Book Author(s)
Ian Baxter
Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
February 3, 2011
Company
Concord Publications Company
MSRP
$16.95

During World War II, one of the most publicized branches of the German armed forces was the U-Boat Command. At the beginning of the war, the submarine service was unprepared for the conflict to come, and as the war began, a rapid expansion took place, with U-boat construction and crew training assuming a rapid pace. The Germans never had enough U-boats, and as the war progressed, the Allies were able to develop countermeasures, such as long range aircraft, convoy escorts, and the decoding of German Enigma traffic, which slowed down and eventually overcame the effectiveness of the U-boats against Allied shipping. Although over 1,100 U-boats were built, over 800 were unsuccessful or never saw action, but nevertheless, only 30 U-boat commanders accounted for about 800 of the total of about 3,000 merchant and naval vessels sunk by U-boats during the course of the war. And tragically, of the 38,000 men that went to sea in U-boats, only 8000 survived the war.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
February 2, 2011
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$20.00

Anyone who knows me knows I love the Bf-109 so when given the opportunity to review this set I jumped. Aimed at the Academy G-14 this is molded in light grey and clear resin, the cockpit set consists of ten grey resin pieces, one clear resin piece, a fret of PE and a clear acetate film. The level of detail is exquisite.

The resin side walls contain some of the best looking detail I’ve ever seen in a 109 cockpit. The modeler will have to do very little to get a great looking cockpit. Simply adding some PE parts and a good paint job would make this a good first upgrade for someone breaking into the aftermarket for the first time. One unique thing is the inclusion of a clear resin piece for the head armor. This ensures that the thickness of the armor panel is quite appropriately thick. Simply add a piece of PE to the top of it and the look is complete.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
February 2, 2011
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$13.00

Designed for the Hasegawa kit this wheel well set is molded in light grey blemish and bubble free resin. The set includes two wheel wells and the six landing gear doors. Not included is the tail wheel well. The detail inside of the wheel wells is remarkable and suitably impressive. The hydraulic plumbing is very well represented. The actuators are represented and the modeler will have to use a wire to show the moveable part but that is very easy for any modeler.

Although designed for the Hasegawa kit this set should fit the Academy F4U-5 as well. I’m not familiar with any significant differences in the wheel wells. With careful painting the detail included should be quite noticeable.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Aires and IPMS/USA for the review copy

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
February 2, 2011
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$20.00

Molded in light grey and cream colored resin, the cockpit set consists of eight resin pieces, a fret of PE and a clear acetate sheet. The level of detail is exquisite. How they molded the control stick to the floor I will never know. These guys are incredible.

The parts breakdown is very logical. The instrument panel is a three piece affair incorporating a resin background, clear acetate film and a PE front. This makes for quite a nice looking cockpit. The rest of the cockpit builds up pretty conventionally, however the detail is anything but conventional. It is superb.

The cockpit will add dramatically to your Corsair. With a little bit of work I’m sure you can use this set in other kits as well.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Aires and IPMS/USA for the review copy

Review Author
Marc K. Blackburn
Published on
February 2, 2011
Company
Great Wall Hobby
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$63.00

Background

The Schwere Wehrmachtschlepper (SWS) was a heavy half track manufactured by Bussing-NAG and Tatra from December, 1943 to March, 1945. To streamline production, the SWS was simple to produce when compared to the Sdkfz 251 series. Approximately 825 were built. Beginning in mid-1944, an armored cab version was introduced and utilized for mobile flak guns. While this vehicle may not qualify as a paper panzer, it’s pretty close. I found one very fuzzy photograph on line, so it did exist; however there are no production figures for the variant depicted in this kit and so one can only assume that the numbers were low.