Allan Murrell

	Renault UE Tank Published: May 4, 2018 Company: Mirage Hobby This is a new version of the Renault UE Tankette and is the Scout version. This version has two options you can build one which has two machine gun turrets while the other has one machine gun turret and a load carrier at the rear. The kit contains 3 x sprues molded in grey styrene 1 color guide sheet 1 decal sheet 1 instruction booklet. Construction Firstly you must know the instructions are in Polish which will be a problem for a novice modeler, but many will have no real trouble with the instructions. Step I builds parts of the left hand and right hand road wheel assemblies, there are a few ejector pin marks that need cleaning up. Also there is an error that shows the A6 part in two locations… more
	Tie Downs and Straps German Steel Published: April 15, 2018 Company: Eduard This is a photoetch Interior set of various German WWII type tie down straps. This set has one colored photoetch sheet with both sides being colored. In the Packet is: 1 colored photoetch sheet Summary This is a fantastic set for adding some great details to any German WWII vehicle to replace molded-on straps or to attach additional aftermarket stowage materials. There are 14 straps/tie downs included of three different colors and 6 different designs. Being steel, that are very easy to form and shape. They can even be flattened again and re-formed without the paint peeling as it does with brass. I will be buying a few more sets for my many armor builds to come. Thanks go to Eduard for providing this set to review and… more
	Valentine Mk. II/IV w/ Desert Fenders Published: April 13, 2018 Company: Eduard This is a Big Ed set which contains three Eduard PE sets for the new tooled Tamiya Valentine Mk.II /IV kit. In the Big Ed sets the following sets: Eduard PE Set 36 359 Details Set 1x Photo Etch Sheet 1x Instruction sheet Eduard PE Set 36 360 Desert Fenders Set 1x Photo Etch Sheet 1x Instruction sheet Eduard PE Set 36 361 Cannister Holder set 1 x Small Colored Photo Etch sheet 1x Photo Etch Sheet 1x Instruction sheet Construction Detail Set 36359 - This set was pretty straight forward to build with a few areas of caution for the builder. These were as follows A- Parts 19 and 20 are easily formed the wrong way to please… more
	Hitachi Vibratory Combined Roller ZC50C-5 Published: March 23, 2018 Company: Hasegawa This is a new tooled kit first issued in 2017. It is an excellent kit in the Hasegawa range and is very easy to build as long as you watch the instruction details carefully. In the box is: 2 x orange sprues 1 clear sprue 1 light grey sprue 3 x dark grey sprues 1 length of hose 1 decal sheet 4 x poly caps 1 instruction booklet The sprues are extremely well molded with no flash and great detail. The parts are all molded in the correct colors so if the build is done well there is no need to do much painting. Construction Stage 1 Assembly begins with the front section of the articulated body. There are a few places you have to be careful to correct assembly the… more
	The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich Published: March 21, 2018 Book Author(s): Yves Buffetaut Company: Casemate Publishers The book goes into details of the formation, deployment and combat actions of the 2^nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich. Das Reich was the first Waffen SS division created and was a major force where ever it fought. The unit as formed in September 1939 as the war began and fought on most fronts from Poland, France, Balkans, Russia, back to France and then back to the eastern front at the end of the war. I found this book fascinating and made me aware of a lot of information I have never read before. Das Reich was a formidable division and prove its worth and bravery on all the fronts it fought. It was used as a firefighting group on many occasions and resisted against the odds on many occasions. There are a lot of pictures and illustrations that… more
	B-2A Spirit Landing Gear Published: March 18, 2018 Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions This is a white metal landing gear set is to for the Modelcollect 1/72 B2-2A Spirit aircraft. The white metal parts are good but I found that the kit parts had a better defined details. They are an acceptable replacement for the already well details kit parts. The advantage is these white metal parts will provide more strength and last longer than the kit parts. The parts include the main two gear struts which replace part numberA27, Front strut which replaces part number C29 and support strut which replaces part number C32. The parts are well cast; you do need to sand off the few cast seams and metal pour points. The main struts were a little twisted and needed strengthening to allow the correct installation. The parts were a perfect fit to the existing mount… more
	Finland at War – the Winter War 1938-1940 Published: February 3, 2020 Book Author(s): Vesa Nenye, Peter Munter, Toni Wirtannen, Chris Birks Company: Osprey Publishing This book I found to be the most complete and detailed account of the David vs Goliath battle between Stalin’s Russian forces and the small Finish Armed forces. This little known war has always fascinated me and I really enjoyed this book. The book details the history leading up to the war the full war battle by battle and the aftermath. The details are incredible and there is a short biograph for each of the major players on both sides during the campaign. The table of contents shows the detail. Preface and Acknowledgements Chronology The Rise of Finland The Road to War The Karelian Isthmus, December 1939 Ladoga Karelia, December 1939 Group Talvela North… more
	Nakajima C6N1-S Night Fighter Saiun (Myrt) Limited Edition Published: February 14, 2018 Company: Hasegawa Hasegawa has released this aircraft with components to make two Prototypes of the original developed reconnaissance aircraft modified for night fighter duty. One version with twin 20mm cannons and one with a single 30mm Cannon. There was only one of each built in June 1945 and both were used. There was no record of these being successful in service. In the box is: 6 x light grey sprues 1 clear sprue 1 decal sheet 1 poly caps Bag of metal parts (20mm Cannons) 1 instruction booklet While you get lots of sprues, you also get plenty of unused parts. All the sprues are extremely well molded with very little flash and great detail; the decals allow you to finish the aircraft as the two variants… more
	RAF WWII Fighter Instrument Panels Published: February 7, 2018 Book Author(s): Dariusz Karnas Company: Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books The book is a part of MMP books “Inside” series and is an illustrated guide to some of the RAF WWII most famous fighters. The book contains so fantastic illustrations which give any modeler a great reference guide for completing cockpit instruments. This book is a very good reference guide and idea for all modelers. I recommend this book to everyone with an interest in the aircraft and modeling them. Thanks go to Mushroom Model Publishing for providing this book to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them
	Morning Star, Midnight Sun Published: January 15, 2018 Book Author(s): Jeffrey R. Cox Company: Osprey Publishing This book is a follow up of his successful book Rising Sun, Falling Skies which I have also read and was a great read! The book goes into details of the US Naval Campaign from Guadalcanal to the Solomon Islands. It goes into incredible detail and covers some much of what appears to be a small book! The information is well written and draws you in as its rather Novel like in its narrative. I learned so much from reading this and look forward to another book as a follow up to this one. I found this book fascinating and made me aware of a lot of facts I have never heard before. The writing style is very factual a little dry at times, This made the book a little heavy going at times but well worth reading to the end. I recommend this book to everyone… more