Author: Bruces Scale Models

Kittyhawk 1/48 Su-35

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  • Built: 2017
  • Aftermarket Used: A.M.U.R Reaver afterburners
  • Decals: Kit

This was another review I completed for The Modelling News
You can read the articles here, which covers construction and finishing of the model

Overall, I enjoyed building the model, and think it ranks as one of kittyhawks better models to date, only let down by the lack of drooped nozzles and being able to make a late version Flanker OOB. Well, that and the normal KH issues like poor instructions and could-be-better moulding . 

Really though, I thought KH might have started to overcome a few of these things by now.  That KH instructions continue to mis number parts or show them incorrectly is incredibly frustrating, and seems to just illustrate (excuse the pun) a lack of listening to customer feedback
  I cant comment on the accuracy, but nothing really glaring stood out to me.
Since I have completed this kit, Great Wall Hobbies have released theirs, and were I ever to do another, this is the kit I would choose, being superior in all facets, but I wont do another as one Su-35 in the cabinet is enough for me.
  This was also the first time I completely painted a model using Mr Color laquers, and I will certainly be using them again.  I have to say, the finished model looks quite striking in the cabinet due to its size and that colour scheme. 

Kinetic 1/48 Dassault Mirage IIIO

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  • Built: 2017
  • Aftermarket Used: Wheels-Resin art. Pitot Tube-Master detail
  • Decals: Caracal Mirages over Australia

The Mirage holds a favourite place in the hearts of many Australian Aircraft modellers, so there was much rejoicing when Kinetic announced they were releasing this kit.  Although in my opinion,  it renders the Heller and Italeri kits obsolete, moulding is a little soft and the fit is not the best. 
There is still room for the definitive kit out there. 
Two of my friends and I decided to build this kit as a challenge build to get judged at a show.  the winner gets to pick the next subject.  At least I finished this one, the last build – the Kittyhawk Jaguar- is still languishing in its box with broken u/c.  In a fit of insanity, I decided to build all three kinetic mirages in my stash.  two single seaters and a trainer, the trainer still needing to be finished as I’m a little “miraged out” at the moment.  The kit goes together quickly enough, but there are several traps  awaiting the unwary, and the moulding is quite poor for a kit released in 2015, mine having many sink marks and a lot of flash. OOB, the nose gear also has a little bit of an exaggerated backward rake.
With the two Caracal sheets, you can pretty much make any mirage in the RAAF fleet, wearing any of the many schemes it wore during its service life
 I found though, the caracal tail bands needed trimming for a better fit, and the blue in the roundels and fin flash is too vivid. 
Ronin Graphics also do a couple of very comprehensive sheets, that also allow you to build a few of the commemorative schemes.
In fact there  is a fair bit of AM around for this kit
And the winner of the challenge build?  Well, all three of us never managed to get to the show!

Dassault Mirage IIIO 77 SQN R.A.A.F Williamtown. Australia 1986

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Kinetic 1/48 C.A.C Mirage IIIO

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  • Date Completed;  December 2017
  • Aftermarket Used: Eduard interior set, Seat-Pavla MB4, Pitot tube- master barrel. Stores-PJ productions PM3 bomb rack, Hasegawa bombs, Wheels-Resin art
  • Decals: Caracal Mirages over Australia

The Mirage holds a favourite place in the hearts of many Australian Aircraft modellers, so there was much rejoicing when Kinetic announced they were releasing this kit.  Although in my opinion,  it renders the Heller and Italeri kits obsolete, moulding is a little soft and the fit is not the best. 
There is still room for the definitive kit out there. 
Two of my friends and I decided to build this kit as a challenge build to get judged at a show.  the winner gets to pick the next subject.  At least I finished this one, the last build – the Kittyhawk Jaguar- is still languishing in its box with broken u/c.  In a fit of insanity, I decided to build all three kinetic mirages in my stash.  two single seaters and a trainer, the trainer still needing to be finished as I’m a little “miraged out” at the moment.  The kit goes together quickly enough, but there are several traps  awaiting the unwary, and the moulding is quite poor for a kit released in 2015, mine having many sink marks and a lot of flash. OOB, the nose gear also has a little bit of an exaggerated backward rake.
With the two Caracal sheets, you can pretty much make any mirage in the RAAF fleet, wearing any of the many schemes it wore during its service life
 I found though, the caracal tail bands needed trimming for a better fit, and the blue in the roundels and fin flash is too vivid. 
Ronin Graphics also do a couple of very comprehensive sheets, that also allow you to build a few of the commemorative schemes.
In fact there  is a fair bit of AM around for this kit
And the winner of the challenge build?  Well, all three of us never managed to get to the show!

C.A.C Mirage IIIO(A) 3 SQN. Butterworth. Malaya. R.A.A F

Kittyhawk 1/32 P-39 Bell Airacobra Mk1

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Year Purchased: 2016
Date Completed: 2017
​Aftermarket used
Eduard  Cockpit interior set, and exterior set ,exhausts
HGW Seatbelts RAF eraly style Sutton Harness
Mastercaster early style wheels and fishtail exhausts for Mk1
Master Model  .50in and .303 gun barrels with no flash hider
Maketar Masks  RAF and RAAF airacobra for Special Hobby kit

