The Handley Page Hampden was a British medium bomber that entered service with the RAF in 1938 and served with some distinction until late 1942 as a bomber and 1943 as a torpedo bomber. Noted for its distinctive fuselage shape, earning it the nickname “The Flying Suitcase,” the aircraft was named for an English Parliamentarian of English Civil War fame.

Previously kitted mostly in 1/72 by several companies, this is the first mainstream IM kit in 1/48 of the Hampden (ignoring - if you can - the abomination that is the short-run FM kit…) and ICM are to be congratulated for their audacity in producing this unusual but worthy aircraft in this scale.

Scale Aircraft Conversions specializes in providing aftermarket/replacement landing gear made of white metal. This particular set is of the recently released 1/48 Hs 129 B-2/3 from Takom.

The set includes two main landing gear struts, four sets of brackets to mount the landing gear struts to the landing gear wheel well, a two-part tail wheel (yoke and spinner) plus a foot-rest to help the pilot to climb on the wing to board the cockpit.

All parts are straight drop-in replacement parts, so no modification should be necessary. You can see from the pictures the parts are very cleanly molded and formed, with no visible molding lines.

This particular set, contained in the familiar SAC blister packaging, is a perfect match for the SAC metal Landing Gear set 48472 for the F-35 C. See the excellent review by Rod Lees.

There are two parts — each representing the right and left-wing hinges. Upon inspection, no flash is detected, and they are cleanly cast. As with all SAC products, the pewter is pliable and can be adjusted as needed for a perfect fit. The two SAC parts are designed to replace kit parts EE39 and EE38, discussed in steps 61 and 62 within the Tamiya instructional guide.

After reading a well-worn copy of Thomas Gallagher’s book The X-Craft Raid, I have been fascinated by mini-subs and the missions they completed or attempted during the Second World War. Three X-craft were to sink the Tirpitz at her berth in Norway, and the mission was moderately successful in that they were able to damage the German battleship in such a way she was out of action until spring of 1944. I learned that many countries produced midget submarines during the war, and Mr. Bauernfeind’s book, Midget Submarines 1939–45 covers these craft comprehensively. Molch, Biber, Seehund (Germany), Kaiten, Ha Series, Kairyu (Japan), Type Ca, Type CC (Italy), X-Craft, XE-Craft, and Welman (United Kingdom); these and more are midget submarines examined in this new Casemate publication.

HobbyBoss issued a new and more modern F-111 kit a while back (2010 I think) replacing the aging Academy kits. It had a lot of features and for styrene, a decent but simplified cockpit. It was missing seat belts, detail on the instrument panel and other parts. Reskit for Kyiv, Ukraine to the rescue with a magnificent, highly detailed multimedia cockpit. Opening the box, there are 42 3D printed parts, 4 injection molded parts (the canopy and windscreen), a masking set and a fret with dozens on photoetched parts. Preparation starts by removing the supports on the 3D parts. I warmed mine a little with a hair dryer and used a hobby knife and sprue nipper and the part were free quickly. I used a sanding stick to remove any nubs and we were good. One note here, there are instructions to assemble and build the seats and add photoetch belts.

Once again IPMS USA provides our thanks to Ross at SAC for providing us one of his gear sets to use and review! In this case, it is a skid set for the New(er) Trumpeter UH-1B

This new Huey from Trumpeter kit is a mixed bag; Glad to have it but it needs work. The eagle-eyed among us will note the underside of my first one is being heavily redacted/sanded. That’s because the company appears to have researched the kit using a combat veteran complete with a bunch of battle-damage repair patches. They all need to go for a new bird.

I mentioned this a while back online and someone obviously within the company pretty strongly gave a “nuh-uh” answer and pointed to their photo references, a Huey from a museum, (I’ll bet somewhere in Vietnam) who made the assertion the panels were always there.

Helion is a UK-based company that produces books on many aspects of Military History from the Late Medieval period through to the present day. Helion was established in 1996 by University of Warwick graduate Duncan Rogers. Since then, they have published over 1,200 books, with 100 or more new titles coming out every year, for readers around the world.

Background About ResKit

ResKit products are designed and manufactured in Kyiv, Ukraine. Founded in 2015, the company produces high-quality, detailed resin aftermarket parts, engines, wheels, and conversion kits for scale model aircraft, armor, and dioramas. Despite the ongoing war, they continue to produce and ship their products from Ukraine.

Historcal Notes

There is a considerable amount of information regarding this system, and I feel some place for further research is needed. I recommend using Wikipedia and searching for “AGM-130C” for a wealth of information.

Background About ResKit

ResKit products are designed and manufactured in Kyiv, Ukraine. Founded in 2015, the company produces high-quality, detailed resin aftermarket parts, engines, wheels, and conversion kits for scale model aircraft, armor, and dioramas. Despite the ongoing war, they continue to produce and ship their products from Ukraine.

Historical Notes

There is a considerable amount of information regarding these two systems, and I feel some place for further research is needed. I would recommend searching Wikipedia for “Pave Tack”, as this provides a wealth of information.

Packaging and Product

The sample review I received came in a nicely packed blister pack as do all SAC metal landing gears sets. There are no instructions included, but the set goes together in the same format as the intended kit parts [Italeri].

