Aircraft reviews
THE BEST, BETTER?
Considering the type’s success, it’s surprising there haven’t been more kits of the T-33A. This offering from Italeri is a re-packaging of Platz’s 2012 tooling, making this an inspired match between the latter’s superb parts and the former’s gorgeous decals, with options for six airframes.
New Platz F-15J Boxing
Japanese manufacturer Platz has certainly got the most from its 1/72 F-15J Eagle tooling, which first hit the shelves in 2015. Twelve boxings have been released so far, with differing colour schemes (including special liveries), but a new iteration is now available.
ARMY/MARINE SPOTTER
Unmanned aerial vehicles come in all shapes and sizes; the RQ-7B Shadow is one of the smaller types and is the subject of this lovely resin and photo-etched (PE) brass combination from Brengun.
RJ MITCHELL’S LEGEND
Modellers who missed out on Eduard’s limited-edition 1/48 ‘Spitfire Story: The Few’ package, fear not, for the Czech firm’s ProfiPACK edition has now arrived.
SOVIET SCENE
ICM’s approach to figures with aircraft kits is arguably among the best, with this 1/48 Polikarpov U-2 set including the base kit, plus pilots and ground crew for no extra cost.
VIOLET LIGHTNING
Here’s another double delight from Platz, in the form of its two-kit 1/144 Kawanishi N1K-J Shinden-Kai (violet lightning – modified) package, also known by the Allied callsign ‘George’.
ROSATELLI’S FALCON
The second in ICM’s CR.42 series has been released and it’s likely to be a firm favourite with modellers, being the original Italian airframe.
FLAK SUPPRESSOR
The third iteration of Airfix’s lovely 1/72 Beaufighter TF.X provides parts for a snub- or thimble-nosed airframe, matching this with markings for Royal Canadian Air Force and Portuguese Naval Aviation machines.
LATE-WAR LAVOCHKIN
This late version of Clear Prop’s newly tooled 1/72 Lavochkin La-5 includes a slightly reworked runner compared with the early iteration (CP72014), though the remaining six frames and photo-etched (PE) brass fret are unchanged.