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Brewer

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  1. Brassin Upgrades for Eduard Spitfire Mk.XVI Spitfire Mk.XVI cockpit - 648206 - $35.99 Spitfire Mk.XVI wheels 3-spoke - 648218 - $7.49 Spitfire undercarriage legs - 648124 - $20.49 Prices from Sprue Brothers In recent years Eduard has started releasing Brassin upgrades alongside their new kit releases, a thoughtful approach for those modellers who don't like to wait for a few months for the market to release detail sets for new kits. With the release of the new Spitfire Mk.XVI bubbletop, Eduard has also offered up a few new upgrades to go with it: a replacement cockpit and 3-spoke wheels, and we'll also be taking another look at the previously released bronze Spitfire gear legs. Brassin Spitfire Mk.XVI cockpit - 648206 First up we have a highly detailed cockpit set comprised of over 40 resin parts and a fret of color photoetch. The Brassin Spitfire cockpit sets are cleverly designed to be pretty much a drop fit replacement for the kit parts, with no extensive modification of the kit parts required to squeeze in the resin bits. The resin pieces replace all of the kit parts and then some along with some optional parts like a cast instrument panel or the color photoetch bits, two different gun sights, etc. The sidewalls are particularly detailed and one of the areas of this set that excels at being a drop fit replacement for the kit sidewall parts. The color photoetch fret is extensive, though curiously it features the wrong seat harness for the bubbletop. Assuming you buy the Dual Combo kit or forthcoming Profipack you'll already have the appropraite later style harness in the kit PE. Spitfire Mk.XVI wheels 3-spoke - 648218 Next up is a set of 3-spoke Spitfire wheels for later XVI's. This set consists of 4 resin parts and a set of useful hub or tire masks for easy painting. One improvement of these wheels over previous Brassin Spitfire wheels is the molding of the outer hubs into the tires. In the 4- and 5-spoke Brassin wheels the outer hubs are separate inserts and in my experience they are prone to being undersized and don't quite fill the hole in tire. Spitfire undercarriage legs - 648124 An older set but worth taking another look is the bronze undercarriage set for Eduard Spitfires, comprised of two bronze legs and two resin gear doors. These bronze legs are really cool and far superior to both the kit plastic parts and typical white metal gear legs from other manufacturers. The bronze is highly, featuring much more realistic details of the legs themselves and extra details like brake lines. The resin gear doors are also much nicer than the plastic kit parts with extra detail inside and out. The only potential downside to this undercarriage set is that it only depicts one configuration of undercarriage geometry and gear doors, whereas the kit provides 3 different styles of each. Conclusion: Eduard continues to offer Brassin upgrades for their kits that provide a substantial upgrade over the kit parts and in this case clever designs that require minimal effort to install. However, one can't ignore the fact that these sets are quite pricey relative to offerings from other aftermarket companies, but it may be worth it for the ease of installation. Highly Recommended Jason Brewer Thanks to Eduard for the review samples
  2. Eduard 1/48 Spitfire Mk.XVI Dual Combo Cat. No.: 1198 Price = $59.99 from Sprue Bothers Eduard's Spitfire family is well established by now as one of the most state of the art kits on the market with outstanding detail, high level of accracy, excellent fit, and clever engineering. Add to that the large number of optional parts included in one box along with color photo etch and canopy/wheels masks all for a very reasonable price and you really can't go wrong. Eduard has extended their Spitfire family with this new Dual Combo kit, adding a low-back variant to the mix. Let's have a look! The Spitfire XVI is essentially the same as the IXe except powered by a Packard-built Merlin engine (266) instead of the standard 66. The low-back, obviously, has a cut down fuselage and bubble canopy but is otherwise the same as the high-back. As with all of Eduard's Dual Combo kits, enough parts are provided to build two complete models. There's a lot in this box, but we'll start with something familiar: the standard Eduard Profipack A4-sized instruction booklet this time with 33 pages thanks to separate assembly guides for the low-back and high-back variants. Also included are 8 beautiful color profiles, 5 for the low-back and 3 for the high-back. Moving on to the plastic, there's a ton of it! Two fuselage sprues, three wing sprues, and two each of the common sprues from the IX/VIII kits all in grey plastic. Look at all of this! Between the two kits there are over 400 parts. For this review we'll focus mainly on the new parts , as the rest of the kit is essentially the IXe kit. First up we have the all new sprue for the cut back fuselage. Detail is as we have come to expect from Eduard and the