Airfix Model World 2011-11

NORTH AMERICAN internet kit seller Sprue Brothers is beating the failing US economy by relocating to bigger and better premises. Located in Liberty, Missouri, the new 15,000sq ft building provides more space than the previous location. The larger building has allowed construction of a multi-level floor plan which currently provides ample office and working space for the current staff of 12 as well as the entire inventory. New products lines are being negotiated at present, and should only serve to swell the mail order specialist's already outstanding reputation within the industry. Owner Gordon Kwan said: "We're finding increased interest from new and existing modelling businesses and yes, more brands are on the horizon...and this has meant that we simply had to move to grow. But in line with our policy to only promote items that are in stock, actual announcements on new items won't be made until we have definite release dates from the manufacturers."

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Steel Masters No.106

Pour les Américains, la guerre du Pacifique est donc avant tout une guerre aéronavale exigeant, outre des moyens mawnts effectués par des troupes instruites aux opérations amphibies, suivis de combats classiques pour éliminer les garnisons ennemies puis de l'aménagement de bases logistiques pour le bond suivant en direction de l'archipel nippon, l'objectif ultime. Il est évident, dans ces conditions, que la Navy y joue un rôle prépondérant, le Marine Corps qui lui est associé et l'Army assurant sur terre la conquête des îles. De décembre 1941 à mars 1942, les forces japonaises obtiennent des succès relativement faciles face à des adversaires réduits à la défensive. Puis, de mars 1942 à l'été 1943, l'équilibre se rétablit progressivement : les Alliés obtiennent leurs premiers succès offensifs et arrêtent la progression japonaise. Enfin, de l'été 1943 au 10 août 1945, la supériorité croissante des Alliés est telle que les victoires éclatantes successives les mènent aux lisières du Japon et provoquent sa capitulation.

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Model Airplane International 2009-12

I have to say that I like the new packaging style - bold red branding, a small colour profile on the box top and one of the nicest computer-rendered 3D illustrations I've seen for the main image. The kit itself is moulded in light grey, and has a subtle textured feel to it, not quite pebbly, but slightly frosted. The panel lines are sharp, but very deep, perhaps the heaviest I've seen on a 1:72 kit. Clear parts are provided for the three camera ports, and the canopy is commendably clear. Decals for a Swedish and a postwar RAF variant are provided, and a full-colour painting guide shows their positioning as well as Humbrol paint references. The cockpit is fairly well furnished with some rudimentary sidewall detail, bulkheads, seat and joystick. Simplified rudder pedals are included on the floor, which locates neatly onto the instrument panel/forward bulkhead. There's also a pilot with separate arms as Airfix supply alternative undercarriage parts to represent an aircraft in flight, a nice touch for those who prefer to model aircraft in their natural environment. The cockpit was painted Xtracrylix RAF Interior Green, and the various details on the sidewalls picked out in black.

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Catalogue Dragon 2011

There are a number of reasons why this model carrier is an accurate replica of CVL-22. Perhaps the most important or significant reason is that Dragon obtained drawings, blueprints and sketches directly from the original manufacturer of this vessel. By referring to these invaluable documents, the aircraft carrier kit has been designed as accurately as possible. An example of where this kind of inside information has paid off is in the details and pattern of the hangar deck. These drawings also allowed the design team to distinguish whether particular details belonged to the carrier's initial shakedown configuration or its war cruise configuration. In one sense, this kit comes straight from the shipyard drawing board into the hands of avid ship modelers!

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Model Airplane News Magazine February 2012

Model Airplane News magazine is the world's leading authority on radio control aviation and modeling. All types of RC planes are covered. This includes nitro, electric, indoor and gas R/C planes. The substantial free content available on the website includes product and plan reviews, building hints, flight sims, helis, how-to articles and details about the current and upcoming issues. Model Airplane News Member Only area entitles you to exclusive online product reviews, access to 20 plus years of Model Airplane News magazine, Pit Tips, Podcasts from the editors, 360° product views, video interviews with top pros and industry leaders, new wallpaper every week, member contests with additional content added everyday!

