Background and Historical Notes

From The Kit Manufacturer’s Notes:

Bronco NOGS US Attack Aircraft

In 1970, two OV-10A Bronco aircraft were modified to evaluate their nighttime combat capabilities. The modification was designated NOGS—Night Observation Gunship System. The aircraft received an extended nose section with a turret housing a forward-looking infrared system and laser rangefinder (FLIR) in its lower half. Under the mid-fuselage, engineers mounted a turret with a 20mm General Electric M197 three-barrel cannon, which was aimed using FLIR.

Background

Atlantis Model Company was founded in 2009 by the former owners of Megahobby.com, Peter Vetri and Rick DelFavero. Atlantis manufactures injection-molded plastic model kits and hobby-related products. When they started Megahobby.com back in 2000, they had dreams of becoming more than just another retail hobby shop. They wanted to become an actual model production company like the Aurora Model Co. and Revell-Monogram. As Megahobby grew, it gave them the opportunity to create Atlantis and finally come out with our own branded model kits. On August 29th, 2018, Atlantis purchased the tooling for many plastic model kits from the new owners of Revell, Revell Inc. USA-Blitz Partners. These molds were from the tooling banks of Monogram, Revell, Aurora and Renwal, some dating back to the early 1950's.

ICM has been releasing quality kits, figure sets, and recently paints to support their vast library of releases. Today, we see a set dedicated to WWI Armored Vehicles. These are water-based acrylic paints that can be brushed as is or airbrushed after thinning with either distilled water or ICM brand thinner. They come in screw top bottles that are wide-mouth and not dropper bottles, so I used my handy pipette to dole out smaller quantities for testing.

What’s Inside the Box

This set includes six 12mL plastic bottles featuring the following colors:

In case you were not aware, last year Squadron joined up with Scale Colors to release a line of paints that include sets as well as individual colors. These paints are acrylic and are best thinned with a 50–50 mix of water (I prefer distilled water) and isopropyl alcohol or using the Squadron Scale Colors Thinner (product SCW001). This set is designed for use with an airbrush, and I would highly recommend it.

What really drew me to this release was the Aussie option! The Australians started getting the UH-60M in 2023, and traditionally they use it for long-range search and rescue in the Outback and over the ocean, making for some unique configurations. Academy has a long history with the Black Hawk mold, and they’ve taken full advantage of its popularity with new parts. In addition to the A60-001 import model, Academy has everything in this box to fit out a full Australian import version of the Black Hawk. Builds of the M seem few and far between, so I’ve tried to hit a lot of detail in this review for the competitive builder.

For everyone who wants instant gratification, let’s start with the pros and cons, then transition to the details!

Tools-You can never have enough. You don’t need it until you need it. With the return of Squadron they are developing their own line of modeling products. In this case it is high quality sprue cutters. Squadron has developed THREE different types of sprue cutters, each for a specific purpose.

For this review, let’s look at the top of the line, the High Precision Sprue Cutter, Stock # 12103. This particular cutter comes in a vacuformed sleeve with a cardboard backing. Inside of the sleeve are obviously the cutters but also a quality leather pouch that protects the cutting surfaces when not in use. It is even labelled with the cool Squadron logo.

What a kit!! No flash anywhere with excellent engravings and details.

When I first received the G$ kit I knew I had to do something different with it – I was going to make a surf rod out of it. Searching through my spare parts I found some Center Line wheels along with some wide tires. The first modification was to cut out the spare tire wells on the front fenders and then fill them in with styrene and Bondo. While the putty was setting up I frenched the taillights.

The 4 wheel drive rear suspension would be next. It’s a very detailed assembly and could be a model in its own. I used different colors of paint to bring out some of the details.

The engine was the next assembly and I went the different color paints to bring out some of the details.

I enjoy taking older kits and finding ways to spruce them up – sand off the raised lines and engrave them, add rivets, make corrections or add missing parts, etc. When I saw these Yahu Models instrument panels, I had to give them a try!

This book is part three of a six-book series devoted to the destroyer class ships (DD) of the U.S. Navy from 1901 to 2019. Part Three covers the Somers, Dunlap, Benham, Sims, Benson and Gleaves class ships commissioned from 1937 to 1943, over 120 destroyers designated DD-381 to DD-648. A true labor of love, the author Venner Milewski cites the eminent naval historian Samuel L. Morison, who provided his research material and proofed the original manuscript. Ship histories were researched in the Library of Congress and the Naval History and Heritage Command, and hundreds of photos are provided from the Mariners' Museum in Newport News VA. Of interest to modelers will be 20 pages of original camouflage design sheets for measures 31 and 32, with a summary table by DD number.

While you may not have heard of Special Navy before, they are in fact under the Special Hobby umbrella and offer naval vessels in 1/72 scale. This kit was a recent release when it was provided to the Review Corps at the IPMS-USA Nationals this past summer. While not for beginners (the kit contains nearly 500 parts), a modeler with some experience can produce a very nice looking Kriegsfischkutter with this kit.

