I’ve always been a major fan of Russian armor, and have built an embarrassing number of Russian armor kits over the years. Don’t ask me why. In any case, information for some of the interesting designs the Soviets have come up with over the years can sometimes be a bit sparse on the ground. Research being the vital aspect of modeling that it is, anything new in the field is always welcome.

Pen-and-Sword out of England now offers a lovely resource in their Fact Files series called “Tanks of the USSR 1917-1945” which covers the raw beginnings of the Russian armored forces to the stage where it becomes a force to be reckoned with on the world stage. This book covers everything from the first FT-17 based copies all the way through the heaviest, most formidable tank the world had seen up to that point – the revolutionary JS-3.

MasterBox continues to floor me with their bold choices of modeling subjects (especially figures) and this one is no exception. First of a series of figures based on classic Greek mythology, the Medusa here is created in 1/24th(75mm) scale and is a relatively easy build of a truly legendary icon.

Typical of MasterBox figures, there are some discrepancies between the illustration and the sculpture. Unlike most figure manufacturers, MasterBox creates a new figure by first eliciting an illustration. Then the sculptors work on the finished item using the illustration as a guide. In this case, the illustrator created a Medusa that looks something like a sorority girl with a skin condition and a bad hair day. The sculpture, if anything, is actually better, as the features are far more authentically Greek. In fact, the first time I looked at the face she reminded me of the Statue of Liberty, which is itself crafted along the classic Greek standards for feminine beauty.