Table of contents for January 2019 in FineScale Modeler

We’re about to plunge into a new year, according to the calendar on your wall. But if you check the date on this issue, for example, you’ll notice 2019 is already underway. At the magazine we’re always working ahead to keep you swimming in fresh modeling news, tips, and techniques that we hope will help you enjoy your favorite hobby. This year we lead off with a stellar maritime build from our overseas ship expert, Ulf Lundberg. You’ve seen his work before, but Ulf has a way of making even the most difficult build and detailing look easy. We also know you aircraft builders are always looking for good reference material. So we asked Darren Roberts, one of our top aircraft modelers, to delve deep into U.S. Navy aircraft squadron…

Best known for its glorious 1/32 scale World War I aircraft kits, New Zealand-based Wingnut Wings (www.wingnutwings.com) stunned the world with the announcement of a forthcoming Lancaster. It will be in 1/32 scale and there are actually two kits planned — a Mk.I/III Merlin-engined bomber (No. 32043) and a Mk.III Dambuster (No. 32044). In a press release, Wingnut Wings’ general manager Richard Alexander says the kit's research, design, and tooling has been underway for more than eight years. "Features include realistic surface detail with stressed skin effect, overlapping panels, and raised rivets, WWII era European theater radiators and nacelle intakes, and WWII era fabric covered elevators,” he says. If you are wondering how to display or transport a model with a wingspan in excess of 3 feet, the outer wing…

*These are the most common manufacturers from just before WWII until the identification system was discontinued in 1962. In the early days of aviation, there were numerous companies that came and went. A full list would be too cumbersome to print. Since the beginnings of aviation in the United States, no other branch of service has put more colorful markings on their airplanes than the Navy. That’s why I enjoy building models of Navy aircraft so much. But I realized that there was much more to the markings than just colorful squadron insignia. From the first JN-4 Jenny to today’s F-18 Super Hornet, each plane has been identified by a unique system designed by the Navy. At first glance, it looks confusing. But after studying it for a bit, it…

It was hot outside in Phoenix, Arizona, in August, but there were a ton of cool models inside the convention center for the 2018 IPMS/USA National Convention. Among the more than 3,400 scale creations were straight out-of-the-box projects and 100% scratchbuilt masterpieces. FSM editors Mark Savage and Aaron Skinner hit the floor and photographed many of them; here are just a few. The 2019 show lands in Chattanooga, Tennessee, August 7-10. You can learn more, register for the show, and book your rooms at www.ipmsnationals.com. We’ll see you there! JAMES SIGMAN TRACY, CALIFORNIA Inspired by his brother, Mike’s, service on A-6As during the Vietnam era, James built Trumpeter’s 1/32 scale Intruder. He scratchbuilt a cockpit and engines for the A-6E and painted it with Testors enamels over a pre-shaded base…

ADAM NICHOLS MADISON, WISCONSIN Building Tamiya’s 1/48 scale Razorback P-47D to depict Lt. Frank Oiler’s plane Eileen, Adam added True Detail resin wheels and Master brass gun barrels. He made a spark-plug harness and plumbed the engine with fine wire. Elastic thread, airbrushed black, served as antenna wire. Adam painted mostly with Testors Model Master and Tamiya colors, and used pastels for various stains. He says, “Thanks to my dad and grandfather for piquing my interest in World War II and aviation.” STEVE LUCKINBILL MERIDIAN, IDAHO Steve writes: “It’s Hasegawa’s 1/72 scale A6M2 Type 0 Model 21 (Zeke). This one was captured by the RAF arm of the Allied Technical Air Intelligence Units, Southeast Asia, 1946.” Steve achieved the Pacific-battered finish by applying a base coat of Testors Model Master…

A funny thing happened on my way to completing a “problem” model: I discovered this one. Initially, I only wanted a time-filler while that other beast’s putty was drying, but after beginning Airfix’s super little Jet Provost, I was hooked. Four short days after starting, this bird was ready for paint. Booyah! Recessed panel lines and details are excellent. Optional parts include retracted or extended landing gear and two canopies, the “open” one being slightly wider. The cockpit interior is basic and well-planned with two nice multipart ejection seats plus a decal for the instrument panel. Built up and painted, the interior looks good. Handy tip: nose weight can be added through the nose gear door opening instead of installing it before the fuselage halves are joined. Cementing the gear…

Free, free, free … That’s right, you can download this and other images from our website. John Plzak built this gorgeous AFV Club M54. See his full review starting on p. 58 in Workbench Reviews. Find the answers Questions about finishing or building? You can find answers online with FSM’s collection of free videos and stories detailing build processes from start to finish! New Product Rundown Want to know about a new kit on the market? Aaron Skinner and Elizabeth Nash host a twice-monthly video review of the newest models and show what’s inside the boxes.…

Jeff Thomsen converted and detailed Monogram’s 1/48 scale Hustler into a YB-58 with a host of improvements, including rear crew compartments with scratchbuilt walls, floors, and bulkheads, Lone Star resin instrument panels and consoles, Fisher Models resin early ejection-seats, new windows in the rear compartments, open canopies, Aires intakes and exhausts with Lone Star nozzles, Fisher elevons, repositioned rudder, and a faired over tail turret. “Painting the exterior was complicated,” Jeff says. “Not only was there the challenge of bare metal on most of the airplane, but there were areas that were extremely hard to get at with masking tape and an airbrush, especially around the outboard engines.” Plus the model is big, more than 2 feet long, so Jeff worried about damaging it during masking and painting. He airbrushed…

