Andrew Birkbeck
Reviews By Author
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The Rolls-Royce Armoured CarPublished:
At the outset of the First World War, motorized weaponry was still in its infancy. The machines of today’s modern military had not yet been invented: the tank, the armored personnel carrier, self propelled field artillery. Among the very first Allied armored cars, the very best were built atop chassis produced by Rolls-Royce, with the very first Rolls-Royce armored car being a privately owned vehicle fitted with a machine-gun and limited sections of armored plating. It was pressed into service by the Royal Naval Air Service in Flanders, 1914. By 1915, approximately 100 Rolls-Royce chassis had been acquired by the British Army, eventually finding themselves sent to units scattered across the globe: India, the Middle East, Europe, and South Africa. Post WW1, they were to be found from… more |
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Russian Heavy Tank JS-2 Model 1944Published:
The yearly new releases in Tamiya’s 1/48th scale Military Vehicle range are getting fewer and fewer in number compared to when the range was launched seven or eight years ago, but when they do turn up, they are well worth the wait. The latest in the range is the massive JS-2 Heavy Tank, produced as a counter to the German military’s Tiger 1 heavy tank. Heavily armored and with a potent 122mm main gun, this beast proved very effective both in battling the heavier German armored vehicles as well as being used in the “breakthrough” role in the mid- to late-war battles on the Eastern Front. The kit is well molded in green plastic, with lots of crisply detailed parts which fit together brilliantly as we have come to expect from the Tamiya brand. Gone is the (to my mind poorly… more |
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Russian Main Battle Tank T-90Published:
I will start this review by stating that I have little knowledge of the workings of modern main battle tanks, but I do find them “really cool looking” and so jumped at the chance to build this new offering from Zvezda of Russia. With the turret and main hull festooned with blocks of ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor), carrying a massive 125mm smooth bore main gun, and the turret looking like something from a Star Wars movie, these beasts are very menacing looking!! The T-90 was originally envisaged as a stopgap tank, being developed by the Design Bureau of the Uralvagonzavod tank facility in Nizhni Tagil from the Soviet T-72BU. However, the designs which were slated to become the new MBT for the Soviet Armed Forces all suffered various problems, which were compounded as the Soviet… more |
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M4 Sherman Tank: (Haynes) Owners' Workshop ManualPublished:
Anyone who has ever worked on his own car, either tinkering with a modern Honda Civic or Dodge Grand Caravan or a classic automobile like a 1960s Mini Cooper or Ford Mustang, will know the series of repair manuals under the Haynes brand name. Over the past few years, the Haynes title has begun producing a series of books covering aviation and military vehicle topics, including the title in this review, the M4 Sherman tank. As the blurb on the title page states: “An insight into the history, development, production, uses, and ownership of the world’s most iconic tank”. This book is a hardback edition, A4 format in size, and contains 164 pages. It is divided into 8 main sections, each of which is well illustrated with black and white and color period photos, color photos of… more |
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Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer Walk AroundPublished:
Yet another in the long established series of military vehicle monographs from Squadron Signal Publications under their “Walk Around” range, this particular title covers the Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer. The book is in softback (card cover) format, 80 pages in length, with the glossy paper pages measuring 11 x 8 inches. The same title is also available in a hardback format, should you wish to spend the additional money. Those familiar with this series of books will not be disappointed, as it follows the tried and true Walk Around format: the reader is given a brief written history of the Hetzer range of vehicles, a late war armored, tracked tank destroyer based on the Panzer 38(t) chassis. The Hetzer became the most widely used tank destroyer employed by German forces in WW2. … more |
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Henschel 33 D1 TruckPublished:
When I think of “Blitzkrieg,” I usually think of grey Panzers sweeping across the Polish, French, or Russian countryside, followed in hot pursuit by armored half tracks. The concept of Blitzkrieg required mechanized movement of weapons, men, and supplies. And, while the Germans used more horses than vehicles in the invasion of Russia in 1941, they did have mechanized transport in an attempt to keep pace with the tanks and half tracks. And here for the first time as an injection plastic model in 1/35th scale is the German truck produced in the highest numbers before and during WW2 – 22,000 units, in fact. ICM, a manufacturer of injection plastic kits from the Ukraine, has of late been making quite a name for itself producing models of WW2 transport vehicles. Together with the… more |
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T17E2 Staghound AA Armored CarPublished:
Eight or so years ago, Tamiya resurrected 1/48th scale for military vehicles models. There is now a new player in the game: Bronco Models of Hong Kong. Bronco has recently launched three sister kits into this niche market: the T17E2 Staghound armored cars, each with a different turret layout. The kit under review here is the anti-aircraft version. And all I can say is WOW, what a fantastic kit it is! Bronco released a number of Staghound variants a few years ago in 1/35th scale. These larger scale kits were loaded down with finely detailed parts, and the new 1/48th scale kits are very much in the same vein: lots of parts (approx. 300) loaded down with exquisite detail. The anti-aircraft Staghound consists of six sprues of injection plastic parts, a photo-etched fret of detail… more |
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Model Art Modeling Magazine, #834, December 2011Published:
For those unfamiliar with this magazine, it is to my mind one of the finest general purpose modeling magazines in the world today. It is filled with high quality articles covering the whole gamut of plastic modeling, from aircraft, armor, and ships to sci-fi and figures. The models appearing in these articles are very well built, well photographed, and in color, and the magazine is printed on high quality glossy paper. This issue contains 160 pages and measure 7” x 10”. The modeling articles are interspersed with the odd photo essay, together with numerous advertisements. The one drawback, at least from this reviewer’s perspective, is that it is entirely in Japanese script. Issue 834, the subject of this review, contains the following: Pages 4 – 11 is an article covering… more |
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Heavy Uniform Personnel Vehicle Type 40Published:
When I first received this model kit for review, the title that Dragon Models gave it, “Heavy Uniform Personnel Vehicle Type 40” had me confused. It clearly looked to me like the Auto Union/Horch 4x4 Type 1a produced by Tamiya in 1/35th scale way back in the 1970’s. And sure enough, this is what the kit turned out to be! And to be fair to Dragon, the vehicle was indeed a “heavy” (as compared “medium” or “light” weight) 6 man personnel vehicle. The kit is in fact “kits”, as Dragon gives the modeler two identical kits within the same box. The bulk of each kit consists of a one piece body, incorporating the under chassis frame, and the upper body hood and main body side panels. This utilizes the latest slide mold production technology for an amazingly detailed one piece… more |
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Type 97 "Chi-Ha" Tank, Late Production, Saipan 1944Published:
Over the years, model companies haven’t exactly been falling over each other to produce WW2 Japanese military vehicles in the smaller scales: 1/72nd or 1/76th. Hasegawa produced a couple of trucks in their 72nd scale series many years ago, while Airfix produced a Type 97 “Chi-Ha” decades ago in 76th scale. For the time the Airfix kit wasn’t a bad little model, bar the rubberized plastic tracks which nothing seemed to glue together. So it was a happy surprise to discover that Dragon Models was producing not one, but two 72nd scale IJA tanks in their “Armor Pro” series, a Type 95 “Ha-Go” light tank, and the subject of this review, a Type 97 “Chi-Ha” medium tank. Dragon’s kit is very well detailed, consisting of two main parts… more |