FineScale Modeler 03 2002

When Keith Kowalski was 12, he got his start in modeling by building Aurora figure models. He hasn't stopped building yet, and now he's internationally recognized for his fine quality figure models. The Ft. Lauderdale, Florida police officer has been painting excellent military miniatures for about 30 years. For over a decade, Keith has regularly competed and sold his work in figure shows in Atlanta, Georgia. He and his work have been featured in modeling; books and magazines from around the world. He has won several gold and silver awards, and in 1993 he won a gold medal tor his display at the first World Exposition Show held in Washington, hosted by several international figure modeling groups. Though he paints in most of the standard mediums, Keith has found that working with oils and flat enamels gives him the most flexibility He also experiments with other paints and with mixed media.

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Model Magazine International 144

TMMI was present at the recent IPMS Nationals held at the Anaheim Marriott hotel, Orange County, California, and is so often the case with model shows, there were a few key model releases announced at the event. We'll try to bring you a more detailed report in the next issue, but for now, here's a quick run-down of some of the highlights. Amongst the mountains of 1:48 Bf110 kits being sold like the proverbial hot-cakes, Eduard showed parts of their forthcoming F6F-3/F6F-5 Hellcat in 1:48 (due Feb '08). listed a comprehensive series of 1:48 F-4 Phantom IIs in the pipeline, a series of 1:32 Messerschmitt Bf109E models and MiG21s in 1:48 - so some great new items for aircraft modellers on the way. Also shown on the Stevens International stand was Bronco's 1:35 Staghound, which looked extremely good, and Italeri has their Staghound on show too, which looked equally interesting. Hasegawa announced plans for a 1:72 B-24D Liberator, and Revell showed sprues from their all-new 1:72 Lancaster (which is not Hasegawa's release), and Special Hobby had on display a built-up example of their 1:32 Bell P-39D Airacobra, again all splendid news for modellers of aviation subjects. Hobby Link Japan were selling the Fine Molds 1:72 Y-Wing kits like they were going out of fashion, and of course we couldn't resist, so there'll be a preview in a forthcoming issue. So it's good news from the USA as far as new releases go, more news as we get it!

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Model Magazine International 07 2006

Mig Productions have created a new type of burnt out hulk in miniature - not an AFV this time, but a generic postwar civilian car that can be used in street fighting dioramas from the 1950s right up to the current day. We first showed this last issue and now we have taken a closer look, we have discovered a couple of very clever features that will help the modeller to make their model look all the more realistic. The kit is cast entirely in butter coloured resin, with the body and chassis of the car as a single component. The wheels are depicted with tyres burnt off, and fit to the body via simple Stub-axles, holes for which must be drilled by the modeller. The roof is cast as a separate part to allow the interior to be detailed, and it's in here that we are presented with a great piece of originality. The seats are completely burnt-out of course, and to represent the springs. MP provide not only a roll of copper wire, but a clever little device with which to form them into the appropriate zig-zag pattern! It consists of a baseplate and a system of gear wheels through which the wire is fed, crimping it into the zigs, and no doubt, zags, in the process. Marvellous!

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FineScale Modeler 01 2002

Like most of the people I meet in the hobby (especially those of the same vintage), I returned to the game (after abandoning one of my favorite pastimes to the demands of life) at about the same time that FineScale Modeler came on the scene. Prompted by a Christmas gift car kit, I checked out a local hobby shop in Dallas seeking paint, glue, and such. Talk about hobby shock - this was a whole new world of scale modeling. There was now a plethora of product and support materials, everything from publications to highly detailed figure kits. The sophistication of the new offerings overwhelmed me and I was hooked. As a history teacher, what really drew me in deep was the accuracy and detail of the aftermarket offerings, coupled with the wonderful new tool kits. I was a VLS junkie, a FineScale Modeler subscriber, and a Tamiya/Hasegawa disciple. After moving to Lincoln, Nebraska, in the early 1990s, I started working part-time for the local hobby shop, which happened to be the original HobbyTown USA.