Most of us have been in the hobby for a long time; I’m one of the younger modelers I know and I’ve been building for more than 40 years. We cut our teeth on kits from the likes of Aurora, Revell, Frog, and Monogram. Those kits were relatively crude compared to today’s state-of-the-art releases. The amount of putty needed to smooth the seams on any of Tamiya’s new kits is less than one fuselage required on some of those classics! That notwithstanding, there were some good kits “back in the day” that were enjoyable to build. Sometimes it’s fun to take a trip down memory lane, pull one of those kits off the shelf, and let the nostalgia wash over you in wave after glorious wave as childhood comes flooding…

The impetus for my latest build, the 1/72 scale Sword Aichi B7N2 Ryusei Kai “Grace” (No. 72069) really began in the 1970s. That’s when I became aware of two reference books — the reference books at the time — on Japanese army and navy aircraft. Their author was Donald W. Thorpe. Many references have come along since, including a fine article in IPMS/Canada’s Random Thoughts, Vol. 26, No. 1, entitled “Camouflage of World War II Japanese Aircraft,” by Tennessee Katsuta. That article and Thorpe’s books helped me make this Grace look right, at least as right as historic photos and considerable research allow. Thorpe’s books, for instance, featured printed camouflage and markings colors used by all Japanese aircraft manufacturers. There are chapters on special markings, specifications for camouflaging all Japanese…

The M54 series of 5-ton trucks was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for the M39. Initially powered by a gasoline engine, the M54A1 introduced in 1962 had a diesel power plant; AFV Club’s kit represents the M54A2 launched in 1964 with a multifuel engine. M54s could haul 5 tons of cargo over any terrain; on paved roads the load could be increased to 10 tons. The trucks were used throughout the Vietnam conflict by the Army and Marine Corps. AFV Club’s kit is actually the M54A2C truck, with C indicating a cargo bed with hinged drop-down sides for unloading cargo the sides and rear. The olive-green plastic parts show excellent detail with fine mold seams. A few shallow ejector-pin marks are present as are some sink marks,…

Czech manufacturer Special Hobby has introduced a new line of “short-nosed” Warhawks (P-40D and later) starting with this handsome P-40N, the last production model of the Curtiss classic. Not to be confused with Special Hobby/MPM’s earlier P-40F kits, this is all-new tooling and the sprues show that there will be an extended family coming. In fact, Special Hobby has already released a Kittyhawk I, Kittyhawk III, and P-40K from this line. This kit includes three different instrument panels, two different seats, two different propellers, two different armored seat backs, two sets of exhaust stacks, and the fuselage halves are molded on a separate sprue. Optional parts are included for an open or closed canopy, open or shut cowl flaps, spoked or covered main wheels, and a bomb or two different…

Allons enfants de la Patrie! Yes, I actually sang La Marseillaise when I first laid my hands on HobbyBoss’ 1/350 scale Dunkerque. It’s one of the best ship kits I’ve built. This kit can represent the ship at different times in its career. I needed to make up my mind before beginning so that I could drill out the proper locators for the anti-aircraft (AA) guns before gluing the deck (they moved several times over the years). I chose a pre-war Dunkerque. The books, French Battleships 1922-1956 by John Jordan and Robert Dumas as well as Histoire et Navires nr 27 Dunkerque st Strasbourg by Philippe Caresse are excellent references.…

Over the years Meng has become one of my favorite manufacturers. When I saw its new 1/35 scale Chinese ZTZ-96B MBT kit (No. TS-034), I immediately took an interest because it was fresh and a bit different (not to mention it featured attractive box art). The instruction booklet contained colored camouflage illustrations to choose from. One of the examples was a training vehicle with a temporary light sand paint scheme, like those used by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in a training Biathlon in early summer 2017. For ease of painting and weathering, I left some of the larger components separate during construction, such as the running gear, machine gun, and skirts. Once everything else was assembled I could begin the finish. I painted with Real Color acrylic lacquers from…

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter first saw service during the 1937 Spanish Civil War and was still in service, in one form or another, into the 1960s with the Spanish air force. Yet there were many small differences in the early versions of the fighter and that’s where this kit hits its mark. Dora Wings’ 1/48 scale kit is of the A/B series, the first in the long line of Bf 109 fighters. The kit comprises eight plastic sprues — seven gray and one clear — plus resin, photo-etched (PE) metal, and a small sheet of film. The 8-page instruction manual comprises 19 steps, plus color drawings. Decals provide three marking options and there’s a set of masks for the canopy. The kit is molded in slightly soft, gray plastic,…

The CASA C-212 is a medium short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft ordered into production in the 1960s by Spain’s government to replace aging DC-3, DC-4 and Ju 52 fleets. Manufactured from 1971 to 2012, the boxy military transport has been used around the world for rainmaking, surveillance, and search and rescue. The U.S. Special Operations Command uses the aircraft, designated C-41A, for supply drops, infiltration, and exfiltration. Many have been used as airliners, and the rear ramp makes it a popular drop ship for smoke jumpers and skydivers. Azur FrRom’s contains parts for many versions of the C-212, including optional noses, doors, fuel tanks, landing-gear sponsons, horizontal stabilizers, instrument panels, and props. More than half of the parts included aren’t used, so your spares box will get a boost.…

It started with a text and photo from my cousin Don of his Trumpeter 1/16 scale King Tiger. This kit has around 140,000 parts. After six-and-a-half hours of thankless and tedious work, Don had completed less than 7 inches of one tread, with 40 inches to go. I was no stranger to projects that turned out to be more trouble than they were worth. The 1/72 scale Italeri XB-70 I’d recently finished had consumed an entire tube of Squadron White Stuff — that’s enough to spackle a powder room. Viewing Don’s work in progress, I thought to myself that this hobby wasn’t always so arduous. There was a time when modeling was unapologetically fun, a time when hyper-accuracy was unknown, when tools were limited, and we accepted small inaccuracies or…