Shocking in the stark realism of perfected three dimensions...out of the muck and mystery of a hundred million years ago...up from the depths of unknown horror comes an abomination to confound science and terrorize the world. It''s ' Dawn of Drone ' !

While that might be a bit melodramatic and with apologies to the producers of 'Creature from the Black Lagoon' this release from Platz Hobby does illustrate beautifully (in scale model form) the beginnings of the use of drone aircraft in the early 1950's. Platz Hobby's 1/144th scale F6F-3K Hellcat depicts F6F-3K Hellcats used during the atomic weapon tests at Bikini atoll in the early fifties.

For a more detailed description I encourage you to click the link to an article by Dan Gettinger about those events and the early use of drone aircraft (Hellcats/B-17's) as research platforms. [The Drones of the Atomic Age (bard.edu)]

It is arguably safe to assume that most modelers who visit the IPMS Reviews website know a thing or two about assembling models, at least. I think it is also safe to assume that most Armor modelers know that you don’t need to start painting until well into the assembly process, many times not until the very end of the build. That is where Mig Jimenez’s recent offering starts – he takes the armor modeler from an assembled kit through to the finish line.

The Illustrated Weathering Guide to WWII Late War German Vehicles takes a dive into finishing ten iconic late-war German AFV’s, and while no can argue that (one) goal of this book is to market Ammo products, the information contained between the covers is still both valuable and informative. Let’s face it – Ammo by Mig produces (or re-brands) many of the very best products available to modelers, and a ‘how-to’ book using those very products makes for an excellent great quick-reference guide.

This book covers the story if the Soviet introduction and use of Tanks in World War two and the battles and politics around them.

Chapters

• A Tank Aficionado
• Lost Advantage
• Stalin’s Mechanical Corps
• Desperate Counter-Attacks
• Tank City Falls
• The T-34 Escapes
• The Stalingrad Flank
• Save the Oil
• New Tank Armies
• Other Peoples Tanks
• Triumph at Kursk
• Battles for Kharkov
• Victory in the Crimea
• Stalin’s Armoured Steamroller
• Punishing Traitors
• Stopped Before Warsaw
• The Road to Hungary
• Beneath the Brandenburg Gate
• Heroes of Socialist Labour

The book goes into extreme detail on the full history of the Soviet formation of the tank units and their use in WWII.