By Jose Angel García Martin
One of my favourite aircraft has always been the F4 Phantom. Since long ago, I wished I could make a 1/48 F4C of the Ejército del Aire (Spanish air force) but the kits available to carry out my project were too poor. It was then when this fabulous Academy kit that was the best fighter aircraft manufactured up to the moment appeared. I could not leave the opportunity of making my favourite aiplane of my beloved Ejército del Aire.
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By Carlos Escobar
This is the Dragon kit probably packaged only by Italeri. There is no variation regarding to details, even plastic is the same color. There are no improvements and the same limited number of parts, what obliged me to work a lot to improve the model interior and exterior.
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By Michael Capell
No sooner had I finished the Wingnut Wings Roland , than the Hansa Brandenberg out of its box, same day actually, and it is big. There is something about the Hansa that set it apart from other aircraft, even from a distance there is no mistaking it . Several other manufactures have produced it in smaller scales versions , but a combination of modern moulding techniques and Wingnuts reputation will set this one apart from the rest.
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By Walter Silva
This Eduard kit can be compared with any Tamiya or Hasegawa release, dimensions of scale model are accurate if you take as reference the scale plans from Windsock Datafile Special "Nieuport Fighters Volume 1". It’s important to mention the detailed El Rhone engine and the three-piece figure the kit provides, something that can be used in dioramas.
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By Claudio Kalicinski
This kit is a release from Eduard company (kit 8024) and represents the version used by the Royal flying Corps. The box supplies decals for two versions but I chose the one flown by Captain William Avery Bishop . This is a high quality kit which can be improved even more, a good help for this was the PE set from Eduard (48249). However, and due to the fact that Eduard used only one mold to release several versions of Niuport 17, some details typical of each version were omitted since each company equipped their aircraft in a different way, this is why the kit needed some changes, modifications and improvements.
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By Francisco Soldan Alfaro
Fortunately, this beautiful aircraft is on the market in 1/72 scale from Huma Models in the V103 version of the Ju288C. Another 1/72 kit, vacuum- formed and with perfect finish of the Ju288 A V3 had previously been released by Airmodel.
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By Claudio Kalicinski
The kit offers two versions: the Italian of the 78 Squadriglia and the other is the Belgian fighter piloted by Willy Coppens who scored 37 victories flying Hanriots, becoming not only the maximum Belgian ace but also developing an especial expertise in shooting down enemy observation balloons. I decided to represent the machine piloted by Coppens in mid 1918. It’s a Hanriot HD.1 that belonged to the 9me escadrille “Le Chardon”
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By Gary Wickham
The infamous Dragon P-51D in 1/32. This model was started before Tamiya announced their kit, and I have to admit that during this build I did consider scrapping it more than once. In the end, I am very glad I did not. Despite the challenges and limitations of this kit, I am very happy (and proud) of the end result.
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By Claudio Kalicinski
Although the model is really nice, I decided to improve it a little bit by adding details that give the appearance of fragility unique of WWI airplanes. Also, I chose a very colourful machine, the one flown by Ltn. Ulrich Neckel while he was CO of the Jasta 6 in the last months of the war.
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By Jorge Juarez
After having been withdrawn from the US Army, it was transferred to the Argentine Army arriving to the country on December 24th 1992 piloted by Lieutenant colonel Carlos Spika. It was assigned to the 603 squadron for pilots’ training purposes. Then, it was destined to the 601 Squadron, first operative unit of this airplane.
COMMENTS (1)
By Jaime Pastor Pueyo
The aircraft that I have represented (SN 270434), has the peculiarity of having a great stain of white smoke that it can be seen from the exhaust to almost the tail, covering partially the fuselage red star. No other P-63 I have seen on photographs had this smoke stain so big. I started this model one year ago, although after a while working on it, I got tired and I moved it away for a while, until I found a picture with the white smoke stain that impressed me so much that I immediately took it up again.
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By Jaime Pastor Pueyo
Vought Corsair Mk.II 'Pacific Pirate' - sub Lt Don Sheppard, 1836 sqn, HMS Victorious, January 1945. Not all the Corsairs sported the USAAF markings during the Second World War. Lots of them fought with the Fleet Air Arm from the aircraft carriers HMS Illustrious, Victorious or Formidable: they were the fearsome “Pacific Pirates”. And one of their best pilots, the Canadian Lt Donald J. Sheppard was the onlyone that achieved the As distinction with the Corsair, obtaining four of his five confirmed shoot downs from the Mk.II JT410 and his fifth one from the Mk.II JT537, 4th, 1945.
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By Claudio Kalicinski
The Spad XIII is one of the most famous WW1 fighters as it was the main mount for many of France s top aces including Rene Fonck and Charles Nungesser as it was for many of the US aces including Eddie Rickenbacker and Frank Luke.
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By Michael Capell
Well who saw this coming? Right out of the blue Wingnut Wing enter centre stage with no less than four original releases and all in 1/32 scale, incredible . When this company first appeared last year there was no fanfare or announcements, they just open a first class web site and sat back to see what happens. I can imagine the enjoyment they got seeing the surprise and amazement this created. For this article I chose the SE 5 from the four models available, reason being this one is the simplest to build and paint.
