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Review Author
Rob Booth
Published on
November 6, 2016
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$24.95

Like many aviation enthusiasts and modelers, I have always admired the beauty of Supermarine’s Spitfire design. Although I am admittedly no expert on the type, when Eduard announced their 1/72 version of an already well received 1/48 family of this aircraft, I jumped at the chance to do a review build. The aircraft’s history is well known and extensively documented, so let’s get on with my impressions of this 1/72 scale plastic version.

This kit issue (#70-121) is a completely new mould tooling. It is significantly more detailed than nearly every other 1/72 Spitfire kit out there, and the resulting high parts count will take me some time to build. As there are already some reviews posted out there on other modeling related sites, I wanted to get this in-the-box look out to our membership ASAP. So, I’ll give you my initial impressions in case you’re considering a purchase sooner, rather than later.

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
November 6, 2016
Company
Hasegawa
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$43.00

Hasegawa has re-boxed their well-known A6M2b in 1/48 scale. Despite being an “old” mold (at least 10-yr, if not a bit more), the parts still hold really well, with no flash anywhere, petite and fine details, recessed panel lines and perfectly molded parts.

Construction, as usual begins with the cockpit. The only thing I decided to add was to drill the lightening holes in the seat and to add a pair of Eduard IJN steel seatbelts to it. The rest of the cockpit is straight out of the box, down to the decal used for the instrument panel. I was impressed by how good it looks when completed.

I departed from the instructions a bit after finishing the cockpit. Instead of adding the cockpit to a fuselage side, I actually glued the fuselage sides together and then I added the cockpit from underneath. I could see the fuselage bulging a little bit when I introduced the fuselage from underneath. Careful sanding of the cockpit bottom piece prevented the fuselage from bulging.

Book Author(s)
Mike Loades
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
November 6, 2016
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$20.00

Osprey Publishing continues to expand its Weapon Series this time with a book dedicated to the Composite Bow by Mike Loades.

This book is broken down in a natural way with the following chapters

  • Introduction
  • Development
  • Use
  • Impact
  • Conclusion
  • Bibliography
  • Index

The most relevant chapters of this book are the Development and Use ones, as it covers dozens of different composite bow types and how they were used by different cultures and nations over the centuries. The use section includes details on how different ancient warriors trained –for combat- and how the bow tactics evolved over time.

In several cases the author demonstrates how to shoot and even how to build and take care of composite bows.

Book Author(s)
Dariusz Karnas
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
February 3, 2020
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$10.00

The Mc.202 "Folgore" was the first fully modern (by WWII standards) Italian fighter, and from 1941 onwards, was the best Italian fighter until the arrival of the superb Mc.205 in 1943.

The lines of the aircraft, together with the variety of camouflages it wore, makes it an interesting subject for modelers. Having accurate line drawings, showing panel lines and rivet detail is a good resource for those modelers looking to super detail their next project.

This booklet has 4 pages, all of them fold out (given the size of them, I had to take some pictures in addition to some scans), printed double side with the following line drawings:

One page A3 size for 72nd scale drawings:

Book Author(s)
Jon Cooksey and Jerry Murland
Review Author
Doug Hamilton
Published on
October 31, 2016
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$24.95

Perhaps no other battle of World War I holds the stature of the Battle of the Somme. Contested from 1 July and 18 November 1916 by eleven divisions of the British 4th Army, and six divisions of the French 6th army against the German 2nd Army commanded by General Fritz von Below. The Somme was bitterly fought with over 1 million casualties on both sides making it one of the bloodiest battles in history. Technology was again rapidity advancing at a war time pace and saw the first appearance of tanks on the battlefield to break the stalemate of trench warfare. It was war in all its ugliest. Today, 100 years to the day the scars of battle are still visible. The draw to relatives, those interested in history, or tourists to this ground.