Number 43 in Helion’s Europe @ War Series details three early months of the Ukraine-Russia War, March-June 2022

Chapters:

• Abbreviations & Acronyms
• Introduction
• Chapter One – Second Russian Missile Offensive
• Chapter Two – Izyum
• Chapter Three – Plan C
• Chapter Four – Plan D
• Chapter Five - Cauldron
• Chapter Six - Standstill
• Chapter Seven - Third Russia Missile Offensive
• Chapter Eight - The Island of Snakes
• Bibliography
• Notes
• About the Author

While you may not have heard of Special Navy before, they are in fact under the Special Hobby umbrella and offer naval vessels in 1/72 scale. This kit was a recent release when it was provided to the Review Corps at the IPMS-USA Nationals this past summer. While not for beginners (the kit contains nearly 500 parts), a modeler with some experience can produce a very nice looking Kriegsfischkutter with this kit.

The Netflix show “Stranger Things” has taken the country by storm. In the early seasons, one of the major characters, Billy Hargrove, drove a Camaro that figured prominently as part of his image and of his downfall. Revell has recently released a kit to recreate this car. Let’s take a look.

Syhart Decals has released a decal sheet for a commemorative scheme flown by an RF-4E of the Hellenic Air Force when the aircraft was retired from service and the squadron was disbanded. The aircraft was repainted in a combination of black and dark blue and wore a complex scheme including the silhouettes of previous aircraft flown by the 348th Squadron, the Greek flag, and “Spook”, the green-caped mascot associated with the “Phantom II”.

For the Greek flag, there is the option of using masks for the medium blue background and then another decal for the white stripes, or just two sets of decals (blue decals and then the decal with the white stripes on top of the blue decal). There is also a correction sheet with Spook, but honestly, I cannot find the difference between the original Spook and the corrected Spook.

Syhart Decals has released a decal sheet for a commemorative scheme flown by an F-4D in 1989 celebrating the North Dakota Centennial. The aircraft was repainted in a vibrant blue. The decal sheet includes recommendations for color matches from Humbrol, Revell, Tamiya, Gunze, Model Master, and the RAL standard. The aircraft wore a very elaborate painting in the lower wing area reproducing the state seal.

The complex decoration of the lower wing is reproduced as an elaborate multipart decal, which will fit within the different missile bays, landing gear bays, etc., of Phantom II. I would recommend starting with the central decal and building the rest of the state seal from the center towards the periphery.

Syhart Decals has released a decal sheet for a commemorative scheme flown by an RF-4E of the Hellenic Air Force when the aircraft was retired from service and the squadron was disbanded. The aircraft was repainted in a combination of black and dark blue and wore a complex scheme including the silhouettes of previous aircraft flown by the 348th Squadron, the Greek flag, and “Spook”, the green-caped mascot associated with the “Phantom II”.

For the Greek flag, there is the option of using masks for the medium blue background and then another decal for the white stripes, or just two sets of decals (blue decals and then the decal with the white stripes on top of the blue decal). There is also a correction sheet with Spook, but honestly, I cannot find the difference between the original Spook and the corrected Spook.

Syhart Decals has released a decal sheet for a commemorative scheme flown by an F-4D in 1989 celebrating the North Dakota Centennial. The aircraft was repainted in a vibrant blue. The decal sheet includes recommendations for color matches from Humbrol, Revell, Tamiya, Gunze, Model Master, and the RAL standard. The aircraft wore a very elaborate painting in the lower wing area reproducing the state seal.

The complex decoration of the lower wing is reproduced as an elaborate multipart decal, which will fit within the different missile bays, landing gear bays, etc., of Phantom II. I would recommend starting with the central decal and building the rest of the state seal from the center towards the periphery.

From the Kovozávody Prostějov instructions,

“Morane-Saulnier MS.A.1 (also Type A1) was a French parasol-wing fighter aircraft produced by Morane-Saulnier during World War I. A number of escadrilles were created to operate the AI, but by mid-May 1918, most of the aircraft were replaced by the SPAD XIII. After structural problems had been resolved, the aircraft were then relegated to use as advanced trainers, with new purpose built examples being designated MoS 30. Many were used post-war after having been surplussed off, as aerobatic aircraft, including one which was flown by Charles Nungesser.”

I have long respected WWI era plane modelers. I respect 1/72 WWI era plane modelers even more. And now, I question my sanity after tackling this one. This is not a kit for a novice or even an uninterested intermediate modeler. With the right skill set and some other kits under your belt, and you want an Ansaldo S.V.A. 10, then this is your kit.

Agora Models is a UK company based in London, England that specializes in high-quality large scale models. Agora has administrative offices in Tokyo Japan, North Carolina, US, and in the United Kingdom. The models are shipped from five warehouses around the globe. The first IPMS review sample SAS Jeep Pack 1 was sent from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., USA.

Agora ships its models in 12 monthly parts, called ‘Packs’, that can spread the cost and workload over a longer period. The cost of a model does not change as the Packs are delivered. Agora continues production of the kit as Packs are released and does not release the first Pack without assurances that they can produce all parts of the kit. After production is complete, all Packs of a particular kit can be purchased at one time.