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By Jose Angel García Martin
This Project took me one year of work. The entire scheme was entirely painted without using any decal, and as I’m not an artistic painter, I didn’t use the airbrush. Everything was achieved alternatively as you’ll see.
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By Giulio Marrucci
The only kit available on market of this valuable chopper in 48th scale is from Academy. Nice kit, well detailed even if to obtain an exact replica is necessary to add some improvement, most of them in the interiors. The box content allows 5 different options to build this kit, 3 dedicated to the Navy and 2 to the Marines.
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By Jose Angel García Martin
When I started to think about this project, I knew it would be a problem since there’s not a kit available in the market for the Mirage III EE I intended to build. Thus, I began looking for kits to be able to accomplish it, I also looked for seats, cockpit and so. Finally, I decided to use the Eduard Mirage IIIC and a transkit from Aconcagua Models.
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By Jose Angel García Martin
This articles aims at sharing with the reader, the work accomplished to build a model of the F-5A on service of the Spanish army of the air, using the old kit from Classic Airframes.This is not a kit for novices, in fact, I had to make many modifications and scratch, the fit of resin parts provided is not good and needs a lot of work to get an acceptable result. As always when I finish a model based on certain kit, appears a better one, anyway, I’m satisfied with the final result.
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By Claudio Kalicinski
I decided to scratchbuild this plane after seeing the scale drawings by Mike Fletcher in his web site: The Nieuport Pages. I sent an E-mail to him and he kindly sent me pictures and larger resolution scale drawings. Once I enlarged the plans to 1/48, I noticed how big the plane was....
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By Claudio Kalicinski
This Gavia kit was manufactured by Eduard, and reaches the quality and design of recent releases from both companies. The kit comprises two sprues of parts, there aren't a lot of them, but that doesn't mean the kit isn't detailed. The decals are in excellent register and are some of the thinnest that I have yet seen. Two different early Scouts “C” versions are provided, one being No. 1611, flown by Captain Lanoe Hawker on his VC flights and the other No. 1250, a machine of the RNAS, during 1915. This plane has the red and white roundels on the wings and the Union Jack on the fuselage sides. This last version is the one I decided to replicate.
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By Jose I. Hernandez Diez
I have always been completely captivated by this fantastic aircraft, and in late 2006, when I decided to assemble it, the only model available was the 1/48 Monogram's kit ( still the Kinetic and Italeri didn't have been issued). It's an old kit that shares parts with the A-6 Intruder, Monogram modified some parts and other were discarded. The raised panel lines the lack of details makes this kit as obsolete comparing with nowadays the industry offers. I had to deal with endless amount of errors I will talk about later in the article.
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By Giovanni Galvan
The Grumman Avenger needs no presentation, being one of the most famous protagonists of the Pacific War. But until the 90’s, there was in 1/48 scale only an old Monogram toy-style model, until Accurate Miniatures released a “state-of-the-art” mold, which is still one of the best kits ever done. Now the mold is also released by Italeri, at lower price, and it’s very recommendable to all modelers.
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By Michael Mass
The 1/32 Spitfire Mk. IXe No. 26 project from the 101st IAF squadron has finally been completed. The Pitot tube was added after the photos were taken. The base kit is the excellent Tamiya #60319, which includes magnets for removable upper and side engine fairings. The conversion to the Mk. IXe version involved replacing the main guns and the upper and lower service covers for the outboard 20mm guns.
By Allon Kira
By Allon Kira
By Gary Wickham
Eduard has recently released a new tooled Hawker Tempest Mk.V family in 1:48 scale. I have the Mk.V Series 1 ProfiPACK (82121) kit as well as the Big SIN (64856) set which includes a full Brassin Cockpit, Exhausts, Wheels and Landing Flaps. I also have some of the Barracuda Studios correction sets including the spinner and radiator intake. I'll highlight all these goodies (and compare them to the kits parts) as I progress through the build
By Allon Kira
The model is characterized by a good level of details and an excellent level of accuracy. The build was done without any special issues. I assembled it directly out of the box except for two minor additions: Eduard WWII seat belts for Japanese aircraft and Eduard canopy mask for A6M3 – EUEX318, although the kit included canopy masks, but I was not aware of the matter when ordering the kit.
By David Guardia
Eduard is characterized by making authentic jewels, both in aftermarkets and full kits. The 1/72 scale is being seen often, benefited with the appearance of models like this one. Inside the boxes called "profipack", which include masks and photo etches, we find kits with some exquisite pieces. The objective of this tutorial is to share my experience during the construction and painting of this model, with problems and solutions I found.
By Gary Wickham
There has been quite a buzz around this release for one simple reason. Its a "Snap Tite" kit. Ok, so MENG refer to it as "Cement-Free Assembly" but whatever you call it, you are meant to assemble it without the need for glue. Normally this type of engineering is reserved for the basic, beginner style kits to make it easier for novices to construct their first model without making a mess with all that pesky glue. We have come to expect such kits to be very basic, often lacking detail with low part counts, to suite beginners.