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Model Magazine International 127

I've always been fascinated by Israeli armour, especially modern vehicles from the 1990s onwards. The Merkava. Israel's homegrown main battle tank, is a particular favourite of mine and has undergone many revisions and improvements since it was developed throughout the 1970s. The latest version, the Merkava 4. with its large saucer-shaped turret and heavily bolted appearance has an almost science-fiction look about it. Israeli armour has never been particularly well served in 1:72 scale, so the announcement of a range of resin kits from Cromwell Models was exciting news. A number of kits have been released so far covering several Merkava and Magach (M-60) variants, with more' promised for the future. Cromwell Models has traditionally been associated with 1:35 and 1:76 scales, but these kits mark the start of a new line called Combat 72. Another interesting aspect of these kits is that they are composed of only a few parts and this enables rapid assembly.

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FineScale Modeler 12 2002

My first exposure to the B-52 Stratofortress was unforgettable - I felt it in my feet! Three long, low rumbles, barely audible - like distant thunder or an earthquake. ''Arc Light," a staff sergeant casually muttered as he sat across the table from me at the Tan Son Nhut base library in Vietnam in October 1972. I was "in-country" only a week, so he could see I needed more than a two-word explanation. "A cell of three B-52s dropping bombs maybe 30 miles from here.'' Incredible! Thirty miles away and 1 could sense the devastation. Boeings eight-engine heavy bomber, often dubbed "BUFF'' for "Big Ugly Fat Fellow" took the place of the equally amazing Convair B-36 Peacemaker as the Strategic Air Command's ''big stick" in the mid-1950s. The B-36 was never used in combat but stood nuclear alert during the Korean War. Unlike the B-36, the B-52 has seen action in all but the briefest U.S. military campaigns since the mid-1960s.

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FineScale Modeler 11 2004

Hobby manufacturers are facing an increasingly complicated legal hurdle in the production of new kits: licensing. A license is an agreement between a company owning a property and one that wants to create a product with the name, images or distinguishing marks of the property on it. For example, Playing Mantis, which produces "Star Trek" kits in its Polar Lights line, obtained a license to do so from Paramount (owned by Viacom). Companies that produce NASCAR models must be licensed by multiple entities, including NASCAR, the car owner, and every sponsor with a decal on the vehicle. The licensor wants to make sure its brand is displayed accurately and on the best product possible. Some want nothing more; others see licensing as a legitimate and lucrative revenue stream. In most cases, manufacturers have to pay for each license. Common licensing agreements stipulate the licensor gets a percentage of each kit sold and a guaranteed fee. Any fixed-term royalty agreements must be renewed as long as the kit is sold. According to industry sources, licensing costs vary widely. Ed Sexton, Revell-Monogram's senior manager of product development, says, "The cost of a license depends on the royalty percentage rate that is calculated on the wholesale price of the product." That rate can be as low as 1% and as high as 20%.

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Model Magazine International 04 2006

On the hull top all moulded bolts were removed with a scalpel, because reference material shows that these need to be recessed. To represent this feature I used a beading tool, gently pushing the tool on the model to create small recessed circles. The loaders hatch was a bit too narrow and was widened with some plastic strip. The commanders hatch was completely replaced with thinner plastic card and hinges from the Aber detail set. The small hatch in front was thinned with a scalpel and a file to bring it to scale. The same procedure was used on the rear of the left side cover panel (C17). The hatches on the rear deck (C11) need a bit of sanding back to make them fit properly. I also glued a piece of strip along the inner edge of the opening in the hull, and this was also done on the small hatch for the periscope. On the rear deck the moulded upstanding triangles need to be cut off as these do not feature on the Stug III B. Also the half moon shaped guides for the towing ropes had the moulded detail carefully removed with a scalpel and were refined to take some Aber parts. Before closing the hull I painted the interior matt black to prevent any unwanted reflections.

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Model Magazine International 11-12 2002

Many, if not most modellers use airbrushes, but even if you don't, we all use paints and glues that can generate strong and often toxic fumes. If these vapours and paint dusts are allowed to build up in a work room they can affect your health, so it's important to ventilate the work area in an effective manner. Opening a window is a good start, having a cross flow of fresh air is better, but the best method to breathe easy when modelling is to have an effective extractor that actively draws away the fumes and paint overspray. Years ago at TMMI, we used an improvised system that consisted of an old domestic extractor fan. two cardboard boxes and a length of tumble dryer exhaust hosing - this did the job but the fan was not isolated from combustible vapours, so a fire could possibly have resulted, obviously making this system not such a good idea.

