nmayhew

Ok so without having looked in depth at the build on BritMod, do we know exactly what type of Tiffy this is? ie Tempest tailplane, fuselage stiffeners, options for 3 or 4 prop blades and so on?

So £80 for the kit, and £4 UK postage right? What sort of prices are being advertised elsewhere?

Looks v cool, but whether in resin or in PE I bet that is a bitch to model!

Awesome stuff Jim!

Nice one Can I ask exactly how these would be attached firstly in real life, and secondly on to a Hassy P-47 or say a Tamiya Mustang?? Cheers Nick

Courtesy of Kagemusha... Zoukei-mura He219 available in UK for £110 http://www.boystownmilitaryminiatures.com/ZOUKEI_MURA_132_HEINKEL_HE219_A-0_UHU_SUPER_SPECIAL_LIMITED_EDITION/p1144420_9853619.aspx

LuckyModel is still doing surface shipping for $6 when you order more than$129 of stuff They also have the new DML / Cyberhobby Bf110 E Trop for $79 which is pretty cool...

Does anyone know if there are any Bavarian markings for either of these beasties? It's just something about those blue and white diamonds - I can't resist!!

wonderful!

hi Erik nice to see you guys hooked up ok thanks for the review - i had never realised it was a Bantam in that famous Sherman II pic - now if only you could recreate THAT diorama in 1/24?! cheers Nick

Hi guys Firstly, thanks for the review I have posted a thread in the Kagero sub forum, but perhaps it's better to ask my question in this thread... quick question about Ju88 A-1 9K+HL, which made a wheels up landing on 28th July 1940.... Kagero depict this as having light blue undersurfaces in the profile however, in the original RAF crash report says "underside of fuselage and wings were painted black" (from Luftwaffe Crash Archive vol.1 p92) two pictures on p94 of the Crash Archive book seem to show black paint around the ETC racks (which have since been removed by the RAF technicians), but some of the undersides appear a very clean light blue again - so i presume this was after a partial repaint by RAF?? anyway, just wanted to ask if Kagero were aware of this information, and whether they think, on reflection the undersides should in fact be black? if anyone has any additional photos of this aircraft which could clarify the situation i would be very grateful many thanks Nick

Kagero Mini TopColors Series #31 Pz.Kpfw. V Panther In Attack And Defence #36 Pz.Kpfw. III Family Over the past few years I think Kagero must have given even the mighty Osprey a run for their money as one of the most prolific publishers of military literature. The number of different types of book sometimes seems almost as vast as the number of titles themselves, with many different variations on a theme. The TopColors series extends across both armour and aircraft, and at the time of writing comprises some forty books. The trend is presently for the 'Mini' variety - these are a slightly smaller but tend to provide decals for all subjects shown, often in multiple scales. One suggestion: if you do see a book covering subjects that you like, especially if it is Luftwaffe and or related to North Africa, then don't hesitate to snap it up; a number of the earlier volumes are now long out of print, with no re-run planned. This review looks at books covering firstly the Panther, arguably Germany's best tank of the war; and secondly the Panzer III, or more accurately, a selection of tanks, tank destroyers and assault guns based on that chassis. Just as the Panther is very much the junior partner to the mighty Tiger where modellers' preferences are concerned, so the Panzer III has been eclipsed by its slightly larger brother, the Panzer IV. Sixteen subjects are covered in each of the books, all of which have decals provided for in three scales. Whilst 1/35 is a given, I was surprised to see decals offered in both 1/48 and 1/72 scales. I do wonder about both the appeal and relevance of these books to those smaller scales: I don't think many of the variants are even made in 1/48, whilst the nuances between them must be nearly impossible to accurately replicate (let alone see) in 1/72. I cannot comment on the quality of model kits in these smaller scales. As to modelling the Panther, in 1/35 there are at first glance a number of options eg Tamiya, Italeri, and even Revell. But if you want an accurate kit the only name really worth considering is Dragon / DML. There are new tool options for everything from the Ausf. D (the first Panther to see combat), through the various Ausf. As to the final Ausf. G model. The Panzer III and its Sturmgeschutz partners have maybe been not quite so well represented, but I think over the past year or two there should now be accurate toolings for all the vehicles featured. Once again, these will all be by Dragon. The 'In Attack And Defence' bit of the Panther title refers I presume to the stance the Germans were taking at the time? The 'In Attack' part was in reality fairly limited. By the time the Panther made its debut at Kursk it was July 1943, often seen as the high tide of their exploits East. After that the strategic situation went steadily downhill, even if at a tactical level there were countless offensives. In the introduction there is a brief overview of the colours used throughout Panther production. Much has been written - and is still argued - about this subject, but in the description the author mentions some of the different factories that produced the Panther. It is a shame that, where possible, the book does not state or make a suggestion as to which factory produced which subject. This would perhaps help modellers identify certain features either not shown or not visible on the profiles. These are generally one side only, although there are a few snapshot views of front / rear for some vehicles. It would also be nice to have seen more of the photos on which the profiles are based, but I suppose this was dictated by space constraints etc. Eight of the sixteen Panthers have thumbnail photos of the subject vehicle. The Panzer III is represented firstly by regular gun tanks Ausf. J, L and M, and the close support Ausf. N; secondly by the Sturmgeschutz Ausf. F/8 and G. There is a decent spread of theatres in the vehicles depicted - from North Africa, Italy, Normandy and various Eastern Front. I was a little disappointed that no earlier variants of the Panzer III were included - remember this tank was present in the Wehrmacht from the very outset of the war. Th only real odd ball here is a Panzerbeobachtungswagen III Ausf F or G - looks at first glance like a 'real' tank but is in fact an unarmed artillery observation vehicle. The vehicles covered are listed here for the Panther and here for the Panzer III. I will not go into the details of each subject - that is just too big a job. I will just add my usual caveat about working from profiles rather than original photos etc, and suggest doing some additional research on particular vehicles if that is your bent. Conclusion Obviously popular subjects, the Panther especially so. There are good quality decals by Cartograf, and lots of inspiration for the modeller. The prices are fairly reasonable so all in all another two winners from Kagero. With thanks to Kagero for the review samples. Book details: #31 Pz.Kpfw. V Panther In Attack And Defence Marek Jaszczolt, Arkadiusz Wrobel and Robert Wroblewski ISBN 978-83-62878-34-5 #36 Pz.Kpfw. III Famliy Marek Jaszczolt, Slawomir Zajaczkowski ISBN 978-83-62878-66-6 Nicholas Mayhew

