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Review Author
Bob LaBouy
Published on
Company
Trumpeter
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$102.99

The AH-1W Super Cobra was the US Marines’ attack helicopter. Designed and developed by Bell, it entered service with the US Marine Corps (USMC), Marines have been flying the AH-1W Super Cobra since 1986. The last AH-1W was delivered in 1998. and was retired in October 2020 after 34 years of service. The AH-1Z Viper, which is also manufactured by Bell Textron, replaced the Super Cobra. It is also a brand new tooled kit in 2025.

The Super Cobra was the first attack helicopter to qualify both the Sidewinder air-to-air missile and the Sidearm anti-radiation missile. Both missiles can use the same LAU-7 rail launcher. Sidearm has a range of more than 15km. AIM-9L Sidewinder is an all-aspect, short-range, air-to-air missile has a range of 15km.

Review Author
Jason Boggans
Published on
Company
Hobby Boss
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$46.99

Box Art / Packaging

HobbyBoss present a 100% new tooled German Panzerjagerwagen in 1/72nd scale in their normal rigid top opener box. The contents are well packed and protected with additional foam wrapping on sprues which contain delicate parts. The condition of the contents as delivered were excellent with no parts off sprue, no broken parts and nothing warped due to inadequate packing.

The kit itself depicts the rail mounted Panzer IV which was generally mounted on a BP 44 armored train and would normally be seen mounted with the dozer blade in forward position. Technically the only part of the Panzer IV used here was the turret as the casemate it was paired to was not a Panzer IV chassis but was specifically designed for the BP 44 train.

The Kit

The kit is comprised of 6 sprues in total, Sprue A x 2, which contains all the parts for the railroad base.

Book Author(s)
Mick Davis
Paul R Hare
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Cross & Cockade International
MSRP
$93.00

The non-profit UK-based group known as the Great War Aviation Society publishes their journal, Cross & Cockade International, four times a year. Issues are available in English as printed [Softbound, A4 (8.27” x 11.69”), 80 pages plus centerfold] as well as digital copies (or both). A new magazine, Contact!, is now available in both print and digital download. The Society also provides a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publishes WWI-themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS USA. This journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front. The Great War Aviation Society also hosts a lecture series available through Zoom. If interested, you will need to register early as the call is limited in attendance.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$75.99

The Sd.Kfz.251 half-track armored personnel carrier was the primary-armored transport vehicle of the German Wehrmacht. It was developed by the company Hanomag in 1938, based on the artillery tractor Sd.Kfz.11, with serial production starting in the summer of the following year. The Sd.Kfz.251 armored personnel carriers were produced in four main variants—Ausf. A, B, C, and D—and there were 23 different versions for various army needs, differentiated by their armament and equipment. The 251/1 variant was the standard transport vehicle for the German motorized infantry, capable of carrying one squad of soldiers. These combat vehicles were in service with the German Army throughout World War II and were used in all theaters of combat, with a total of 15,252 units produced in various series and modifications. Among other armored personnel carriers produced during World War II, they were second only to the American M3 in terms of quantity.

Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
Company
Academy Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$74.00

Academy has released a re-boxing of their 1/48 scale F-4J Phantom II, this time with markings for VMFA-333 “Fighting Shamrocks” and VMFA-232 “Red Devils”. The first boxing of the Academy “J” variant was in 2014, and this re-boxing was produced in 2024.

In the Box

The kit is enclosed in a sturdy box and each sprue is enclosed in its own plastic bag, except for the ones that are doubled up, primarily the ordnance. The sprues are injected in three colors (gray, white, and black) and one clear sprue for the windscreen, canopy, and light parts.