IPMS/USA Reviews

Eduard Models has released a nifty photoetch set to upgrade the - already very nice - Hasegawa F-8E Crusader. This fret is of the no pre-painted style and that is good, because you want to paint the detailed parts and the PE parts at the same time.

The fret includes replacement engine exhaust "feathers" and actuators. Installing this part requires removing existing plastic from the original part, and you will need to bend a metal part to a circular shape. You might want to consider getting a piece of pipe or rod to be a template to shape the part to a circular form.

Other parts in the fret are meant to detail the landing gear struts and the landing gear well. Either by adding brake lines to the struts, or just general detail to the landing gear well and landing gear well covers.

Finally, a horseshoe shaped part is provided for the armored windscreen. It would suggest attaching that part using Future -rather than superglue- as to avoid fogging the clear part.

Academy Models has re-released a well-known Bf-109G2/G6. I said well-known because it has been released in the past, at least, under the HobbyCraft brand. They might have been other boxings too.

When you open the box, you find 3 main sprues plus two small sprues with the clear parts. You get about 85 parts. Many of the parts are unused or optional meaning this is a simple build and you get lots of extra parts for the spares box. Not a bad thing at all.

I believe the molds date to the mid-1990s and they do hold well. No flash anywhere to be found and the recessed panel lines are small and crisp. The overall surface detail is adequate for the vintage of the molds.

A highlight of this boxing is the decal sheet (printed by Cartograph) and it includes a total of 8 markings, covering only Luftwaffe airplanes while deployed in Greece, Italy, North Africa, Russia and in Defense of the Reich duties.

Hasegawa has recently released a limited edition E-2C Hawkeye "Sayonara Atsugi" featuring two marking options:

1. US Navy ACCLOGWING VAW-115 "Liberty Bells" Code: NF600 (166505) Atsugi A.B. June 1, 2017
2. US Navy USS Ronald Reagan VAW-115 "Liberty Bells" CVW-5 CAG Code: NF600 (166505) Atsugi A.B. May 2017

The marking options are of the same plane, just a few changes in terms of paint over a period of time.

The E-2C Hawkeye 2000 is the fifth generation production E-2C Hawkeye and incorporates significant enhancements in data management, system throughput, operator interfaces, connectivity, and situational awareness to support the Navy's evolving Theater Air and Missile Defense mission. With its massive rotodome, it can see for hundreds of miles and is truly the "eye in the sky."

A recent addition to the IPMS Review Corps suppliers is Mikro-Mir, whose kits remind me of what I am used to seeing with limited production manufacturers. This is not a negative comment, but more of a heads up that some building experience is required to end up with a nice finished model at the end of construction. The overall assembly of this kit was fast with only 24 plastic parts, and the 11-photoetch items that I utilized. Modelers with some experience will enjoy this kit, which can be used to represent any of the four boats of the Skate-class (Skate, Swordfish, Sargo, and Seadragon).

This book, published by AMMO by Mig Jimenez SL, is a guide to the subject of colors and markings of German military vehicles and units. The books stated attempt is to bring order to the complex and partly unknown topics, and to provide clarity to all of the information available on the Internet. The book is divided into chapters that deal with the main themes separately

Chapter 1: The Ballenkreuz

Describes the beginnings, evolution, implementation, and use of the straight-armed cross used on almost all German vehicles. Colored illustrations of variations in the cross and black & white photographs are used to illustrate examples.

Chapter 2: Composition of Military Units

Explains the tactical symbols and hierarchy of military units. A color chart illustrates the Waffenfarbe (arm colors) used to differentiate troops.