Archive for the ‘Product review’ Category

Monday we had a look at some gorgeous decal sets from Starfighter Decals. Then on Wednesday, we looked at some of the resin upgrade sets from Starfighter Decals. Today we will finish the week with some photoetch- and more decals!

Many folks know of Starfighter Decals for the products they produce for Monogram’s classic 1930′s biplanes- the P-6E, F112-C, and F4B-4. If you’re like me though, as soon as you hear the word “biplane” you think “rigging”, and say “no thanks!”

Mark Tutton, the man behind Starfighter Decals, has taken those orries away with photoetch rigging sets designed especially for the classic Monogram kits.

Starfighter makes E-Z Rigging sets for for the three kits mentioned above, plus the P-26 Peashooter from Revell. We’ll look at the set for the P-6E and F112-C. Read the rest of this entry »

Monday we had a look at some gorgeous decal sets from Starfighter Decals. Today, we’ll continue with our review of Starfighter Decals products, looking at some resin upgrade sets. (And don’t miss out on part III, with photoetch and more decals.)

Though Mark Tutton produces many different decal, resin, and photoetch products, what Starfighter Decals is best known for are there sets for classic Monogram and Revell 1/72nd kits. Here are some of those resin sets. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the great things about modeling today is the huge variety of decals and aftermarket accessories available for the modeler to choose from. Whether it’s decals, resin sets, photo etch, or just about any other type of accessories, it’s a good bet someone in the world will be making it.

Mark Tutton of Starfighter Decals is one of those people. Mark was gracious enough to send me some great decal, photo etch, and resin sets to share with you, so this week I’ll be featuring Starfighter Decals products. (Be sure and check out part II and part III also!)

Starfighters Decals is well known for the decal and resin sets designed for Monogram’s 1/72 scale biplanes. What you may not know is they also carry products for many other great models, in a variety of scales.

Today we’ll take a look at some very interesting decal sets for pre- and early WWII US aircraft. Read the rest of this entry »

Several years ago, Mark Buchler of Modelnerd’s Modelshack fame had released a resin cowl update set for the Monogram P-61. With the renewed interest in the P-61 thanks to Great Wall Hobby’s Black Widow kit, it was time for an update to that set.

Mark’s new update will do double duty, working on both the Monogram and Great Wall kits. So regardless of which base kit you choose, you can be sure you’ll have some great looking power plants and their associated parts hanging on the ends of the booms.

The set itself consists of cowls, engines, props and spinners (with alignment jig), as well as a spacing adapter for the Great Wall kit. The parts are cast in light grey resin that almost has a styrene feel to it. The parts are free of pinholes or other deformations, with only a light amount of flash here and there. Impressively, none of the parts have the huge casting plugs normally associated with resin parts. Mark’s use of sprue-like attachments has always impressed me, and sets him at the top of the heap in my opinion when it comes to smart engineering for small resin operations. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo courtesy Mark Büchler

Many folks may know Mark Büchler as “Modelnerd” on various model related forums. A few may remember the super-impressive scratch built cockpit and other additions he did a few years ago for Lindberg’s Goshawk kit that was posted on Fine Scale’s forum. He did an awesome job on that, and decided to make resin copies. He sold a few of those, and decided to do more resin. An upgrade for the Hobbycraft/Academy I-16 followed (which I used in a build and quite enjoyed), as well as an engine/cowl set for Revell’s P-61.

Now Mark has re-done his Goshawk set, adding in some additional parts. The sets are available in a limited quantity, so if you’ve ever considered building Lindberg’s Goshawk, you might want to snag one of these really quick. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, Jeff Herne at ModelersWarehouse.com sent me some samples of the new weathering pigments he is producing, with the too-cool sounding name of Warpigs Weathering Pigments. Figuring a treadhead might make better use of them than I could, I asked Michael Faulkner (Jagdtiger1944 on the AgapeModels.com forums) to give them a try and share his thoughts with us.

I used a new line of weathering pigments called Warpigs. They are from a new company, ModelersWarehouse.com, with a wide range of colors in their weathering pigments line. They also have pre-made washed for those who do not like making their own washes. (Look for a future review on those! ~Ed.) They are very fine powders and come in a twist top container. This was the first time I have used actual weathering pigments. I usually use ground up pastels, but could not get the pastels grounded as fine as these pigments are.

Read the rest of this entry »

Drew Hatch sent in this very useful tutorial for bending photoetch. Though he’s using The Small Shop’s “Bug” bending station, the basics he covers will apply to just about any bending tool.

When photo etch bending stations first came into the market, their need was questioned. Their usefulness has now become redundant. Today, very few modelers can get along without one. The complex development of photo etch has created a necessity for them. Although many different types have become available, there are two manufacturers that are recognized in the industry. The largest one being Mission Models, and the first manufacturer, The Small Shop.

Read the rest of this entry »