nmayhew

thanks guys, much appreciated some thinking required then!

just musing on some Vb Trop options from the Brian Cauchi book i reviewed http://scaleplasticandrail.com/kaboom/index.php/all-things-aviation/everything-else/book-reviews/1895-malta-spitfire-vs-1942-their-colours-and-markings-from-mmp-books and it got me thinking, are there any de havilland prop / spinner combos available in resin? the Hobbyboss Vb Trop comes with the thicker Rotol props... I have a Neville Duke EJ220 / QJ-R question as a follow up, but that's for another time I guess... cheers! Nick

that taken in your garage Matt?

Quite special stuff

Nice one Andy That was off eBay right?

Wow that must have been a lot of $$$!! Did you get it from LuckyModel?

Wonderful!

hi i like the parts breakdown / various options provided regarding matching the surface / rivet detail of the kit, i think from a commercial point of view - and what i would definitely prefer as a modeller - it would be much better if you just match the detail on the kit that way, at least a modeller has the option of just plug and play / cut and fit with your parts, without having to re-rivet the whole thing (uber tedious) and for those mega accuracy nuts, well chances are they would be re-riveting the whole thing anyway does that make sense? kind regards Nick

Nice one - looking forward to this!

Now all we need are some kits of this bird in 1/32!!

Cheers Matt I searched but could not find a shot of those ones from the rear Either way, I know CMK didn't get those quite right

Pe-2 Guards Units of World War 2 Dimitriy Khazanov and Aleksander Medved Osprey Combat Aircraft #96 Available from Osprey for £13.99 That this is number 96 in this Osprey series shows just how successful these books have been - one simply cannot argue with approaching the century mark! For many modellers and casual military historians they are an excellent starting point, and at a basic level, sometimes a 'one stop shop'. Where they fall down in my view is a lack of technical detail and accuracy, especially once you know what to look for in some of the more common subjects. The Pe-2 - or indeed any VVS subjects - does not fall into the category of common, however, at least not in the West. For those not familiar with this airframe, this is not because only a handful were built (over 10,000) or that it hardly saw action (1940 to 1945 any good?), but rather because the Western world has rather chosen to forget the Eastern Front ever existed, let alone actually mattered. I won't get into the whys and wherefores of this, but needless to say for our Russian friends, the Great Patriotic War (they don't call it WWII) is viewed rather differently... Anyway, back to the book and the Pe-2: because this aircraft has been neglected - compare to say the Me110 or Ju88 - this is exactly where these volumes have a chance to shine. The format will be familiar to anyone who has seen this series before: overview of the aircraft; mini histories and combat accounts of the various formations awarded the Guards moniker; colour profiles; descriptions of profiles; and finally scale plans. The book runs to just under 100 pages, and contains 30 profiles colour profiles, and a couple of 1/72 scale plans. In terms of what you get for the price, I think it's pretty reasonable value for money. There a lots of (b&w) photos that pepper the text, many with suitably stern-looking VVS aircrew, or those quite obviously posed for propaganda purposes. They are all rather small though, and perhaps not that useful as a modelling reference, unless you want details of the crew's uniforms. Chapter One provides a brief overview of the background to and development of the Pe-2, including accounts of how the original designers were political prisoners for a considerable period of time - at least the secret police kept good on their promise that "if the aircraft flies, you go free" (this would be funny if it wasn't so serious I suppose). There is nothing too technical here, and the various changes in production are not necessarily backed up by photographic evidence, but the authors do convey a sense of knowing what they are about - I wonder whether this is because I know they are Russian? The next four chapters are the real core of the book, and cover Guards Bomber Air Regiments; Bomber Air Divisions; Bomber Air Corps and Air Reconnaissance Regiments. There is a final shorter chapter on Guards Bomber Air Regiments of Naval Air Forces, followed by the notes to accompany the colour profiles. The latter look nice, as they invariably do, but my usual caveat applies: check primary sources before basing any work or research on a profile in a book. Each of the above chapters are unit histories in miniature, and include origins, formation, battle honours and veterans' accounts of particular actions. I should also mention that at the beginning of Chapter Two there is a short explanation of how and why the "Guards" designation originally came about: I am happy to confess I did not know the particulars. Conclusion So all in all I quite like this book. I have given some of the Osprey books some (deserved) stick in the past, but credit where credit is due. If you have any interest in either the VVS of the Great Patriotic War, or this pretty impressive yet unsung aircraft, this will be a worthwhile read. Now if only someone will take the plunge and give us a decent offering of this or maybe its Tupolev sibling in 1/32 scale - sadly I think that could be a while. Recommended With thanks to Osprey for the book. To purchase directly, click THIS link. Nicholas Mayhew

welcome back Petr!