By Jose Angel García Martin
The aircraft I’m representing here belonged to the Cyclons of the US Navy and I considered to build it due to its attractive camouflage even the radar cone what makes it very interesting for the modeler. Its yellow and sand colors weathering and “washes” were the final push that made me take the decision of choosing this version. My idea was to represent the aircraft in its first stages of the Ejercito del Aire. The aim of this tutorial is to share with the reader the work, with simple techniques and materials available to all, it can be easily reproduced by a less experienced modeller.
By Jaime Pastor Pueyo
I bought this kit years ago but, as usual, it ended up in the shelves close to dozens of boxes. However, someday I found a photo in a book, and I remembered where the kit was stored. When I opened the box, I could not put it away again.
By Jose Angel García Martin
In the air base of Zargoza located 270 km west of Barcelona and 262 km northeast of Madrid, took place the Tiger Meet 2016 which congregated many airplanes from different air forces that have some squadron of this kind. As it’s traditional for this meeting, the planes use to have special decorations that are always in reference to the “Tiger” . In this case, one of the most spectacular and attractive was the Mirage 2000 D belonging to the French L’Armee de l’Air, showing a beautiful tiger decoration in the fuselage and Spanish flags painted in the tail and wings. Just by looking at the pictures, I told myself “I have to do it one way or another”.
By Jose Angel García Martin
One of my favourite aircraft has always been the F4 Phantom. Since long ago, I wished I could make a 1/48 F4C of the Ejército del Aire (Spanish air force) but the kits available to carry out my project were too poor. It was then when this fabulous Academy kit that was the best fighter aircraft manufactured up to the moment appeared. I could not leave the opportunity of making my favourite aiplane of my beloved Ejército del Aire.
By Carlos Escobar
This is the Dragon kit probably packaged only by Italeri. There is no variation regarding to details, even plastic is the same color. There are no improvements and the same limited number of parts, what obliged me to work a lot to improve the model interior and exterior.
By Fabrice Marechal
When I was asked to build the Italeri Mirage, I was really excited. I had dreamed since long ago with building and representing the weathering using new technologies on an aircraft. As some friends know, I’m colorblind and never could realize about the colors of an aircraft weathering. I used to build a lot of 1/72 Matchbox kits (some military vehicles) as a child , sometimes painting them. Anyway, nothing to do with the new techniques and besides, since the age of twelve, I’ve not touched a military kit.
By Jaime Pastor Pueyo
Only Tamiya offer several versions of the Bristol Beaufighter in 1/48 scale. Nevertheless, the only way to do the Mk.Ic is to transform and correct some minor errors starting from the Mk.IV that is the most similar. The kit itself is pretty good, there’s no significant differences with others of the same brand and scale, but the scarcely detailed cockpit and well wheels called my attention since are very visible and should be improved as much as possible.
By Gary Wickham
I built the kit mostly from the box (as no aftermarket was available at the time). As the Drakens came to the end of their service life, the airframes started to look dirty and tired. I have attempted to capture this in the painting and weathering of my model. I hope this article will be useful for novices and advanced modelers as I made some mods and corrections to the kit showing how to do it.
By Jose Angel García Martin
On 1 January 1945, the Fw190 A-8/R2 piloted by Walter Wagner was hit by flak during the attack over St. Trond airfield. The engine died and had to make and emergency landing, and was captured by the USAAF. This aircraft had black/white/black RVT bands to JG 4 and the emblem of the fuselage unit. The aim of this article is to show the two-option scheme of one of the most famous aircraft of the Second World War, Fw190.
By Jaime Pastor Pueyo
First impression the kit produced me was pleasure. Zvedza had made a great work in their incursion to this scale. Perhaps the quality is not comparable with the last news of the more well known brands, but we are speaking about a kit fully detailed comprising 110 parts with excellent fit and the weak point is the lack of details regarding ASh-82 FN engine. Though this does not mean a problem, if we compare the excellent Karaya resin engine or just as I did, we leave all the access doors closed, and the engine will not be visible, of course.
By Gary Wickham
I have always liked the P-61. I've had a couple of the old Monogram kit in my stash for as long as I can remember, but never found the motivation to undertake the rescribing and correcting project needed to bring that model up to speed. Along comes the Great Wall Hobby P-61. The first boxing received some justified criticism for glaring errors. To the great credit of GWH they corrected almost all of the problems in the second boxing (the so called "glass nose" P-61A). To date GWH have not released a P-61B.
By Gary Wickham
The infamous Dragon P-51D in 1/32. This model was started before Tamiya announced their kit, and I have to admit that during this build I did consider scrapping it more than once. In the end, I am very glad I did not. Despite the challenges and limitations of this kit, I am very happy (and proud) of the end result.
By Jose Angel García Martin
This Project took me one year of work. The entire scheme was entirely painted without using any decal, and as I’m not an artistic painter, I didn’t use the airbrush. Everything was achieved alternatively as you’ll see.