Review Process

I separated the tires from the white metal pour stubs by using an X-acto blade & fine sprue snips. I then cleaned up the parts with files and a brass wire brush w/ a Dremel tool. The Dremel tool needs to be done in a slow and methodical manner as to not damage the parts. The effort is well worth it since it polishes the white metal to a high shine for later washes.

From the manufacturer’s website:

Manufacturing white metal parts for plastic scale model aircraft since 1990

We manufacture a line of white metal landing gear for 1/18 to 1/144 scale aircraft. Some Sets consist of the main gear only, while others include the nose gear, tail gear and/or adjacent related components. Some inaccuracies in the original kit gear have been corrected, but the mounting points remain identical to the factory parts. With numerous sets, we have not sought to duplicate non-load-bearing component parts where the factory plastic parts are reasonably accurate.

Since I like to build in-flight, I attempted to get a gunner in the turret, but it was not to be. The cage within which he was supposed to fit was so tight, that even after cutting off an arm and shaving him down substantially, once I got him in, he was still too tall for the canopy to fit over him. I decided he would be taking a nap down near the rear gun.

The detail of the kit is terrific – nice panel lines and rivets, plenty of detail in the cockpit, etc. The PE added some dimension to the open bomb bay doors, and nice scale to the underwing radar.

ICM has provided this beautiful new release form the Skycrane Range for review, in this 1/35 scale model of the Civil S-64E Skycrane and Universal Pod. This is based on the original release Military versions..

• Twenty-two grey sprues
• Three clear sprues
• Two decal sheets
• One instruction guide

The box is very big and contains a lot of sprues and it is very daunting when you first one it up. It is only the you realize the size of this helicopter at this scale. The detail quality is excellent in every way with this kit; crisp and detailed molding has become improved with every ICM kit.

The assembly is easy but as this is such a big model there are a lot of steps.

This volume is part of the Images of War series, which I have found to be indispensable as reference material. The book provides in-depth coverage of the numerous German military self-propelled anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns used during World War II. These weapons played a crucial role in Germany's arsenal throughout the conflict.

The publication features over 200 wartime photographs, offering both modelers and historians a wealth of visually engaging material. The book traces the evolution of these weapons during World War II, including an extensive look at tank destroyers and the Marder series in the anti-tank role. For anti-aircraft operations, the book explores a variety of unique platforms and weapon systems such as the Wirbelwind.

Hi everyone - had to split the build due to technical limitations to the web site. Part three will cover the rest of the build until we run out of parts and then part three will do the fixes and modifications.

“He'll find her! That's what he does! That's ALL he does! You can't stop him! He'll wade through you, reach down her throat and pull her heart out!- Kyle Reese”

Step 61 and 62 build the right knee and adding it to the upper section of the leg. One note here. This is getting big so allow yourself a larger workspace. As the knee is inserted, you will need to thread one of the upper pistons at the same time- not difficult because everything fits perfectly. This is also tightened with a Allen wrench and can be fixed tightly of allowing movement.

“That Terminator is out there! It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop... ever, until you are dead!”- Kyle Reese

Hi model fans! Life is good when a big box arrives from Agora full of parts for the second part of the Agora Models Terminator. I am going to split this into three parts with the first two primarily on the construction of the parts and the last, some of the upgrades and modifications to prepare for the rest of the parts to arrive. Let’s dive in!

Working on these makes me want to buy the kit just so I can add the crew!!

ResKit is doing some crisp lines, creases, and detail work. The resin comes off the supports cleanly without risk of breaking or chipping. The attachment points are very fine and placed in inconspicuous places, behind the legs and the back of the helmet for example. Another thing I’ve noticed in my ResKit reviews of late is that the resin is very easy to sand. It takes almost no effort with some 400 grit wet-sand paper to clean these up without a trace of the connections.

From the first paragraph,

“The Russian-Ukrainian War that began in the spring of 2014 with the annexation of Crimea, turned into a full-scale invasion by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (VRSF) on 24 February 2022. One of the areas of attack was the northern-eastern part of Ukraine, primarily Chernihiv Oblast, which the Russian generals saw as an easy target and one of the springboards for capturing the country’s capital, Kyiv. However, in the end, for more than a month, the Russians failed to realize their plans.”

Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) is a company that specializes in supplying stronger metal landing gear for just about every scale model kit there is. Their benefit can be seen when considering the weight of some finished models, especially where softer plastic is used. I have several models sitting on my shelves where the kit plastic gear legs were used and have, over time, started to splay outwards under the weight.

The SAC landing gear is contained in a compact clear plastic blister pack with a card paper backing to protect the contents. The kit name, manufacturer and scale are printed on a sticker at the top, front of the card. There is a typo spelling “Westlake” instead of “Westland”. There are some basic instructions on the back of the cardboard, but the modeler is expected to use the kit instructions for part placement.

ResKit has provided the IPMS reviewer corps with a new 3D resin printed Aces II ejection seat for the A-10A/C Thunderbolt II in 1/48th scale.

In The Package & Product Notes

There is one 3D printed resin seat packaged in a small but very sturdy cardboard box. It is printed with a sturdy travel frame along with foam inserts for extra protection. A small decal sheet is provided for the stencils and a well-illustrated instruction sheet for paint and decal placement.

Review Process

Removal of the seat starts with cutting away the protective frame. Then carefully removing the support piers. The printing is so fine at the contact points that no sanding was necessary to clean up any support nubs.