IPMSUpdates
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“In far Alaska’s icy spray, I stand beside my binnacle
And scan the waters through the fog for fear some rocky pinnacle
Projecting from unfathomed depths may break my hull asunder
And place my name upon the list of those who made a blunder
Volcanic peaks beneath the waves are likely any morning
To smash my ships to tiny bits without the slightest warning
I dread the toll from reef and shoal that rip off keel and rudder
And send our bones to Davey Jones – the prospect
makes me shudder
The Bering Sea is not for me nor my fleet headquarters
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This is number 140 in the now very familiar Warpaint series from Guideline and covers the NA OV-10 Bronco. This volume has 104 pages with over 20 pages of color profiles and 250 B&W and color images.
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A new resin detail set from Brengun to add or replace 1/48 scale LAU-115 & LAU-127 missile rail launchers for all the variants of the F/A-18 Hornet, Super Hornet, and Growler.
In The Box
There are six (6) resin-poured parts. Two (2) are of the LAU-115 rail launcher with ECP-422 jettison adapters molded in plus two mounting shackles. The other four (4) are the LAU-127 rail launcher. They are designed to be used to launch the AIM-9 Sidewinder or AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. Paper instructions are printed on one side and very well illustrated.
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This set is designed to provide replacement parts for Zvezda’s Pe-8 bomber kit. The package includes two complete sets of main gear struts and actuators and a new single-piece casting of the tailwheel fork assembly.
As with most of SAC’s landing gear sets, the metal main gear struts and actuator parts are intended to be one-for-one replacements for the kit parts. The parts are well cast, however, in my sample, one of the strut assemblies that hold the main gear wheels was misaligned (see photo), fortunately, as the white metal is easily manipulated, I was able to straighten it up with no issues.
SAC elected to cast the tailwheel fork as a single piece rather than as two parts as Zvezda did.I think this was a great decision as it eliminates the joint where the two kit parts meet, which could become a weak point over time.
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Fellow IPMS Members,
Happy Presidents' Day! We are all looking forward to a new year for IPMS/USA including the much-anticipated National Convention in Madison Wisconsin July 17-20. 2023 was a challenging year for IPMS/USA for a variety of reasons. But it was also a year of some significant accomplishments. Here are some things we did as a society that we can all be proud of.
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Based on the original 2014 Lastkraftwagen 3,5 t AHN German Army Truck kit, this kit adds a field kitchen and loads of accessories to kit it out. Field kitchens were used to provide hot meals to Wehrmacht soldiers in the field- either directly into the soldiers’ pots or into special large thermoses for delivery to units a bit farther away. They were often pulled by horses or towed behind vehicles- but this particular version was served out of the back of the truck. Soldiers’ humor gave the field kitchens the name ‘Gulaschkanone’ (‘Goulash Cannon’) for what was often served out of them.
The kit comes in ICM’s typical box art cover that slips over the front closing hinged cardboard box. Inside are nine sprues of gray styrene, a clear sprue, seven vinyl tires, and a decal sheet featuring two schemes and labels for the kitchen equipment and supplies.
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What is in the Box
- 4 gray injection molded plastic sprues
- 1 clear sprue
- 1 decal sheet with 4 markings options
- 1 instruction book
The North American OV-10 Bronco was designed as COIN [Counter Insurgency] light attack aircraft with VSTOL [vertical and/or short take-off and landing ] capability. IT was primarily introduced to USMC and USN squadrons which was the intended customer. The USAF however was interested in this airframe as a FAC [Forward Air Control] aircraft to replace the Cessna L-19/O-1 ‘Bird Dog’ & Cessna O-2 Skymaster.
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A new release from Ammo, the Atom metallic paint set contains 12 bottles (see list below) consisting of nine well-known metallic colors used in virtually all military and civilian scale model subjects, as well as red, green and blue metallic colors. The paints are water-based acrylics, non-toxic and odorless, and can be air brushed or brush painted. Each 20ml plastic bottle has a snap lid and contains a mixing ball. Of note, there are eight different Atom sets on the Ammo website. The Ammo acrylic thinner comes in a 60 ml snap lid plastic bottle.
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Reviewer’s Comments:
A new release from Ammo, the Atom metallic paint set contains 12 bottles (see list below) consisting of nine well-known metallic colors used in virtually all military and civilian scale model subjects, as well as red, green and blue metallic colors. The paints are water-based acrylics, non-toxic and odorless, and can be air brushed or brush painted. Each 20ml plastic bottle has a snap lid and contains a mixing ball. Of note, there are eight different Atom sets on the Ammo website. The Ammo acrylic thinner comes in a 60 ml snap lid plastic bottle.
