Historical Background

The Republic P-43A “Lancer” was the immediate ancestor of the P-47 “Thunderbolt”, and was only produced in relatively small quantities at the beginning of World War II. Its immediate competitors for production contracts were the Lockheed XP-38, Bell XP-39, and Curtiss XP-40, all of which were produced in far greater numbers. However, Republic made up the differences when they produced the P-47, which turned out to be one of the best fighters of the war. The P-43A was powered by a supercharged Pratt & Whitney R-1830-35 radial engine, and was armed with .50 cal. Machine guns, although lack of self sealing fuel tanks was a disadvantage.

Vietnam Earth texture from Ammo is a newish edition to their line of Vignettes Acrylics. This product is designed for small and medium sized dioramas or vignettes and comes ready to use in a 100ml tub.

This particular product has a coarser texture than some of the other textural products ( I.E. concrete) in AMMO/MiG's catalog.

Borrowing from Ammo's own description: The application method is remarkably simple. You can use any kind of tool at hand and the Vietnam Earth Texture can be mixed with other weathering materials such as pigments or acrylic paints to create a full range of authentic earthen effects. It can be used for any scale ranging from 1/16 to 1/72. Using this product, you can obtain a perfect finish in your scenes, virtually mimicking real soil. The new format has been optimized for working on scenes and dioramas, so that the product always remains in perfect conditions for each use.

Laffley was a French vehicle manufacturer known for innovative engineering. In 1938 they developed the first prototype for a light military towing vehicle with an advanced transmission and unique suspension system employing “bumper” wheels on both the front and center of the chassis to aid in cross-country travel.  Despite its advanced systems, only about 200 were built before the Fall of France, most of them never being employed in combat.  However, the Wehrmacht was impressed with the design and impounded the majority of them to serve as light utility and radio transport. Only about four vehicles still exist.

ICM has produced a nicely detailed kit of this interesting machine, which features 6 sprues of detailed parts, clear parts, vinyl main wheels (although the bumper wheels are plastic), all creating a highly detailed chassis and engine. A couple of unused parts on the sprues suggests that a German version of this vehicle may be in the offing for the future.