James H

Thank you so much for sharing this one with us. HK's Do 335 is one of my all-time favourite kits.

You're welcome Tommy, I hope you'll share your work with us. I might start to build my Mustang later this year. Jeroen has the Bf 109 and perhaps he can be persuaded too.

Another great write up. I wish they'd tackle more aircraft, especially WW1, as they did with the D.VII and Dr.I No arguing about the quality of this one. I love those 3D renderings.

Too sweet! Not long off paint.

It'll be great if you can pull this one off convincingly. You're sure on the way!

I think you got the wrong topic

Those are the only two that spring to mind. We have reviews here for IMCTH kits. I have built the Jasmine Ho 229, and it's a great little kit. Their forthcoming Hellcat looks even better. IMCTH are very high quality kits. AND......welcome to LSM

Have you thought of spraying it with water, popping it in a food bag and tying up, and then leaving somewhere warm? The humidity might soften it again.

Pre-ordered my Tamiya Mosquito from HLJ!! Currently at 20% discount... http://www.hlj.com/product/TAM60326/Air%C2%A0

1:32 Jagdstaffel 17 & Jagsstaffel 30 Vol.2 Pheon Decals Catalogue # see article for code and price Available from Pheon Decals I originally saw these sheets at Telford’s Scale Model World 2014, but issues with printing prevented these from going on sale. Those issues were actually things you could barely notice, but ably recognised by Fantasy Printshop. Ray Horwell is pretty meticulous when it comes to his QA, so these were postponed for a short while until it was guaranteed that these would be as good as you could possibly get. At last, I can now take a look at Rowan Broadbent’s latest labour of love in these two new releases. There are a staggering number of available schemes in each set for that specific Jagdstaffel, so we’ll take a look at what the modeller is offered with each release. The sets we have here are: 32051, Jagsstaffel 17, £15.75 32052, Jagsstaffel 30 Vol.2, £15.75 Jagdstaffel 17 Both of these releases are packed into large A4 zip-lock wallets, with an inkjet-printed front cover insert, in this case, depicting the FOURTEEN schemes available in this release. It’s not just Wingnut Wings kits that these decals cater to, but also Roden, as the machines depicted are Albatros D.II and D.III, as well as the popular D.V and D.Va variants which WNW offer. Other aircraft catered to are the Fokker D.VII and Pfalz D.XII. Despite the sheer number of schemes here, clever selection has enabled the decals to be printed over only TWO sheets, and you will be reliant on using your kits own national markings, saving production costs here. These sheets essentially contain the specific personal emblems only, and the accompanying serial numbers. Inside the wallet, there are four, shiny A4, laser-printed sheets which show the profiles in a larger scale, and these are of course easier to judge decal placement. No decals are numbered, apart from some strip decals for the edging of a D.VII fuselage. The decals are so obvious, that they need no further identification. These scheme sheets also depict the tails of various machines, so you can tell how they were painted. No wing profiles are supplied, as this isn’t deemed necessary, but you will be able to find the information you need on the accompanying booklet. The schemes this set offers are: Albatros D.II (OAW), 933/16, Vzfw. Jakob Wolff, Metz-Frescaty, February 1917 Albatros D.III, 2033/16, Vzfw. Julius Buckler, St. Quentin-le-Petit, April 1917 Albatros D.III (OAW), 1694/17, Lt. Alfred Träger, St. Quentin-le-Petit, June 1917 Albatros D.III, serial unknown, Lt. Gunther Schuster, St. Quentin-le-Petit, June 1917 Albatros D.Va, serial unknown, Hptm. Rudolf Freiherr von Esebeck, Douilly (?), March 1918 Albatros D.V, 4408/17, Vzfw. Georg Strasser, Rethéuil Ferme, Winter 1917/18 Albatros D.V, serial unknown, Oblt. Hubertus Freiherr von Rudno-Rudzinski, Wasquehal, October 1917 Albatros D.Va (OAW), serial unknown, Ltn. Alfred Fleischer, Ercheu, June 1918 Albatros D.V, serial unknown, Ltn. Alfred Träger, Wasquehal, September 1917 Pfalz D.XII, 1416/18, pilot unknown, Vivaise, September 1918 Fokker D.VII (Alb), serial unknown, Ltn. Alfred Fleischer, Vivaise, late July 1918 Fokker D.VII (Alb), serial and pilot unknown, Vivaise, late July 1918 Fokker D.VII (Alb), serial unknown, Ltn. Gunther Schuster, Vivaise, late July 1918 The instruction booklet included with this release starts by supplying the modeller with a small history of Jagdstaffel 17, and the reference used for the production of these decals. Decal application notes are included to the rear. Notes are contained for each scheme, containing historical data, and some colour notation reference, where applicable. Colour images are contained for the Fokker D.VII with the fuselage stripes, showing decal placement for this more unusual scheme. Both the booklet and the decals are included within a smaller wallet, and those decals look absolutely gorgeous! As I mentioned, no national markings are given here, so as you have no reliance on them, there’s actually nothing stopping you from building EVERY scheme on this sheet, proving that this release is excellent value for money. A picture speaks a thousand words, so just take a look at what these decals offer. Printing quality is first rate, with the decals being suitably thin, and of course, in perfect register. You can guarantee that the colours will be as authentic as they possibly can when you consider that these have had to be determined from crusty black and white photographs. As always, Rowan has chosen an eclectic mix of very attractive aircraft, with each one crying out to be built. I suspect WNW will be getting a flurry of ordered for Albatros and D.VII kits! Jagdstaffel 30 Vol.2 This set is presented in the same format as the above release, but this time there are SIXTEEN scheme profiles on the inkjet-printed insert! A lot of the schemes on the previous set, are to be set against wooden Albatros fuselages, but this set has only five wooden fuse aircraft, albeit, highly attractive. In actuality, there are EIGHTEEN schemes in this release, with one of them depicted as two slightly different incarnations. This time, there are FIVE laser-printed sheets, with each profile supplied in vivid technicolour, and again, tail detail for specific machines. The schemes present here are: Albatros D.III, Oblt. Hans Bethge, May/June 1917 Albatros D.III, D2054/16, Ltn. Heinrich Brügman, April/June 1917 Albatros D.V, Ltn. Kurt Katzenstein, August/October 1917 Albatros D.V, D1012/17, Lt. Paul Erbguth, June 1917 Albatros D.V, Ltn. Otto Fuchs, September/October 1917 Albatros D.V, D2140/17, Otto Fuchs, July/August 1917 Albatros D.V, D1016/17, Ltn. Hans-Georg von der Marwitz, June 1917 Albatros D.V, Hans-Georg von der Marwitz, November 1917/February 1918 Albatros D.V, Vzfw. Josef Heiligers, November/December 1917 Albatros D.V D4420/17, Lt. Karl Weltz, November 1917 Albatros D.V, Uffz. Emil Liebert, November 1917/January 1918 Fokker D.VII, Ltn. August Hartmann, July/November 1918 Fokker D.VII, Ltn. Hans-Georg von der Marwitz, September/October 1918 Fokker D.VII, pilot unknown, Autimn 1918 Pfalz D.XII, Ltn. Hans-Georg von der Marwitz, Summer 1918 Fokker D.VII, pilot unknown, Autumn 1918 Fokker D.VII, 370/18, Ltn. Hans Holthusen, June/September 1918 Again, the instruction booklet provides excellent depth of detail, and even more so than the previous set, with plenty of historical data and scheme notation. As well as historical notes on the Jagdstaffel and the applied markings. This booklet is an absolute mine of information. Again, there are two decal sheets supplied here, in roughly A5 format, and containing just the machine and staffel decals (where appropriate). What I really like about this release are the stripe decals for the D.VII. These are printed as black and white, instead of having to prepare a vivid white base onto which to affix black stripes, and the possibility of debris and bubbles which could ruin a finish. Decal printing is as great as with the first sheet. Take a look at these and see how good these are for yourself, and the actual breakdown of certain decals. Conclusion You can never have enough Albatros and D.VII kits, and when you see these decals, you know that is literally, as well as figuratively! There are around 3 machines I’d quite like to tackle, from each set, and I really should set time aside to do this. With Pheon, you just know that you will purchase the best-researched and most accurate decals on the market. A real passion is instilled into each release, and these are no exception. Now, where’s that Albatros kit……… VERY highly recommended My sincere thanks to Pheon Decals for the review samples seen here. To purchase directly, click the links in the article. James H