I have always loved the Airacobra in Royal Air Force markings, so when Kittyhawk announced their kit, thoughts turned to modifying it to represent a Mk 1 Airacobra as briefly used by 601 SQN
Research revealed there weren’t too many visible differences between the kit version and the one I wanted to model.  Fishtail exhausts, wheels, armament and a smaller diameter propeller being the main ones.  Mastercaster did wheels and exhausts for a Mk1.  Although made to fit the Special Hobby kit, they were easily adaptable to the KH kit.  Master of Poland supplied the gun barrels for wings and fuselage, the nose cannon being made from brass tubing.  I had planned to have the nose gun bay open, and had even gone as far as to replace the kit 37mm cannon with a 20mm hispano robbed from a HobbyBoss Spitfire, but in the end was not happy that I had portrayed the interior correctly, so reluctantly glued the panels shut.  The aerial mast was scratchbuilt from plastic strip, and the pitot tube came from a Trumpeter P-47
Overall I found the kit a reasonable build, although there were a couple of areas where fit was less than stellar, the wingroots being the main culprit.  This was due to the recess for the inner walls of the wheelbays not being deep enough.  The problem was solved by fitting the wings to the fuselage minus the wheelwell inner walls.  These were fitted after the wings were glued on.  To enable this, you need to cut the tabs off the wheelwell front and rear walls that the inner walls locate onto.  Do this and you will be rewarded with a join that just needs a smear of filler to hide.  It remains one of my favourite builds.

Bell P-39 Airacobra Mk1 601 SQN. Royal Air Force. Duxford 1941

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Kittyhawk 1/48 Super Etendard

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  • Built: 2017
  • Aftermarket Used: Dedicated Eduard PE set
  • Decals: Kit

The Kittyhawk Super Etendard Modernise was another build done for The Modelling News.  

www.themodellingnews.com/2017/01/build-guide-review-pt-ii-bruce-finishes.html#more

The only addition was an Eduard Zoom Set to help the cockpit. It was finished with Gunze paints and the decals from the kit. It went together pretty well with a minimum of filler, however if you are one of those modellers that don’t enjoy the construction phase, Kittyhawk kits aren’t for you.  Just about all the parts need refining with flash and ejector pins needing removing before assembly.  That said, I still enjoyed building this kit.  However should you wish to build an early Argentinian jet used during The Falklands War, you are best getting the Kinetic kit, as that includes the proper bullet fairing on the tail.

 

Bronco 1/48 Curtiss Tomahawk 81-A2

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  • Built: 2016
  • Aftermarket Used: Nil
  • Decals: Kit

This was the second review I did for The Modelling News and I had high hopes for it.  Unfortunately  the kit was  a bit of a chore, whether this was because I had just built a kittyhawk, or because of all the remedial work required,  I found myself having  to dig deep to finish the build.  
Despite its inaccuracies, the kit has some nice features, although I can not recommend it given the Airfix kit is far superior.  I imagine this will be relegated to the shadows, especially in the Western market.

Curtiss 81-A2 Hawk. American Volunteer Group. China. 1941

Special Hobby 1/32 Brewster Buffalo Mk1

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  • Built: 2016
  • Aftermarket Used: Nil
  • Decals: Montex masks

This one had a period on The Shelf of Doom due to me damaging the windscreen.  Special Hobby kindly came to the rescue and supplied me a new one free of charge.  Exceedingly generous of them seeing as I was the one who cocked it up.  I added a few additions to the cockpit such as a British reflector gunsight and armoured glass screen to reflect the British modifications. All markings are sprayed using Montex masks.  I have since discovered a few colour inaccuracies, the fuselage band should be sky blue and there should be no yellow ring on the underside roundel.  I still like it though.  Its actually a kit that I would like to revisit as I do i have a soft spot for the tubby Buffalo.  This being the third one I have built, well fourth, as I remember building the old tamiya kit as well. 

Brewster Buffalo Mk 1 67 SQN. R.A.F Burma 1941

Eduard 1/48 N.A.A. F-86 Sabre

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  • Built: 2016
  • Aftermarket Used: Multimedia kit OOB
  • Decals: kit

This is Hasegawa’s still very nice plastic rebooted by Eduard and supersized with some of their excellent resin and Photo etch.  

This was built for a review for The Modelling News, and rather than go through the build again, I will just send you there via this link

I was quite happy with the finished model and it still resides in my cabinet.

North American Aviation F-86F Sabre 390th FBS, Alexandria AFB, Louisiana, USA, 1955

Hasegawa 1/48 P-40E Kittyhawk

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  • Built:   2016
  •   Ultracast P-40 seat
  •   Ultracast P-40 Block tread wheels
  •   Ultracast P-40 Tubular exhausts

Decals:            Combination of Cutting Edge Pyn Up and Aussie decals

​Hasegawa’s P-40 series seems to be one of those kits modellers either love or hate 
 Flick through any of the fora and you will find modellers that rate it as a horrible fitting kit through to other modellers that have had no fit problems at all.  It does require care in assembly – like any kit – but I found mine went together reasonably well with only a small amount of iller needed around the gun ports and fuselage.  To be honest, I found the Cutting Edge decals a real disappointment, thick and reluctant to conform to recessed details.  The nose art decals, although very thin, were not sharply printed.  I dare say though printing technology has improved since these decals were first released.

Curtiss P-40 E-CE Kittyhawk

A.M.T 1/48 Douglas A-20C

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  • Built: 2014
  • Aftermarket Used: Master barrel brass gun barrels, RedRoo Models tropical cowls, Vector corrected control surfaces, MDC main wheels.
  • Decals: RedRoo Models

The second of a parallel Boston build, This one was finished as a RAAF machine. All the comments from my first Boston Build apply here too, including the spindly landing gear.

Douglas A-20C 22 SQN Royal Australian Air Force .

Goodenough Island New Guinea 1942