When I ordered Eduard’s MiG-21MF “Bunny Fighter” last fall, I remember wondering (and probably snarking about it somewhere) who in their right mind would build the garish “Bunny Fighter” scheme. As it turns out…me. My Bunny Fighter happened to arrive as I was outside with the kids, and when my son saw the box art,…
Category: Brass
On the Bench: 1/48 Hobby Boss Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a/U4
For the new year, the Scale Plastic & Rail forums are hosting a Messerschmitt group build that’s been gaining some crazy interest. My first thought, as I started pondering which Bf 109 I was going to build, was “there goes my resolution” – as for 2013 I’m planning to step back from World War II…
On the Bench: 1/32 Hasegawa P-47D-27 in French Service
On October 1, Scale Plastic & Rail kicked off its second group build, “In Foreign Colours”. I’m still in the home stretch on my stealth build, but I’m already casting my glance toward what’s next. I’d first aimed for Trumpeter’s 1/48 MiG-15bis, until I found it wasn’t going to be anything like a walk in…
How To: Replace the Gun Tubes on Tamiya’s P-51D Mustang
Tamiya’s 1/48 P-51D Mustang is generally heralded as one of the best-engineered plastic injection kits in existence. It is the epitome of a “shake-n-bake” kit, with phenomenal fit and generally exceptional detail. However, it does have some areas of disappointment. One of these is its representation of the P-51’s .50 caliber gun tubes. While they…
AFV Club Achilles Build Report 3: Decals, Details, and Track Issues
With World War II aircraft, I feel like I’ve found a pretty satisfactory build process. Obviously each bird has its own small variations, but for the most part, the process is at least similar. Not so with armor. The Achilles has been a logistical nightmare for me. A confused series of subassemblies that can’t come…
AFV Club Achilles Build Report 2: More Assembly + Paint
I can’t believe it’s been something like three weeks since I posted the last Achilles build report. Where does the time go? Work on the Achilles did slow down somewhat while I polished off the Mosquito NF Mk.II, but now it’s roaring ahead full steam. In this build report, a bit more assembly, then paint….
AFV Club Achilles Build Report 1: Not Like All the Other Tanks
I’ve built enough tanks to have a feel for the overall process. Much like aircraft, armor kits have a broadly similar buildup, that goes something like this: Wheels/suspension Lower hull Upper hull Turret Detail pieces, accessories, etc. Tracks So I was a bit thrown when the Achilles kicked off inside the hull. At first, I…
Review: Master Model P-47 Blast Tubes (MAM48002)
The P-47 was relatively unique among World War II fighters in that, instead of just dropping some machine guns into the wings and calling it a day, Republic designed the Jug’s eight .50 caliber Brownings to fire through long blast tubes. Why? Heck if I know. The P-40, P-51, Spitfire, Hellcat and Corsair all seemed…
On the Bench: 1/32 Eduard Bf-109E-7 Trop
I tend to keep a few projects on the bench at any one time. This way, if it’s raining and I can’t paint, or if I need to wait for a paint coat or decals or whatnot to cure, I can move along to something else in the interim. With the ruination of the Academy…
Doogs Models 