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Scale Military Modeller International Vol.41 Issue 485

The Suez Crisis of 1956 was one of the most controversial military actions ever entered into by Great Britain, and its effect would be to substantially change British Foreign policy. I wanted to replicate one of the iconic tanks from this conflict - a British Centurion as seen during the Suez Crisis. I began the project with AFV Club's 1:35 Mk.5 with Dozer kit, although I did not need the dozer blade. The colour scheme was taken from Bison Decals sheet 'Suez 1956, Part 1 - British Troops' and by studying the Bison sheet while watching an online video of the actual tank I was modelling, I determined that most of what I needed was already in the kit. The Suez Centurions had a canvas cover over their mantlet, which was not in the kit tank, but thankfully AFV Club make a suitable after-market item in rubber. For the lower hull I mostly followed the kit instructions, although some changes were needed on the glacis plate. The small alignment marks for not-needed dozer fitments were sanded off the glacis and then I added an extra set of spare tracks on the right hand side of the glacis, and put the standard shackle points on the nose.

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RC Marine 2004-01 Hors Serie 01

Quand il découvrit le moyen de faire exploser une charge en dessous de la surface, David Bushnell s'intéressa à l'étude d'un système grâce auquel il pourrait acheminer cette future mine aux abords directs d'un navire ennemi. Il dessina les plans d'une drôle de machine susceptible de naviguer sous l'eau et qualifiée par certains de "bricolage". Après de nombreux calculs et diverses mises au point, ce jeune et brillant mathématicien réussit à construire son engin que l'on baptisa American Turtle ou plus simplement Tortue. Cette denomination était due à sa forme qui évoquait l'assemblage de deux carapaces de tortue accolées, ou peut-être, pourquoi pas, à la vitesse réduite à laquelle il se mouvait. L'invention fut entourée du plus grand secret et à l'automne 1775, Bushnell transporta son engin sur les berges de la rivière Connecticut, près de Lyme, pour effectuer les premiers essais. Le petit bâtiment était construit en bordés de chêne, fort semblable aux douves d'une barrique, et cerclé de bandes de cuivre. Il était lesté par une quille en plomb pesant près de 300 kilos dont un élément de 90 kilos pouvait être largué en cas d'urgence.

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Modell Portraits 39

Das Original. Es ist immer das Gleiche: Man hat eine Idee oder sieht ein Foto in einem Magazin ... ein betagter Torpedo-Bomber als Spray-Flieger in der Land- und Forstwirtschaft ... und denkt sich, das Ding bau' ich mir, kann ja so schwer nicht sein. Den Basis-Bausatz Torpedo-Bomber gibt es und das bisschen Umbau an der Cockpithaube und der Einbau eines Tanks im Bombenraum sind schnell gemacht, dachte ich. Das Denken überlass' mal den Pferden, die haben einen größeren Kopf, sagte meine Mutter immer. Meine Mutter hatte nicht immer Recht. Diesmal schon. Die Recherche in meinem Archiv und im Internet kostete sehr viel Zeit, brachte mich aber weiter. Es gibt sogar eine umfangreiche Historie im Internet von "meiner" N81865, aber keine weiteren Fotos. Hier eine stark vereinfachte Zusammenfassung der Historie. 17. März 1945 erster Einsatz bei der Navy und Teilnahme an der Schlacht um Okinawa. Nach dem Krieg bei verschiedenen Einheiten in Santa Barbara, auf Hawaii, San Diego, Norfolk und Spokane. 1954 in Litchfield Park eingelagert. Am 31. Mai 1956 erfolgte nach insgesamt 1.333 Flugstunden die Ausmusterung. Dann 1957 der Verkauf an Plains Aero Service, 1963 an Air Tankers of New Castle, 1972 an Fire Tanker of Casper und 1974 Export nach Kanada und Einsatz als Sprayflieger. 1989 Löschung der Registrierung in Kanada und Verkauf 2005 an Fargo Air Museum und 2008 an TBM Avenger Inc.

