‘TONKA’ TWEAKS
Italeri’s 1/72 Panavia Tornado GR.1 kits are the recipient of Eduard’s comprehensive photo-etched metal upgrade, which includes one pre-painted fret and two plain brass examples.
FELINE THRUST
Czech firm AB&K Models has released a superb resin 1/72 Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engine for Airfix’s F4F-4 Wildcat kits.
MICRO MACHINES
Maritime specialist Black Cat Models has turned its attention to armour subjects, these incredibly minute 3D-printed 1/350 scale M4 Sherman tanks.
FIRING FITTINGS
This is the 1/72 version of Eduard’s photo-etched Soviet/Russian ejection seat firing handles set, which provides pre-coloured representations for a variety of fittings as these can be challenging to replicate with styrene.
NAVAL TRAINING
Belgian firm PJ Production has released this simple but effective 1/48 Hawker Hunter conversion set, which allows modellers to transform Airfix’s new-tool F.6 offerings into GA.11 airframes – as used by the Royal Navy for weapons training.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Most modern jets usually carry training stores more often than bombs and missiles, so it’s great to see Eduard providing the US Air Force and Navy’s standard practice bomb carrier, the SUU-20.
HIGHWAY TONES
Here’s a great set of acrylic paints for diorama builders, with six colours matched to various road/track/building shades, from mortar to asphalt and concrete.
LONG-RANGE REFINEMENT
Zvezda’s 1/144 Boeing 777-300ER (also re-boxed by Revell) is the subject of BOA Decals’ photo-etched metal upgrade, which appears to have been developed by now-defunct firm ExtraTech.
‘TURKEY’ TUB TREATS
Creating realistic instrument panels can be challenging, so Eduard’s Löök series is a boon, offering pre-coloured consoles on 3D-printed resin.
SCALE SOFT DRINKS
Perfect for a 1/35 scale modern-era unloading scene, or populating the cargo area of a commercial vehicle, Matho Models’ cardboard boxes depict crates of popular soft drinks, including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Fanta and Schweppes.
LATIN AMERICAN SCOOTERS
With the 40th anniversary of the Falklands conflict fast approaching, Santiago Rivas’s informative depiction of the Argentine Air Force and Navy’s A-4 Skyhawks makes for an engrossing read.
SPRING AWAKENING
Works covering German offensives in Hungary during 1945 are scarce, but this volume from Peko examines this topic in detail.
ADMIRAL TOM’S CAT
While there’s no shortage of references covering Grumman’s F-14 Tomcat variable-geometry interceptor, Guideline’s 126th Warpaint publication is sure to be popular.
REGAL TONES
From a historical aspect, the Balkans is a fascinating subject, particularly the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between the two world wars, and it is this time period that’s covered in the first in a series on the Yugoslavian Air Force.
GOD OF THE SEA
Modellers with Boeing P-8A Poseidon kits from Hasegawa or Welsh Models – plus those attempting a resin replica or conversion project – will appreciate this superb guide to the maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft, based on the firm’s 737 airliner.
MEDITERRANEAN AIR POWER
The evolution of the RAF’s close air support to army units during World War Two is a complex subject, and this volume – the first in a two-part series – delves into its origins.
EUROPEAN FIGHTBACK
Pen & Sword’s Images of War collection offers modellers a wealth of period photographs that are ideal for reference or inspiration, and this addition to the series covers the Allied liberation of much of Western Europe in the second half of 1944.
MARTIN-BAKERS AS MARKINGS
AFTERMARKET DECAL supplier Kits-World has revealed an innovative solution for adding refinement to model aircraft interiors in the form of its 3D-Relief markings.
LONG-BARRELLED PANZERS
Fitting the KwK 40 L/43 anti-tank gun to Panzer IV Ausf. Fs resulted in the amended designation F2 (subsequently renamed Ausf. G after three months’ production), and these tanks are the subject of Star Decals’ 1/35 set.
BALTIC BATTLERS
Modellers with an interest in World War Two-era Axis armour outside of Germany will appreciate Star Decals’ collection of Bulgaria-deployed vehicles, which features a varied mix of types.
CROATIAN STATE MACHINES
Star Decals’ first collection of markings for World War Two vehicles based in the Balkan region is devoted to Croatian machinery, including ex-German, Italian and Polish armoured fighting vehicles.
AFRICANS IN ITALY
Sherman tanks are popular subjects due to their ubiquity, having been operated by most Allied forces during World War Two; among these, South African (SA) machines make for an unusual project and modellers so inclined will find these Star Decals markings of interest.
UNDER THE BONNET
Although Eduard’s 1/48 Focke-Wulf Fw 190s are well regarded, this set from the firm’s Brassin range is an eye-catching upgrade for the A-8 version, as it supplies the upper-cowling machine guns plus a wealth of engine detail visible below these armaments.
ENEMY DEFENCE SUPPRESSOR
Eduard’s 1/48 Air Launched Anti-Radiation Missile (ALARM) set is suitable for RAF Tornado GR.1/4s and a trials EF-3 before the munition’s 2013 retirement, plus Royal Saudi Air Force machines, which still use the Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) weapons.
SPIT 'SHOES'
Modellers seeking refinement for Tamiya’s 1/32 Spitfire Mk.IX may wish to consider these resin wheels from Eduard’s Brassin range.
ANTI-BIRD PROTECTION
Designed to combat the American-designed MIM-23 Hawk missile, the Soviet SPS-141 electronic countermeasures pod is the subject of Eduard’s Brassin set, intended for its 1/72 MiG-21 kits.
TINY TRACKS
Comprising just four styrene runners, Airfix’s returning 1/72 Universal Carrier and 6-pounder gun illustrates the diminutive size of the Vickers-Armstrong design, often referred to as a ‘Bren Gun Carrier’ due to the armament carried.
CLASSIC CAT
Here’s a real blast from the past from Airfix’s Vintage Classics range, with its 1/76 Panzerkampfwagen V Panther tank, which is a staggering 59 years old.
INTELLIGENCE DOUBLE
Airfix’s 1/76 German reconnaissance set includes parts for a Sd.Kfz. 222 armoured car as configured for intelligence-gathering operations plus a Type 82 Kübelwagen – a design produced by Dr Ferdinand Porsche from the Volkswagen Beetle.
WHEELED WEAPONRY
Developed from the 8-rad (eight-wheeled) Schwerer Panzerspähwagen (heavy armoured reconnaissance vehicle), the Sd.Kfz.234 armoured car is the subject of Airfix’s 1/76 Vintage Classics offering, appearing as a late-war 234/4 variant with PaK 40 gun.