cheers Mike the saving grace for this set is that it is 50% cheaper than when originally released the blurb from Master Details says this is because they brought production in house / back to USA or something - whatever the reason, at $100 I would be expecting significantly more, and better; at $50 it's maybe par for the course I guess we'll see once we have a comparison...

ooooh hilarious!!!

things which would receive a round of applause ten years ago do not necessarily cut it today - certainly not for me anyway i guess we have different expectations and tolerances given certain price points, which is fair enough to each his own

1/32 Heinkel He111 Exhausts – assorted versions CMK For Revell He111 P & H kits €7 per set from CMK Shop I reviewed the generally pretty good Revell He111 H-6 kit earlier this year here, and in the review touched upon the differences between the P and H variants, including changes in the types of exhaust used. Unsurprisingly, although you can see the exhausts changing as you progress through the production run, a number of exhaust types overlap different variants. The main difference between the P and early members of the H series was the power plant: the DB601 of the P being substituted for the Jumo 211 series (Daimler Benz's engine being prioritised for use in the Messerschmitt Bf109). The P and H look very similar, but can be distinguished by different engine cowlings: the P has the supercharger intake on the port side of each engine nacelle, whereas the H has it to starboard. There are of course other differences and things to look out for. The exhausts in the P-1 kit The kit exhausts in the H-6 kit The H-1 and H-2 used the Jumo 211A, the H-3, -4 and -5 the 211D, and the H-6 to H-20 variants used the Jumo 211F. Early Hs are seen with slightly different engine nacelles: the oil cooler intake on top of the nacelle is much slimmer, resulting in a smoother appearance; the supercharger intake lacks the tubular cowling that runs the most of the length of the nacelle. I had thought this feature was limited to H-1s and -2s, but at least one RAF Intelligence Report on a crashed He111 lists a H-3 with these early engine cowls and being powered by the Jumo 211D. The lack of a definitive reference on the 111 means this is just one of a number questions that seems to have no conclusive answer. The second Revell kit is a H-6, and as such has the correct later style cowlings with deeper oil cooler, and extended supercharger intake. Pipe exhaust on early H model – note shortened supercharger intake and rather flat area over oil cooler Fishtail exhausts – seen here on a P variant, but also common on the H as well The more complicated variant with 'fins' I have identified four main types of exhausts used on the P and early to mid Hs. Early Ps have separate but rounded exhaust tubes, as supplied in the P-1 kit. Secondly, there are for want of a better description 'fishtail' exhausts with flame dampeners which can be seen on both Ps and Hs, up to and including the H-6, and it is these which are included in the kit. The real things are quite complicated affairs, so I am not surprised that Revell's depiction is rather crude. From the references and pictures I have looked at, this type seems particularly common, and can be seen on both Ps and Hs, from pre Battle of Britain, through to North Africa and the war on the Eastern Front. The third type is much simpler, and consists of a single tube; there appear to have been variations of these. The fourth type you will see looks from a distance (or in a low resolution WWII pic) similar to the fish tail type. On closer inspection, each exhaust outlet has a number of cooling fins. To date I have only seen these on H-6s, and not on earlier variants. Q32-163 He111 H-1 The first set here is Q32-163, labelled as for the H-1 variant. It comprises four exhausts, plus two cowling side panels, and a shortened supercharger intake, as seen in early (H-1 to H-3) models. The exhausts look good, and are hollowed out approx 3-4mm; you could always hollow them out more if you wish. The instructions are pretty clear – this is the only set that really requires instructions in my view. I did a quick test fit and the cowling replacement panels seem a pretty good fit with the kit parts. The main issue with this set is that for a true H-1 to H-3, you will need a flattened oil cooler intake, and this is only available in the more comprehensive set from CMK, Q32-5073 (I have not seen this set, so cannot verify its accuracy). Q32-165 He111 H-4 to H-8 The set is labelled H4-8, but in reality this type of exhaust were also seen on P variants. CMK have got these ones pretty much dead on in my opinion – they look very much like the real thing, and should just slot in to which ever kit you have. Q32-166 He111 H-10 to H-16 The labelling here is misleading: these exhausts with the cooling fins are clearly seen on H-6 variants- although I have not seen them on anything earlier – in addition to later models. I have not yet verified exactly how far along in the production run they went. These are probably the hardest ones to replicate accurately, because of the cooling fins. Revell failed miserably, and although the CMK set is quite a bit better – from a distance they look convincing enough, especially front or side-on – I am not sure they have got the shape correct. When viewed from the rear, the CMK sets are solid, whereas there should be a separate 'hole' for exhaust stub. Instead, CMK have merely cut grooves for the fins into what is otherwise a solid stub. Q32-167 He111 H-16 to H-23 I have not yet researched the later variants in the same depth as the P or H-1 to H-6, so once again I cannot comment on whether these were seen on variants outside the range given in the title. The shape and size do look a good match when compared to photographs, however. This was the only set where there were any quality control issues – one of the long exhaust cones was not cast all the way through, and had a small hole in it. Fixable, but a bit annoying. Conclusion On the whole, these sets are clearly a vast improvement on the kit offerings, and really open up the number of variants or specific airframes you can make. You will need to consult your references though, and I would not consider using one of these sets just on the basis of how they are labelled. The only set which was nothing more than mediocre was 32-166: I can see how those cooling fins were just too challenging to do anything more ambitious with, but I still think they have made errors in shape when viewed from the rear. Recommended With thanks to CMK for the review samples. To purchase directly, click THIS link. Nicholas Mayhew