Dammit!

Dammit, cheat!

You're a machine! I'm a big fan of Eduard's Brassin releases. The sharp detail and casting quality if perfect. Very nice review, cheers!

More progress. The model is actually built now, so this photos is a little out of date. I reckon there must be over 600 PE parts on this sucker. It's been a test pf patience, beyond the extreme. Seeing the model with wheels on, and turret fitted, it does sort of remind me why I bought this first time, as a kid. Meg's kit might be great, but this is no POS. Thoroughly buildable.

Great review, great photographs and superb reference. Actually makes me want to build one of these suckers.

In the next week, my Revell Fw 190F-8 test shot will be published in Tamiya Model Magazine International. This was such a great kit, and deserves to sell well. Here's an unfinished dual page from the next issue, out this month...

Looks seriously good Matt! The style reminds me much of Aces High mag, very cool. How many pages did you get? Now....that He 162?

No!

Looks great! You trying to outstrip my output, John?

Very impressive Petr. Any idea of a rough time of release, after delays?

That is seriously impressive!! Do you have any more construction photos? What silver paint did you use?

My head is spinning with photo etch. I don't think I've ever done as much PE ever, as I have over the last week on both the Do 335 and Bradley. Here is the state of play with this one. Hope you like it.

I think you piqued me at just about every stage with this. Such a great looking build so far, but you should have spent 4 hours with masking tape on those canopies. You've just cheated!

As promised. Here you go. I did start some of this PE about 7 years ago, but everything else has been added in the last 48 hours. I am literally seeing PE when I close my eyes.... Meng's release might be good, but this is still pretty impressive.

These are some photos of this machine. My idea is to build this with closed forward engine cowls, closed radiator flaps and the undercarriage doors removed as in this first image.