new fuselage looks great. Also new to this sprue are 3-spoke wheels and other small parts exclusive to the new fuselage. Eduard has also added a new cockpit rear bulkhead option with the headrest armor molded in place. Next up we have the new wing sprue for post-war planes with a bulged upper wing. Detail inside the wheel well is up to snuff, too, including fine rivets surrounding the bulge. The last of the new plastic for this kit is the new clear sprue for the low-back variant. Aside from the beautiful new bubble top canopy, there are other small new parts for the late version gun sight, etc. Looking through the remainder of the plastic sprues, we find the standard fuselage and wing sprues from the IXe kit. Two of the non-bulged wing sprues are provided. Two of each of the sprues common to the IX/VIII/XVI are provided containing all of the remaining parts. A new piece with the headrest armor molded in place is also provided for the high-back variant. Again the familiar IX/VIII clear sprue for the high-back variant: A large sheet of paint masks is provided encompassing both versions. We also get a new fret of PE for the bubbletop, the main difference being the late style seat harness. The large decal sheet is quite impressive and printed by Cartograf so you know the quality is top notch. All decals are in perfect register and wonderfully thin. Two sheets of stencils are provided: the familar IX stencil sheet from previous kits and a new sheet for the bubble top. These aren't Cartograf-printed, but Eduard's own decals are excellent. Markings are provided for EIGHT different subjects, complete with the beautiful color profiles we've come to expect: Conclusion: In this Dual Combo we get the first bubbletop Spitfire in Eduard's growning family of variants. This new release equals the high standards of the previous Mk.IX/VIII kits and should be just as much of a joy to build. Personally I've just recently completed the Mk.VIII and will be starting my bubbletop Mk.XVI as soon as I finish writing this review! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Jason Brewer Thanks to Eduard for the review sample
  3. Hey guys! Here's the latest one off the bench - Eduard's recent Spitfire VIII. This was my first time building one of Eduard's lovely Spitfires and now I see what all of the fuss was about! I'll certainly be building more in the future. Thanks for looking! - Brassin cockpit - Brassin wheels - Ultracast 1-pc cowl - Ultracast exhaust - Ultracast spinner/prop - Quickboost cockpit door - Master gun barrels - BarracudaCals decals
  4. Nice work! I applaud you for braving the Eduard kit instead of building a Hasegawa
  5. I look forward to seeing that one! The Fine Molds kit is great, but it's 1/48 :P
  6. Awesome work, Jeroen! Makes me want to pull out my Fine Molds MXY-7 Ohka
  7. Oh boy, excellent work Ralph! Can't wait to see more!
  8. Outstanding work, Ralph! I always love seeing your Luftwaffe subjects in particular.
  9. Pretty cool! Now if we could just get some late 209 variants in 1/48...
  10. Excellent work! Always like that orange scheme but haven't been able to bring myself to do it - looks fantastic!
  11. That's high praise, Torben! I use the Rivet-R Mini from RB Productions to make the rivet pattern, then go back and deepen each rivet with a needle point and then sand flush the ridges left behind by the work.
  12. Haha yes, severe AMS. This was a "light aftermarket" build compared to the majority of my stash
  13. Thanks Anders! The paint is all Gunze MrColor lacquers, I really like their line of RLM's. I did just get AK's two sets of RLM colors that I will try out, but if I don't like them I'll stick with MrColor. And keep up the great work on your blog!! I look forward to every new post
  14. Since we have a non-LSM section now, I figure I'll post my latest completion. Sadly I haven't managed to finish anything lately, so this one is a few months old but hopefully that will change soon. This kit was also an excuse to use up a bunch of spares and leftovers in the closet, so it's a bit of a hodgepodge of aftermarket. It was also my first attempt at mottling, and with many other 190's and 109's planned in the future I need to learn to mottle! A "quick" rundown on the aftermarket and work done: - MDC cockpit tub - Vector seat - CMK rudder pedals and control column - Eduard instrument panel - Quickboost gunsight - Hasegawa armor panels - Eagle Editions gun cowl and barrels - Ultracast wheels - Ultracast spinner and wide paddle prop - Quickboost pitot tube - Hypo tubing for wing root barrels - Brake lines, antennae, gear down indicators, etc made from wire - Riveted using RB Productions Rivet-R - Markings are a combination of Montex masks (insignia), Miracle Masks (Green 3), Eduard decals (emblem and W.Nr), and stencils from EagleCals - phew! - Aerial antenna wire is EZ Line, but cut and split to half width for better scale effect - Weathering is a mix of airbrushing, oils, sponge chipping, and artists colored pencil I'm sure I'm leaving something out, but that's close enough - on to the pics!
