IPMS/USA Reviews

This set is designed to replace the underwing radiator fairings on Eduard's 1/72 scale Spitfires. The set consists of two single piece fairings with separate exhaust flaps and a small photo-etch fret of actuators. The kit supplied fairings are constructed from three pieces, two sides and a top (bottom?) which actually fit together very nicely thanks to Eduard's outstanding engineering. This set provides the entire fairing cast as a single unit and thus is a drop in replacement for the kit's three part arrangement. As the left and right fairings are different, Eduard has thoughtfully cast "L" and "R' on the insides of the fairings to assist the builder in keeping them straight when it is time to attach them. Now to just figure out if the L/R applies when the wing is upside down or when it is right side up?

Coastal Kits was founded in 2011 and is based in Blackpool, Lancashire, UK. It is a family run business that originally retailed model kits and their associated supplies. Coastal Kits began marketing their own range of display bases at the end of 2012 after their bases were well received at Telford's Scale Model World. The Business soon decided to concentrate solely on their display base product line. The range currently exceeds 220 bases in multiple scales and subjects. They also provide custom bases upon request.

The display bases are manufactured from 3mm Foamex board which is a rigid, waterproof plastic. Laminated matt vinyl is used to print the subject with the latest odorless latex ink providing a permanent and waterproof finish. The benefit over alternatives like paper based products is that the display will not fade, lift, or bubble.

The GBU-12 is an American laser guided bomb consisting of a 500 lb. Mk. 82 bomb combined with a laser tracker and fins for guidance. First entering service in 1976, it was used extensively in Operation Desert Storm by US F-111's, F-15E's and A-6E's. F-111's used it to great effect in hunting down and destroying Iraqi armor (tank plinking). After Desert Storm it has been used extensively in Afghanistan and other conflicts.

The set consists of four resin bomb bodies with the tail fins and nose guidance sections molded as single pieces except for the seeker head and photo-etch nose and aft guidance fins. Two options are provided for the seeker head, one with the seeker head exposed and the other with the plastic ground cover in place. I choice to use the heads with the cover installed as I plan on displaying the bombs on a parked, but armed aircraft.

For those of us who attended the IPMS Nationals in 2017, we were able to see the 1/48 scale M1A2 that Tamiya would soon be releasing. I built the original 1/35 Tamiya offering in the 1980's as the tank was just entering service, and I knew that I would need this new release in a smaller scale. The folks at Hauler have released a photoetch set to improve detail on some items and add more/missing details in other areas. I would highly recommend this set to modelers building this Abrams tank, but also recommend that you have experience with some rather small detail parts.

This set comes with two frets of thin brass holding 75 numbered parts, and there are over three dozen additional parts for instances when multiple parts share the same number (such as the tow cable supports). There are only a few items that have spares included, which is why I recommend that a person have some PE experience before taking on this set. The instructions are covered on two sheets of paper with black and white drawings on both sides of each sheet.

Master Model is a Polish company. The owner is Piotr Czerkasow who is a mechanical engineer by trade. Piotr is also a scale modeler. Master model has a broad range of accessories for aircraft, military vehicles, and ships in several of the popular scales. In addition, they also offer a blackening agent until their Tools and Supplies tab.

Background

The Dornier Do 335 Pfeil ("Arrow") was a World War II heavy fighter built by the Dornier company. It was Nazi Germany's fastest piston-engined aircraft of World War II. The Luftwaffe was desperate to get the design into operational use, but delays in engine deliveries meant that only a handful were delivered before the war ended.