Table of contents for December 2016 in FineScale Modeler

when I finished the Andrea Miniatures 54mm Tom Doniphon that I used to demonstrate leather painting, I wanted to put him on a base that reflected the energy and action of his pose. I envisioned him on a dusty street somewhere out West in a shootout with bad guys. As he stood there brave and defiant, I wanted to show that the other guys’ bullets were missing the mark and wreaking havoc on an innocent water trough! This base is a little more involved than what most figures need. But good groundwork gives the character context and can even tell a story. The pedestal was custom made for me by my good friend “Big Al” Presley. Acrylicos Vallejo items used 26.201 Water Texture 26.218 Dark Earth 26.230 Vallejo Still Water…

In late 1941, the Curtiss P-40 was the U.S. Army Air Forces’ top-of-the line pursuit plane. Improved D and E models were just being delivered, but most pursuit squadrons were outfitted with the P-40B and similar C models. Such was the case with the 47th Pursuit Squadron based at Wheeler Army Air Field, in the center of the island of Oahu, Hawaii. In fact, the only air-to-air defense mounted against the Japanese attack was flown by pilots in P-40s and a handful of P-36 Hawks. Which kit? Airfix’s 1/72 scale Hawk 81-A-2, the British designation for early P-40s, is detailed, accurate, and easy to build. But it’s not perfect, and there are a few improvements that can be made. I started by removing a mold-parting seam across the gun fairing…

It’s easy to find the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. Go to Manitowoc, Wis., drive downtown, find the Manitowoc River, and look for a Gato-class World War II submarine. You really cannot miss it. In summer 2016, the museum hosted the 41st annual Midwestern Model Ships & Boats Contest and Display. No other museumaffiliated show in the U.S. has run as many consecutive years. FSM editors Mark Hembree, Elizabeth Nash, and Aaron Skinner photographed dozens of great models and got a tour of the USS Cobia, which in November 1943 slid sideways into the Manitowoc River just a stone’s throw away from the museum where it is moored.…

Dragon’s kit of an early M60 shares parts with Dragon’s M48 and M60A2. The molding has fine details and scale-correct casting texture on the hull and turret. Most of the kit is molded in Dragon’s usual light gray plastic, with the exception being the Dragon Styrene tracks and tan, soft vinyl for the mantlet’s canvas cover. Starting with the running gear, everything went together great. The only exception, was that I had to shave off the inside locator tabs of the drive gears for them to fit properly. After the running gear came the upper hull. The details are crisply molded and look great. You will want to dry-fit the equipment before putting glue on anything; I had to remove a few locator pins for some of the stowage to…

Ordered in 1949 to replace WC Dodge trucks used in World War II, the M37 Dodge ¾-ton truck was built in several variations, including ambulances, bomb trucks, and crash trucks, to mention a few. Roden’s M37 answers the call by many modelers for a kit. It is molded in light gray plastic with clear-plastic lights and windows. Care is needed in handling the sprues; the brittle plastic is easily broken. Tires are molded in vinyl, and string is included for the winch cable. Overall, the molding is good. But the sprue attachments are thick; take care, especially with the small parts. I found myself having to carve some of the detail back into the parts after taking them off the tree. Flash, sink marks, and mold shift add to the…

I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that Star Wars was a big part of my childhood in the 1980s. For a while my bedroom was nothing but Star Wars, and my action figures got a workout as I relived favorite scenes in the backyard on a regular basis. That sense of awe at “a galaxy far, far away” never really faded, and Bandai’s recent release of all-new kits reignited the spark. To revisit that built-in-an-afternoon joy I had as a kid, I built two 1/72 scale kits at the same time: the standard TIE Fighter and the TIE Advanced. Although the kits are designed to press together, I glued them to ensure strength and avoid problems with solvent-based paints or weathering techniques. The kits are nearly clones — about…

Although manufactured in Canada, the Chevy 30 CWT 4 x 2 truck proved useful in the harsh North African desert during World War II. Behind enemy lines, the British Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) used these vehicles for reconnaissance and raiding, sometimes capturing the prized Italian Breda gun. Tamiya originally made the command car in the 1970s and has re-released the kit bundled with an Italeri Breda 20/65 anti-aircraft gun (No. 89785). What is interesting is Tamiya’s decision to include the anti-aircraft gun in a towed configuration. It would be uncommon for the Chevy 30 CWT to move at the slow pace of 13 mph in order to tow the fragile Breda. Instead, the gun was mounted in the rear cargo area. Vehicles with this arrangement came to be known…