  15. That's a tough choice! I'm sure plenty of people will be building the Tiffie, but I'd really like to see the Me410, Walrus, and Meteor done. That said, I'm interested to see the 109H as I'm still holding out hope that someone will do an Me209V5 or V6 in any scale!
  16. Outstanding work on the Birdcage! Glad to see you back at it, and congrats on the addition to the family
  17. WOW! This is ridiculously amazing! Looks like I came in just in time, can't wait to see more!
  18. The Gitmo scheme would be the one for me, too, like the one I already did in 48th
  19. 1:32 T-6 Texan Kitty Hawk Models Catalogue # KH32001 Kitty Hawk Models is quickly making a name for themselves with well-engineered kits of interesting and neglected subjects. Their newest release is their first foray into 32nd scale, the North American T-6 Texan. Let's have a look! The Texan is one of the more underrated planes in aviation history and underrepresented planes in the scale model industry. It was trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s, and was used by many countries for various purposes for decades. Designed by North American Aviation, the T-6 is known by a variety of designations depending on the model and operating air force. The USAAC and USAAF designated it as the AT-6, the United States Navy the SNJ, and British Commonwealth air forces, the Harvard, the name it is best known by outside of the US. After 1962, US forces designated it the T-6. It remains a popular warbird aircraft used for airshow demonstrations and static displays. Okay, moving on to the kit! The packaging is a nice sturdy box with attractive box art. Inside the box, the kit is broken down into six sprues of grey plastic, one clear sprue, a small photoetched fret, and THREE sheets of decals. Overall the parts are very nicely molded, with minimal flash mostly isolated to the sprues themselves and not on the parts. The instructions come as a 24-page booklet, including EIGHT color pages of markings. Sprue A The first sprue contains the main fuselage halves, engine, propeller, cowling, and other various parts. The surface detail is excellent, with very crisp recessed and raised detail where appropriate. The airframe is fully riveted - noticeable but restrained, not overdone. The crank case looks very nice with excellent raised detail, and the engine is not bad at all including molded-on ignition wires. The prop hub, blades, and smooth style spinner all look nice as well. Sprue B The next sprue contains the lower halves of the outer wings, the horizontal stabilizers, a few cockpit parts, covered wheel hubs, etc. Again the surface detail on the wings and stabilizers is top notch. The detailed rear side of the forward instrument panel is a nice touch. The covered hubs look nice as do the halves of the optional spinner, though the sprue attachments may be a little tricky. Sprue C The third sprue is comprised of the upper halves of the outer wings, the ailerons, and rudder halves. Once again, surface detail on the wings is superb and the navigation lights look nice for molded grey plastic. The ribbing on the control surfaces is passable, but could use some toning down with sandpaper. Aside from that, the control surfaces look excellent. Sprue D The fourth sprue contains the upper and lower halves of the center section of the wings, cockpit parts, inserts and optional radar for the upper fuselage, elevators, tail wheel, flaps and other various parts. The quality of the wing parts is consistent with the rest of the airframe, with refined raised and recessed detail. The elevators are the same as the rudder and ailerons as far as ribbing and surface detail. The upper cowling in front of the windscreen looks especially nice, and will really pop with some paint and weathering. The cockpit parts overall look good for injected plastic. The seats look nice, and will look even better with the kit-supplied PE belts installed. The floor, rudder pedals, and other parts are pretty standard for plastic cockpit parts of this scale. The side consoles have excellent raised detail and should look really nice with careful painting. One weak are of the cockpit is the instrument panels – while the two-part panels have nice detail on the back, the faces leave a bit to be desired, but I'm sure the aftermarket industry will address this issue. The flaps are supplied as separate pieces and do have some framing detail on them. Sprue F Skipping over the E sprue for now, we move on to sprue F which contains the remainder of the cockpit parts, wheel bays and gear doors, main wheels, optional short and long exhausts, etc. The framing for the cockpit is nicely molded and like other cockpit bits should really pop under paint. The wheel wells are adequately