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FineScale Modeler 07 2002

What does it take to build a spectacular diorama? Creative construction techniques for sure, but if your subject is the brutal war in Chechnya, you'll also need equally creative destruction techniques. Incredibly realistic battle damage is just one of the elements that brings Bruce Teal's stunning Grozny diorama to life. Unable to forget the haunting images in television news reports, the visual effects designer decided to tell the Chechen conflicts story through the medium he knows best - a scratchbuilt diorama. He vividly depicts Russian soldiers hunting for a sniper hiding in a bombed-out building in Grozny. The sniper is well-camouflaged, but if you examine the photos carefully, you'll see him. Bruce began by checking drawings tor buildings similar to those in Grozny. He built the base structure from foam board and covered it with gypsum paste, which he sculpted to the final shape. When the plaster was dry, he painted it with a base coat of light gray Polly Scale acrylics.

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Model Magazine International 12 2003 - 01 2004

I'm not going to make comparisons between Skybow's version and the AFV Club offering as I haven't built the latter kit. If you do want a side by side review of the both kits, Terry Ashley's excellent Perth Military Miniatures web site give an in depth comparison of the two. The first thing you will notice when you start to build this kit is that Skybow have broken with tradition as regards the construction sequence given in the instructions. Are you ready for this? Brace yourself - they start with the turret and not the lower hull and running gear! I know this sounds outrageous behaviour, but it's true. It's just shocking if you ask me (you sarcastic old bugger, Ed) Well anyway, I did as directed and Started with the turret, as 1 find the running gear the most tedious part so I always tackle that bit later on during the construction!

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FineScale Modeler 09 2003

The compact (only 12' long) Bren gun carrier was a forerunner of modern armored personnel carriers. Officially designated the Universal Carrier, its original purpose was to cany infantry safely through small-arms fire. A light Bren machine gun was to be mounted on the vehicle to provide suppressive fire. The Universal Carrier proved too lightly armored for combat. The open fighting compartment left soldiers exposed to snipers and shrapnel from shells exploding overhead. Nevertheless, it was agile and fast for a tracked vehicle (30+ mph) and could negotiate rough terrain with ease. The majority of Universal Carriers never sported a Bren gun, but the name stuck. When France attempted to reassert control over its Indochina colony after World War II, equipment was in short supply. French forces made do with second-hand equipment from the United States and Britain, including many Bren carriers. Most were rearmed with U.S.-made Browning .30-caliber machine guns, as was the case with the subject of Boh Collignon's model.

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Model Magazine International 05 2008

It's probably fair to say that Tamiya's newly tooled 1:48 F-16C Block 50 moved the bar up a few notches upon it's release, setting a new standard for models of this famous jet fighter, with greatly improved levels of detail, fit of parts and overall accuracy than any rival production. In this second version, we have the Block 25/32 variant, which, to the untrained eye may look identical to the Block 50. but is in fact subtly different in several key areas. It's actually a considerably older version, the Block 25 being a 1984 upgrade program that introduced better radar and aviation electronic (avionics) systems, and the Block 32 bringing an engine upgrade such as the LITENING II advanced targeting system, which significantly enhanced the aircraft's ability to attack targets at night and in poor-weather conditions. In the kit, we have newly tooled parts to address the different version - the most visually apparent being the smaller diameter intake and different jet nozzle of the Pratt and Whitney powerplant, revised undercarriage components, two new sprues of weapon-consisting of AIM-120 AMRAAM. AIM-9L/M and AIM-9X sidewinders, wing and centreline fuel tanks and LITENING II targeting pod. Newly moulded parts for the GBU-12 laser-guided bombs feature clear components to depict the laser guidance lenses.

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FineScale Modeler 05 2004

Talal Chouman has a job most of us only dream of- he's not only a professional model maker, but his work at the University of Massachusetts Submillimeter-Wave Technology Laboratory gives him access to full-scale examples of the military's latest fighting vehicles. What more could a modeler ask for? Talal, 38, has built models since he was 10, and has built professionally for more than 17 years. His interest in AFVs and modeling doesn't end at 5 o'clock, though. His full-time passion for military hardware led him to scratchbuild this show-stop-ping 1/16 scale Operation Enduring Freedom Marine Corps LAV-25. Starting with tour months of intensive research, Talal spent some 1,800 hours on the fully detailed, museum-scale model - that's an average of two hours a day for two-and-a-half years. It s not surprising when you look at the model. Constructed plate-by-plate just like the real vehicle, the model is a masterful assembly of styrene, acrylic, resin, brass, aluminum, and other media. The massive model features a fully detailed interior, one of Talal's favorite parts of the model.

