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Book Author(s)
Dennis Oliver
Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$29.95

This is the 40th book in the Tank Craft series which details tanks and also covers model kits and accessories to build the tanks covered in the book. This book covers the German Army Light Tank Panzer III in North Africa El Alamein to Tunis 1942 to 1943. The Panzer III was the mainstay of the German Army’s Panzer Divisions in the early tears of the war made up the bulk of the North Africa Armored forces.

Although it was not as heavily armored as some of the opponents tanks it was very reliable, sturdy and its main gun was as powerful as the enemies armaments.

I found this book a fountain of information and rare pictures of both tanks. The Profile pictures are a particular favorite and awesome source for modeling.

The chapters on the different model builds and kits are of great interest and will provide a good resource when modeling these two tanks.

Review Author
Chris Smith
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$38.00

It's not hard (at least not for me), to remember when anything related to Soviet military equipment and operations was a mystery in the west. Not until the cold war Soviet Union fell apart in the 1980s did, we get a good look at what the Soviets had been up to. This set from ICM give us the basics needed to portray what we might have seen behind the “Iron Curtain”. This kit includes two ZiL-131 utility trucks, a Mig 29 9-13 variant and 32 PAG-14 prefab airfield paving plates to create a base.

Review Author
Jarrod Booth
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$58.00

ICM continues to pump out high quality model kits for us eager, plastic hungry modelers around the world! This is the second release of the Bristol Beaufort and represents the Mk.1A with tropical filters. These filters mounted on top of the engine pods and were used in hotter/dustier Mediterranean and North African environments. The downfall was the larger filters increased drag and reduced the cruising speed by about ten mph. The Mk.1A was an improvement over the Mk.1 incorporating a new machine gun turret and an ASV radar for torpedo bombers to search for surface targets. The Beaufort and her crews were relatively forgotten and unsung heroes of the Second World War.

Review Author
Chris Vandegrift
Published on
Company
Hauler
Scale
1/120
MSRP
$25.54

History

Back in 1935 Texaco was thinking of the future. Commissioned to help market the company it is believed there were 6 Doodlebugs produced. Coincidentally it was the smooth streamlined look of it that drew me in and motivated me to build this for my 1st IPMS review. It was only 6’ tall, carried 1500 gallons of fuel, and featured a unique compound curved glass windshield. I think you would be hard pressed to find a car in the 30’s with this kind of silhouette, let alone a heavy tanker truck.

The Kit

Hauler packages the Texaco Bug in a stiff little box, perfect to protect the delicate parts inside. The resin is crisply detailed, especially for the size of the Texaco Bug in 1/120th scale. There were a few small pinholes that required a very fine application of filler prior to painting. A real bonus is the stick-shift and steering wheel on the PE fret that give the interior some interest as there is plenty of glass to see through into the cab.

Book Author(s)
Ben Skipper
Review Author
Chris Gibson
Published on
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$28.95

This is one book in a line of military aircraft books from Pen and Sword in the Flight Craft series #27 Boeing B17. Now there have probably been hundreds of books published on the Boeing B17, many of which I have read. This is the first one I have read that incorporates design and development, camouflage and markings, in service and in action, B17 variants, with modeling the B17 and showcase models. This book seems to be aimed at the modeler who wants to incorporate more detail into his modeling.

The first half of the book gives a useful overview of the real thing with the design and development, to in-service and in-action, and detail of some B17 special variants. The book takes you from the first Model 299 through the B17G and all variants. The camouflage and marking section has 24 illustrated color profiles that show how varied the paint schemes and markings were of B17s, including the aircraft captured by the Germans and Japanese.