detailed for such small areas, with hydraulic lines molded on. The main wheels with their spoked hubs look very nice should you choose to use them without the hub covers. Both styles of exhaust are provided in separate halves and should look convincingly hollow after assembly and seam cleanup. They also snuck another cockpit console onto this sprue, which looks as great as the others. Sprue E Circling back to the E sprue, we find mostly a large variety of underwing stores including T-10 rockets, rocket pods, 250kg bombs, 7.7mm gun pods, 20-gal drop tanks, and all associated pylons. These all look very nice, with the exception of some glaring sink-marks on the gun pod housings, but nothing an experienced modeler can't handle. I don't imagine too many people will opt to use the gun pods anyway. Also found on this sprue are the undercarriage parts, with some very attractive gear legs with separate oleo scissors. The intake is found on this sprue as well, and looks the part. Sprue GP Rounding up the plastic parts, we come to the clear sprue. These are packaged in their own fancy protective box – a considerate precaution. The clear parts are perfectly transparent and the rivet detail from the rest of the plane is continued on the frames of the canopy. Very nice! Photoetch The single small photoetched fret contains the seat belts for the front and rear seats, which should go a long way to dress up the cockpit. Instructions The instructions come in the form of a 24-page booklet with 38 easy to follow steps of construction (or 30 if you choose not to hang anything underneath the wings). The parts breakdown of the kit is neither overly complex, nor oversimplified at the expense of detail. Assembly appears to be quite straight-forward, and if Kitty Hawk's past releases are any indication there should not be any fitment issues. Decals You can't look through the contents of this kit without the two HUGE 8.5"x10 decal sheets jumping out at you – this thing has a ton of decals! That's no surprise when you consider that markings are provided for EIGHT different aircraft. The decals themselves are quite thin and in perfect register. Carrier film is minimal and by all appearances these should go on nicely. In addition to the two large sheets is one smaller sheet with decals for the instrument panels, prop blades, and some attractive nose art. Markings Included in the instruction booklet are 8 glossy color pages of profiles showing decal placement. Markings are provided for the following options: USAAF USN US Marines RCAF Luftwaffe Italian Air Force SAAF RAF Conclusion Kitty Hawk's first release in 32nd scale is no disappointment. As with their previous releases in 48th scale, the engineering and surface detail is extraordinary. As far as I know this is also the first kit of the T-6 Texan in this scale, and they have certainly done it justice. The large number of marking options and quality decals are certainly a plus. While it does have a few minor shortcomings in the cockpit, I have no doubt that this kit would build up to a most impressive model of this significant part of aviation history straight from the box, and for modellers inclined to do so there is much room for scratch-building and detail work. Highly Recommended Sincere thanks to Kitty Hawk Models for providing this review sample. Jason Brewer
  20. 1:32 Upgrade sets for Bf 109, Fw 190 and Caudron Department of Correction See article for details on price etc Department of Correction from Poland is a relative newcomer to the aftermarket scene, but they have wasted no time releasing some exciting and high-quality resin correction sets for popular kits on the market in both 1/48 and 1/32. In this review I'll be looking at several sets in 32nd scale, so lets have a look at some of what D.O.C. has to offer! Up first we have a very nice set – a corrected spinner for Hasegawa's 1/32 Bf109G/K kits. There are already several resin spinner options on the market for these kits, so what D.O.C. has brought to the table? As with other D.O.C. sets, the packaging is very nice with parts bagged separately and the instructions are very clear and concise. The parts are cast in a very nice grey resin and include a two-part spinner, three prop hubs, and a separate blast tube for the tip of the spinner (my sample contained a spare tube). The casting is flawless with no bubbles or flash, and the detail is crisp and beautiful. The engineering of the parts is excellent, as the two parts of the spinner fit together perfectly and pretty much snap into place with no gaps or play whatsoever. The detail on the spinner is excellent with very crisp panel lines, subtle rows of rivets, data plates, and characteristic "teardrop" shape of the propeller cutouts. Assembly is similar