Aircraft reviews
CANNON-WING SPIT'
Depicted in a striking inverted position on its artwork, Airfix’s quarter-scale Spitfire Mk.Vb has been re-issued with new markings for RAF and US-operated airframes.
NEXT-GEN TRAINER
Revell’s re-boxing of Kinetic’s large-scale Hawk 100 as the RAF’s T.2 variant also serves to provide fresh markings options.
DEVILISH GUNFIGHTER
It’s a welcome return for the Platz 1/144 F-8 Crusader – once again, it’s a two-kit product and uses the same parts as the earlier F8U-2 release (see Reviews, June 2020), which is unsurprising as they are the same airframe.
ARMOURED DEFENDER
Comprising six styrene runners, a photo-etched (PE) steel fret, pre-cut mask set and two decal sheets, Eduard’s ProfiPACK edition Fw 190A-8/R2 is arguably the package of choice for recreating this anti-bomber variant in quarter-scale.
UK-DEPLOYED 'FELLAS'
Boeing’s B-52 Stratofortress is a huge aircraft, so it’s no surprise Italeri’s 1/72 depiction is similarly hefty; it comprises 12 styrene runners with separate fuselage ‘quarters’ and two-piece main wings.
OKINAWA STRAFERS
Given the dearth of 1/48 A-26 kits, it’s perhaps surprising this is the fifth iteration of ICM’s superb offering, for a gun and rocket-armed version.
JET AMPHIBIAN
There aren’t many jet-powered amphibians, so Zvezda’s newly tooled Beriev Be-200ES is a delight.
READY FOR NIGHT
ICM’s mixing of figures and aircraft kits is a great idea and that’s definitely the case with its CR.42, which has been augmented with the firm’s Luftwaffe Pilots set (32101) to create a convincing pre/post-flight scene.
MINIATURE MARVEL
Eduard’s collaboration with Platz means that the latter’s delightful 1/144-scale offerings are readily available in Europe, such as the P-47D ‘bubbletop’, which matches the original parts with new markings by Eduard for five bright and colourful schemes.
FLYING SHARK
If modellers favouring 1/72 builds felt left out when Clear Prop! released a newly tooled 1/48 XA2D-1 Skyshark, they can now rest assured as the type has just been released in 1/72 scale.