Let Let Let - Warplanes » Darko

Eduard Brassin wheels for F-4 1/48

Darko — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:10:03 +0000

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber. First entering service in 1960, the Phantom continued to form a major part of U.S. military air power throughout the 1970s and 1980s, being gradually replaced by more modern aircraft such as the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon in the U.S. Air Force; the F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Hornet in the U.S. Navy; and the F/A-18 in the U.S. Marine Corps. It remained in use by the U.S. in the reconnaissance and Wild Weasel roles in the 1991 Gulf War, finally leaving service in 1996.

Eduard Brassin wheels for F-4 1/48

This month I have received two new Eduard Brassin products:

648014 F-4 J/N wheels 1/48 http://www.eduard.cz/products/card.php?id_product=6673

648015 F-4 S wheels 1/48 http://www.eduard.cz/products/card.php?id_product=6674

Both sets come packed in beautiful Eduard blister packs and they include:

4 super-detailed resin wheels
Includes 6 brakes as bonus!
Photo-etched details
Express mask

Wheels are beautifully molded in resin and with outstanding level of details. Small photo-etched fret contains brake installations and they are spot-on. Small masks are also provided for precise painting the wheels. These wheels look great and add more realistic look to Hasegawa F-4 kit.

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New Eduard Brassin line has truly established itself among modeling community as the best combination of resin and photo-etched parts and masks for precise painting available on the market. These products are highly recommended!

Darko Mladenovic

Samples provided by Jan Zdiarsky from Eduard

You can purchase these sets directly here 648014 F-4 J/N wheels 1/48 and 648015 F-4 S wheels 1/48

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CMR G36 DFS Weihe/VT-3 Vazka 1/72

Darko — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 13:11:36 +0000

Hans Jacobs designed the prototype Weihe in 1938, after his Reiher of 1937 and before the Olympia Meise of 1939. As Hans Jacobs had been taught sailplane design by Alexander Lippisch, designer of many gliders during the 1920s and the Fafnjr of 1930 and Fafnir 2 “Sao Paulo” of 1934, one can state that the Weihe was another of a long line of saliplanes which were influenced by the Fafnir. The clean, simple beauty of the Weihe would make it a worthy exhibit in an exhibition of Greek art.The machine started its great career in 1938 and set up its last World Record in 1959, over 20 years later. This is even more remarkable because very few countries were able to build this machine again because of its construction cost in the austere period after 1945.

CMR G36 DFS Weihe/VT-3 Vazka 1/72

When you open CMR Weihe box you may be surprised with the simplicity of this kit, but don’t worry, the kit is just adorable. Quality of the moldings is just great as we used to from CMR, casted in cream resin, with nice level of details crisp and smooth. This kit contains 10 parts and it is really easy to build. Cockpit is small and only parts that CMR provided for it are pilot’s stick and seat, I added some seatbelts made of tape and that’s it. All parts fit great so no filler was needed. Acetate canopy has great transparency and CMR provided two of these…just in case something went wrong. Nice addition to this kit is small “in Action” photo reference CMR printed on two A4 sized pages and scale plans of this glider. Although there is not assembling instructions inside the kit, assembling shouldn’t represent a problem even for the beginners.

Decal options include:

DFS Weihe – D-11-184 - Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps (NSFK), Wasserkuppe, Hessen Rohn, Germany
DFS Weihe – SP-029 - Zur Mountain, Poland 1948
DFS Weihe – OK-8011 - CNA (Czecholsovak National Aeroclub)
Se 104 Weihe - ’5′, ’7′ & ’16′, Sweden
VT-3 Vázka – OK-3059 - Stranik Mountain, Czechoslovakia
VT-3 Vázka – OK-8162 - Czechoslovakia
VT-3 Vázka – OK-8303 - Brno, Medlánky, Czechoslovakia
VT-3 Vázka – OK-8606 - Vrchlabi, Czechoslovakia

My choice was NSFK sample, so after assembling the kit I first primed it with mr Surfacer 1200 and then the difficult part came, to find a match for FAS1 color… My choice was the Testors-Model Master 2709 Light Ivory color, I find that color to be a close match. After a coat of Klear it was time to apply markings. CMR decals are very good, in perfect register and thin, so I didn’t use any decal solutions. After another coat of Klear I applied final semi-gloss coat of MM II varnish.

