Review Author
Mr. Paul Dunham
Published on
January 27, 2023
Company
AMMO by Mig Jimenez
MSRP
$6.14

Ammo’s “Quake Crackle Creator Textures” are a line of thick acrylic paints formulated to dry with cracked surfaces in order to simulate terrain such as dried mud or cracked pavement. Quake is available in five colors: Crackle Base (white), Old Blacktop (black), Scorched Sand (tan), Baked Earth (brown), and Dry Season Clay (red-brown). I’ve tried the first three colors in this review. The product comes in 40ml plastic bottles. The screw-caps are nearly as wide as the bottles and have prominent ridges, so if you get paint on the threads, you can still get the bottles open.

Review Author
Mr. Paul Dunham
Published on
January 27, 2023
Company
AMMO by Mig Jimenez
MSRP
$4.00

Ammo’s line of Moss products is intended to help modelers simulate natural textures such as moss and lichen on their miniatures. The Moss products are a very finely shredded material that can be glued to surfaces to add the color and texture of tiny plants. Moss is available in ten colors that include a variety of greens and browns. The Moss comes in 35ml plastic jars. For this review I tried Ochre Moss, Bracken Green, and Sea Moss.

Book Author(s)
Eric Lefevre
Review Author
Orlando Reyes
Published on
January 25, 2023
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$38.95

This is the eighth printing of this book detailing the Battle of Normandy. The book is divided into an introduction, 21 sections, a glossary and a comparative rank section at the end. The first section is dedicated to the table of organization of the regiments that participated in the battle. This is followed by a description of the principal and ancillary vehicles in battle. Next section is dedicated to the units involved, and describes each unit participating in the events. This section is divided in the units of the SS and Heer in combat. A small section talks about the retreat of the German forces in the area after the Battle of the Fallaise Pocket, followed by another section describing what is left of the battle. The book ends with a glossary and a comparative rank table.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
January 25, 2023
Company
UMM-USA
MSRP
$16.95

This is a new riveting tool from UMM-USA and adds to its growing line of modeling tools. The single wheel tool allows you to emboss fine rivet lines on plastic, resin, soft wood, and thin metal sheets. The black handle, about the thickness of a Bic pen, fit well in my hand and was comfortable to use.

I experimented with the tool on several different types of styrene and an old plastic kit. I used a thin plastic ruler on the flat surfaces and found that it was easy to emboss a row of rivets. On some pieces of pieces of styrene I had to put more pressure on the tool due to the hardness of the styrene. On curves surfaces I used a thin metal straightedge from an old drafting class – labeling tape would also work well.

I found the tool easy to use and I was impressed by the rivet lines produced. I look forward to using it on some of my older kits where there are no rivets.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
January 25, 2023
Company
UMM-USA
MSRP
$12.95

This is a new tool that was added to UMM-USA’s line of modeling tools this fall. The tool consists of a thin double-edged saw blade and black plastic handle. It is intended to be used with resin parts and thin styrene.

The tool is used similar to a full-sized keyhole saw. While it can be used like a standard saw, cutting from the edge in, its principal use is to cut a hole inside a part. I experimented by drawing out a rectangular panel on scrap styrene, drilling pilot holes at each corner and then using the saw to cut from hole to hole, creating a rectangular opening. The corners were then cut out using a sharp Xacto knife.