IPMS/USA Reviews

Total number of parts: 25 each package.

As I'm scratch building a 1/16 scale PT boat, when I saw these neat little shells and cartridges I was curious. What arrived was 4 small packages which included 25 shells or cartridges each in both .50 caliber and .30 caliber. For a large scale I was surprised at how small they were. I was able to compare the .50 caliber ones with a real .50 caliber cartridge and shells, and there is a gigantic difference in size.

These detailing parts are made from brass, have the right dimensions for their scale, and the shell cases even have a hollowed-out end on them. I have photographed them with a real shell just to show the relative size of them. Overall they are very consistent and I'll bet they will look awesome on any 1/16 scale vehicle, boat, or tank. Their Master-Model website calls them the Ground Master Series.

I want to thank Master-Model and IPMS USA for the opportunity to review these accessories.

About HM (from the website)

Hypersonic Models are currently located in Sennan City, Osaka prefecture, Japan, and products are manufactured, packed and shipped from there. All items for sale here are original Hypersonic Models' products, we don't act as re-sellers for other brands' or companies' products.

IPMS/USA welcomes Jeffrey Kubiak of Hypersonic to the list of producers of useful bits and bobs for those of us with Advanced Modelers Syndrome (AMS). And thanks to IPMS leadership for sending it to me to be reviewed.

Jeffrey began Hypersonic models in the UK, and has recently moved to Japan... a major change of scenery. Originally he started up with resin and detail upgrades for the Special Hobby X-15 kits... and now he's expanding... making up for lost time, so visit his site for not only this item, but several upgrades aimed at improving the Academy F-4 kits, and, most recently, the Zoukei Mura Phantoms as well.

Consisting of 2 perfectly-cast resin parts, this nose gear door is a total replacement for the kit item. It addresses the "busy" factor missing on the venerable Hasegawa early A-4 kit. Early A-4's had essentially an outer skin section of the nose with structural stringer, bulkheads, and sidewalls visible for the door. In this case the kit landing gear door is non-descript as the later version doors were enclosed for strength and durability. New A-4s are not as interesting as the early Scooters IMO, but I'm an old guy...

Serving in the U.S. Navy in the late 1980's, these were the weapons that I could "neither confirm nor deny" were present on my aircraft carriers. The B43 was in service between 1959 and 1991, and could have been carried in a nuclear conflict aboard any U.S. aircraft certified for bomb loads (a rather lengthy list). This new release from Eduard will allow for a unique loading of any aircraft that served during the Cold War in nearly any branch of the service as well as by some NATO allies. Construction of the bombs is clear and anyone with limited experience with resin and brass will be able to put these to use.

IPMS/USA again thanks Ross and his Team at SAC for supporting the IPMS USA reviewer corps with one more of many monthly releases, with extremely useful and well-thought out landing gear additions for the modeling crowd out here in the modeling world. And thanks to IPMS leadership for sending it to me to be reviewed.

Consisting of two (that's 2!) complete sets of gear, it's pretty simple. Two main gear struts, two external torque links, and one tail gear. The tail gear is not the standard "Bar and lever" we see on so many early spitfires, but an actual oleo.

This set includes the torque scissors. It can be added as an afterthought to building, thereby preventing one from breaking it off during construction. Test fit into the wing and tail sockets to make sure no cleanup of flash is required, then a touch of superglue or epoxy, wait for the glue to cure, then you are done!

Even the simplest of modelers can do these. And as usual, the struts are much stronger than the plastic gear, and will allow you to align pitch, rake, toe in and out, etc. without fear of breaking off.