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Building this kit was truly relaxing, and I can recommend this model to all modelers. If you are looking for your first all resin kit to build this might be a choice for you. Gliders are very interesting subject and CMR has established as the company that offers a vide range of these kits.

Darko Mladenovic

Sample kit provided by Petr Buchar owner of CMR models

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AZ Model 7301 Spitfire mk Va 1/72

Darko — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:18:18 +0000

The basic Mk V was a Mk I with the Merlin 45 series engine. This engine delivered 1,440 hp (1,074 kW) at take-off, and incorporated a new single-speed single-stage supercharger design. Improvements to the carburettor also allowed the Spitfire to use zero gravity manoeuvres without any problems with fuel flow. Several Mk I and Mk II airframes were converted to Mk V standard by Supermarine and started equipping fighter units from early 1941. The majority of the Mk Vs were built at Castle Bromwich. Continued with the Type A wing with 8 × .303″ Brownings. This version could reach a top speed of 375 mph (603 km/h) at 20,800 ft (6,300 m), and could climb to 20,000 ft (6,100 m) in 7.1 minutes. A total of 94 were built. One well known VA was W3185 D-B flown by Douglas Bader when commanding the Tangmere Wing in 1941. He was shot down in this aircraft (possibly by “friendly fire) during a “Circus” (a wing of fighters escorting a small number of bombers) over Northern France on 9 August 1941 and spent the rest of the war as a POW.

AZ Model kit

AZ model Spitfire mk Va kit comes packed in an end opening box with beautifully designed box art. Kit is beautifully molded in dark grey plastic. The box contains 39 plastic parts, one resin part and one clear part for canopy that is injection molded. There is some flesh present as well as some sink marks but they are easy to clean. Level of details is just enough and panel lines are crisp, clean and just as they should be for this scale. Fuselage halves are separate parts and when I tested the fitting they fit well. I tested the wings fitting with fuselage and they also fit well but some adjustment is needed to make a perfect fit. Cockpit is just great on this kit, maybe some sink marks and ejector pin marks can make some problems, but nothing an average modeler couldn’t solve. Anyway this is a short-run model so bare it in mind when you start building this kit.

AZ Model 7301 Spitfire mk Va 1/72

Canopy is nice clear with good transparency. Instruction sheet is printed in two pages A5 format and it is easy to follow. Decals are well printed and there should be no problem working with them. Four decal options are present and for me, by far most interesting is option for W3185 D-B flown by Douglas Bader. Painting and marking instructions are printed on the back of the box, and stencils placements are printed on the instruction sheet.

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This is nice kit, and I warmly recommend it to all modelers interested in a subject no matter how experienced they are. Kit is simple, would look great on a shelf and perhaps with a little effort it can be made to be a competition winner model.

Darko Mladenovic

Sample kit is provided by Jaroslav Osten from AZ Models

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CMR 212 De Havilland Vampire F.3 1/72

Darko — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:59:22 +0000

The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter. It was commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, and was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF, after the pioneering Gloster Meteor. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, it served with front line RAF squadrons until 1955, and continued in use as a trainer until 1966. It also served with many air forces worldwide, and set aviation firsts and records. First two Vampire F3 were converted from two Vampire mk I, and Canadians were among largest customers for this particular type. With 86 in total, the F 3 was the first jet fighter to enter RCAF service in any significant numbers. It served to introduce fighter pilots not only to jet flying, but also to cockpit pressurisation and the tricycle landing gear. The “Vamp” was a popular aircraft, easy to fly and considered a “hot rod”. 20 Vamps were exported to Norway and a total of 202 were built.

