Atlantis Models has, for a while now, been re-releasing various manufacturers older kits. As the new puryeor of some of the older Aurora, Revell, Monogram and Lindberg molds these kits really are tugging at the ole nostalgia thread for many of us.

One of these offerings is a collection of warships from the mid to late 1940's to the 1950's: U.S. Combat Task Force Fleet. This kit began life as a Renwall kit in the late 1950's. It has been passed around a bit (Pyro to Life Like to Lindberg) and now finds itself among the multitude of offerings from Atlantis Models.

The kit consists of twelve warships. There is an aircraft carrier, a fast battleship, severalcruisers and destroyers as well as a few auxillary ships. One more modern-era ship is represented by the SSB(N)

Patrick Henry, a fleet ballistic missile submarine. Or, 'Boomer' to fans of Tom Clancys writings.

The complete list is: U.S.S. Washington - battleship

The Soko J-22 Orao is a Yugoslav twin-engine, subsonic ground attack and air reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed and built-in collaboration by SOKO in Yugoslavia and by Avioane Craiova in neighboring Romania, known in the latter as the IAR-93 Vultur.

The J-22 Orao is a joint project of Yugoslavia and Romania – the countries which tried to pursue an independent policy in the aviation industry during the cold war. In the beginning of this period, the fleet consisted of MiG-17 and F-86 types.

Development of the J-22 Orao began in 1970 by engineers and designers of the Yugoslavian Aeronautical Technical Institute and the Romanian Institute of Science and Technology. The aircraft was powered by a British Rolls Royce Viper Mk.632-4IR engines, which were in license production in Yugoslavia and Romania. It was also equipped with British Martin Baker ejection seats and Soviet GSh-23 cannons. This fact emphasizes the uniqueness and originality of the aircraft design.

Green Stuff World describes these chrome metal paints as a hydroalcoholic paint that imitates the appearance of chrome plating. Done correctly, these paints are easy to use and create the best chrome finish I’ve seen from a paint.

There are six bottles included in this set.

• Antique gold chrome metal
• Bronze, chrome metal
• Gold chrome metal
• Copper metal.
• Tin plate, chrome metal
• Chrome metal.

The paints come in a 17 mL .57 fluid-ounce bottle with a dripper spout. The spouts are sealed so they must be drilled open before using. GSW says to thin the paints with alcohol if required.

For the paint tests, I sprayed each color over a Tamiya gloss black base. GSW does not mention a requirement for the black base, but I used it anyway. I also tried the Chrome Metal and Antique Gold colors on bare plastic with only a slight loss of depth and no problems with adhesion.

The Ukrainian kit manufacturer ICM has recently expanded their catalog to include a range of acrylic paints and varnishes. ICM has begun packaging sets of paints to finish specific kits in their range. In this review, I try out the paint set on ICM’s figure kit “WWII Japanese Pilots and Ground Personnel”.

The set comes in a small rectangular box with examples of the included colors printed on the front and a painting guide for their figure kit on the back. The set includes six 12ml bottles of paint. The bottles are open-topped (no dropper-tips). The undersides of the lids have a raised ridge that does a pretty good job of keeping the paint from getting on the threads of the lids.

The included colors are:

People who know me know my modeling quirk for the strange and unusual. This new kit by ICM certainly fits the bill – literally a chapel on wheels! Mounted on a short Studebaker chassis, this vehicle was designed to travel from location to location, dispensing spiritual solace to soldiers in need. Of course, this vehicle was clearly Church of England, so I’m not sure what they provided for their Jewish or Muslim troops, although they may have had similar vehicles.

The boxy rear cabin was large enough to provide ample space for altar and organ as well as a nice fold-down stage from which to preach. In inclement weather it appears there would have been enough space in the closed cabin for a small gathering if required. Because of its nature, though, I doubt profoundly that this machine would have been seen anywhere near the front lines.