The J-10 is China’s first indigenous multirole fighter, and the “B” is an upgraded version of the original design. Its performance is roughly equivalent to the F-16C. Molded in Trumpeter’s standard gray plastic, the J-10B has beautiful surface and rivet detail as well as nicely detailed wheel wells. Cockpit detail comes in the form of decals and looks good. The kit provides only one marking option, however, there are a lot of external stores to choose from. Instructions are clear and easy to follow, as is the painting and decal guide. Other than the main colors on the aircraft and missiles, though, you will have to search references for colors of other areas on the model. Paint suggestions refer to several manufacturers. Construction follows the traditional format, with work beginning…

Kinetic’s all-new-tool 1/48 scale Super Étendard is molded in light gray plastic with more than 250 plastic parts on five sprues, one sprue of clear parts, and a small photoetch (PE) sheet. The kit can be built either as a Super Étendard (SuE) or the modernized Super Étendard Modernisé (SEM). Surface detail is mostly engraved with finely recessed panel lines. The kit’s detailed cockpit comprises 17 parts. The only thing missing that would really make the cockpit pop are seat belts for the Mk.4 ejection seat. I like the full-length intake duct that goes all the way to the engine compressor. The wheel wells also are nicely done, with rib and structural details. Clear parts are thin and crystal-clear. The decals, designed by CrossDelta and printed by Cartograf, were thin…

Spotlight Snap-together Super Hornet spot on Academy continues to extend the appeal of its kits with multicolored parts, pushtogether construction, and a choice of stickers for markings. But serious modelers should not overlook kits like the 1/72 scale F/A-18F (No. 12535). The first-rate moldings feature some of the most petite recessed panel lines and rivets we’ve seen. The consoles and instrument panels show raised features. Full intake trunks end at the front fans and slidemolded exhausts have afterburner details. A few considerations are given to expedite glueless assembly, including a onepiece canopy that can only be posed closed, pylons molded on drop tanks, and heavy gear-door attachment points in the wells. On the other hand, those wells have molded structural elements and plumbing. Decals and stickers provide markings for Super…

Open-topped armored vehicles always fascinate: Each fighting compartment is a model of its own, with a gun, optics, ammunition storage, communication, and driver’s controls to build and detail. These vehicles sparked a keen interest early in my model-building career. So, when Dragon announced a new premium kit of the SdKfz 164 Nashorn in 1/35 scale (No. 6314), replete with photo-etchings (PE), brass ammunition, aluminum turned barrels, and the timesaving “Magic” tracks, I knew I had to build it. The Nashorn (rhinoceros) was based on the Geschützwagen III/IV chassis as a platform for the powerful 8.8cm Panzerabwehrkanone (PaK) 43/1 antitank gun. Features such as the spare road-wheel racks attached to the rear hull plate and dual exhaust pipes identify this model as a late-production Nashorn. Construction Some may argue that Dragon…

The Su-33 is one of my all-time favorite modern jet fighters. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a proper example in 1/48 scale — until now. Thanks to Kinetic! Opening the box reveals 320-plus parts, molded in gray, with primo surface detail! Everything is recessed and true to scale. Parts like the single-piece molded missiles and exhaust nozzles are boxed separately. There are photo-etch (PE) parts and crystal-clear plastic that includes separate navigation lights. Decals provided by Cartograf are included, and are gorgeous. Only 24 of these aircraft were built, and I believe all can be modeled with the decals provided. Individual numbers, 0-9, are included. All aircraft are based on the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, so the colors are the same; choose the number you want. The only real problem…

By 1943, the Zero was being outmatched by U.S. Navy Hellcats and Corsairs, and Army Air Force’s P-38. Mitsubishi moved to make the Zero more competitive by developing the A6M5, which bolstered armament and pilot protection. Hasegawa’s all-new 1/32 scale Zero release replaces its old 1970s A6M5, which is still on the market. The new kit is beautifully molded in light gray plastic. Features included a detailed engine, cowling flap options (open or closed), external fuel tank, and a seated pilot figure. The cockpit module comprises 35 parts and looks impressive with careful painting. I liked the fact that it is installed into the assembled fuselage from underneath before attachment of the wings. The fuselage assembled perfectly with the inclusion of two bulkheads and a locking plate. I didn’t need…

Eight years ago, Soar Art surprised the modeling world with the release of a 1/35 scale Dora rail gun. The Hong Kong company recently followed up with another obscure German artillery piece, the 35.5cm Haubitze M1. Developed by Rheinmetall before WWII, the massive gun could propel a 1,268-pound concrete-piercing shell 22,800 yards once every four minutes. Fewer than 10 were produced; they were used during the Battle of France, Operation Barbarossa, Sevastopol, Leningrad, and the Warsaw Uprising. The kit’s moldings show crisp detail, but flash, sink marks, and numerous ejector-pin marks mar many surfaces. Most are easily fixed. Be aware that the brittle plastic is easily broken if too much force is applied during construction. Mixed bag describes the instructions. The diagrams are clear, but there are mistakes throughout, including…