Tabla de contenidos para September/October 2022 en FineScale Modeler

The legendary Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX, to my mind, counts as one of the most elegant World War II fighter designs. How could it not, with its smooth aerodynamic lines, elliptical wing, and thin profile? Being Czech, I wanted to model the Spitfire DU-L MJ931 flown by Flying Officer Ladislav Světlík, a member of No. 312 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF, during the first half of 1944. In this aircraft, he shot down Lt. Georg Kiefner of I./JG 26 who piloted an Fw 190A. After the war, Světlík became a Czechoslovak Airlines captain. In 1950, he helped plan and execute the famous coordinated escape flight of three Douglas DC-3s from then-communist Czechoslovakia to U.S.-controlled Erding Air Base near Munich, Germany. FINAL THOUGHTS AT LAST, it was time to assemble the whole from the…

Much of the ’70s van craze passed me by as a kid, but, thankfully, books, magazines, the internet, and model cars allow me to feel a part of it. A custom van offers a large canvas for personal expression and often portrays the owner’s fun-loving attitude. The van craze spawned unique factory vehicles, such as the Dodge Street Van, as well as gobs of conversion offerings and aftermarket accessories. I could spend hours researching the brochures of Leisure & Recreation Products (LRP), Gerring, and Hop Cap — just to name a few — each offering unique custom features that made their vans standout in a crowded field. One of the most popular subjects for a period-correct custom (or “boogie”) van is the short-wheelbase (109-inch) Dodge. Unfortunately, all MPC Dodge van…

The OV-10D Bronco was a modernized version of the OV-10A aircraft with a forwardlooking night vision system and a rotating camera in the extended nose. The improved capabilities of the aircraft made it possible to complete a wide range of tasks, including observation and target designation, and still retain the functions of an attack aircraft. ICM’s 1/48 scale OV-10D+ plastic model kit comes molded in gray, slightly soft plastic that makes it easier to trim small parts from the trees without breaking them. Many of the 367 pieces wind up building the 11 different ordnance options. All the parts appear precise, thin where necessary, and well detailed, although the rivets seemed a little oversized. The instruction book has 28 pages with a total of 94 steps and is nicely illustrated,…

To mark the 40th anniversary of the Guerra de las Malvinas, or Falklands War, I wanted to build an Argentine A-4C. Specifically, I aimed to replicate one of four Skyhawks that took part in a May 30, 1982, mission to attack the British carrier, HMS Invincible. Only two of the four aircraft survived that day, including C-318 flown by 2nd Lt. Gerardo Issac. Released in 2004, Hasegawa’s 1/48 scale A-4C is a modification of the company’s A-4E. Unfortunately, the only changes made to the parts to backdate the kit are the nose and engine intakes. That leaves many other differences to be taken care of by the modeler for a truly accurate A-4C. I made several improvements and modifications, including Aires resin cockpit and wheel well parts, so assembly was…

The GT3 category of racing has been one of the most hotly contested series in recent years. The cars are based on the production platform and modifications are reined in by cost limits. Strong manufacturer support and large fields have produced exciting races. I reviewed this kit upon its initial release a couple of years ago, without the NuNu Models 1/24 scale Detail Up Parts Series (No. NE24004; $24.99). This build incorporates the detail set, which includes carbon-fiber decals, a sheet of photo-etched metal details, ribbon material for the seat belts, and a turned-aluminum base for the antenna. Marking options for the two works-team cars run at the 2015 Spa 24-hour race are included in the kit. My first build was the second-place silver car; this time, the ninth-place red…

The new Tamiya 1/48 scale British Tank Challenger 2 represents the “desertised” version of the UK’s main battle tank. It features over 150 parts molded in tan plastic, link-and-length tracks keyed to the road wheels for nearly foolproof installation, and decals for just one vehicle of the Royal Scots Guards in Iraq in 2003. The clear instructions present clear diagrams and detail painting callouts, and a separate, small painting and decal guide is included. Following the instructions, I began the assembly with the lower hull, which, interestingly, has no side panels. The reactive armor side skirts hide this fact on the finished model. Two bulkheads align the side armor and hull top. All the suspension arms are molded in place on the hull. As is typical of Tamiya’s 1/48 scale…

My modeling includes almost every subject from aircraft and tanks to cars, submarines, anatomical, and sci-fi. Having modeled since the 1960s, I’m fond of both new and classic kits and don’t mind a bit of flash, sink marks, or other imperfections if the subject is right. On the other hand, when modeling armor, I like tanks with hatches open. Of course, for both modern kits and older ones, too, this means a fine view of a totally empty interior — a less than ideal result on an otherwise good-looking replica. In the mid 1970s, Monogram released a line of 1/32 armor kits, including several German Panzer IV variants, the M3 Lee/Grant, and early production M4 and M4A1 Shermans. As a boy who liked 1/32 scale and both the M3 and…

Perhaps surprisingly, this 1/16 scale StuG III Ausf G is the first kit I’ve built from Gallery Models. Inside the big box reside over 1,000 parts that include a single-piece hull bottom and sides, individual-link tracks, road wheels, tires, periscopes, a rear rack, and a metal barrel. Decals with markings for four different vehicles are included, too. Assembly starts with the suspension and torsion bars. Early on, I realized the plastic torsion bars didn’t line up correctly, I glued them in place, checking them with a ruler. The multipart road wheels made cleaning up the separate tires a lengthy process, with eight sprue points per tire. That aside, the tires were nicely molded with a Continental logo on each side. A cleat, horn, and pin completed each track, and every…

Over the 100-plus years of the automotive industry, Buick remains among the few early surviving nameplates still in operation today. Regrettably, Buick success has not translated to the world of scale model cars, where Buick kits are very much a rarity One little-known Buick kit is a replica of the Skyhawk introduced in 1975. The Buick Skyhawk joined the Oldsmobile Starfire as badge-engineered offshoots of the then new Chevy Monza 2+2. This low-slung Mustang II competitor with Ferrari design cues was largely based on Chevy Vega mechanicals and was originally planned to showcase GM’s stillborn Wankel engine. MPC started with an all-new Chevy Monza 2+2 (No. 1-7516) in its 1975 annual kit lineup and made minor changes to the kit tool to justify a second production a few months later,…