Allosaurus is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the late Jurassic period. The name "Allosaurus" means "different lizard" alluding to its unique concave vertebrae (at the time of its discovery). It is derived from the Greek allos ("different, other") and sauros ("lizard / generic reptile"). The first fossil remains that could definitively be ascribed to this genus were described in 1877 by paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. As one of the first well-known theropod dinosaurs, it has long attracted attention outside of paleontological circles. Indeed, it has been a top feature in several films and documentaries about prehistoric life.

David Doyle is one of the most prolific US writers of books on military subjects, and over the years has penned literally dozens of excellent titles on military aircraft, ships and armored vehicles. One of his most recent is this book on the Stuart Light Tank of WW2 fame. The book is 112 pages in length, and is printed on high quality glossy paper, the pages measuring 9” x 9”. As the title suggests, the book is divided into main sections on three variants of the Stuart. The Light Tank M3 Stuart had been powered by a radial aircraft engine, but as the US ramped up production of tanks AND military aircraft, efforts were made to find alternative power plants so that the radial aircraft engines could be reserved for actual aircraft. Thus was born the Light Tank M5 Stuart, which retained the original turret of the M3 Stuart, but with a new hull required to house the twin V-8 Cadillac car engines now replacing the original radial aircraft engine.

The Airfix 1/24 scale F6F-5 Hellcat has been a welcome surprise to many large scale model builders, especially those interested in US carrier based aircraft.

This build will be in a two part “mini-series” due to the large size and length of time it may take to build. There are several good “in-box” parts reviews on the web, so I’ve skipped that to get straight into building this big Cat. However, I’ll start with some poignant information.

A very large box arrived at my front door, and an equally large colorful box was extracted. It is the same size as the Airfix 1/24 Typhoon box. I couldn’t wait to slice through the tape securing the box lid to examine the contents!