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A new resin detail set from Brengun to add or replace 1/48th scale USN 150 gallon drop tanks for the A-4 Skyhawk.
In The Box
There are four (4) resin poured parts, two are of the tanks and the other two are of the tail and mounting shackles (supporting rings). A photoetched (PE) brass sheet includes tail fins. Paper instructions are printed on one side and very well illustrated.
Review Process
The process starts out by cutting away the pour stubs from the drop tanks. This was done with a seam scrapper and hobby knife. Once detached, I wet sanded the surface to reduce any airborne resin dust. Next, I washed the resin parts in a bath of warm water with dishwash soap and used an old toothbrush to scrub away any remaining mold release agent.
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A new photoetched detail set from Brengun to add WWII 1/48th gunsights to your German machine guns.
In The Package
There is one sheet of photoetched (PE) brass that includes four (4) different styles of gunsights. Paper instructions are printed on one side and very well illustrated.
In the instructions, the style of gunsights is noted with the German term “Visiereinrichtung” which translates to “sighting devise” in English. The gunsights noted are:
- Visiereinrichtung VL266 for: MG15, MG17, MG131 machine guns
- Visiereinrichtung VL41 for: MG-FF machine gun
- Visiereinrichtung VE22 for: MG81, MG81Z machine guns
- Visiereinrichtung 15 for: MG15 machine gun
CONCLUSIONS
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One of IPMS/USA's goals in the next 6-12 months is to build more awareness of our society through the use of social media platforms. While we already have an active Facebook presence, the obvious first addition is YouTube. And the perfect entry into video content is to build awareness of the efforts of our IPMS/USA Reviewer Corps.
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Valiant Wings Publishing was founded in 2010 under the guidance of Richard A. Franks and Mark Peacock. Valiant Wings has released several series of primarily airplane monographs [Airframe & Miniature, Airframe Album and Airframe Detail series] with the first Airframe Album dedicated to the Heinkel He 219 ‘Uhu’ released in 2012.
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The Tupolev Tu-2, along with the Petlyakov Pe-2, are arguably two of the most eye-pleasing twin-engine attack aircraft of World War II. In 1/72 scale, the Airfix Pe-2 has been available to modelers since the 60’s. An injection-molded Tu-2 kit in this scale was finally boxed by ICM in the late 90’s.
The “T” is the torpedo-toting version of the venerable attacker, and the sprues containing the torpedoes, pylons and support struts are clean and crisp – comparable I suspect to recent ICM releases. However, the remaining sprues have to be first-mold, and are heavily draped in flash. The plastic is also very soft – similar to new Airfix kits – and the sprues gates are thick and ill-placed, like a Trumpeter kit. My review deadline for this build came and went partially because I spent an inordinate amount of time carefully cleaning parts and removing sprue nibs. Builder be warned.
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The Tupolev Tu-2, along with the Petlyakov Pe-2, are arguably two of the most eye-pleasing twin-engine attack aircraft of World War II. In 1/72 scale, the Airfix Pe-2 has been available to modelers since the 60’s. An injection-molded Tu-2 kit in this scale was finally boxed by ICM in the late 90’s.
The “T” is the torpedo-toting version of the venerable attacker, and the sprues containing the torpedoes, pylons and support struts are clean and crisp – comparable I suspect to recent ICM releases. However, the remaining sprues have to be first-mold, and are heavily draped in flash. The plastic is also very soft – similar to new Airfix kits – and the sprues gates are thick and ill-placed, like a Trumpeter kit. My review deadline for this build came and went partially because I spent an inordinate amount of time carefully cleaning parts and removing sprue nibs. Builder be warned.
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When it comes to the military history of Africa, it is a checkerboard of a multitude of generally smaller conflicts precipitated by a host of issues, from civil war to ethnic tensions to the demise of colonialism. Having an interest in military history, especially air warfare, I am intrigued by what lies hidden from my knowledge of the people, equipment, motivations, strategies, and the shaping of the history of this continent.
The Africa@War series divides this vast topic into bite-sized, localized fare that brings all of these nuances of the movement of history to light. This title brings to light the erosion of Portugal’s colonial hold on Portuguese Guinea, and the role of air warfare in the conflict.
