The M270 MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) was first delivered to troops in 1983 and has since been delivered to many NATO countries with over 1,300 being built. The last M270 was manufactured in 2003, when a last batch was delivered to the Egyptian Army.

DML first produced a MLRS kit in 1992. The kit was no. 3522 followed soon after by no. 3523. The major difference was the inclusion of 2 separate M26 rocket pods. Jump to 2015 and Dragon has released a “new” version of this incredible artillery piece.

In 1992, the kit suffered from several issues such as the link length track, poorly rendered road wheels, and attached support arms and shocks. This new release has not rectified any of the issues. The only difference between this kit and no. 3523 is the inclusion of three small part sprues. Do not expect “Big Foot” track as depicted on the box top. This re-issue still has the earlier style track.

Thank you to Unique Master Models (UMM) for generously providing an excellent tool for “field testing.” Thank you as well to the IPMS Reviewer Corps for letting me be an evaluator.

The tool is small, has a nice weight or heft in the hand, and does not flex easily. The scriber is strongly attracted to a magnet, but is not magnetic itself. The surface is highly polished. The longer deburring edge and the shorter scriber edge are sharp enough to start scribing right out of the cellophane package. The cutting edges should be easily honed as needed. The smooth sides moved easily along my steel straight edge. I pushed the limits a bit and found there was no flex in the tool that affected the “groove.” The primary tool design is for scribing lines in plastic, but I expect to discover other uses when the tool is in hand. Further, the tool has that somewhat undefinable sense of “feeling right.”

Eduard has come out with several photo etch sets for the 1/32 Scale, HK Mk.IV Mosquito and this is one of them. This set provides new replacement control panel parts, control levers, side panel parts, rudder pedals, bomb sight and some other interior details. This set is a copy of their 32840 Interior SA (self- adhesive, I assume) without the additional fret with bulkheads and such.

The instructions are quite adequate to provide detailed information on part numbers and placement.

Assembly is straight forward but a little fiddly. There are a bunch of very tiny parts that need to be bent and shaped. I used a hobby knife with a number 11 blade to remove the photo etch from the fret. Some of the small parts are hard to hold and glue at the same time. This makes for a time consuming and sometimes aggravating assembly. I used an ACC type glue for assembly when required.

Warpaint’s latest is their standard A4 format,, softbound publication that is 48 pages (excluding covers) on Convair's B-36 Peacemaker series. Featuring 99 photographs (13 in color) along with 23 of Richard J. Caruana’s color profiles, including his color centerfold of “Miss Featherweight:” a B-36H-1-CF Peacemaker. The color profiles are further enhanced with color scrap illustration of opposite sides of the fuselage as necessary to depict special markings. Nose art and other special markings are also presented enlarged to show off details.

Kev Darling starts out with the seven year development of the Peacemaker, initiating in April 1941 with the initial USAAF specification. The impact of the Pacific war on the project is highlighted as well as ample discussion of the political, financial, technical issues that prolonged the service entry of the B-36.

Developed as another Sidewinder for the U.S. Air Force, the AIM-9J was the follow-up to their E-model, and was based on the U.S. Navy AIM-9B. The AIM-9J first saw service in the skies over Vietnam in July 1972 during Operation Linebacker. It introduced the use of some solid-state components, and being equipped with a longer burning motor, the AIM-9J could remain in flight for 40 seconds. Hercules/Aerojet produced 6700 of the missiles, both new, and from re-purposed AIM-9B missiles. The AIM-9J measured 10 feet in length, 22 inches across the rear fins, had a diameter of 5 inches, and weighed in at 170 pounds. The AIM-9J was considered the first missile capable of use in a dogfight as it could be launched at up to 7.5g. This missile is credited with aerial victories over one MiG-21, and two MiG-19 aircraft during the Vietnam War launched from F-4D Phantom II’s of the US Air Force.