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Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
September 25, 2016
Company
Riich Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$49.99

This is a new version of many Riich Universal Carrier’s and is the Airborne Version. The Universal carrier was changed to reduce its weight to enable it to be carrier in the Hamilcar Glider. This included removal and reduction of the armor plate and removal of all unnecessary equipment.

I had built the Tamiya Universal carrier many moons ago and I thought that was a great version but this excels in every area and now I must go and buy the other version of the Universal carrier released by rich.

The kit contains

  • 7 sprues molded in light grey styrene
  • 1 clear sprue
  • 3 Photo Etch sheets
  • 32 springs
  • 1 decal sheet
  • 1 instruction booklet.

Construction

The kit is includes a lot of unrequired parts as these are for the standard Universal carrier.

Book Author(s)
Peter J. Dye, Peter F.G. Wright, Roger Bragger, Trevor Henshaw, Mike O'Connor, Mike Napier
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
September 23, 2016
Company
Cross & Cockade International
MSRP
$16.20

This book is a compilation of research by members of Cross & Cockade International. Although some of the information has been seen as individual articles in earlier editions of the Cross & Cockade journal, nearly fifty percent of the information presented is new. The front cover features a painting by Stuart Reid “The Arab Welcome the First Handley Page Machine to Arrive in Palestine, 22 September 1918”, featuring Handley Page O/400 C9681 landing at Un el Surab from the collection of the Imperial War Museum. The rear cover features a standing T.E. Lawrence in full regalia.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
September 23, 2016
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$12.95

Last year Airfix released a new kit of the B5N2 Kate, the Japanese Navy’s primary torpedo plane for the early part of World War II. The kit includes an option to depict the aircraft with the wings folded or with them fully spread. This set from Scale Aircraft Conversions includes nine drop-in replacements for the kit wing-folds and landing gear.

Book Author(s)
Angus Konstam, Illustrations by Tony Bryan
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
September 20, 2016
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$24.00

I was somewhat aware of the happenings at Montevideo, Uruguay some time in early WW2, but this book gave me a clear picture of what happened, and why it happened like it did. Mr. Konstam has put together a thoroughly researched book, with all of those details that make the history come alive. But the book is also very well written, to the point where I looked up and it was well past my bedtime, but the book held my interest so very well that I couldn’t put it down.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
September 20, 2016
Company
Airfix
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$29.95

Earlier this year Airfix released this Dogfight Double set which combines it new Nakajima B5N2 “Kate” torpedo bomber and its new Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat kit. The Dogfight Double kits are designed to allow the modeler to depict aircraft from a specific historical incident by providing markings for two specific aircraft in the kit. This set is designed to commemorate a confrontation that occurred on June 4, 1942 when Wildcats of VF-3 intercepted Kate torpedo bombers during the second air attack on the USS Yorktown. The kit decals provide markings for the Wildcat flow by LCDR. Jimmy Thatch, the commanding officer of VF-3 during the afternoon raid and the B5N2 Kate flown by Lt. Jouchi Tomonaga of the Hiryu. The box art depicts Thatch’s shoot down of the Kate, but not before Tomonaga launched his torpedo towards the Yorktown.