Serving in the U.S. Navy in the late 1980’s, these were the weapons that I could “neither confirm nor deny” were present on my aircraft carriers. The B43 was in service between 1959 and 1991, and could have been carried in a nuclear conflict aboard any U.S. aircraft certified for bomb loads (a rather lengthy list). This new release from Eduard will allow for a unique loading of any aircraft that served during the Cold War in nearly any branch of the service as well as by some NATO allies. Construction of the bombs is clear and anyone with limited experience with resin and brass will be able to put these to use.

Like a lot of modelers, I take this hobby a bit more seriously than I should at times. This kit is a reminder that it's actually fun to build models. Taking real-life subjects and “egg shaping” them into a whimsical mimic seems to be a growing sector based on the number of kits and subjects receiving this treatment. In this case, AFV Club has chosen the F-5E/N Tiger II. The F-5E/N series was an improved version of the F-5 Freedom fighter that incorporated modifications from the unsuccessful F-20 Tigershark. Leading-edge extensions and more powerful engines made it the perfect aggressor aircraft to simulate the MiG 21. This kit draws inspiration from the Navy’s VF 111 “Sundowners”. But enough of that serious stuff.

The good folks at Osprey Publishing just keep cranking out quality publications on all sorts of subjects, and this book is no exception. Author Chris Goss takes us through a well-written and well-researched history of the units that operated the Dornier Do-17 bomber in World War II.

The book starts with a short explanation of the development of the Do-17 from a transport plane into a military plane during the formative years of the Luftwaffe. The type served in the Spanish Civil War, like many of the early Luftwaffe aircraft, and proved to be a capable bomber. Lessons learned in Spain led to the redesign of the forward part of the fuselage into the version that most of us modelers are familiar with – the Do-17Z.