IPMS/USA Reviews

Kit

The kit is produced by Academy, a well-known company who is known for producing quality mid range priced model kits. The box art work in outstanding and shows the USS Missouri at sea. The kit can be built in her WW2 and Korean War configuration. There are no modern weapons provided with this kit for the Desert Storm configuration. This kit belongs to Academy's 1/700 "Modelers Edition".

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).

Summary

After the Porsche 956 was banned from competition in the IMSA GTP in 1981 on safety grounds because the driver's feet were ahead of the front axle centerline, Porsche made modifications to the vehicle to make it eligible for competition. The 962 debuted at the 1984 24 Hours of Daytona with Mario and Michael Andretti driving. It lead the race until lap 127 when it encountered engine and gearbox problems. These problems were worked through and it had a lot of success from 1984-1993. A total of 91 962s would be produced between 1984 and 1991, with its final victory occurring at the 1993 IMSA GTP Championship.

Kit Contents

The kit consists of a total of around 70 parts on two main black sprues; a clear sprue; several sprues with wheel parts; a rubber sprue with 4 tires; two sheets of decals, one large one with the decals for the car, and the other smaller one with two decals per tire; and an 8 page instruction sheet.