and Kim Taylor of London, Ontario, this volume follows the Visual History format previously seen from David Doyle's books from Ampersand. David Doyle has acquired the use of the former Ampersand format along with the inventory and website: http://www.AmpersandPubCo.com . This book is presented in landscape and includes 112 gloss pages. G-104 Press does not yet have a website, but they are planning on one. Presently, the book is sold through David Doyle's website.

Scott and Kim Taylor can be reached through their Thachweave Products webpage at thachweave.tripod.com where they sell some unique modeling products or you can often find them at IPMS and AMPS conventions.

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.

Kitty Hawk Models has already released a 1/48th scale kit of the French Super Etendard. They are now gracing the shelves of your local hobby shop with an earlier version of that aircraft: the Dassault Etendard IVP/IVM. This model represents the maritime strike (IVM) or photo reconnaissance (IVP) version of the aircraft.

Etendard is the French word for standard or banner. For some historical perspective on the Dassault Etendard, I'd refer you to Air Vectors website. Air Vectors has a nice history of the type from the Etendard II through the Super Etendard, for your edification.

Upon opening the box you will encounter five sprues of light gray parts and a sprue of clear bits for the canopy, clearance/anti-collision lights and photo-recon camera windows. There is a fret of photo etch parts for some of the finer details. Among those photo etch parts are seat belts, speed brake detail, flame holder for the Atar 8B engine, and wing spoilers.

History

The British Aerospace Harrier II was a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and, between 2006 and 2010, the Royal Navy (RN). The aircraft was the latest development of the Harrier Jump Jet family, and was derived from the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II. Initial deliveries of the Harrier II were designated in service as Harrier GR5; subsequently upgraded airframes were redesignated accordingly as GR7 and GR9.

Under the Joint Force Harrier organization, both the RAF and RN operated the Harrier II, including routine operational deployments on board the navy's Invincible class aircraft carriers