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Paint set

WWII Japanese Pilots Acrylic Paints Set
Review Author
Mr. Paul Dunham
Published on
Company
ICM
MSRP
$12.99

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:

Cover

Spotlight ON #28: Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IX, Vol.1
Book Author(s)
Robert Grudzien
Review Author
Paul Bradley
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$29.00

The latest in MMP’s Spotlight On series, this, the 28th volume, features the Spitfire IX. Author and artist Robert Grudzien opens the book with a quick summary of the type, then it’s straight into the meat of the book, full colour profiles of 40 examples of the Spitfire IX. These have been created especially for the book and are extremely well executed, exhibiting great detail, and they are split about evenly between port and starboard side views.

Box Top

WWII British Army Mobile Chapel
Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$79.00

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.

Cover

A Sword for Peace and Liberty, Volume 1: Force de Frappe - The French Nuclear Strike Force and the First Cold War 1945-1990
Book Author(s)
Phillipe Wodka-Gallien
Review Author
Paul Bradley
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.99

In 1954, France took the decision to become an independent nuclear power, both to try to regain some lost international prestige following WWII, but also to challenge the French industrial base after the ruin of WWII. They succeeded in testing their first bomb, codename Gerboise Bleue in 1960, becoming the fourth nuclear power after the US, USSR, and the UK.

This catchily-subtitled tome by the noted authority on French nuclear programmes, Philippe Wodka-Gallien, is a 94-page soft-bound book containing 108 colour & 58 b/w photos, 20 colour profiles, and 3 colour & 1 b/w maps; It is the latest in Helion’s Europe@War series that examines conflict in Europe from the early twentieth century up to the present day beyond the scope of the two world wars, often lesser-known subjects that deserve a wider audience than hitherto given.

Box Top

WWII Military Vehicles of Britain Paint Set
Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
Company
ICM
MSRP
$25.95

ICM continues expanding its acrylic paint line, this time providing extremely useful colors for World War 2 British vehicles. This set includes:

  • Extra Dark Green
  • Middlestone
  • Green Brown
  • Off-White
  • Camouflage Green
  • Satin Varnish

Basically, you’re provided with three different greenish shades that British vehicles were painted in as well as Middlestone, which was used on many desert machines. A satin varnish permits you to create the exact tone many British vehicles were painted in more realistically. Lastly, Off-White is provided either as winter camouflage or specifically targeting their new mobile chapel model.