“Cry ham hock! And let slip the hogs of war!” Okay, so I misquoted Shakespeare, but the sentiment is appropriate for the latest Pro Art Models release. As used by US Special Forces, the ‘War Pig’ is a cross between Pimp My Ride; Extreme Makeovers, and the Road Warrior. The War Pig is designed as a communication and supply vehicle for various small Special Forces vehicles deployed in the field. If that seems familiar, think of the LRDG trucks that served a similar support function for the SAS in the Western desert. Basically a chopped down LMTV, the trucks are fitted with a basic set of modifications and then turned over to individual units for final fitting out, depending on mission and the crew.

Designed to fit the Trumpeter base LMTV kit (#01004), the Pro Art Models conversion will provide the base modifications necessary to give you a War Pig sans equipment. Do not be fooled by the deceptively attractive box photo, as this kit gives you only the basics.

Twobobs has released a sheet for those of us who like colorful aircraft, something that will relieve that expanse of grey on grey in the display case. The aircraft catered for on this sheet are two F-16A Midlife Update (MLU) aircraft at Skrydstrup AB of the Royal Danish Air Force. They were painted in special markings to celebrate the anniversaries of the activation of their squadrons.

The first, F-16AM Block 10 MLU, 78-0194, commemorates the 60th Anniversary of ESK 727 on 18 June 2010. It has an all orange-red tail fin and fairing with a white cross and a golden lion and golden script showing 1950 and 2010 for either side of the tail.

With the approaching 100th anniversary of the tragic loss of the Titanic on April 14th, 2012, the modeling world has seen an influx of Centennial edition kits. To go with those new kits, Seaforth Publishing has released a new book in their well known ShipCraft series. ShipCraft #18, Titanic and Her Sisters Olympic and Britannic, follows the same format as previous editions in the series. The book features a history of the ships, followed by a section on modeling the Titanic, and finishes up with a section on paint schemes and modifications.