Kagero has started a new series known as “References for Modelers”. This fifth issue is devoted to the Dewoitine D.520 C1. In particular, it covers both the early and late versions of this aircraft.

The references include a few period pictures (black and white) and covers mostly the French service, but there is one picture of the aircraft in Italian markings. There are a handful of color profiles (and 4-view images in some cases) for French service (1940) and two color profiles in Bulgarian markings, one during WW2 and another that is post-war.

Air-to-air missiles (AAMs) are a part of almost every tactical aircraft and some helicopters these days. If you’re anything like me, they tend to be part of the finishing bits we grind through at the end of a build. Perhaps a deeper understanding of these weapons and their integral connection to the aircraft we build will make finishing those missiles a bit easier. This is the first of six volumes dedicated to the history of air-to-air missiles (AAM). In this first volume, the author, Bill Norton, a former Air Force officer and flight test engineer with 40 years of experience, introduces us to a comprehensive history—in six volumes of these weapons.

While I'm on my "Canberra kick" and since it's been a while since I posted a full build ride-a-long, I thought I'd show how this model was being thrown together. The Falcon vac Canberra kit was made @1984, long before the Classic Airframe and Airfix kits were available. It's actually designed so you can build an RB-57B with the "fishbowl canopy" (my plan, and as shown in the drawing) or a B-57B with the tandem seating and traditional long canopy. In this pic the parts have already been removed from their backings and sanded down. Also, on the far left you can see that I had to stack and superglue two concentric cones together to make the engine intakes for each wing. The smaller parts with a "E" on them are the exhaust fairings for each wing. There was one unplanned complication due to this kit sitting in my stash for almost 40yrs..... The parts were on 3 sheets of plastic. It seems that the one sheet that faced out and was exposed to the most light through its plastic baggy turned a bit brown and also became somewhat brittle after all those years! If you look very closely at the wing bottom (2nd from the left) you can see a crack where the it broke in two while I was trying to flex it off of the backing. There were also smaller cracks along the edges that have complicated the build more than anticipated, but nothing superglue cannot overcome! The 2 pics above show a couple of interior circular bulkheads added to strengthen things as well as the wing spars made to make the wing attachment more secure. The tail spar is simply a piece of sheet plastic bent to shape. The thin strips of sheet plastic added under the long fuselage seams in an alternating manner can also be seen. These enable the fuselage to be fitted together and prevent the thin edges from sliding under each other. The resin nose gear well is from an aftermarket set made for the Airfix kit. I've also roughed out the opening for the fishbowl canopy and sawed off the solid nose in prep for the clear recon nose. These 2 pics show the test fitting of the assembled wings and tail planes to the fuselage as well as checking the sit of the model on its gear. The resin gear bays in the wings are aftermarket parts with some modification to the main gear leg holes so that my scratchbuilt gear legs will fit into them. At this point the gear legs are just basic parts without any of their detailing or actuators added yet. And yes.... the is a HUGE nose weight sitting in the fuselage to get that model to balance on its gear! Time to start working on the cockpit! Interestingly, the RB-57A was either a 3 seat arrangement (when designed and used by the Brits) or a 2 seat arrangement after being bought by the USAF in the late 1950s. Also, after some research, it seems that the USAF RB-57As COULD have a small window on each fuselage side behind the pilot or it might not, and it appears to be entirely random and arbitrary. So..... why cut and add windows if I don't have to? Also, why build anything behind the pilot's cockpit if it can't be seen anyway? On to the pics! The RB-57A appears to have had some sort of lining inside the fuselage, so I grabbed some fabric from my spares box and cut it to fit in each fuselage half. I used some sheet plastic and spare resin and plastic parts to add some detailing here and there. The wiring is all lead solder wire. Note the large fishing sinker that has been flattened with a hammer and added for nose weight as well as the support for the cockpit floor. The cockpit floor was made from sheet plastic. Its shape was attained through some judicious measuring as well as simple trial and error until I got what was wanted and needed. Note that the side console, main instrument panel, and other details are all spare resin parts. I cut and bent the main IP to give it the RB-57A's distinctive bend. I also added punched plastic discs for the instrument housings on the back of the panel as well as their cables made from more lead wire that was twisted together and routed over and down out of the way; all of which is visible from above through that big fishbowl canopy. Spare PE panels flesh out the side console. The rest of the cockpit parts are all from the spares box, as is the resin ejection seat. And last, note that the entire cockpit is offset to the left to allow for passage from the rear cockpit area all the way into the nose. Test fitting it all into the fuselage....... This should be enough to satisfy any prying pen light once it's all painted, although it's technically incomplete (without the rear cockpit section) and only "ballpark" accurate! This pic shows the addition of the engine intake housings and the exhaust fairings to the wings. As you might expect, their fit was marginal requiring some epoxy putty (Apoxysculp) to blend them in and eliminate steps. There's a home cast engine fan face in the rear of each intake and you can see the separate shock cones made for each one, designed so they can be added at the end of the build. The shock cones came from the spares box, but I did have to shorten them and use Apoxysculpt to give them their "bullet" noses. The exhausts each have some plastic hypo-tubing to give them some depth as well as a spare parts flame dampener up inside each; again just to satisfy any probing pen lights! Except for having primed the wings, that's where things stand as of today. Next up is to paint the cockpit parts and then assemble the fuselage, which I hope to have done by the end of the week. More pics when more significant progress has been made. Questions, comments, and critiques welcome, as always! Gil

