One of the earlier kits of the mighty Raptor, Italeri’s offering has often been accused of representing the YF-22 which it totally isn’t. In case the Italian company made a scale model of the prototype this kit is NOT it – the fuselage shape shows well in the images below.
Sprue A has most of the smaller details, as well as the armament on it. Nothing spectacular here, but those separate weapon-bay doors are designed with them posed open in mind. And whether you pose the bays closed or not – use all the parts to increase the strength of the model – after all it’s some 23 cm long and you don’t want it twisted.
It’s finally done. After the splattering nozzle my masterful hobby-time organizational skills delayed this pic set.
Tracks: as most of them is rubber – Revell 78 was used to mimicking the areas. Glued over the wheels (sand center + 78 again for the rubber bandages) with Loctite gel. Inserted Q-tips to provide the sag – worked like a charm!
Cupola vision blocks were done the following way:
– the recesses were brushpainted Tamiya XF-11;
– Revell enamel transparent blue was mixed with their own gloss cote and painted over the XF-11;
After delivering their exquisite MiG-21MF the Eduard crew went on to produce a number of sets to further improve the appearance of this important machine in 48th scale.
One of the areas that would definitely benefit from an aftermarket set are the tires. Dimensionally correct the kit items are really “bald” and flattening them could result in holes. This set replaces all three kit wheels with beautifully cast resin items, thread present on all three of them. Two hub options, etched details and masks are also included:
Alright, it’s been a while since I started this kit, and the source of the delay has been the overspray due to cracked airbrush nozzle. While waiting for a replacement I replaced most of the detail on the top.
I removed the antiskid plates (don’t ask – don’t tell) and re-did the antislip coating only. Few of the original plastic handholds are still in use, most were replaced with wire – as were the DML PE parts, since most were too flimsy and two-dimensional. I also added the rope tie-downs at the 4 corners.
This tiny, but important tank, is the third venture of OKB Grigorov into the “complete AFV kits” world. The set is completely made up of resin castings (23 parts) and etched metal (two frets with a total of 32 parts). It represents the later variety of the T-60: the road wheels and the idler are identical and maximum armor thickness reached 35mm.
To protect “the precious” the company has placed it in a small, sturdy box – everything carefully packed in bubble wrap.
Inside the T-60’s box
You can see that resin castings and the etched frets are in separate zip-lock bags to prevent loss, bending and scratching.
This Revell kit represents the main NATO version of recce Phantoms in 1/72. It’s the first of the Phantom kind in my collection, but certainly not the last one. My issue is set to depict eiher a commemorative all-black scheme for the disbandment of AG52 (Recce Group 52), or a regular AG51 “Immelman” bird, painted in the “Norm 83” pattern of three greens.
The attractive scheme is achieved using the decals below. The main artwork for the aircraft bottom has been pre-cut by Revell to match the various gear covers when open.
It is out and the world will never be the same. This blog has now also changed and I need to remove the “Braille scale” from the title… The definitive 21 so far – and not just in the Quarter scale.
Eduard 1/48 MiG-21 MF – box top
I am certainly not THAT mucher of a sucker for 21s to have ordered the special edition from Eduard, the Profipack will do (heh-heh). The box is literally packed with details on total of 8 sprues, 2 photoetched frets, two resin UB-16 FFAR pods, an express mask, as well as two decal sheets of monstrous proportions. Each of the 6 color options is represented in detail within the magazine-sized booklet.
This aircraft is – to me at least – at the top of the evolution pyramid amongst single-engined piston fighters. Years of design honing and fine-tuning have resulted in this series of the fastest, most maneuverable, most heavily-armed, the highest-flying and the most technologically advanced aircraft to date (1945). I was happy to get the kit and am more than willing to build it at first opportunity.
And it is rather good I have to say. First released in 1992 it features 90 parts according to my counting (78 in grey plastic, 2 transparent and 10 PE). Beyond the actual Ta-152 airframe parts there is a detailed engine bay (with engine and cannon), which could be posed open. Some have gone so far in criticizing the kit as to call it “over-engineered”, and hail the Aoshima H-0 and H-1 sets (which are based off the Dragon offering) as a better solution due to the small number of parts (about half the DML count) and lower price. I personally wouldn’t replace my kit for the Japanese one, and the pics below will tell you why.
The Nachtigall (Nightingale) is a radar-equipped variant of the Ar-234 jet bomber. It is armed with an underslung pod with two 20mm cannon, holding 200 rounds per gun.
Well, this is what the kit basically is – an armed bomber. So sprue A holds completely uneventluf stuff – common parts like fuselage, horizontal stabilizers, undercarriage, and even recce cameras intended for the bomber.
Sprue A
Sprue B has the wings, engines, and cockpit section – the whole nose is a separate unit to allow for construction of various versions. Each Jumo engine is made up by two halves, an inlet with integrally molded compressor face, and an exhaust “egg” – much similar to the Revell’s Me-262 (or vice-versa?).
A member of the “Golden Wings” series from the early 90s this kit represents a Luft ’46 aircraft. Me-1101’s partially completed prototype was captured by US forces at the end of WW2. It later flew in The States as Bell X-5, the first aircraft with variable wing geometry. The radar-and-missiles equipped night fighter you see below must only have been a paper-only project…
Me-1101 Nachjager, Dragon 5014 – box top
The original aircraft did not feature a T-tail, it might as well have been a Dragon invention. Anyway – liked the look of the thing and when opportunity came I snatched the kit off EvilBay. It arrived in excellent condition and revealed a curious packaging pattern – all sprue bags and the decals placed in a big bag stapled to the side.
