P-39 Airacobra Mk.I Exhaust

Published: September 6, 2024
Company: Quickboost

Quickboost is known for its resin upgrade accessories for 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32 scale aircraft. The resin reproduces details often not available in plastic model kits. This exhaust stack does a great job of replacing the kit’s plastic equivalent and literally just falls into place with some sanding.

With the release of Arma’s new 1/48 P-39 aircraft series, this accessory (designed for the Hasegawa P-39s) makes the exhaust stack pop even more with its detail. While researching exhausts on P-39 aircraft, different model numbers had different exhausts (most Airacobras had six per side, the P-39F and P-400 had twelve per side), so be sure to research the particular aircraft being modeled as Quickboost also makes other P-39 exhausts for the P-39, P-39Q/N, and P-400 Airacobras (along… more

Soviet Military Aviation in Central Asia 1917-41

Published: September 2, 2024
Book Author(s): Vladimir Kotelnikov with Gennady Sloutskiy;
Illustrators: Andrey Yurgenson

Company: Helion & Company

The author begins the book with the following introduction,

While other great powers were in search of colonies across the oceans, Russia was gradually expanding its territorial borders.Starting from the middle of the nineteenth century the country began annexing territories in Central Asia, its northern part had already been controlled by the Russians.

The people who stood in the way of Russia’s expansion included the nomadic Kyrgyz and Kazakhs (until 1822 they were known as Kyrgyz-Kaisaks), and three major states further south: the Kokand and the Khiva khanates and the Emirate of Bukhara. The areas included present-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Chinese Xinjiang, bordering Iran and Afghanistan.

This book is as much… more

Acrylic Paints Set for Humvee US Military Cars

Published: August 26, 2024
Company: ICM

ICM continues to be prolific despite the ongoing Russian initiated war in Ukraine. While most subjects released by ICM are welcome, fans of modern soft skin US vehicles are having to make do with older kits. ICM recently released a 1/35 M1097A2 HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, commonly called the Humvee in all its guises). Acrylic Paints Set for Humvee US Military Cars is the paint set specially released to accompany/compliment this excellent new kit.

Acrylic Paints Set for Humvee US Military Cars consists of five 12ml paint bottles and one 17ml bottle for the primer (the primer bottle is slightly larger), that are surprisingly not dropper top, but rather are wide-mouthed. The colors include:

• Primer Black (No. 2005)
• Light… more

Medal of Honor, Volume 5: AAF Aviators of WW2, Part 1

Published: August 23, 2024
Book Author(s): Alan Durkota
Company: Aeronaut Books

Author Alan Durkota succinctly explains this book in his Introduction:

The Army Air Force has 36 aviation-related Medal of Honor recipients in World War Two. One mission to attack oil refineries located at Ploesti, Romania, resulted in five Medals of Honor being awarded. making it the most highly decorated mission of the war. Two of the five will be presented in this volume.

James Doolittle’s raid on 18, April,1942 (sic), shocked the Japanese military and at the same time filled Americans with hope. History would show this mission caused the Japanese military to prioritize their effort to eliminate the American carriers which escaped the attack at Pearl Harbor, thereby setting into motion a series of events, including the Battle of Midway.

Many of the… more

Aviation Modelling International (Revised) – July 2024

Published: July 28, 2024
Book Author(s): David Francis, Andy Evans, Andy Folds, Jon Philipps, The Senior Partners, Phoenix Scale Publications, LLP
Company: Phoenix Scale Publications

Aviation Modelling International is an aircraft modeling magazine produced by Phoenix Scale Publications, hailing from Great Britain. According to the Phoenix Scale Publications website,

Phoenix Scale Publications is a partnership of four people who have worked in the modelling and aviation press for many years and have come together to produce two brand-new, high-quality modelling titles and a new book series – for modellers, by modellers - with each partner bringing their own unique talents.