MiniArt's M3 Stuart light tank series continues with the M3 Stuart Hybrid Tank. We have the CADs & features of the kit in our preview...Read on... »

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Four of the five of us (Jensen is lost) join forces with our good friend Sam Dwyer to talk about his YouTube Channel, Scale ACT 2025 and His Best Aircraft Medal, new Kotare releases and more! 

We also discuss Strategies for when your Mojo is high but life is preventing you from spending time at the bench! 

Join us for some thought provoking discussion about scale models! 

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References for Modelers 19: Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat by Kagero Publishing is a specialized reference book aimed at scale modelers and aviation enthusiasts. It provides detailed visual references, photographs, and technical information about the Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat, a prominent World War II U.S. Navy fighter aircraft.

References for Modelers 19: Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat includes:

The Tamiya F-35 kits are some of the best in any scale so it is not unusual to see aftermarket companies produce parts to try and improve them. In this case, Aires has created a replacement set for the F-35A exhaust nozzle.

The Tamiya kit parts are really nice, so what does Aires offer to make you spend a bit more modeling money? Let’s take a look.

The set includes 3 resin parts, which are almost a direct drop-in replacement for the 4 parts Tamiya molded. The instructions indicate where you need to cut to remove the parts from the supports. You do have to trim a small bit off of kit part A5, but that is easily accomplished.

The YB-52, one of two prototypes of the B-52, first flew on October 2, 1952. Little did anyone at Boeing or in the U.S. Air Force conceive that later models of the B-52 would still be flying over 70 years later! A total of 744 B-52s, of 8 different models, were produced by Boeing, with the last one, a B-52H, being rolled off the assembly line on October 26, 1962.

Written by Ben Skipper, this book does an excellent job of covering the B-52 (also known as the “BUFF”), including a modeler’s section. There are 100 pictures, and 24 full-color side views of various B-52s from the A models up to the current operational B-52Hs.

Background and Historical Notes

From The Kit Manufacturer’s Notes:

Bronco NOGS US Attack Aircraft

In 1970, two OV-10A Bronco aircraft were modified to evaluate their nighttime combat capabilities. The modification was designated NOGS—Night Observation Gunship System. The aircraft received an extended nose section with a turret housing a forward-looking infrared system and laser rangefinder (FLIR) in its lower half. Under the mid-fuselage, engineers mounted a turret with a 20mm General Electric M197 three-barrel cannon, which was aimed using FLIR.