1/32 Heinkel He111 Cockpit Master Details Catalogue # 32031 $49.95 direct from Master Details Today I look at a cockpit detail set from Master Details. The original release was made a while back but this is a new tool version; I did not see the former, and the Master Details website does not say what changes have been made. This set is designed for the Revell He111 kits - it should be appropriate for either of their kits, the P-1 and H-6, as the cockpits of these aircraft were very similar. If you want a comprehensive review of what the Revell kits are like, take a look at my review here. Suffice to say, the Revell offering is broadly accurate and excellent value. It is, however, weak in detail in some areas; and so offers aftermarket companies the opportunity to fill the gap - enter Master Details, stage right. A comparable set is also available from another manufacturer, and I will be reviewing this CMK offering in the near future. Flimsy packaging Lots of resin and white metal parts This is a multimedia set in resin and white metal, and strictly speaking is designed as a complete replacement for the entire kit cockpit, rather than just adding detail to kit sub-assemblies. What is included: replacement resin parts for cockpit floor and cockpit bulkhead with bomb bay; the blurb says 97 resin parts, and I reckon there must be at least half that in white metal pilot and navigator / bomb aimer's seats in resin cockpit instrumentation and equipment in resin pilots food pedals and other details in white metal instructions: one colour photo of the set assembled, plus two very detailed line drawings / scans from plans The smaller resin parts Above and below: the two bags of white metal parts What is not included: seatbelts photo-etch and/or acetate film combination instrument panel push rods for pilot's pedals and connections to control column detailed, step by step, instructions with parts numbered on their casting blocks adequate packaging First of the quality of parts - much of the resin seems very good; the detail is sharp on many (though not all) parts. There was some warping on the rear bulkhead - I will look at the fit of this part later. The white metal is, well, white metal, and in some cases you can only get what the medium will give you. I am not a fan of cast parts like this, because detail is often softer than with resin, and it doesn't have the strength of brass or bronze (or whatever G-Factor now use to make their landing gear - that stuff is awesome). Overall I think the quality here is good for the medium, but detail would have been much crisper in resin, and I am not convinced of the need to use white metal in this set, period. Before we go further, I have to mention the packaging: my sample was supplied in the clear bag you see in the pictures, sent in a padded envelope. This is not good enough. No catastrophes in my set, but some parts have clearly been damaged (white metal bends, but can be bent back at least), whilst a couple of small resin bits do seem to have snapped. This is something I'm only going to find out properly once I go to build the thing, and another reason why having numbered parts either on sprues, or at least on a diagram would be useful (CMK and / or Aires do this for instance in their larger resin sets). This is an expensive set, and for this I would expect appropriate packaging - a box is an essential here. Cockpit bulkhead The main parts of the set are the cockpit bulkhead, and cockpit floor pieces. The kit parts here do not offer much competition in terms of fine details, so pretty much anything the Master Details set can add will be a welcome bonus. At first glance the resin parts look impressive, primarily I think because of their size. But, as mentioned above, the bulkhead has some warping (which can be fixed with a dip in hot water everyone always says). Slightly more disappointing is that frame shapes and edges are neither sharp enough nor straight enough; some of the curves can be picked out as irregular too. The fit of this main bulkhead is actually pretty good, but I am still toying with using the kit part to ensure 100% fit, and detail that bit myself. Cockpit floor Sidewalls, Much more detail than the kit parts Pilot's seat The main cockpit floor is a much more sturdy affair - it is more a block than anything else, and again it is a big improvement on the kit part. There is another floor piece for the bomb aimer / gunner, which has the floor panels pulled back. It would be positioned thus during bombing - the separate resin bomb sight sits underneath; when the nose cone gun was in use, the floor was pulled forward and the crewman lay on top. The resin part which depicts the floor partially pulled back actually shows some quilt / cushion type detail. I suggest you check your references here, as I understood this to be a set of wooden slats which where pulled back to reveal the bomb sight, rather than a solid piece with cushioning on top. Navigator's platform pulled back – not sure if cushioning is correct? Instrument panel A quick shot (through the packaging) of Eduard's IP for comparison Nicely detailed bombsight The other parts that stand out when you empty the bags are the cockpit side walls. One large-ish part for each side, these probably offer the greatest contrast between kit part detail - or lack of - and the resin upgrades. Fitting these