The reader gets a lot of information and inspiration within its 68 pages for the cover price £5.99 ($9.99 from Sprue Brothers Models), postage will almost double that price. There is a digital version available which drops the price down to £4.99 for a single… more

Decades of Rebellion, Volume 1: Mexican Military Aviation in the Rebellions of the 1920s

Published: July 23, 2024
Book Author(s): Santiago Flores and Manel Reyna Garza
Company: Helion & Company

The authors begin the book with the following introduction,

A lot has been published on the history of the Mexican Air Force in the Spanish language, covering its establishment, the challenges it faced, its successes and changes through the years. However, there is a short period of time that has not been fully covered or has been passed over by many researchers and historians: the period from the 1920s to the 1940s… Even official government publications and websites rarely mention the period between 1920 and 1940 – and particularly the times when the Military Aviation Service proved unable to protect the established government of Venustiano Carranza. Notably, even the Operations Diary of the Military Aviation School, published in 1925, goes up to 30 December 1919,… more

WW2 Vehicles Through the Lens V3

Published: July 12, 2024
Book Author(s): Tom Cockle
Company: Peko Publishing

This landscaped, hardback book is the third in a new series of books by renowned and prolific photograph collector and author Tom Cockle, published through PeKo Publishing of Hungary. This volume continues its proven formula of amazing photographs, many previously unpublished, of armored and soft skin vehicles in depots, in the field and post combat. Each page reveals more surprises than the previous. The first volume in this series was reviewed here: WW2 Vehicles Through the Lens Vol.1.

Volume 3 consists of the following six parts:

• Part One… more

Tank Crew of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Published: June 30, 2024
Company: ICM

ICM continues to announce new models despite the ongoing Russian initiated war in Ukraine. While most subjects released by ICM are welcome, the current conflict subjects are even more relevant and timely. This Ukrainian tank crew is no exception.

Reference the ICM website -

The Armed Forces of Ukraine boast a variety of tanks, both domestic and Western-made. Despite the abundance of modern anti-tank weapons, tanks remain a formidable force on the battlefield. They are utilized by the Ground and Air Assault Forces, the Marine Corps, and units of the National Guard. A tank crew must function as a cohesive unit, as the success of combat missions often depends on the… more

Panzer IV Medium Tank German Army and Waffen-SS, Last Battles in the West, 1945

Published: June 25, 2024
Book Author(s): Dennis Oliver
Company: Pen and Sword Books Ltd

TankCraft 43, Panzer IV Medium Tank, German Army and Waffen-SS Last battles in the West, 1945, breaks the Panzer IV’s (Panzerkampfwagen, abbreviated as Pzkpfw, also known as the Sonderkraftfahrzeug 161) long service life into the final struggles in 1945 in the Western Front. Older and newer Pzkpfw fought side by side as the Allied ring closed in on Germany.

This 64-page book is outlined in the familiar TankCraft format and is loaded with incredible black and white photographs, color illustrations, supporting text and detailed captions, modelling references and a bibliography in the following chapters:

• Introduction
• The Western Front, 1945
• The Pzkpfw IV Units
• Camouflage and Markings
• Model Showcase
• Modelling Products
… more

JagdTiger Heavy Tank Destroyer, German Army Western Front, 1945

Published: June 24, 2024
Book Author(s): & Illustrator Dennis Oliver
Company: Pen and Sword Books Ltd

TankCraft 42, JagdTiger Heavy Tank Destroyer, German Army Western Front, 1945, details the short life of the heaviest armored vehicle to fight in World War II. Weighing in at about 73 tons, it was a massive vehicle built around the “heavy assault gun” designed for the Panzerkampfwagen (Pz.Kpfw.) VIII Maus – the 12.8 cm Kw.K. L/55 (Kw.K. – Kampfwagen Kanone – Fighting vehicle gun).This book outlines the development of the Jagdtiger from concept in 1942 to first combat in January 1945 through the end of the war. Despite shortages, aerial attacks and the war going against Germany, over 80 of these vehicles were produced (actual number is unknown and is debatable as details were scarce at the end of the war).

This 64-page book is outlined in the familiar TankCraft format and… more