to that of the kit parts with the exception of the prop hubs into which you simply install the kit parts or use the "wide" blades D.O.C. provides in another set. The base of the spinner is pre-drilled for use with the kit spinner shaft. As I said before there are several other options on the market for corrected resin spinners, and I happened to have one on hand for comparison. To my knowledge the Eagle Editions spinner is considered one of the "most correct", so how does it compare to the D.O.C. offering? This isn't a perfect comparison as I haven't removed the casting blocks from either spinner, but the shape of the two spinners is extremely close. The "teardrop" shape of the openings is different between the two, but I'm no expert and cannot speak to one being more correct than the other. However, the quality of the casting heavily favors the D.O.C. spinner both in finish and detail. The D.O.C. spinner will also be easier to use as it requires no drilling for the spinner shaft or prop blades. So what do we think? Department Of Correction has produced a very nice corrected spinner with exceptional detail and casting, excellent engineering, and easy assembly. The shape and nuances of the Bf109 spinner are a topic of hot debate and I'm no expert, but I wouldn't hesitate to use D.O.C.'s offering. Very Highly Recommended To purchase this item direct, click this link ( http://www.ww-model.pl/index.php?p8912,d-o-c-32001-1-32-bf-109-g-k-propeller-spinner ) The next set in this review is this simple but useful conversion piece for the 1/32 Hasegawa Fw190A-5/6/7. The new lower wing panel features a smaller access panel present on some A-5/6/7 aircraft. Again, packaging is very nice and parts are bagged separately. The instructions are excellent, very clear and concise with easy-to-follow photos. The new lower panel features the smaller radio compartment access hatch present on some aircraft. This panel was not common, so check your references. It was smaller than the large panel present on the A-8 and D-series aircraft, used to access the 115L MW50 fuel tank. After scouring my references I have found several drawings depicting this smaller oval panel, but none specify its purpose. As with other D.O.C. resin sets, the casting is flawless. Detail is fine and crisp, and it even features an opened electronic connections bay with a separate small fuel line plug. Also included is new DF loop base. Installation is very straight-forward, as you simply cut the kit lower wing along the panel line and install the new resin panel. So what do we think? Department Of Correction is the first company, to my knowledge, to release a correction set depicting this rarely seen smaller radio compartment access panel in any scale. The casting is perfect, detail is outstanding, and installation is simple. What more could you ask for? Highly Recommended To purchase this item direct, click this link ( http://www.ww-model.pl/index.php?p9365,d-o-c-32007-1-32-fw-190-a-bottom-fuselage-panel-with-small-oval-cover ) Finally, we have a piece for Azur's 1/32 Caudron C.714 C.1. This set corrects the shape of the intakes on the front cowl of the Cyclone. As with other D.O.C. products, the packaging is nice and the instructions are clear and concise with nice photographs. The casting on this piece is perfect, with no bubbles or imperfections present. The revised cowl also includes a more detailed upper panel with fasteners and fine louvers – a distinct feature on the nose of the Cyclone. Installation is very straight-forward, as the new piece is a direct replacement for the kit part. Simply remove the pour stub and install! D.O.C. also has a corrected spinner and propeller for the C.714, available separately. So what do we think? Once again Department Of Correction has provided a very nice and easy to install correction set. If you're a fan of the Caudron Cyclone and have the Azur kit in your stash, I'd say this corrected cowl is a must-have. Highly Recommended To purchase this item direct, click this link ( http://www.ww-model.pl/index.php?p8911,d-o-c-32002-1-32-caudron-cr-714c1-front-engine-cowl ) Conclusion Department Of Correction may be new to the scene, but their interesting and useful sets certainly have a place in the market. Their resin casting is some of the best I've seen, with zero imperfections and the highest level of detail. The finish of these parts is truly impressive. I look forward to more products from D.O.C. Our thanks to W&W Model for the review samples. To purchase the items directly you can click the links in the article. You can also view these and other sets from D.O.C. by going here http://www.ww-model.pl/index.php?d=szukaj&producent=263 Jason Brewer
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