Background

Atlantis Model Company was founded in 2009 by the former owners of Megahobby.com, Peter Vetri and Rick DelFavero. Atlantis manufactures injection-molded plastic model kits and hobby-related products. When they started Megahobby.com back in 2000, they had dreams of becoming more than just another retail hobby shop. They wanted to become an actual model production company like the Aurora Model Co. and Revell-Monogram. As Megahobby grew, it gave them the opportunity to create Atlantis and finally come out with our own branded model kits. On August 29th, 2018, Atlantis purchased the tooling for many plastic model kits from the new owners of Revell, Revell Inc. USA-Blitz Partners. These molds were from the tooling banks of Monogram, Revell, Aurora and Renwal, some dating back to the early 1950's.

ICM has been releasing quality kits, figure sets, and recently paints to support their vast library of releases. Today, we see a set dedicated to WWI Armored Vehicles. These are water-based acrylic paints that can be brushed as is or airbrushed after thinning with either distilled water or ICM brand thinner. They come in screw top bottles that are wide-mouth and not dropper bottles, so I used my handy pipette to dole out smaller quantities for testing.

What’s Inside the Box

This set includes six 12mL plastic bottles featuring the following colors:

In case you were not aware, last year Squadron joined up with Scale Colors to release a line of paints that include sets as well as individual colors. These paints are acrylic and are best thinned with a 50–50 mix of water (I prefer distilled water) and isopropyl alcohol or using the Squadron Scale Colors Thinner (product SCW001). This set is designed for use with an airbrush, and I would highly recommend it.

What really drew me to this release was the Aussie option! The Australians started getting the UH-60M in 2023, and traditionally they use it for long-range search and rescue in the Outback and over the ocean, making for some unique configurations. Academy has a long history with the Black Hawk mold, and they’ve taken full advantage of its popularity with new parts. In addition to the A60-001 import model, Academy has everything in this box to fit out a full Australian import version of the Black Hawk. Builds of the M seem few and far between, so I’ve tried to hit a lot of detail in this review for the competitive builder.

For everyone who wants instant gratification, let’s start with the pros and cons, then transition to the details!

In a rather surprise move IMHO a manufacturer has come up with a cryptid scale model. Earlier this year, Pegasus Models has released the Mothman.

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Show Outline:
Hello Geeks!!  Welcome to another Special Episode of the Modelgeeks Podcast!  Nemo leads the way with Frilldo, and special guest Mark Robson from Kotare!  Mark provides an update on the newly announced 1/32 P-47D Razorback and 1/32 Bf-109E-4!!  Mark also gives us some updates on the 1/32 Spitfire Mk.I PR Type A, 1/32 Spitfire Mk.Vb Early, 1/32 Hurricane Mk.I, and the 1/48 Halifax! 

Kotare has been working hard to overcome the tariff issue in the USA, but recommend you purchase directly from Kotare to avoid any issues with shipping or tariffs.  Order directly at: www.kotare-models.com  

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If you can't make it to the shows then you can still interact with us through social media, Facebook, Instagram, email, and our new website.   contact@modelgeekspodcast.com
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Links to Episodes, “Meet the Geeks”, What's on our Bench, Listener Gallery, and some Gee-Dunk!  Email us pics of your completed models and we’ll place them in the Listener Gallery.  We want to see what’s on your  bench.  

Be sure to check out the full Kotare 1/32 Bf-109K-4 Test Shot Build tab on the main page of our website. Nemo did a great job completing the kit so check out what can be achieved with the incredible Kotare 1/32 109K-4.  You'll find a complete write up, along with pics and detailed descriptions of the build.

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Thank You’s!!
Hope you enjoy Special Episode #3 with Mark Robson.  Thanks again to Mark and Frilldo for making the podcast on short notice.  Be excellent to each other and get out there and build something!  -Out from the Geeks! 

