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Review Author
Chris Smith
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$90.00

The UH 60 Blackhawk line has become a staple of military forces around the world. It’s hard to think of a mission this helicopter doesn’t perform including troop carrier, rescue, special ops, electronic warfare, maritime patrol and anti-submarine duties. This release from ICM covers the first version of the Blackhawk the UH 60A troop carrier which entered service with the United States Army in 1979. Having built several ICM kits, this one lives up to the standard that they’ve established with finely molded details, excellent fit and reasonably good references in the instruction sheet and on the box. Decals are provided for three versions, a Blackhawk serving with US Army in Afghanistan in 2005, another serving with the Kentucky National Guard in 2009 and the subject of this build that served with the Montana National Guard 2013. The instructions are typical of ICM kits, very thorough with a parts diagram showing all the runners, including the parts that are not used.

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.

Review Author
Michael Reeves
Published on
Company
ICM
MSRP
$29.99

ICM has been releasing quality kits, figure sets, and recently paints to support their vast library of releases. Today we see the second of a set dedicated to Wargaming paints. These are water based acrylic paints that can be brushed as is or airbrushed after thinning with either distilled water or ICM brand thinner. They come in screw top bottles that are wide mouth and not dropper bottles, so I used my handy pipette to dole out smaller quantities for testing.

What’s Inside the Box

This set includes six 12mL plastic bottles featuring the following colors:

Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$8.99

Brengun has released a detail set for the P-51D Mustang in 1/144th scale. Kit manufacturers recommend are Platz, Eduard, and Bego (all from the same mold).

In the Box

This detail set will provide enough material for two complete Mustangs and consist of parts for the cockpit, wheel wells, and wing flaps. To bond these parts during installation will require CA (Super Glue).

The resin parts will replace the flaps, cockpit yoke, and gunsight. The photo-etched parts will add detail to the cockpit floor, side panels, instrument panel, seat belts, and underwing interior of the wheel wells.

For flap installation, some surgery will be needed to remove the kit’s flaps so cutting tools like a razor saw or similar will be needed.

Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$17.99

ICM has released a new 1/72nd scale WWII US Marston Mat (aka PSP, Perforated Steel Plate). The molded plastic has great recessed detail and all you need to do is apply the paint.

In the Box

The base is made from injected light gray styrene, and the molded detail quality is very fine for 1/72nd scale. Size is 2.5 X 5 inches (63.5 X 127 mm). Four plates of the mat are included. If glued side-by-side, a mat of 10 X 5 inches can be obtained.

The parts are wrapped in a single plastic bag and encased in a very sturdy cardboard box. A slipcover fits over the box and has a painted close-up of what the mat should look like. The instructions are for a 1/35th scale Marston Mat set but you get the general idea but at smaller scale. The painting instructions list only one color for the mat, Gun Metal (ICM 1027), and a clear coat if so desired.