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Model Airplane International 2008-09

The Gannet by Fairey Aviation was built in response to a 1945 Admiralty requirement GR.17/45. Fairey selected an engine based on the Armstrong-Siddeley Mamba. the Double Mamba. which consisted two Mambas mounted side-by-side and coupled through a common gearbox to drive the contra-rotating propellers. This unusual engine layout resulted in the Gannet being so ugly (in my opinion!)The model (a pre-production test shot) arrived without a box and photo-copied instructions. All parts are fairly cleanly moulded in either a light grey plastic, with a little flash on some of the smaller parts, or clear. Surface detail is nicely done and panels are represented as recessed lines. The set of clear parts had unfortunately all suffered at the hands of the Post Office and were therefore replacing with vacformed parts that I produced myself. Decals in the kit are to Revell's high standard being in register and opaque; the blue of the roundels, however, appears light but these can easily be replaced. The colour options are XA32I, No.815 Sqn, HMS Ark Royal 1956 and UAI08 of 2/MGFI956. German Navy and both wear the Extra Dark Sea Grey over sky scheme. Revell tell the modeller to mix the grey from two colours in their own paint range with no mention of the correct colour name! Instructions are typical Revell with a parts layout followed by simple logical sequences.

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Steel Masters No.107

Avec la défection de l'armée italienne début septembre 1943, un certain nombre de matériels italiens sont intégrés dès octobre au sein du groupe de reconnaissance, le SS-Aufklarung Abteilung 7, et du Panzer-Abteilung delà Division Prinz Eugen qui combat avec peu de moyens blindés dans la région aepuis fin 1942. Ces blindés, des L6/40 et Semovente da 47/32, bien qu'obsolètes, sont très vite engagés dans les combats contre les partisans de Tito qui ne cessent de harceler les unités allemandes. La très récente maquette Italeri du Semovente 47/32 est d'excellente facture et reproduit fidèlement le petit blindé italien. Le niveau de détail est très satisfaisant, notamment au niveau du poste de conduite et du poste de combat. Pour accroître la finesse générale, une petite planche de photodécoupe accompagne les pièces en plastique injecté. Le montage très aisé de ce kit le destine à tous les maquettistes. Les améliorations se limitent au remplacement des loquets de fermeture des trappes d'accès au moteur par des éléments en fil métallique, et au pot d'échappement, refait en feuille d'alu et styrène. Les chenilles proposées en maillons plastiques sont finalement échangées pour de nouvelles, en métal, issues de l'incontournable gamme Friulmodel.

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Modelar Extra 2011-16

Počátkem letošního roku proběhla arabským světem vlna společenských nepokojů, která v několika zemích vedla ke změně vlády. Avšak v Libyi demonstrace a protesty obyvatelstva rychle přerostly v krveprolití, které postupně es-kalovalo v regulérní občanskou válku. Síly věrné tamnímu vůdci Muammaru Kaddáfímu v zápětí nasadily proti rebelům těžkou techniku včetně bojových letadel a vrtulníků (o libyjském letectvu a jeho modelovém ztvárnění jsme psali v Modeláři Speciál číslo 15). Rostoucí počty civilních obětí (oficiální zdroje uvádějí, že do počátku března 2011 bylo zabito nejméně 6000 lidí) a ohromná vlna uprchlíku do okolních zemí vedly 17. března 2011 Radu bezpečnosti OSN k přijetí rezoluce číslo 1973. Ta jednak zpřísňovala již dříve vyhlášené zbrojní embargo, ale hlavně nad rozhodující částí libyjského území vyhlašovala bezletovou zónu.

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Model Airplane News Magazine January 2012

The Aurora 9 is very user-friendly and has a backlit, touchscreen main display. Everything is easy to find and you can access all of the sub-menus right from the opening screen. The icons are large so you can navigate through the menus while using your thumbs and not worry about hitting a button you didn't mean to touch. The menu system is intuitive, and there are no switches, buttons or dials required to navigate the transmitter's programming menus. Add to this, easy switch selection and assignment and good switch placement with plenty of room in between to make them easy to locate while flying, and you have a very comfortable radio. All the programming features and functions you'll ever need for sailplanes, powered planes and helicopters are included. It has nine assignable control channels, 30-model memory, digital trims, eight flight conditions, nine wing types, five tail types, a 7-point throttle curve, servo speed adjustment and eight programmable mixes and customizable menus.

