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Book Author(s)
Harry Yiede
Review Author
Don Norton
Published on
Company
Zenith Press
MSRP
$30.00

We think of General George S. Patton Jr. as one of our greatest combat leaders in World War II. Certainly our “fightingest” General, and someone who must have been a constant threat to the enemy. Did the Germans fear this hard-charging tank commander and watch his every move? The answer may surprise you. There have been many books written about General Patton, but the author says “This is the book that hasn’t.” And one would have to agree with him, as Fighting Patton is more about German generals than it is about Patton. Author Harry Yeide has searched German archives for reports from the men who faced Patton on the battlefield to see how they fought him and what they thought of his leadership skills.

German generals such as Hasso von Manteuffel, Paul Hausser, Gerd von Rundstedt, and many more appear in this book. It’s interesting to note that all of Patton’s counterparts had much more combat and leadership experience than Patton did.

Review Author
Luke R. Bucci, PhD
Published on
Company
Lion Roar
Scale
1/700
MSRP
$10.95

Bottom Line

Lion Roar expands its WW2 German Navy 1/700 warship photoetch set lineup with German Navy (DKM) cable reels. Caveat: these are the cable reels only – no cables/ropes are supplied – you will have empty reels after assembling that will need to be filled up (or not) with very fine thread or wire. For the advanced modeler only. This set replaces the older Lion Roar 70008 DKM IV Cable Reels set, which had fewer cable reels per fret.

Book Author(s)
Dick Camp
Review Author
Mike Hanson
Published on
Company
Zenith Press
MSRP
$18.99

There has been quite a bit of focus on WWII in the Pacific theater of late, driven in large part by HBO’s mini-series The Pacific, which was based on memoirs of some of the US Marines who fought and bled on small islands as the military pushed towards the Japanese homeland. I’ve always had an interest in this era, and have read many of the well-known books written by the guys who were there, such as Helmet for My Pillow by Robert Leckie, and With the Old Breed by E. B. Sledge.

Those books give an individual perspective on the fighting on these Pacific islands, but Dick Camp’s book Last Man Standing provides a much broader perspective. It begins with the history of the Peleliu islands, how they originally were German territories that were given to Japan as war prizes after the First World War. Japan settled the island and exploited it for minerals and coconut oil.

Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
Company
Airscale Model Aircraft Enhancements
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$8.49

Airscale Model Aircraft Enhancements’s line of cockpit details now includes a 1/32 scale set of decals that provides an assortment of instrument dials found in early Soviet jets (MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19, MiG-21, Su-7 and early Yaks). These decals are remarkably detailed and provide a quick solution to adding much to those blank circles that are molded on many kit instrument panels. The decals can be either placed behind the respective positions molded on clear kit instrument panel, over opaque molded instrument panels or placed inside the instrument openings found on some kits. Application of a decal setting solution is recommended by the manufacturer. Sixty-two individual dials are provided (2 each of 31 different ones) in this set for 1/32 scale models. The instructions packaged with the decals provide a full description of each of the instruments on the sheet. Also included is a small clear sheet of acetate that a modeler may punch out and place over the decal dial face.

Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Jim Stratton
Published on
Company
Squadron Signal Publications
MSRP
$18.95

The Squadron Signal “In Action” series has been around for many years and is well liked by modelers and vehicle historians alike. This newest volume concentrates on the German heavy armored cars used throughout World War II. The title may be a little deceiving as it only addresses the heavies and not the smaller light armored cars. This volume does, however, look at all the heavy armored cars from the early war Sd.Kfz. 231 6-wheeled vehicle to the late war Sd.Kfz. 234 series of 8-wheeled vehicles. There is minimal text, which mostly serves to introduce the different variants. There are no technical drawings in this issue but there is an abundance of “in action” photographs, each of which has a descriptive caption. Several of the images are closeup shots that show plenty of details of the vehicles featured. This volume has 80 pages and over 200 B & W photographs. The only color illustrations are on the front and back covers.