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Review Author
Tom Pope
Published on
September 19, 2021
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$18.95

Introduction

Many of us were taken by surprise on May 2nd, 2011, when the President came on TV and announced Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been found and eliminated by a team of US Navy SEALs in a secret operation,"Neptune Spear." In the following days, after the dust had settled, we found that the mission had been accomplished at bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, using then-unknown-to-the-public, radar-evading or "stealth" helicopters.
Between May and September (only 3 - 4 months), Dragon was able to design a conceptual kit that captures what the Neptune Spear helicopters might look like and get their kit into production and on the store shelves. There was a little confusion during that 4 month period - the name of the actual operation was "Neptune Spear" and "Geronimo" was the code word indicating the operation had successfully taken down bin Laden, but that's neither here nor there.

Review Author
Howie Belkin
Published on
November 22, 2011
Company
MiniArt
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$16.25

This kit contains 47 grey styrene parts that will create five “mostly civilian” figures. “Mostly” because two are in uniform. One is a Hitler Jugend (Youth) or HJ, technically a civilian, and the other is an Ordnungspolizei (Orpo) uniformed regular policeman. More on these two later.

Review Author
Ben Guenther
Published on
November 22, 2011
Company
Cyber-Hobby
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$39.99

Armies cannot operate long without supplies (food, fuel, ammo to start with) delivered to them. The German High Command thought so highly of this Opel truck that the German government nationalized production in 1940, taking it out of the hands of the US GM owners. The Opel Blitz “S” model began production in April, 1937 and by July, 1944, 82,356 3t trucks had been manufactured. The final number is actually over 100,000 when specialized vehicles built on this chassis are included. To further emphasize how valuable this truck was to Germany, in late 1945 the US Military allowed Opel to reopen the production facilities for the 3t truck to aid post-war recovery.

Review Author
Ed Kinney
Published on
November 22, 2011
Company
Zoukei-Mura
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$141.00

What a great time to be a modeler! Zoukei-Mura continues their excellent 1/32 scale releases with an A-1H Skyraider. The kit is stunning with the option to fold the wings already included, great cockpit detail, and a full interior. Other options include positionable air brakes, a highly detailed engine, detailed gun bays, and many other options.

The kit is available now and Zoukei-Mura also allows the modeler the option of adding even more aftermarket to it as options, with a complete weapons set (that could be used for other aircraft and is excellently detailed), metal landing gear, turned cannon barrels, and a variety of photoetch and decals. I love the fact these are options, in that it gives the modeler a choice of how far he want to go with his own build and cost.

Book Author(s)
Volker Griesser
Review Author
Perry Downen
Published on
November 22, 2011
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$32.95

This wonderfully documented book covers the history of one of Germany's largest paratrooper regiments – the Fallschirmjager Regiment 6, FJ.Rgt.6. Originally published in German in 2007, the book has been translated into English by Mara Taylor and released in the United States by Casemate Publishing in 2011.

Following a short Preface, Chapter 1, The Initial Organization, begins with the unit's formation on February 13, 1943 under the command of Major Egon Liebach, an experienced paratrooper and troop leader. The focus of Major Liebach's training was field exercises and close combat. In addition, advanced training was provided in combat parachute and glider deployment. As it turned out, they acted more as ground troops than as a parachute assault unit. In fact, their nickname, The Lions of Carentan, came about as a result of the strong defense they put up around Carentan during the Normandy invasion.