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FineScale Modeler 2009-09

No Century Series model aircraft collection is complete without a "Deuce", and Monograms 1/48 scale F-102A kit is the only choice if you want to build a Delta Dagger. My model is built from a kit rereleased by Monogram (No. 5518); its based on the mold of the original Century Series kit produced over two decades ago. This rere-lease is molded in light gray styrene and the parts are presented on six trees and one clear tree. The panel lines are raised (not a big deal in my opinion) and this version builds into the early F-102A with the Case X ("case ten") wing which has the up-curving wingtips and rectangular elevons. To really confuse you, there may be two versions of the Monogram F-102A kit on the market: One has the early series Case X wing (the 2002 release), and another, released in 1990, has the Case XX wing. The Case XX wings had downward-curving wingtips; F-102s with serial numbers from 56-1317 had the Case XX wing.

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Military in Scale 2009-10

Though most of us work in solitude, building our models in workshops hidden away from public view, it's great that we can enter daylight once in a while and get together with other like-minded individuals. The summer months bring us a surfeit of events that allow us to either view other models at a show dedicated to such things, or the full sized machines that so fascinate us in the first place. This month you'll find extended features on two important events that cover both bases, those events being the MAFVA National Championships from Duxford and the now famous Tankfest from the Tank Museum at Bovington. Dorset. The Model Armoured Fighting Vehicle Association's annual event is a real pilgrimage for fans of military vehicles combining as it does, a large model display and competition and a fine collection of full sized vehicles. both static displays and as part of an in-action package in Duxford's arena. For this issue. Alan Firbank took time away from the country's airshows to visit the event and brings us a comprehensive round up of the show's highlights - of which there were many! In his feature you'll find plenty of shots from the large competition, as well as some very fine images from the displays that could be found on the airfield and in the very dusty arena!

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Military in Scale 2004-09

World War Two was fought and eventually won by the Allies who followed a doctrine of quantity over quality. With the benefit of hindsight, Germany would have done better to have flooded the battlefield with Panzer IVs to take on the hordes of T-34s and Shermans rather than press ahead with the Tiger and Panther. As well as continuing to manufacture high quality tanks, German engineers allowed themselves to be seduced by Adolf Hitler's love of heavy tanks. And so at a time when Germany could least afford it, the heaviest production main battle tank of the war was bom - the King Tiger. When the Tiger I project was launched, Henschel and Porsche both submitted designs. Porsche's design was expensive, complex and impractical, and the company lost to Henschel. History repeated itself with the Tiger II. Again, Henschel and Porsche both submitted designs. Again, Porsche's design was expensive, complex and impractical, and the company lost to Henschel. By the time Henschel was declared the winner, Krupp had already built a number of turrets for the Porsche design. Rather than see them go to waste, they were fitted to the Henschel prototype and the first 50 production Tiger IIs.

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Military in Scale 2003-03

At the time of writing (Christmas 2002) it is difficult to decide what to include in this months insight? Preparations are underway for the deployment of more British and American forces to the Gulf region as UN weapons inspectors search fruitlessly for Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. It is difficult to see where this will all end as more and more military hardware is massed around the borders of Iraq and the rhetoric between each side becomes more and more belligerent. Obviously our own armed forces are carrying out what is known as 'prudent planning' and contingency preparations.' In order that should the government elect to use force against Iraq our service personnel will be ready to carry out any task assigned to them. These preparations are of course veiled in secrecy although most of the broadsheet newspapers are trying desperately to get their fingers on the MoD pulse! This secrecy is of course sensible and precludes me naming units that are provisionally nominated for possible deployment. should these units be publicly named by the MoD then rest assured MIS will take a close look at them and any others contained in the operational Orbat.