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The Republic F-84F was an attempt to increase the performance of the already proven straight wing F-84 versions. Although it had sleek lines and looked like a fighter, it was plagued by the same problem most aircraft of the era had, a lack of powerful jet engine technology. Despite its short comings, the Thunderstreak was pressed into service with the USAF and numerous NATO countries mainly as a stop gap till better aircraft replaced it.
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New decals of the F-16A/B Vipers of the Caribbean in 1/48th scale is available from TwoBobs Aviation Graphics. Markings are for the 156 FG/FW (1992-1997) based out of Muniz Air National Guard Base, Puerto Rico.
In The Package
There are two (2) decal sheets provided. One is for the F-16A version with the colorful 50th Anniversary tail markings. The second sheet has tail ID markings with F-16B stencils along with wing and engine stenciling. They are printed by Cartograf and have minimal excess clear film around the edges.
Overall, this has markings for 20 aircraft with stencils to do two (2) complete aircraft.
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The book was written by Ralph Ricco, Mario Pier and Danielle Guglielmi and is the first volume in a series on an area not covered very well before.
This volume covers military vehicles from 1920’s until the end of WW2 within the types of Motorcycles, Cars, and Light Trucks. The book has so many great pictures and technical drawings. The details covered are very in-depth even including tire types and treads.
Every vehicle is covered as to its development and service history, technical description, and full specifications. There are also a few color profile pictures in the center of the book.
There are so many vehicles that I was not aware of and gives a lot of ideas for kits for the future.
I must admit I was amazed at the content of the photos.
I highly recommend this book!
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A Very Brief History theKrankenpanzerwagen
The Krankenpanzerwagen is another lesser-known version of the Sd.Kfz. 251 and as such a lightly armored semi-tracked vehicle—in plain English, it’s an ambulance.
From the manufacturer’s webpage, this is how ICM describes this vehicle:
“Sd.Kfz.251/8 Ausf.A WWII German Ambulance
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A Very Brief History the Krankenpanzerwagen
The Krankenpanzerwagen is another lesser-known version of the Sd.Kfz. 251 and as such a lightly armored semi-tracked vehicle—in plain English, it’s an ambulance.
From the manufacturer’s webpage, this is how ICM describes this vehicle:
Sd.Kfz.251/8 Ausf.A WWII German Ambulance
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The Douglas built A-20 havoc first flew on October 26, 1938. Designed by Jack Northrop and Ed Heinemann, Douglas produced over 7000 of them, making it the most produced light bomber. The Douglas A-20 Havoc (known as the Boston by the British) was a light attack bomber, powered by two R-2600–23 engines, each producing 1600 hp and turning a 13' 3” Hamilton Standard propeller. Riding on a wing span of 61 feet 3 1/2 inches, it reached a maximum speed of 325 miles an hour at 14,500 feet.
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Italeri has brought out the long awaited 1/32 scale Macchi MC.202 Folgore (Italian for Thunderbolt) just in time for the 100th anniversary of the Regia Aeronautica (RA; Royal Italian Air Force). The MC.202 was a development of the earlier C.200 Saetta, which was a radial engine design. The MC.202 used the Italian built version of the German Daimler-Benz DB 601A engine and a redesigned more streamlined fuselage. Considered to be one of the best wartime fighters to serve in large numbers with the Regia Aeronautica, the Folgore served on all fronts the Italians operated in.
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Brief History--From Wikipedia
The Go 244 was the powered version of the Gotha Go 242 military glider transport. Studies for powered versions of the Go 242 began early in the design of the glider, with one early proposal being for modification to allow a single Argus As 10C engine to be temporarily attached to the nose of the glider to allow recovery back to base after use. This idea was rejected, but the alternative of a permanently powered twin-engine version was taken forward.
New Review: McLaren MP4/2C 1:12 Scale Italeri 4711
in News and Reviews
Posted
The Subject:
The McLaren MP4/2C is a legendary Formula 1 racing car that debuted in the 1986 season. Designed by Gordon Murray, the MP4/2C was highly successful. The car featured an aerodynamic design and innovative technical advancements.
Powered by a turbocharged TAG Porsche engine combined with the car's lightweight construction and advanced aerodynamics, it was hailed as a marvel of engineering, pushing the boundaries of Formula 1 racing.
The talented McLaren team, led by the exceptional Alain Prost, enjoyed a remarkable 1986 season. Prost's stellar performance not only secured him the drivers' championship but also clinched the Constructors' Championship for McLaren. The MP4/2C's outstanding performance and reliability were pivotal factors in the team's triumphant campaign that year.
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