CMR 212 De Havilland Vampire F.3 1/72

The kit come packed in hard top box with all major parts packed in separate bags in order to avoid possible damage during the shipping. CMR kit features over 50 resin parts molded in recognizable excellent quality resin. This multimedia kit comes with Eduard photo etched parts and masks for quick and precise painting of canopy. Resin parts produced by CMR are as usually outstanding quality with minimal molding blocks parts that need to be cleaned. Cockpit is highly detailed and once assembled and painted it looks wonderful and realistic. CMR provided two Canopies as usual for them just in case that you need to practice on one; these parts are vacuformed and with excellent transparency. Level of details on fuselage wings and tail is excellent with opportunity to leave flaps and airbrakes in opened or closed position at your choice.

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CMR provided two fuselages to accommodate the RCAF version with a clear panel just forward of the windscreen. Undercarriage is outstanding with wheel wells beautifully molded and highly detailed. Landing gear legs are molded in special CMR extra strong resin so they appear to be more than strong enough to hold the finished model. Six A4 pages walkarround is also packed in the kit so it will be handy once you start building this kit. Assembling instructions are well designed and printed on six A4 pages, and they are easy to follow. Decals are as usual for CMR beautifully printed, thin and in register and regarding the choice of color schemes, they are as follow:

De Havilland Vampire F.3 – VT 864 – ‘H’, No. 54 Squadron, RAF, 1948
De Havilland Vampire F.3 – VT 871 – No.601 ‘County of London’ Squadron, RAF
De Havilland Vampire F.3 – VT 821 – ‘L’, No.601 ‘County of London’ Squadron, RAF, Malta, June 1952
De Havilland Vampire F.3 – 17021 – ’021/GO’, RCAF
De Havilland Vampire F.3 – 17031 – ’031/SL’, 402 and 442 Squadrons., RCAF, up to 1956
De Havilland Vampire F.3 – 17062 -’062/SL’, 442 “City of Vancouver” Sqn., RCAF, Sea Island, British Columbia, 1948-56
De Havilland Vampire F.3 – 17074 – ’074/SL’, 442 “City of Vancouver” Sqn., RCAF, Sea Island, British Columbia, 1948-56
De Havilland Vampire F. Mk.III – P42459 - ‘B-AH’, 336 Sqn. RNoAF (Royal Norwegian Air Force), Norway, 1949
De Havilland Vampire F. Mk.III – P42459 - ‘H-PX’, 336 Sqn. RNoAF (Royal Norwegian Air Force), Norway, January 1951

CMR Vampire kits family is truly remarkable and by any means this kit is great addition. I can highly recommend this kit to all modelers with some experience in working with this kind of kits. This is not a kit for a beginner but surely it is a kit that every early Jet fan should have in his collection.

Darko Mladenovic

Sample kit provided by Petr Buchar owner of CMR

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AZ model Zlin Z-50 M 1/48 cat no Az 4823

Darko — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:23:28 +0000

The Zlin Z-50 is a aerobatic sports plane built by the Zlin Aircraft company. Development of this single seat aerobatic airplane begun back in autumn 1973 in Moravan Otrokovice in Czechoslovakia. The design team was headed by Jan Mikula, a noted Czech designer. During the design phase, computer optimization was used to achieve the desired aerodynamic characteristics. The principal goal was to determine the optimum engine and propeller combination for this aircraft AZ model 4823 represent version “baby fifty” – Z-50M with weaker Avia engine M-137AZ with 132 kW (180 PS). It was constructed for replacement older and inconvenient Z-526AFS, which were often converted to N (normal) category and are still used as a tug planes on many aero club airports. Z-50M is able to fly from +7G to –5,5G. There were only eight Z-50M machines manufactured.

