JeroenPeters

They flew in Dutch service as well! Built under license. I might just need one....

Bono Photo Bomb:

Kommando Bono! Nice scheme! Wasn't that the U2 though?

Just posting this pic so i don't loose it:

Thnx guys, Speeding along through the pit. This is limited run so you'll need to fit, check and fit again. Something didn't fit in mine and it took me a while to figure out what it was. Turned out the pedals (photo etch) are a bit too wide. Or over-tight fit. The kit also supplies plastic pedals (and the model on the Telford stand featured those) but I'll go through the spares box and look for other ones'. No problem. Other than that everything seems to fit just fine.

Kagero Photosniper 13 (0013) Sturmgeschütz IV Publisher: Kagero Written by: Lukasz Gladysiak, Grzgorz Okonski, Jacek Szafranski Available from Kagero for € 19,86 Introduction As a modeller I’m always on the lookout for good reference material. For my models I prefer ww2 black and white photo’s for accuracy and inspiration, and modern detailed, well lighted colour shots for building reference. This book is 13th in line of Kagero’s excellent Photosniper range (after subjects like the Jagdpanther, BMW motorcycle and P40 Kittyhawk) and caters to the latter. It’s actually a very well documented walkaround and report on the restoration of one recovered Stug IV from the river Rgilewka in Poland. Personally I don’t trust restored vehicles in museums or collections that much. Often we assume aspects in their appearance to be right, because we see what we see. This book shows us exactly in what state this tank was found and what was done in order to get it to the pristine condition it is in today. Design development The first few pages take us through the development stages of the Stug IV backed up with some black and white photo’s. Personally I am pleased that this chapter doesn’t take up too much pages, since this just isn’t that kind of book. And by the way: if you’re interested in the development of this tank, there are other titles that cover that topic much more in depth. Technical Description In my humble opinion the same goes for this subject. We’re here for photo’s of the real thing! And luckily the technical data that is served here, is being backed up by nice photographs of the recovery of the Stug IV as it was found in the polish river. The state it which it was preserved was so good that the white balkenkreuz was still visible on the sides of the superstructure. As a matter of fact, after they pulled it out of the mud (which had protected it for so many years) it looked like it was still able to drive off… Inside the tank about 50 rounds of ammunition were found, alongside weapons and other belongings of the tank’s crew. Walkaround This is what the book is all about. The carefully completely restored tank is now on display in the Armoured Weapon Museum in Poznan. Sporting a three tone camouflage scheme and complete range of accessories. Every corner and detail of the tank is covered in this section. Inside and outside. Colours In the final chapter 3D renderings and side profiles of the tank give us a number of colour options. Conclusion / Verdict As said, as a modeller this is exactly the kind of book I’m always looking for. Invaluable reference for, if not now, future builds. The lay-out, set-up and quality of the photographs are high grade. From 1 to 10 I’d rate this book a 9. Very highly recommended Our sincere thanks to Kagero for the review sample. To purchase directly, click HERE. Jeroen Peters

Cheers By the way. I've been having the same photo bucket problems you've been experiencing. On one of my laptops it didn't actually copy the link in photo bucket. I believe this to be a Flash problem. Tried it on a different computer and it worked. I'm trying to see how to fix this. I'll keep u posted.

Hi guys, It was not the Ho229 that pulled me away from my He219. Not the Airfix Typhoon. It is the Ar 234! What a lovely kit. I started adding the resin instrument housings to the back of the instrument panel and just couldn't stop. The only thing I'll add are HGW seat belts. I believe 109 harnesses will be correct.

Aaahhhh the detailing part! This is when the real fun starts. Well.. for me anyway.. watching Go on, go on!

Snipping plastic as we 'speak'

