The UMM Micro Mitre Box is a useful little tool if you’re scratchbuilding or adding detail to a model. Made of aluminum, it’s designed for cutting wood, metal, or plastic using their JLC razor saw. As an aside, it also works with other brands of razor saw, so long as they’re not over .12” thickness. This version of their box allows cuts at 45°, 60°, and 90°. They have recently released an updated version of the box (Micro Mitre Box II) which has a brass rule imbedded in the box that is marked in 1mm increments. There is an adjustable stop device that is screw-mounted in the bottom of the box. It has a flat end and a slanted end to be used to hold the material in place. There are several screw holes to allow the stop to be almost infinitely adjusted for length.

The SAC landing gear for the Trumpeter 1/48 T-38A Talon kit is a direct “plug and play” replacement for the kit gear with one minor change. The nose gear is one piece for the SAC gear whereas the Trumpeter part is a two piece affair (the nose gear attachment point is separate from the strut itself). I am not sure why Trumpeter did this but to me it seems like it would add a natural weakness in the structure and that joint has to hold the nose of a fairly large aircraft up. The SAC gear cleaned up nicely, with just some minor cutting and filing of excess metal. The top of one main gear had a bit of a pour plug that came off with a sprue cutter and a file.

The USA managed to muddle through World War 2 utilizing the M4 Sherman Medium Tank as the mainstay of its armored forces. However, as the Germans introduced better armored tanks with ever more lethal main guns, the M4 Sherman became increasingly vulnerable. It wasn’t until 1945 that the US finally introduced into front line service its first Heavy Tank, the M26 Pershing with its more potent 90mm main gun and better armor protection. With the Germans and Japanese defeated in WW2, it soon became apparent to the US that its former ally, the Soviet Union, was becoming its main potential adversary in the post war era. And the Soviets were fielding some very impressive heavy tanks of their own, such as the IS-3 and the T-10, and that the US would need to beef up its own forces with suitable weapons to match those in the Soviet arsenal.