Kit

AZ model kit Zlin Z-50M features 42 parts casted in grey plastic, two resin parts, one clear plastic canopy and a small photoetched fret. Zlin is packed in a standard AZ model box with nice color art and painting guide on the back of the box. Surface details are nice but bare in mind that this is a short-run model so it needs some additional work in order to get the best you can from it. Pin marks are present on the kit but fortunately on the inside parts that will not be visible once the kit is done. AZ has a pretty soft plastic so removing the pin marks is not a problem. Cockpit is well presented and it should look rather nice once it is finished and photoetched parts like instrument panel and seat-belts should make pilot’s office great. Canopy is good and very transparent and dry-fit test showed it would fit well. Fuselage and wing surfaces show some very nice and crisp panel lines as well as rivet details, and I really like this feature. Since I started building this kit I can recommend to double test dry fitting of the parts prior the gluing since kit requires some trimming especially with wings and for sure you will need to use some filler on wing-fuselage joint. Resin spinner and propeller are nicely molded with small molding blocks that can be easily removed.

AZ model Zlin Z-50 M 1/48 cat no Az 4823

Marking options are for three Zlin Z-50M’s:

Zlin Z-50 M Czech Republic Aeroclub
Zlin Z-50 M Morska Sobota Aeroclub Slovenia
Zlin Z-50 M South Africa

Decals are well printed and registered, with nice thin film and I am sure they would look great on the model.

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As conclusion I can say that this kit is really nice, definitely not for quick build but once it is finished it would catch spectators eye. I can recommend this kit to all modelers interested in civilian airplanes.

Darko Mladenovic

Sample kit is provided by Jaroslav Osten from AZ Models

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Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and I-153 Aces – Aircraft of the Aces 95

Darko — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:22:23 +0000

Polikarpov family of fighter’s I-15, I-16 and I-153 were first Soviet fighters produced in serial mass production. More than 17.000 of these were produced and delivered to the units. At the beginning of the world war two Polikarpov fighters formed the backbone of VVS. Although they were successful fighters they were replaced in 1943 with more modern fighters who were able to withstand German invasion and to provide air dominance.

This family of the fighters truly has proven itself as the Aircraft of the Aces since most of Soviet pilots that have flown on this plane become Aces in some stage of the conflict. Polikarpov fighters flew in all major clashes since Spanish civil war to the Great patriotic war.

Polikarpov Aces Osprey Publishing

Osprey Publishing Aircraft of the Aces is well known series, especially among modelers and the newest title is Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and I-153 Aces. The book features 96 pages of information’s about following topic including amazing archive photos and about 40 color profiles. Book is divided in five chapters, covering all the major clashes this family of warbirds experienced. The book starts with a concise introduction just to get reader more interested, covering the development of this family of Polikarpov fighters. First chapter is dedicated to the Spanish civil war and the author fully covers usage of I-15 and I-16 in the air battles. It is known that these birds had a great impact on the course of the conflict but unfortunately it is not exactly known who the most effective Soviet pilots were since it is the fact that the victories were assigned to an entire squadron without individual attribution. However many of the Soviet pilots were honored. Second chapter covers the use of these fighters in clash over China against Japanese. During this clash Soviet’s shipped to China over 1.250 fighters of this family. Interesting stories can be read in this chapter including stories told by some of the Soviet pilots that took action in this theatre of war. Beside Soviet’s Chinese pilots also flew on these airplanes and they are also noted in this book. Third chapter covers Battles of Khalkhyn Gol where author gives great description of the tactics Japanese pilots used in dogfight against Polikarpov fighters. During this clash Soviets made a combat debut of their I-16 armed with RS-82 rockets, and had a great success downing 14 fighters and 3 bombers during the weapons trial period. Chapter four covers the winter war against Finland, and usage of Polikarrpov fighters in this clash. Author gave some interesting overview of this clash and experiences of Soviet fighter pilots. It is interesting to note that Finish airforce captured few I-16 fighters and managed to restore them and test them. The final chapter of the book covers the Great patriotic war where these fighters saw most of the action. At the outbreak of the war, Polikarpov fighters were the backbone of VVS. They served honorably until 1943 when most of them were withdrawn from the first line of the front. Some of these planes continued to serve until the end of the World war two, but mostly in fighter schools…

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The two pages list of Soviet Polikarpov Aces is given in the appendices, displaying the number of victories, units served, rank and awards. 40 beautiful color profiles are also provided and each of them with the short story about each plane shown on profile.