1/32 Arado Ar 234 B-2 German Reconnaissance Bomber Fly kit # 32003 Available from Fly for € 55,- / 78 dollars Introduction I’m writing this review from a personal point of view, since LSM colleague is writing a review on this kit’s brother; the Ar 234 B2N. At the moment we are being spoiled to the brim with exotic and huge large scale releases. Some expected. Some not so much. Who would have dreamt to see a 1/32 Lancaster in his lifetime of B-17? And for the Luft ’46 fans a Ho229 or He219? Either of both would have kept me quiet for a decade. Well… maybe not. Being a Luft ’46 (or even late war Luftwaffe) fan myself I have almost bought the RB (MDC) full resin kit of the Ar 234 a couple of times. The price and the daunting idea of all this resin made me resist. I guess the fact that this amazing resin kit has been around for a few years and is still readily available in stores, never made me think or wish for an injection moulded kit. When Fly announced in may 2013 (I believe) that it was doing their version I thought: We’ll see it when it gets there. And if not? Then we’ll always have the MDC kit. A month ago an update on the kit’s progress was posted on the LSM Facebook page, showing the kit in a state where I didn’t expect to see it on Telford SMW by November. So you can imagine my surprise when I walked past Fly’s stand and spotted a built up version of the Ar 234 B2N kit. I asked what the release date would be and Jiří’s wife told me: ‘it’s out already! Here it is!’, pointing at a stack of boxes. I checked the price: 68 pounds. No jaw dropping there. The Night fighter version being priced a bit higher at 75 pounds. I’ll let Jim explain what the price difference is based on. No, I shall tell you myself: the Night fighter has a second cockpit halfway down the fuse, antennae and resin gun pod. The built up night fighter version of the kit as I saw it at SWM Telford. Accurate? This is only an in box review. In a later stage I’ll start building this kit and see if I need fit to correct parts if needed. I took a lot of photo’s of the completed model on the Fly stand and compared them to photographs. Photographs? Yes. Since I have no certainty that any of the drawings I own are correct and neither have any certainty that Radu Brinzan’s version is correct (other than I know he is someone who does his homework) this seems to be the best place to start. All I can say is that I can’t find any noticeable differences in engine, fuselage or wings shapes right off the sprue. All panel lines and hatches are present and no detail has been overlooked. At first glance I thought the tiny airscoops on top of the nacelles were missing, but on checking the instructions they were there alright. Then I started laying the fuse halves over drawings from the Aero Detail book. You can see in the scan that the tail on the kit is slightly shorter in height, the fuse slightly thinner (top to bottom) and the tail sets in later. For good measure I also checked the wheel size. These are 93.5 cm in diameter and should measure 29.22 mm in scale. These are spot on. Since Radu Brinzan already stated the Aero Detail drawings are incorrect, I’m still trying to source the 1/48 Hasegawa drawings. When you look at the wings and lay the Aero Detail drawings on top, you’ll see a much better alignment, with the most clear difference being the slightly shorter wingtip. In the end this kit will look like the Ar234 with the right characteristics and all the detail and to me that’s the most important aspect. There is only one examply of this remarkable early jet in existence today and that is at the National Air & Space Museum in the United States. No replica or restored wreck, but a captured example from KG76 / Norway. I guess it’s more of a miracle it survived the curious hands of British and American engineers and scientists than it did ww2! Walkaround photo’s of this plane can also be found in the Aero Detail book #16 as well as the Monografie 33 book. The Ar 234 B-2 in the National Air and Space Museum On to the kit! When you open the box the first thing that strikes is the enormous amount of resin. The plastic is limited run so you’ll see a little bit of flash around the corners (but not much) and no locating pins. I guess they are for Noobs anyway J This is a limited run kit, so don’t expect it to kinda fall together on shaking the box. Careful test fitting will be needed and I’m sure some putty here and there. The plastic is hard and sturdy, but is fine to work with. There’s one sprue with the fuselage halves, Rato-packs, gear doors and nose wheel, One with the upper winghalves and tail-planes, one with the lower wing halves and one with the cockpit detail and engine halves. The clear sprue needs some TLC to make the glass more clear. A buff and a dip in Future should do the trick. Not too many parts in plastic, compared to the resin that is supplied. The resin supplied make up the gear bay, cockpit, seat, instruments, Rato-parachutes, engine nacelles and rear and springer-arms for the gear. The resin is really one of the finest I’ve ever seen. The company behind these resin parts is Artillery. To be quite honest I have never heard of them, so as far as I’m concerned that’s one hell of a way to make an entrance. The same goes for the photo-etch which is done by Hauler. This however is a company I am familiar with. They make amazing stuff especially in the smaller scales. The decals are clean, vibrant and register nicely. Not Cartograph, but (bear with me) Bodecek Agency. I checked and this company is known for the airliner decals mostly. Antennae loop: Resin: Engine parts and Rato parachutes: Rato parachute: Cockpit parts: Undercarriage bay: Gear springer arms and bombrack details: Clear parts: The photo-etch: Let’s follow the instructions It all starts with the instrument panel. This has the potential of becoming a real gem. Since the rear of the panel will be visible, the instrument housings are featured as separate resin parts. When you add the wiring, this will be a model in itself. The front of the panel show nice detail and need the instrument decals which are supplied on the main decal sheet. The side consoles are also plastic parts with nice detail and are further detailed by Photo etch levers, resin and decals. The seatbelts are found on the Photo etch fret, but I know I’ll replace mine with HGW ones’ or RB production J The seat is my favourite part. Resin with plastic arm rests and sitting on a huge resin block. Beware! This plane has the potential of becoming a tail sitter. Especially if you’re building the Night fighter version, since it houses an extra cockpit for the radio operator in the rear. I’m saying this because this is the time you’ll need to figure out where to add some extra weight. Not around the waste like so many modellers, but as far up the nose as possible. Another great feature in this kit are the under carriage bays. Great detail, right down to the wiring. The big blocks of resin make up these parts. The bomb bay comes as one separate part and will give room for one bomb. I checked but the bomb is not supplied. A nice MDC resin bomb will have to be called into service here, and I’m sure that despite the different measurements of the Fly and MDC kit, it will fit J. Next up: the wings. Simple and with delicated surface detail. Nothing too exciting. The only thing that can enhance these is cutting the ailerons and flaps, since they’re moulded as one piece, except for the rudder, which is a separate part. Another nice addition is the drag chute wire which comes as a piece of rope, held by photo etch braces. In the same bag as the rope, you’ll find a very delicate piece of metal rod that makes into an antennae vertically situated under the left wing. The engines are about 50% resin and 50% plastic. As said: they have all the necessary detail, right down to the tiny airscoops. The same goes for the Rato-packs. The detail on the resin parachute is just amazing with convincing fabric texture. The wheels come in two plastic halves. To be quite honest this is something I would have rather seen in resin with flattened tires, but he! I’m not complaining. The wheels supplied are without pattern. When you look at photo’s you’ll see common use of both smooth and diamond pattern tires, so a choice between the two would have been nice as well. At least the size is correct! The final parts that need assembly are the gear doors (nice mix of plastic and resin (hinges) here as well and all the detail that needs to go to the inside of the canopy. Special care needs to be taken here, because you only get one chance. Even the flare gun is supplied and will poke through a hole in the glass (when done right). The decals: Colour schemes Arado Ar 234 B-2, W.Nr. 104151/T9+KH Flown by Oblt. Werner Muffey, Kommando Sperling, November 1944. A real nice profile of this plane can be found on the back of the Monografie 33 book. Arado Ar 234 S10, 140110/E2+20 used at Rechlin for tests with Hs 293 Missiles, October/December 1944 Arado Ar 234 B-2, ex 140476/VK877 Royal Aircraft Establishment Farnborough, winter 1945/46 Arado Ar 234 B-2, No.303/"Snafu I" ex-W.Nr. 140148 Aircraft tested post-war by the US Navy at NAS Patuxent River, U.S.A. Sadly disregarded by the US Navy in the 1950’s. Conclusion / Verdict I’m thrilled to bits with this kit. Not just because of the kit itself, but mostly with the fact that we now have another company that is not afraid to tackle large scale subjects that flew. The Natter was just an appetizer and I’m sure there’s much more to come. The next release being a Westland Wessex I believe. Is this kit it a good rendering of the Ar234? I think so. It has all the details and right characteristics to convince. Is this kit an accurate rendering of the Ar234? Maybe not to the full extend. If you want to be ‘sure’ your Ar234 conforms to ww2 drawings the MDC kit might be the way to go. But at a price of around 60 pounds (I even saw my LHS listed it for 58 euro’s!) you can’t beat it with a stick and it will be slightly easier to build. Upsides: lots of resin, detail and bang for your buck! Shape and characteristics look good. Downsides: possibility of not conforming to ww2 drawings, clear parts not so clear and no bomb is supplied. If you do decide to add a bomb yourself, here's what to choose from: From 1 to 10 I’d rate this kit as an 8. Highly recommended If I may: Of course there isn’t any aftermarket available for this kit at the moment and I’ll doubt if Eduard will ever treat us to any (this being a short run kit and all and already very complete) but there is one small set I can recommend. It’s made by Peter Kormos from PK Tinyland. They are Intake covers for the engines made from Photo etch. Our sincere thanks to Fly for the review sample. To purchase directly, click HERE. Jeroen Peters