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FineScale Modeler 05 1999

Consisting of the M26 tractor and the M15 semi-trailer, the M25 was one of the biggest vehicles the U.S. Army fielded in World War II. Used exclusively in Eur-ope, it was a capable battlefield armored recovery vehicle and could haul everything from supplies to landing craft. It was also infamous for tearing off corners of buildings on tight turns! The Dragon Wagon soldiered on into the Korean War and found additional users in the European civilian market. Tamiya pulled out all the stops for its "Commemorative Thirtieth Anniversary kit." The plastic parts (nearly 600 of them!) are cleanly molded in olive styrene and are supplemented by photoetched, metal, and vinyl parts. Detail is top notch. The cab interior details match photos in the U.S. Army technical manual and even features the vehicle commanders desk. All the lights have chrome reflectors and clear lenses. Photoetched parts are provided tor tread plates. The trailer features wheel guards, ramps, tie down chains, and tire blocks. The 19 vinyl tires are beautifully molded, as are the four seated crew figures.

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Model Magazine International 03 2006

Like all the new Dragon kits there is a wealth of plastic sprues in the box as well as three sets of photo-etched parts, two brass shells, a turned aluminium barrel and two alternate hulls plus a bag of Dragon's fantastic Magi-Tracks. On looking through the instructions, you realise this is a 3 in 1 kit. You can choose from an early version, a late version, or the German Africa Korps. With ten different decal options ranging from the Eastern front - Autumn 1941, right through to Tobruk -April 1941. I decided to go for the DAK version because it opens up huge scope for weathering and showing vehicles not looking their best. I was building this kit 100% out of the box (bar the stowage on the rear deck - I was quite disappointed not to find a little bit more clutter for the rear deck included in the kit as the box artwork is slightly misleading). Construction begins as most kits do with the running gear. Each pair of road wheels comes in nineteen parts but when finished makes a quality set of working suspension. Whilst constructing these parts I noticed that the plastic tyres had 'Continental' printed on the sides and I then realised Dragon had excelled themselves again! I built the kit following the instruction in sequence without any major problems.

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FineScale Modeler 01 2003

I've always been fascinated by modeling. 1 still remember the multi-colored Matchbox kits I built when I started in the hobby back in the 1970s. Recent kits are exquisitely detailed, fit well, and usually need nothing more than careful assembly and a nice paint job to look like the real thing. Tamiya's 1/48 scale Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4/7 falls firmly into this category: a kit with almost perfect fit and fine detail inside and out! It features recessed panel lines and separately molded slats, flaps, and rudder that allow the model to be built in more realistic poses. A complete set of decals provides markings for three machines, including the one I chose, a beautifully camouflaged E-4 of 2./JG 27 that flew in North Africa.

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Model Magazine International 02 2008

It's amazing to think that Tamiya have released one hundred kits in the 1:48 aircraft range, especially considering that the line had been largely dormant for a good number of years, but with the 2007 issue of the Fieseler Fil56, the 'century' has indeed been reached, and what a superb kit with which to celebrate the occasion! For starters, the box itself is rather special, featuring a full-length sleeve carrying the boxart, which depicts Rommel in his camouflaged Storch, banking over a column of DAK vehicles in the desert - very dramatic and worthy of framing for a modelling workshop wall! Inside the kit box, we are presented with a card platform carrying a pressed metal main spar, bent-wire undercarriage stiffener and a small photo-etched fret with four supplementary parts. Also sitting on the platform is the sprue holding the two halves of the fuselage moulding, which in this model is rather interesting. The large glazing area of the Storch must have presented Tamiya's brilliant designers with some unusual challenges, and they solved the main one, ie; making a clean join where the side windows meet the fuselage edge, by moulding the clear panels integrally with the opaque plastic of the airframe. It's extremely effective, just leaving the modeller the job of masking the clear parts (masking sheet supplied) so the inside and out of the fuselage can be sprayed. Including the fuselage, the box contains seven sprues of grey styrene, plus one of clear, which carries further elements of the extensive canopy, including configuration options. A beautifully detailed 1:48 replica of the Argus V8 engine is provided, made up from individually moulded cylinders, engine block, sump, exhaust and gearbox - very nice indeed. The narrow 'tandem* cockpit is an elegant piece of model kit design, and includes all the delicate framework and structures that can be seen through the large canopy panels, in fact with the engine in place, the central portion of the model will look like a little jewel when complete.

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