Archives: Kit Reviews
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Dragon M65 Atomic Annie
FineScale Modeler reviews Dragon’s 1/72 scale plastic model military vehicle kit. On May 25, 1953, at the Nevada Proving Ground, the M65 became the first artillery to fire an atomic shell. Dragon’s new Black Label 1/72 scale tooling of the M65 contains 268 parts molded in light gray plastic with clear styrene windows. Three marking choices…
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Kitty Hawk 1/48 scale F9F-8/-8P Cougar
FineScale Modeler reviews the Kitty Hawk 1/48 scale F9F-8/-8P Cougar scale plastic aircraft model. This is the first 1/48 scale injection-molded kit of Grumman’s swept-wing Cougar since … well, since forever. The Cougar was the principal carrier-borne fighter of the mid-1950s, paving the way between the straight-wing jets of the Korean War period (Panthers and…
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Zoukei-Mura 1/32 scale Horten 229
FineScale Modeler reviews Zoukei-Mura’s 1/32 scale Horten 229 scale plastic aircraft model. The Horten Ho 229 has to be one of the most futuristic aircraft designs to take to the air during World War II. The Horten brothers’ design was so far ahead of its time that in the early 1980s a team from Northrop-Grumman,…
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Airfix Folland Gnat T.1
FineScale Modeler reviews Airfix’s 1/48 scale plastic model airplane kit. I didn’t know much about the Gnat, a British fighter turned trainer, but I was expecting a model similar in size to the T-38 or Fouga Magister. Nope: This ornithological wonder is small, Cessna 182-size — actually the 182 is larger. I checked the scale twice.…
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Airfix Dornier Do 17Z
FineScale Modeler reviews Airfix’s 1/72 scale plastic model airplane kit. My first impression of Airfix’s new 1/72 scale Dornier Do 17Z? In a word, details! Fine surface and interior details grace the fuselage halves, wings, and nacelles, but it’s the array of additional parts for the cockpit and bomb bay that put this kit a cut…
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Kinetic Mirage IIIE
FineScale Modeler reviews Kinetic’s 1/48 scale plastic model aircraft kit. Kinetic’s new kit offers five versions of the Mirage III, including two French fighters and a French recon bird, a Spanish IIIEE, and an Australian IIIO. Don’t be alarmed at the number of parts — the kit provides a bunch of optional parts for the different…
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GWH Handley Page Victor B.2
Following its Vulcan, GWH brings us a Handley Page Victor B.2. Like its predecessor, this kit is a beauty, with finely engraved surface detail and nicely detailed wheel wells and speed-brake bay. The speed brakes can be posed open or closed. Decals provide a choice of three RAF bombers during the 1960s.
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ICM 1/35 scale Soviet ZIL-131
The ZIL-131 was one of the main Soviet/Russian trucks for most of the latter part of the 20th century. Production started in 1967 at the Ural Automotive works (AMUR) and continued until 2012, when the company went bankrupt and ceased operations. Several variants were built on the same chassis, including a tractor-trailer and a civilian…
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Tarangus 1/48 scale Viggen
Seeking a fighter capable of operating from short, improvised airstrips, Sweden turned to the Saab 37 Viggen. The delta-wing aircraft featured large canards to aid low-speed handling. The turbofan engine was equipped with a thrust reverser, allowing the aircraft to back up under its own power.
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Special Hobby 1/48 scale Supermarine Seafire Mk.III
FineScale Modeler reviews Special Hobby’s 1/48 scale Supermarine Seafire Mk.III plastic model airplane kit. The carrier version of the British Spitfire, the kit includes optional clipped wings, a photoetched-metal instrument panel, posable control surfaces, and photoetched-metal seat belts.