IPMS/USA Reviews

From Masterpiece Models Web Site, the back story is:

XP-1937 Coastal Reconnaissance - In 2115 World War IV broke out over the last natural resources. The Earth was divided into three major Confederations: The United Alliance of the Americas, the Euro/Siberian Alliance, and the Middle Asian/African Consortium.

2121 marked a turning point in the War when shoreline installations across the globe, both military and civilian, fell under an onslaught of terrifying proportions. From out of the sea came machines so unearthly in their aspect that even the brightest scientists could only guess that they must be extraterrestrial in origin. They were wrong. The XP-1937 Naval CRABS were the front runners of a New Faction that would bring the Confederations to their knees.

XP-1937 Coastal Reconnaissance, Attack and Battery, Scout Specifications

The AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) is manufactured by Raytheon Company and gives a precision strike, launch and leave capability. The JSOW has a stand-off range of around 12 miles when launched at low altitude and around 70 miles when launched at altitude. The weapon weighs around 1,000 lbs. and has different payloads depending on which variant it is. The AGM-154A carries 145 BLU-97 sub-munitions and is used to attack fixed and moveable soft targets such as parked aircraft, trucks, APCs and surface to air missile sites. The AGM-154C is equipped with a 500 lb. blast/fragmentation/penetrator warhead and is used to attack fixed point targets such as buildings and hardened tactical targets. The JSOW uses a global position/inertial navigation system for guidance and the C model has a terminal IR seeker. The Block II AGM-154C also has an enhanced electronics package to prevent spoofing of GPS signals. Over 400 JSOWs have been used in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq since it entered service in 1999. (US Navy Fact File)

The AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) is manufactured by Raytheon Company and gives a precision strike, launch and leave capability. The JSOW has a stand-off range of around 12 miles when launched at low altitude and around 70 miles when launched at altitude. The weapon weighs around 1,000 lbs. and has different payloads depending on which variant it is. The AGM-154A carries 145 BLU-97 sub-munitions and is used to attack fixed and moveable soft targets such as parked aircraft, trucks, APCs and surface to air missile sites. The AGM-154C is equipped with a 500 lb. blast/fragmentation/penetrator warhead and is used to attack fixed point targets such as buildings and hardened tactical targets. The JSOW uses a global position/inertial navigation system for guidance and the C model has a terminal IR seeker. Over 400 JSOWs have been used in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq since it entered service in 1999. (US Navy Fact File)

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?

For the last several years, Airfix has transformed itself. They have been releasing a plethora of new kits that are heads and tails above the kits that we all put together as kids and young adults. The Avro Shackleton under review is further evidence of Airfix moving forward into the 21st Century. In 2015, Airfix released the Avro Shackleton MR.2. In 2017, Airfix released the Avro Shackelton AEW.2. This kit continues their current trend of crafting exquisite kits with modern molding technology and engineering. The plane had a long service life and pedigree according to the blurb on the instructions, "Developed from the Lincoln bomber and sharing with it the DNA of the famous Lancaster [bomber], the Avro Shackleton enjoyed a long career with the RAF, first as a maritime patrol craft and then as the RAF's primary AEW (Airborne Early Warning) aircraft . . . . the AEW.2 version remained in service until 1991, the MR.2 was phased out in favor of the Nimrod in the 1970s."