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Les Thematiques Steel Masters No.10

Le chiffre de 5500 chars et automitrailleuses mis en ligne par les Allemands en mai 1940 d'après le général Guderian,sera-t-il, lorsque toutes les archives auront été dépouillées,considéré comme approchant de la vérité ? On sait que les thèses françaises divergent à ce sujet. Quelles sont celles qui prévaudront dans l'avenir ? En réalité, la querelle du nombre des chars et autos mitrailleuses,en mai 1940, n'est qu'un aspect de la question. Ce qui est primordial et qui doit être souligné, c'est que la mobilité stratégique et tactique des divisions blindées allemandes l'emportait sur les divisions correspondantes de l'armée française et les éléments de durs non endivisionnés. Il est clair qu'avec une conception de la guerre basée sur la surprise, la masse et la rapidité d'exécution, les Allemands axaient acquis une supériorité qui tenait moins au nombre de chars qu'à leur mobilité, à leur vitesse sur route et en terrains variés, et à leur organisation en divisions et corps d'armée blindés.

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Model Airplane News Magazine December 2011

Scale model aircraft are a great way, and sometimes the only way, to see a historical aircraft fly. Invariably at a fly-in, the aircraft that gets the most attention are the ones with top-notch weathering, detailing, and a fully decked cockpit. Unfortunately, I've found that pilot figures usually didn't look like the real thing. Following the philosophy, "If the model looks real, so should the pilot," I created my own pilot figure company called Best Pilots. I sculpt, make molds, cast and paint my pilot figures so that they look as realistic as possible. Since I paint quite a few pilots a year, I thought I could share some of my knowledge. Before painting, it's really important to clean the figure. You really have to ensure it's free from any mold release agents so the paint will adhere properly. Also remove all flashing and traces of the molding seams. I use rubbing alcohol and an old toothbrush and give the figure a good scrubbing. Soap and water and even carburetor cleaner all work well with cast figures. For this technique we're using my latest figure, "RAF Ace, Sailor Malan." I will also be showing other Best Pilot figures to illustrate different techniques.

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Figurines No.92

Beaucoup de nouveautés chez Métal Modèles en cette rentrée, preuve que « le maître de Seillans » ne ralentit pas son rythme de production mais cherche également de nouvelles pistes pour satisfaire de nouvelles et autres catégories de figurinistes. On commence par « du lourd », par un de ces cavaliers comme la marque en a le secret, un Chasseur à cheval de la Garde en grande tenue. Certes ce sujet a souvent été traité en figurines, quasiment à toutes les échelles d'ailleurs, mais jamais par Métal Modèles dont le catalogue ne contenait jusqu'à présent qu'une figurine à pied. Cette lacune est désormais comblée, et de quelle (belle) manière! On parie que l'on n'a pas fini de voir et revoir ce cavalier sur les tables des concours, et dans les vitrines des collectionneurs? Bruno Leibovitz profite d'ailleurs de l'occasion pour compléter sa série de Chasseurs à cheval de la Garde avec un trompette en petite tenue et pelisse chaussée, mais cette fois à pied, qui vient ainsi rejoindre le « trompette-major » de la même troupe édité précédemment et dont la tenue est assez différente.

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Steel Masters No.77

En effet, par souci d'efficacité et de rapidité, Américains et Français conviennent : les uns d'acheminer l'équipement par unités constituées et les autres d'adopter celles-ci pour faciliter l'instruction des troupes et garantir leur soutien logistique. Soucieuse de participer au plus tôt aux opérations sur le continent européen, l'armée d'Afrique doit donc, dans les plus brefs délais, s'organiser autour du matériel reçu d'outre-Atlantique sans pour autant bouleverser les structures existantes, indispensables à l'équilibre d'une armée fragilisée par les événements de 1940 à 1942. L'adoption du système américain ne pose pas de problème majeur aux cadres de l'Arme blindée - créée par le général Giraud pour distinguer les troupes motorisées de la cavalerie à cheval - dans la mesure où, à bien des égards, il correspond aux conceptions élaborées avant et après la défaite de 1940. Toutefois, une certaine adaptation est nécessaire pour tenir compte des spécificités françaises, de l'ordre d'urgence de création des grandes unités et de l'arrivée des matériels dans les ports nord-africains.

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