Based out of Austria, Harpia Publishing specializes in the more esoteric aspects of military aviation, and boasts some of the most knowledgeable authors in their respective fields. The result is a catalog of books with very detailed accounts of Egyptian, Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, Asian, and various African air forces.

This book covers the history of toy and model soldiers for the last 2,500 years of human civilization. That is not a minor feat, considering that human civilization is about 6,000-year-old.

The book describes the religious and martial uses of scale toys in the past and how the model soldier became a toy in the late 1800s through the mid-1950 and a collectible in the 21st century. It includes the evolution from paper, to tin, to alloys and finally to plastic.

It also has a few chapters (listed as “Cameo”) where collectors tell very personal stories of how they got interested in toy soldiers, why they collect them and what aspect of collecting them gives them the most pleasure (it could be going “hunting” to an open market for that rare find or how the old memory of a dime-store gets triggered by holding a given figure).

Casemate Publications has brought a series by Helion and Company that provides a broad overview of the armed forces and conflicts of the Middle East to the attention of Hobbyists. This particular book is part two of a series that focuses on the history and modern composition of the armed forces of Oman. This is number twenty-two of this series. It is a paperback publication with maps, contemporary black and white photographs as well as a smaller collection of color photographs. You will also find a series of color plates highlighting color schemes of modern and vintage vehicles. The plates and color photographs are helpful, but some of the plates are far too dark. The text is dense, and for my old eyes, a wee bit too small. Regardless, if you are interested in a broad overview of one of the Gulf States, this is a nice overview.