The Renault R35 and R40 were French light infantry tanks developed in the mid-1930s and still in widespread service during the disastrous 1940 Western campaign. Lightly armed and armoured, these vehicles were no match for the PzIII and IV of the German Panzer armies.

In this book, author Ranger has compiled a surprising number of original photographs taken by German troops in the aftermath of the 1940 Battle of France. Most are reproduced two to a page, and due to the size of the originals, copy quality is mixed, from very nice to poor. There is a short section of photos of Renaults after they were captured and put back into use by Germany in the Balkans.

Firefighting has a long and noble history in the United States, dating back to the 17th century following the burning of Boston in 1631. The first volunteer fire company was established by Benjamin Franklin in 1736 in Philadelphia, and became a model for other colonial cities to follow. 1853 saw the establishment of the first professional fire department in Cincinnati, and thus the modern, fully-paid and professional firefighting force was created.

Originally, most firefighting equipment was horse drawn, but the advent of cheap, readily available gasoline-driven vehicles changed that. Enter the ubiquitous Model T, a simple, robust and affordable machine capable of carrying at least rudimentary firefighting equipment and personnel to emergency locations quickly and easily.

ICM has once again offered a very nice combo kit, featuring both the 1914 Model Firefighting Truck and their terrific figure set featuring four firefighters in natural poses.

Brengun Models is a scale model and detailing parts manufacturer located in the Czech Republic. Their lines include limited production run multi-media kits and exquisitely detailed photo-etched, turned brass and white metal replacement parts for aircraft in the most commonly produced scales.

Brengun has produced a set of weapon/fuel tank pylons for any 1/72 scale F/A-18 A/B/C/D Hornet kit. Any modeler familiar with resin parts will have no issues installing these pylons in lieu of the kit parts. A close-up evaluation of the parts (see photos), indicates a simple replacement installation that provides realistic scale-detailed pylons with significantly improved appearance to molded plastic kit parts. The photo comparison is to the pylons supplied in the 1/72 Hasegawa F/A-18D kit. The Brengun pylons (below their Hasegawa equivalent) have superior component detail to those supplied in the Hasegawa kit.