Reviews of products for scale miscellaneous models.

Book Author(s)
Simon Forty
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Greenhill Books
MSRP
$39.95

Greenhill Books, an imprint of Pen & Sword Books, is an independent, family-owned company that publishes quality military history for knowledgeable enthusiasts. Its focus is on military history that matters and will have an impact. Publishing fascinating military history for the knowledgeable enthusiast, its books are renowned and available internationally with translations into other languages. The Greenhill catalog has a particular emphasis on World War biographies that bring to life the unique perspectives only first-hand battlefield experience can provide.

Book Author(s)
Antonio Luis Sapienza
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

This is the second volume on the Brazil’s Araguaia War. The author, Antonio Luis Sapienza wrote,

In Volume 1, the military regimes that ruled Brazil during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were examined. This included an overview of the various guerilla groups operating within Brazil, as well as an analysis of the military strength of the Brazilian armed forces. This current volume focuses on the operational aspects of the conflict, detailing the guerilla actions and the military operations that ultimately dismantled these groups. The efforts targeted not only the guerillas in the Amazon region but also the urban factions. The military government’s directive was explicitly to ‘wipe them off the map’ at any cost, or, as they phrased it, to ‘root out the communist cancer’ – a mission that was ruthlessly executed.

Book Author(s)
Ian Baxter
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$28.95

Ever since the German war machine occupied the Crimea in 1942, Hitler had been obsessed with the peninsula. In his eyes, the Crimea was the gateway to the Black Sea and the Romanian oilfields, on which his armies depended, and which were within distance of Crimean airbases. Hitler often referred to the Crimea as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier,” and for that reason, he said it was imperative to hold on to the peninsula at all costs

The Crimean Campaign was fought by German and Romanian forces as a part of Operation Barbarossa in late September 1941. While most Soviet forces were defeated, the Siege of Sevastopol lasted until early July 1942. The German 17th Army garrisoned Crimea with assistance from Romanian troops until the 4th Ukrainian Front recaptured Crimea beginning in November 1943 and ending in May 1944.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
N/A
MSRP
$25.00

ICM continues to be prolific with both kits and paint sets. The Acrylic Paint Set for Special Forces is no exception and consists of six 12ml paint bottles that are surprisingly not dropper-top style but are rather wide-mouthed. These paints are designed to be used with the following ICM kits (16101 – S.W.A.T. Team Leader; 16102 – IDF K-9 Unitz “OKETZ”; and 16103 – Delta Force Fighter, Mogadishu, 1993). The colors include:

  • Black (No. 1002)
  • Buff (No. 1032)
  • Green Ochre (No. 1059)
  • Camouflage Green (No. 1071)
  • Tan Earth (No. 1058)
  • Dark Blue (No. 1077)

Painting instructions are on the side of the packaging, stating

Book Author(s)
Antonio Luis Sapienza
Review Author
Orlando Reyes
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

This book deals with what may be one of the most iconic figures of the 1960's, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who is considered by many as the ultimate hero of the struggle for "liberation" from the oppression of the Olicarguias of Latin America. He was a man of strong belief that communism was the answer to the solution of the Latin American problems, and as such he was willing to give his life for his ideals. Although his methods may have been wrong, nevertheless, you have to respect the man for his commitment to those ideals. The book deals with the last episode of his life.

Book Author(s)
Massimiliano Afiero
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$28.95

This book does a lot to dispel some of the myths of the “easy” German invasion of Poland. While it does so, it is also not the focus of the book, but rather the nascent Waffen-SS evolving into a military arm of the Nazi war machine. Author Massimiliano Afiero writes,

In September 1939, the Waffen-SS was effectively only three regiments plus several hodgepodge units. Poland would be its baptism of fire: during the campaign, SS combat units participated in operations attached to formations of the Heer. Still considered more parade troops than frontline soldiers, they did not prove a decisive factor in the fighting, but the campaign was important for their transformation into real fighting units.

Book Author(s)
Janos Besenyo
Andras Istvan Turke, Endre Szenasi
Review Author
Tomasz Menert
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

From the publisher’s website:

In the early 2010s, the Wagner Group, a notorious private military company under the control of Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, began to emerge onto the world stage. This organization first showed its hand in Crimea, eastern Ukraine and the civil war in Syria. It quickly became apparent that it had the blessing of the very highest levels of Putin’s government in Russia to act as an armed extension of the country’s foreign policy before a spectacular fall from grace following the mutiny in the summer of 2023.

Book Author(s)
Richard A Rinaldi
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

Being combat-ready for operations is our highest priority. The British Army is ever vigilant, always ready and steadfast in its commitment to the defense of the UK and its citizens. The Army on One Page - British Army website

This book covers the British Army after the Cold War and Operations Telic (Iraq, 2003-2011) and Herrick (Afghanistan, 2001-2014) as it transitioned from large, armored formations designed to fight on the plains of western Europe to the counterinsurgency operations that consumed the western world’s military from 2001 to the mid-2010s. The British Army, like its American counterpart, has been struggling against the peace dividends and counter-insurgency requirements to become smaller and more lethal in heavy warfighting against a peer enemy.

Review Author
Ben Morton
Published on
Company
OKB Grigorov
Scale
1:35
MSRP
$15.25

OKB Grigorov is a Bulgarian company producing resin after-market bits, full kits, and accessory items. Some of their most recent releases are some 1/35th scale weapons sets. These include The M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle (35037), the M79 Grenade launcher (35005), a 30K Panzerfaust (35009), and the M16A1 assault rifle with M203 grenade launcher ( 35035).

The weapons sets appear to be 3D printed and are made from dark grey resin. The detail is excellent, with a plethora of detail for each specific weapon. They are packaged in clear, poly-vinyl zip bags, with eight examples for both the Garand and the M16A1. The 30K Panzerfaust has fourteen weapons, and the M79 grenade launcher has ten weapons in the bag.

Book Author(s)
Tomasz J. Kopański
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$25.00

At dawn on 22 June 1941, German forces launched an attack along a vast front stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Carpathian Mountains against their ‘best ally’ – Stalinist Russia. The element of surprise, combined with the concentration of powerful formations, primarily consisting of armored and motorized units supported by the air force, allowed the Germans to penetrate deep into Soviet territory.

Barbarossa Victims, Luftwaffe Kills in the East, Vol. 1 is No.34 in the MMP Books/Stratus “Camera On” series of photo albums from the German perspective, typically focusing on weapon systems and vehicles. The beauty of these books are the photos taken by German soldiers during their wartime service. Typically, the “Camera On” series is written by Alan Ranger. This is the first by Tomasz J. Kopański, and he carries the series well.