Miscellaneous

Normally I don’t build 1/72 scale. The armor is too small and my eyes are too old. There is a guy in our club named Scott who only builds 1/72 and because I thought how funny it would be to enter something into our upcoming contest in 1/72 scale to surprise him, I picked this kit to review.

It is a Village House, which is molded in color (although it still will need to be painted), and it is awesome. I’ll admit that building this kit was a lot of fun, my son helped me because it went together so easily, and it is going to look cool once I add in the extras.

You get a few extra pieces, and have two choices for the front door. There are full gutters and rain spouts, which I left off so I can take the roof off to finish the interior. The roof and bricks are well done, and mine had no flash at all. Crisp, clean plastic that went together very well. re are full gutters and rain spouts. The roof and bricks are well done, and mine had no flash at all. Crisp, clean plastic th

The May issue's Cover article features the new Xuntong Tu-2T in 48^th scale. This feature article serves as an excellent resourse for those planning to build the Tu-2T. Author and builder Marco Preto presents an in-depth review of Xuntong’s first release. Marco’s workmanship and skill are evident in the text and accompanying images. The article is a “must read” for anyone who wishes to build the Tu-2T.

This issue of SAM contains a “Feature Build” article and this particular article features the Wingnut Wings DH-2. Dai Williams does a fantastic job building up the WNW kit, sharing his techniques for shading and achieving a “translucent rib effect”.  Being a fan of Wingnut Wings kits, and having one on the workbench at this time, I found Dai’s article timely and very useful.

As is the case in each issue of SAM, there are a number of “Compact Build Reviews”. In this issue there six CBRs.

This is Model Art Magazine’s Mechanics – Major Robots in Golden Age. As with the regular Model Art Magazine this is printed in Japanese with some English subtitles.

This special issue covers “Mechanic Models” with an emphasis on models from the 80’s.  The subjects of this issue are covered with the use of built up models that are shown in full color photographs.

So what is a Mechanic Model? From going through this issue I would describe it as your Transformer, Gundam and Mech type model. Some of the models built are a RX-78 Gundam, Aura Battler Dunbine, ATM-09-RSC Scopedog Red Shoulder Special and VF-1J Valkyrie.  With each of these is a build article that gives tips and tricks to the builder.

There is one model that is reviewed that almost everyone should recognize in this issue. This is the Fine Molds 1’48^th scale X-Wing Fighter. This has got to be one of the nicest kits of the X-wing that is on the market.

I can say that I have had an interest in these types of models due to the fact that there are some similar techniques that are used in weathering aircraft and armor.

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.

Model Art Modeling Magazine is a Japanese publication that is released monthly. The text is mainly in Japanese with some English subtitles throughout. One attractive feature of these magazines is the high quality of the photographs and the models that are used.

In this month’s issue, the feature article covers dealing with aftermarket parts (resin and photo etch), and then they show the application to actual models. They cover everything from removing PE from the fret, bending PE, and cleaning resin. This article covers approximately the first quarter of the magazine.

The next article is the continuing series on building a JASDF T-28B. This month they cover the wings and landing gear.

The April new kit review covers the following kits: GWH 1/48 Mig-29 Late type 9.12, Kinetic 1/48 T-45 A/C “Goshawk”,  Pit Road 1/35 Crossley Armored Car Model 25, Tamiya 1/35 M109A6 “Paladin”, and Fujimi 1/700 Aircraft carrier Cruiser Mogami.

Airfix is releasing all sorts of interesting/strange subjects in their current burst of productivity and this is one of them. It's an old kit that originally dates from 1972, at one point was motorized, and is now billed as part of their Museum Collection. I selected it thinking it would be a fun diversion from my more "intense" projects. Wrong. This is not a simple build. You need to pay attention to what's going on and what goes where and, because it's a cutaway, what needs to be painted before you do anything. There are leftover parts when you're done that I can only assume were once part of the motorization, and some of the rest of the parts are similar to each other, so you need to pay attention to parts' numbers. Be careful during assembly, as some parts need to go together in a certain order and in particular orientations. In addition, since many of the parts are functional, you need to be careful in cleaning them, up as there are a lot of mold seams and some flash that, if not cleaned up, it will impair the function of the finished model.

• Stock # RE 30006 (0.8 mm pipes)
• Stock # RE 30007 (1.0 mm pipes)

Thank you to Riich Models, Dragon Models USA, and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for the chance to review this intriguing product.  This is really one review of 2 different diameters, and there are 2 other smaller sizes available.  Each package contains 5 pieces of soft pipe in about 800 mm (7.75 inches) lengths.

Thank you to Andrea Lindell of Specialty Press and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me the opportunity to review this truly definitive resource.  Author Bill Yenne does not disappoint in the least; rather,he provides a veritable gold mine of data, photographs, and narrative.  He provides a wonderful introduction defining what a guided missile is, but also covers early guided missile concepts and development, the evolution of naming conventions, and, of course, the usual inter-service rivalries and territory disputes.  For example, the Air Force and Navy viewed themselves as global projectors of air-power, which guided missiles are part of.  The Army, on the other hand, viewed such missiles as a logical extension of artillery, whereas the Air Force thought of missiles as bombers!  It didn’t stop there either, with surface-to-air missiles considered by the Army as antiaircraft weapons and the Air Force calling them interceptors.  The parallel development and sometimes cooperation amongst the services is made more understandable.