Nice one! Never heard of this brand before...

Hi Erik, I think this is the perfect moment to post your walk around of the Lanc!! What do you think?

Loved your 229 and can imagine it being a winner once fully finished! Was nice meeting you as well

Aaaalmost done! Some final touches to add... I might add some more details to the flat bed. Also need to blend the leaves in a bit more...

Havent seen these built too much! Nice one... Cheers! Jeroen

Nice subject Ralph. Good luck!

That is some sweet work!! Welcome! We need more armor modelers and its only a bonus if they build as good as you. Please post this build in the armoursection. You can use photo bucket for example or just copy your link images in the pop up that appears when you click the picture frame in the little editor menu. Right above where you type. Cheers! Jeroen

Hi Guys, Soooo.... the first pics of the Lancaster in progress have been posted after its unveiling at Telford. We certainly couldn't believe our eyes and would have been happy with just the fuse or an engine.... Following this some discussions have started left and right by people who think things are off. Well... here's what's what. This is only a machined mock up. Not even injection moulded so not a test shot. This mock up was given to LSM. Not to check, but as a gift. But... of course we will check, post as many pics as we can (taken with a proper camera) and share all our AND YOUR findings with HK Models. This is a golden time for modeler. How often do you get this opportunity??? Neil from HK Models told us that the Lancaster will only be released when they're certain it's correct. You'll always have minor flaws or inaccuracies, but we think this might become their most accurate kit to date. Here are some iphone pics from the show. Watch this topic for more material... (yes the guns and some aerials did not survive the trip from Hong Kong Cheers Jeroen

The estimates are that the mossie will be released in january 2015 and the Lanc around august 2015. But only if HKM is 100% sure the kit is accurate. Well.... that is if you can ever be 100% sure of course.

Thnx guys, Moving to the details and finishing touches now...

Amazing stuff! Really like how you've weathered the white. Not too much. Just right... Nice...

Nice one! Looks like a great addition to an already great kit...

Cant wait to see more.... I need this kit...

Nice one! Looks like a winner. The wicker seat looks amazing..