Venner Milewski Jr. has undertaken the monumental task in cataloging each and every US Navy vessel commissioned since 1883, the year congressional funding was approved for America’s first four steel warships. His encyclopedic work is titled Fighting Ships of the U.S. Navy 1883-2019. Milewski Jr.’s compilation provides the physical details of each ship, its specifications, propulsion, armament, etc. as well as the important milestones of its service life. Most of the articles include at least one, and sometimes as many as four high quality photographs of the vessel described. To date, four multi-part volumes have been published, with each part focused on a specific time period. Volume One addressed aircraft carriers while Volume Two covered battleships and New Navy monitors. Volume Three depicts cruisers and command ships.

These are not the Tamiya figures of the past! The out of scale, chunky plastic bobs have been replaced with well detailed figures that look the part. I was surprised at the time it took to construct the figures as the bodies are multi-part affairs, with separate heads and headgear, weapons, and gear, to make it easier to paint and detail. A bonus is the decal sheet for the uniforms and Panzerfausts (in both the carry and ready to fire position). To say I am impressed would be an understatement – especially at the price for five figures.

Upon opening the usual sturdy Tamiya box, you are greeted with three sprues, decal sheet, instructions, and a Tech Tips flyer. The details are well molded and crisp. The uniforms have indentations for the gear and weapons, so they are not just hanging next to the uniform, they look more realistically that the figure is wearing his uniform and combat gear.

There are five Wehrmacht late WWII figures, listed by Tamiya as:

For those modelers wishing to add more detail to their braille scale armor, Czech photo etch (PE) manufacturer Hauler produces an outstanding set for the popular Dragon Challenger 2 kit. Manufactured by Jan Sobotka, this package comes with two frets (9/16”x1 7/8” and 2 ¼”x2”) and will bring your Challenger 2 (FV4034, also abbreviated as the CR2) to the next level.

Set HLH72127 has additional detail for the turret, machine gun (seven parts), prominent fuel barrel straps, exhaust covers, excruciatingly small grab handles, and other miscellaneous parts not adequately captured in plastic. If you like extra detail in small scale, this eye and finger dexterity test fits the bill. The PE is closer to scale size than its plastic brethren and will make the model stand out.