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Spalah Model presents their latest 3D-designed & resin-printed kit. The detailed M777A2 howitzer in 35th scale. We look at the gun & the CADs in our preview...Read on... »

This next build is the Hasegawa 1/48 scale A-4M Skyhawk. I chose this particular build for a couple of reasons. I have already built a few aircraft related to the “Blacksheep” Squadron and since November 10th was the U.S. Marine Corp 250th Birthday I decided this would be a proper build. I will be using Eduard’s photo etch detail set and Cutting Edge Decals . The A-4M Skyhawks Part 2 set CED48194. The kit also comes with decals for VMA-214 but I had purchased the Cutting Edge set prior to buying this kit so the decals may end up being a mix of kit and aftermarket decals. As usual the first section to be built is the cockpit. The ejection seat was the first to be tackled. The kit seat is six parts but the photo etch detail set has twenty five parts. After removing the kit levers and handles I replaced these with the photo etch replacements and painted the seat. I added the seatbelts and warning placards to finish off the ejection seat. The instrument panel was sanded down smooth and the photo etch sections were installed. I used clear gloss paint for the gauges and displays to replicate the glass faces. For the cockpit tub I sanded down the side panels and replaced them with the photo etch ones. The kit pedals were cut off and replaced with the photo etch versions. The control stick, instrument panel, and pedal assembly were installed completing the cockpit. I then prepared the inside of the fuselage for the cockpit area. I still need to detail the nose wheel bay and the rest of the inside of the fuselage and engine area before I can close up the fuselage. I am hoping to have the fuselage closed up by the end of the week. You can see all the photos and details from the start in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-a-4m-skyhawk-vma-214/

Welcome to the Modelgeeks podcast!!  Episode 113 has Nemo at the controls, with Frilldo, Whitey, El Prez, and a Special Guest Host, Spencer Pollard!!  Yep!  We have Spencer for the entire episode which is always a treat! 

On Ep. 113, we start off with what's in our Model World, then jump into Mail Call, and into "Listener Spotlight" where each of us discuss a specific modeler and their masterpiece.  We also highlight all of our Gallery submissions and posts on Social Media.  We want to hear from you, so please keep sending pics of your models.  Finally, Spencer talks all about Scale Model Challenge (SMC). 

A huge thank you to all of our listeners for their continued support and we hope to see you all at the next show.  

Contact the Geeks:
You can always contact us through Facebook, Instagram, or email:  contact@modelgeekspodcast.com
Make sure you check out our group / community on Facebook:
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***NEW MODELGEEKS WEBSITE!!!!***
Please check out our new website!!  www.modelgeekspodcast.com
We have links to our Episodes, “Meet the Geeks”, "What's on our Bench", a "Listener Gallery", and our Gee-Dunk Store!!  Keep emailing us pics of your completed models and keep the pics coming!

We also have new T-Shirts with the revised logo for sale.  Keep an eye out for them at shows we attend.  We're working on developing a system to be able to sell them online, and we'll pass the info as soon as we have it. 

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When you have the time, pay a visit to their web sites, and have a look at their fine products:

Tamiya USA, Furball Aero-Design, Detail and Scale, Sprue Brothers, LionHeart Hobby, Bases by Bill, Hypersonic Models, Matters of Scale, and Kotare Models

Fellow Podcasts:
Thanks to all the other amazing modeling podcasts. Hopefully, someday we’ll earn our podcast wings and be able to keep up with those guys!  Please check them out at Scale Model Podcasts.

Blogs:
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Sprue Pie with Frets
Matters of Scale
Model Airplane Maker
Inch High Guy

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Thank You’s!!
Alright, alright, alright!!  That’s it for now!  I hope you enjoy the latest podcast.  Be excellent to each other and get out there and build something!  

-Out from the Geeks! 

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Tools-You can never have enough. You don’t need it until you need it. With the return of Squadron they are developing their own line of modeling products. In this case it is high quality sprue cutters. Squadron has developed THREE different types of sprue cutters, each for a specific purpose.

For this review, let’s look at the top of the line, the High Precision Sprue Cutter, Stock # 12103. This particular cutter comes in a vacuformed sleeve with a cardboard backing. Inside of the sleeve are obviously the cutters but also a quality leather pouch that protects the cutting surfaces when not in use. It is even labelled with the cool Squadron logo.