Right On! Replicas

RoR Step-by-Step Review 20120418 – P-51 P-40 Combo AM 1/72 kit #1020-0100
Click Here to Buy This Kit

See the Step-by-Step Review by Kevin Lawton

The P-40 Warhawk first flew in 1938 and when production ceased in Nov. 1944 13,738 had been built.  Anyone familiar with the ‘Flying Tigers’ or who has seen a movie about Pearl Harbor is familiar with the P-40.  The P-40’s flown by the Flying Tigers with their distinctive shark’s mouth are perhaps one of the most iconic American fighters of World War II.

  

The North American P-51D is perhaps the most recognized and famous of all Allied aircraft from World War II.  The P-51 became the iconic aircraft we know today when the British suggested replacing its original Allison V-1710-87 engine with the more powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine.  The Packard V-1650 engine (a license built version of the Merlin) powered over 10,000 P-51’s, of which 8,156 were model D’s.  The P-51 finally gave the Allies a fighter that could escort bombers into Germany and back again.

For the modeler: Assembly of the P-40 was not too difficult and the decals were wonderful.  My only real criticism of this kit is the instructions – they consist of a series of too-often photo-copied black and white pictures of parts being fitted to the model making parts locations somewhat uncertain – especially for the beginner.  In the end I would highly recommend this kit to any young or not so young beginner.  Although I spent time filling seams and masking to use an air brush, a beginner with some supervision (especially to fix the warped wing) could forget about the seams, paint the model with a brush, and wind up with a nice looking shark mouth P-40.  Except for the issue with the P-51 wing (which may only be my sample) this is a very easy kit to assemble.  Painting this kit using a airbrush requires a significant investment of time, however a beginner using a brush could eliminate most, if not all of the masking.  I would certainly recommend this kit to any beginner.  A bit of adult supervision might be necessary for the painting, but over all the kit certainly fits the bill – being aimed squarely at the beginner.

 

 

*All registered trademarks are the property of their respective brands.

RoR SnapShot Review 20120412 – B-17G Flying Fortress 1/48 Revell 85-5600
Click Here to Buy This Kit

 

A SnapShot Review by Eric Pushinsky

 

 

This kit includes decals for two different ships; El Lobo II, which was a silver bomber that served with the 457th bomb group 748th squadron or the Chow Hound, which was assigned to the 322nd squadron of the 91st bomb group out of Bassingbourn, England. I chose the Chow Hound version and started by painting the fuselage pieces. The top half is olive drab, and the bottom ghost gray with red tips on the main wings and on the stabilizers.  I then I moved on to paint all the various pieces while there still on the spruces because I find it’s easier that way for me.

For the Modeler: As you can see this is a very detailed model. It went together without any problems. This was an out-of-the-box build. I recommend you lay out all the pieces before starting your build.  I liked the instructions, they were very complete and easy to read, and have detailed pictures. Even though most of the interior pieces will not be seen after the fuselage halves are glued together, I still hand paint all the pieces for my own satisfaction. I enjoyed this build, and plan to get another to build the El Lobo II.

Eric Pushinsky 

*All registered trademarks are the property of their respective brands.

RoR Step-by-Step Review 20120404* – Jungle Jim Vega NHRA Funny Car 1:25 Revell 85-4288 Review
Click Here to Buy This Kit

See the Step-by-Step Review by Marty and Stephanie Oberman

“Jungle” Jim Lieberman is a true legend and showman in the drag racing circles, and his cars have always been trend-setters as such. Not to mention the fact he was a winner no matter what track he laid rubber on!

For the Modeler: This re-release of Revell’s Jungle Jim Vega Funny Car isn’t a model for the novice builder but with a few corrections it turns out to be a gorgeous display model. Part modifications, assembly sequence procedures, warpage issues, axle cap correction and foil applications are fully explained in the review.

*All registered trademarks are the property of their respective brands.