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Book Author(s)
Managing Editor: Mick Davis
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Cross & Cockade International
MSRP
$39.10

Annual Subscription (4 issues): £ 27.00 ($39.10) plus shipping

The latest journal of Cross & Cockade International - Spring 2016, features a water-color painting of two Short Admiralty Type 166 Seaplanes on the cover. The rear cover shows a photograph of Captain Eric John Stephens and his 41 Squadron SE5a along with a photo of Captain Frank Ormond Soden and his captured Fokker D VII of Ltn Adolph Auer (Jasta 40). If you check out the web site link above, you can get additional sample pics of the current issue.

Cross & Cockade International is a non-profit UK based group known as the First World War Aviation Historical Society that publishes their journal four times a year. They also provide a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publish WWI themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS USA. This Journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front.

Book Author(s)
Leigh Neville
Review Author
Phillip Cavender
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$19.00

Osprey Publications have given us another excellent book in the Warrior Series. Osprey's "US Army Green Beret in Afghanistan 2001-02" book delves into the making of a Green Beret from recruitment to the daily lives during the Afghanistan conflict. This publication is divided into 11 sections:

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Bronco Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$38.99

Whether you are interested in German paper projects of World War 2, a fan of Luftwaffe ’46 planes, or just a builder of unique aircraft, allow me to direct your attention to this recent release from Bronco Models. The relatively low parts count (57 in all) allows for a quick build for modelers with only limited experience. The only challenge may be a few small items, but these are not too daunting with a good pair of tweezers. The beauty of a kit like this is that you cannot go wrong with any paint scheme or markings that you choose, as no one will ever have a photo of the real thing to prove you wrong.

Review Author
Chris Graeter
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$25.46

History

The SOMUA S35 was a French Cavalry tank of the Second World War. Built from 1936 until 1940 to equip the armored divisions of the Cavalry, it was for its time a relatively agile medium-weight tank, superior in armor and armament to its French and foreign competitors, such as the contemporary versions of the German Panzerkampfwagen III. It was constructed from well-sloped, mainly cast, armor sections, that however made it expensive to produce and time-consuming to maintain.

During the German invasion of May 1940, the SOMUA S35 proved itself to be a tactically effective type, but this was negated by the French command's strategic mistakes in deploying the Cavalry armored divisions. After the defeat of France in June 1940, limiting production to a number of about 440, captured SOMUA S35s were used by the Axis powers, some of them on the Eastern Front*.

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$54.00

The Italeri kit this release is based on was first issued in 1988, and I not only bought it then but built it up into one of my all-time favorite dioramas. As with a lot of Italeri kits released at the time, there were a few spots of oversimplification, but it was a quick and fun build and certainly looked the part when complete.

Tamiya has done something interesting here, in that they have re-released this almost thirty year old kit along with their equally venerable U.S. Command figure set. Since I have built these figures numerous times over the intervening years, I will forgo the pleasure of repeating myself here.