Man Cave Modeler

Product Reviews
Take it or leave it, the comments here are strictly my opinion,
(and you know what they say about opinions)
I do this for fun and receive no compensation from anyone I might mention on this site.
Just my 2 cents worth

This site always under construction


Friulmodel Tracks
ATL-25,   Tiger I Early Track Set

White metal, individual tracks that are assembled using lengths of wire to provide the pivot between links. Much easier to assemble than plastic tracks, the weight of the metal gives a very realistic sag between wheels.


I found the tracks on Acadamy's Tiger I difficult to assemble, maybe it's me and my lack of experience with these types of tracks, but it became very frustrating so I went aftermarket.

Inside the box were 2 bags, one for each side, a length of soft metal wire and a set of instruction.
Each link is drilled on one side and the holes needed to be cleaned up with a .020 drill bit.
Cut the wire to length and insert.. It's really that easy. A small bead of gorilla glue over the open hole and you're good to go. Once assembled, these are easily primed and painted.

At $39.95 the Fruilmodel tracks are pricey, but worth the money.



TIPS:
Adjust the bit in the pin vise so you don't inadvertently drill all the way through
(like I did a couple times)
After assembling a few links, I began using steel sewing pins, the diameter was ideal, the head of the pins was close to scale and the joint seemed a little more solid


Afterburner Decals
VF103 Sluggers, 48-071

All I can say about this set when I opened it was WOW!, Afterburner has set the new standard for decal sets.

This extensive set covers just about every Sluggers color scheme VF-103 used from their conversion from F-4's to their squadron name change to the Jolly Rogers in 1995.

There are two sheets included in the set, the smaller one contains modex numbers and some crews names. The larger sheet is tightly packed with hi-viz, low viz and every viz in between. There is stenciling enough for two aircraft, and enough squadron insignia to do at least four or five different paint schemes including the Flircat or Bombcat.
If there's a downside, it's the lack of Modex numbers for other aircraft in the squadron. (in my case #AA207)

Sadly, Afterburner is no longer in business and the more popular sets like VF84 Jolly Rogers are selling for obscene prices on a certain nameless website. So if you think there's something in the future or a specific Squadron you choose to model you might like to build, snap one of these sets up while you can before you're at the mercy of an online auction site.


PrintScale Decals
F-4 Phantom IIs of the U.S. Navy (part 2)  72-266

This set comes with two sheets with markings for three different Squadrons, VF103 "sluggers", VF-114 Aardvarks and VF142 Ghostriders.
The Set wasn't as extensive as other sets on the market but they really don't need to be if your kit's decal set is adequate
The printing is crisp and clear (The crew names were clearly legible) and the colors were rich.
The transfers were very thin and lifted of the backing paper quickly with room temperature water.
This actually came as a surprise when I dipped the paper in warm water than the decals lifed off almost immediately.
If you do choose the purchase one of these sets, I would recommend practicing with some of transfers you won't need on spare parts to get a feel for them.

Another thing to keep in mind is these ship from Eastern Europe so delivery time can be a little long depending on where you reside but for me they were worth the wait.


click to enlarge


Veteran's models VT35057
Kriegsmarine 20mm Flak-Vierling C35
Not for the feint of heart

The first time I opened this kit I wondered what was I thinking?
Inside the box is the usual Veteran's Instruction page along with two bags of parts, Resin and gun barrels and sheet of photo etch.
Once I got past the intimidating size of the parts, they went together fairly easily

The parts in this kit are incredibly small and easily lost when dropped but the results are worth it when compared to the kit parts.


TIPS
One thing you will need is a #92 drill bit to deepen the sockets for the gun barrels.
Another necessity are some very fine tip surgical tweezers


More to come

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Last Updated June 28, 2018