Review Author
Chris Vandegrift
Published on
October 15, 2023
Company
Trumpeter
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$299.99

Intro

I have to tell you that I bet there will be a couple jealous reviewers out there after they see this ship, wishing they had jumped on the review opportunity! The quality of this kit is really worth it, and it was an exciting ship to build based on the detail level and the overall engineering. Trumpeter has thought through a number of significant elements that make the build feel easier. For instance, thoughtful orientation of sprue gates such that almost no marring occurs on visible surfaces, and error proofing orientation by using 2 different sized alignment pins on parts. You’ll find top-notch photo-etch in the kit, easy to nip off the sprue and not so hardened that it breaks if you bend it the wrong way the first time and have to reverse the bend. Lastly you’ll have to decide if you want to go the H-39 route with the provided twin mount turrets, or the World of Wargaming triple mounts.

Review Author
Luke R. Bucci, PhD
Published on
October 15, 2023
Company
Tru-Color Paint
Scale
NA
MSRP
$42.95

Bottom Line: I am going to purchase other paints from Tru-Color Paints after my excellent experiences. Tru-Color Paint was founded in 2008 in Phoenix Az by Rick Galazzo & Scott Cohen. They have hundreds of paints, mostly for automobiles and railroad train hobbyists, but also military colors for aircraft, armament and ships. Starting in 2017, Tru-Color provides paints for German, Japanese, Royal Navy and US navies, from 1920s to modern era, but particularly WW2 colors. This review tries out the Royal Navy early WW2 basic warships colors in Set #1, TCP-13002. This is the first Royal Navy warship paint set from Tru-Color Paint, with more sets promised.

What You Get:

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
October 15, 2023
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$68.00

ICM has provided this V3000S German Truck from World War Two. It had a payload of 3t tons and was assembled in the Ford Plant in Cologne from 1941 to 1945. This version “Einheitsfahrerhaus” was produced from 1943 with a cab made from Pressed wood to simplify production and reduce cost due to material shortages. It was used in every German WWII theater of war.

  • Four x Light grey Sprue
  • One x Clear Sprue
  • Smal decal sheet
  • Instructions

The detail quality is excellent, although there is a lot of flash, seam lines and pin marks to remove and improve.

I decided to paint the assemblies as I was building the kit, the paints are good, but you do need to experiment with the thinning mix and thinner you use. I would recommend Water or if you have it the Hataka thinner as these were best with the ICM paints.

Assembly stages 1 to 27 are the main Chassis and engine etc. The only issues to be aware of are as follows.

Book Author(s)
Ronny Bar
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
October 15, 2023
Company
Mortons Books
MSRP
$60.00

Mortons Media Group was established in the 19th century and has been producing book-length publications since the early 2000s. The company established a dedicated books division in 2019 and Mortons Books has already earned a reputation for publishing high-quality titles by authors who are true experts in their field. For the best reads on rail, aviation, nostalgia and history, look no further. This book is part of their imprint: Tempest Books addresses all aspects of aviation history are covered in authoritative detail. The aviators and aircraft of the Second World War are profiled by our titles alongside more modern fighters, bombers, reconnaissance aircraft and transports. 'Secret projects' and experimental designs are also an important part of the Tempest Books portfolio.

Book Author(s)
Artur Juszczak
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
October 15, 2023
MSRP
$23.00

This book presents 104 color profiles of 8th Air Force P-47 B, C and D razorbacks. Profiles contain aircraft of the 4th, 56th, 78th, 352nd. 353rd, 355th, 359th, 361st, 495th fighter groups and 5th Rescue squadron are all within these pages. All are beautifully reproduced in color with many great schemes to be modeled. This is a great companion for building the new Dora Wings P-47B/C kit that has been just released.

Each profile caption contains a brief description of the colors and markings used on the aircraft as well as a brief history of actions and each airframe’s ultimate fate.

This is a fantastic color profile book that is worthy of the reference collection of any P-47, 8th AF or WWII aviation fan or modeler. Highly recommended to all!

Our thanks to Casemate Publishing for the review copy and my thanks to IPMS/USA for the review opportunity