will require sanding away the paltry detail on the kit fuselage insides first, and then some test fitting to work out whether the resin needs to 'take a hot bath' or not. As you can see from the pictures, one side looks as though it will go in without issue, whilst the other does not seem to have the necessary curves to fit as snugly. I would persevere with these though, as they will be very visible through the canopy, and even more so if you chose to position the pilot's 'sunroof' window open / slid back. Will need to take a hot bath! Better fit here Kit parts are very snug The Master Details bulkhead actually fits pretty well, considering detail still needs to be removed from the kit part roof Now let's consider the rest of the 90+ resin parts, and the numerous white metal pieces. Some of the resin has quite a bit of flash on it. No real dramas here, but the general quality is not up there with the best in the industry - which at the moment I think is Roy Sutherland's Barracuda resin line. Your biggest task will be trying to work out what one earth is what once you have cleaned up all these parts. If only these parts were presented as sometimes CMK or Aires do, with either numbered parts on a resin sprue or casting block, or at least a diagram labelling everything. Control column The white metal parts at first look a bit of a mess - this is because many of them are cast not only onto their main block, but also with long slithers of metal attached (there is probably a name for these). These can be easily snipped off, and the part freed from the block without any problems. Perhaps these superfluous bits are cast on purpose in order to protect the part? Warped metal part – at least should be easy to bend back into shape Damaged parts Either way, I did notice some of my metal parts had been dented or bashed because of the poor quality of packaging. Master Details thinking behind the metal parts is that they are more robust than resin, but personally I can see nothing load-bearing that truly warrants metal over resin. The level of detail on the metal parts is actually good once you look past all the curly shards that will be removed, but I still have to think that sharpness and detail would be superior in resin. Warp factor...? The MG drum is weak compared to resin alternatives out there The instructions comprise three A4 sheets, two of which are instructions, along with a third which comprises some fairly detailed line drawings of what a finished cockpit should look like. The instructions are pretty weak in my view. Yes, you can struggle through and work it all out eventually, but allied to the lack of part numbering / identification, a complicated task is made even more so. Once again benchmarked against the likes of Barracuda, Master Details have a way to go if they want to be up there with the best. We can do better than this Useful line drawing – this will be very helpful for the superdetailers Conclusion An impressive looking set at first glance, but one which will take a lot of work to put together because of many tiny parts requiring identification as well as clean up. Poor packaging and instructions which could be so much better are things which could have been improved. When I received my sample, the original cost of this set was something like $90 (I forget the exact amount), and at that price I thought value for money was poor when compared against what the best in the industry offer. However, I now read that this has come down dramatically to just under $50, and at that level I am inclined to be far more lenient when considering the whole value proposition. It is still marginally more expensive than the equivalent CMK set though. Whilst the CMK set has less parts, its breakdown is basically the same; it has clear instructions (viewable online if you want to check) and will come in a sturdy box; moreover, it has a small set of coloured photo-etch parts, which include the main instrument panel and seatbelts. As such, the CMK set could be a 'one stop shop' for the He111 office, whereas the Master Details set is not: chance are if you spend $50 on a resin cockpit, you will want a decent PE instrument panel. I cannot hand on heart give this set a "recommended" before I have seen the CMK set reviewed first - if that turns out to be a dog, then fair enough, but I would rather wait and see...watch this space for my review! With thanks to Master Details for the review sample. To purchase directly, click THIS link. Nicholas Mayhew

"One deviation I did was to cut away the connecting block from the wheelbays and fit a Mainspar from thick card instead." May have something to do with it!

Believe so Dave, but I'll let 'da man' himself confirm Don't think we have any dates or prices yet...

As above - there really is no choice that needs to be made for me: Trumpeter kits all the way Big Kev built the Hasegawa kit over on LSP relatively recently I think, but it is way more work to bring up to the basic standard of the Trumpy kit

Nice progress - looks very cool indeed

Thanks for bringing this baby over to LSM The Lightning is one of the few projects I would step outside of WWII for. One thing I can't understand though is why the donor kit is still so pricey considering it's meant to be such a dog? Still hoping Luckymodel or someone will do a crazy sale on it... *sigh*

Sweet!

Yes it will Nick