Cheers Matt I took a look and even with surface shipping it's just over £70 That is a tad pricey Oh well

Err you lost me there Cees Uh??

I have to agree Since this is not the WWII version I have little interest in this particular kit, but £70 is A LOT for what's in the box. What is the price from the Far East?? Retail here does seem rather pricey.

Hey Matt So the Aires one is more accurate, better quality or a bit of both in your opinion? Just trying to work out which one I might get... Thanks N

I have not tried it, but you can save pretty much anything to your computer No-one can 'stop' you Some sites try to disable the right click function, but then there are countless screen grab programmes out there

Cheers Rog, much appreciated The gear sure does look nice I don't have a HK kit (yet - the Lanc and Mossie are definites for me) but being in the UK mine would be bought here (at crazy prices - much higher than yours) or, to avoid customs, from the Far East Re the gear only being available from PCM, i this is true, I trust HK Models will see sense and have other distributors around the world. Given this is the case with their kits, I imagine this would be the case? The Fw190 is pretty pricey here for what is an 'okay' kit in my opinion. For the money I could buy nearly 3 Revell 109s or nearly 2 Ju88s (gulp!!) As to the Fisher Sea Fury landing gear for other craft, i am not an expert (in anything!) but I do remember reading that whilst they might fit, the gears are not one and the same. So, if accuracy is your thing, at least double check and let me know I am spouting senile nonsense!

Ok I think before we scare anyone off, I should say that all the packaging from Luckymodel I have ever had has been excellent Indeed if anything it is over the top, especially for delicate redo stuff eg cockpit update set sent in much larger box with air bag thingies all round it. Same with kits: they normally use boxes which are much larger and filled with said bags I would not want any UK modellers - who are not lucky enough to enjoy the low prices and just as important absence of customs fees when importing kits - to miss out on stuff like this because they get scared off I am trying to do anything to stop the taxman and the Post Office (their partners in thievery) taking £££ off of us modellers in the the UK So, bottom line, may take a while, but you won't pay Customs fees if you select the appropriate option Cheers Nick (Not linked to LuckyModel in any way; just happy customer for 10+ years)

@Rog (Artful(: "PCM reduced prices on their FW-190’s ..." could you tell us where, and to what? Also, thoughts on the HK landing gear? Is it the soft(ish) white metal that SAC use, but just cast much (MUCH!) better, or the much tougher stuff that G-Factor use? Cheers (and jealous) Nick

For pure modelling, the Zero conversion was my highlight The Hartmann 109 is a popular subject done superbly - finishing of the highest order All hail!! The Master!!!

Not sure how much longer it is on for but LuckyModel has $2 surface shipping worldwide, irrespective of kit size etc Pretty neat if you have some spare pennies and can wait a month or two for your stuff They do not do this all the time so I would dive in Cheers Nick

That's the puppy!!

Hey Rick Thanks Actually it is the G-14/U4 in the Japo JG52 in Deutsch Brod book - Matt will know which one I mean Will try to post a pic tonight

Boooo Fair enough, and thank you However, let's put it another way: if one was *theoretically* happy with the Hassy G-14 boxing (thinking of the Hartmann whitewash box art), is the Revell kit of a similar level? I am guessing it's on a par ie 'looks like' but quite a few detail issues; the spine shape I am not so sure about - is the Hassy one ok on this? Anyway, thanks again I think I will wait