This book is a definite must have for all air combat enthusiasts and fans of Polikarpov fighters. The book is highly recommended.

Darko Mladenovic

Sample book provided by Joseph McCullough, Marketing Coordinator Osprey Publishing

Book can be purchased here!

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Eduard Brassin F-22 seat and wheels in 1/48 scale

Darko — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 10:37:36 +0000

Brassin line from Eduard is really new look on the resin and photo-etched technologies and that there is no just brass applied on resin, but that this is a symbiosis between the two technologies. Thanks to revolutionary 3D technologies, Eduard is able to scale down large amount of details to bring high quality resin parts. Sophisticated symbiosis of high-detail resins and precisely etched metal parts takes modeling to another level, opening new dimension of realistic details.

Raptor brassin set

For this review I received following samples

648002 F-22A seat 1/48

648003 F-22A wheels 1/48

Eduard Brassin line comes packed in beautiful blister plastic package with clear assembly instructions; painting guide is not included so you should look for further references about that. Quality of these sets is absolutely amazing, resin parts are beautifully molded with highest level of details, and the photo etched parts are provided for the details not molded in resin like all sort of placards and things.F-22A seat set contains 4 resin part and about 30 photo etched parts. Resin is outstanding quality and most of the photo etched parts are prepainted. This seat is the best seat for model kit I have ever seen. Wheel set for the F-22A contains two main landing gear resin wheels, one resin nose wheel, six wheel chocks for the front and rear wheels, and a complete tire masking set for painting the wheels.

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Eduard Brassin is a great new line from Eduard, details and combination of resin and photo etched parts are simply amazing. As Eduard announces Brassin line will grow and more sets will be available very soon for different subjects. These sets really add realistic note to F-22 kit so I can highly recommend this set.

Darko Mladenovic

Sample product is provided by Jan Zdiarsky from Eduard

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Eduard Brassin 648004 F-16CJ Block 52 engine 1/48

Darko — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 05:41:25 +0000

The Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force. This versatile aircraft is vastly used by air forces around the world. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976. Block 50/52 F-16 was first delivered in late 1991. Unofficially designated F-16CJ is equipped with improved GPS/INS, and can carry a further batch of advanced missiles: the AGM-88 HARM missile, JDAM, JSOW and WCMD. The first Block 50 F-16 was delivered to the USAF in November of 1991. Over 300 have been delivered by early 1997, to four different customers. New production Block 50/52 aircraft ordered after 1996 also include selected features from the MLU program: color multifunction displays, a three-channel video tape recorder, and the modular mission computer. Block 50 aircraft are powered by the F110-GE-129 while the Block 52 jets use the F100-PW-229.

F-16 brassin set

As other Brassin line products engine comes packed in beautiful blister plastic package which helps protecting castings for possible damage. Assembly instructions are printed on A5 sheet of paper and are perfectly clear. Set contains five parts molded in light gray resin and two photo etched parts. Engine is beautifully detailed, and assembly looks easy enough, perhaps the trickiest part will be to remove molding blocks, but with some care it shouldn’t represent a problem. Two photo etched parts are included in this set and they represent fuel distribution pipes. I am especially impressed with the exhaust which is beautifully molded inside and outside. No painting instructions are present in this set so you should look for some additional references.

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This set helps to further improve you F-16 kit, and I can strongly recommend this set to all modelers interested in a subject. Direct buy here!

Darko Mladenovic

Sample product is provided by Jan Zdiarsky from Eduard

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