References for Modellers 18 – Focke-Wulf Fw 190D

Published: September 18, 2025
Book Author(s): Damian Majsak
Company: Kagero Publishing

While Kagero has an established reputation for quality books that modelers appreciate and use on their library shelves, the References for Modellers series focuses on WWII aircraft. The series is now listed at 19 with Number 18 focusing on the Focke-Wulf (Fw) 190D. The brief, 26 pages are filled with visual information and captions provided in both Polish and English. While no table of contents is provided, nor necessary, the book is broken into the following sections:

• Black and white period photographs
• Color profiles (six aircraft)
• Technical Sheets (eight pages of line drawings in 1/48 scale)
• Fw 190D and Ta 152 Modification/Version Sheets (two pages of the external modifications throughout versions in 1/72 scale)

Two things really stand… more

South Pacific Air War Volume 6 - Wau to Bismarck Sea, January - March 1943

Published: September 13, 2025
Book Author(s): Michael Claringbould and Peter Ingman
Company: Avonmore Books

If you believe the Pacific Air War, particularly the Solomons and Southern Pacific theaters haven’t been properly chronicled, you have never heard of author Michael Claringbould. As a fan of his Pacific Profiles series, I was eager to read more of his series, and I was not disappointed. I was introduced to Peter Ingman in this book and thrilled to learn that he partnered with Michael Claringbould for the aforementioned series with three volumes of the Solomons Air War and this, the sixth volume of the South Pacific Air War.

From the Casemate Publishers website,

Volume Six of this series chronicles aerial warfare in the New… more

ZіL-131 AFU with DShKM

Published: September 13, 2025
Company: ICM

The Armed Forces of Ukraine use a wide variety of trucks for different purposes. One notable example is the all-wheel drive ZiL-131, which was mass-produced throughout the 1970s and 1980s for both civilian and military use. Known for its high reliability and exceptional off-road capabilities, the truck proved versatile in many applications.

In the Armed Forces of Ukraine, some of these vehicles received field modifications—being equipped with heavy machine guns or light artillery weapons. Notable examples include ZiL-131 variants fitted with DShKM heavy machine guns, mounted on various pedestals or mounts in their cargo beds. These modifications transform the trucks into fire support vehicles, capable of engaging lightly armored targets and slow-moving aerial targets… more

Acrylic Paint Set for F-16

Published: September 10, 2025
Company: ICM

ICM continues to be prolific with both kits and paint sets. The Acrylic Paint Set for F-16 continues this trend and consists of six 12ml wide-mouthed paint bottles. The packaging includes a picture of a Ukrainian Air Force F-16AM in the typical USAF three-gray color camouflage scheme. The back shows a three-profile view (top, left, and right) of the F-16AM with color callouts. This paint set is designed to be used with ICM’s recent release of their F-16AM of the Ukrainian Air Force (Kit No. 72145).

Thanks to Cybermodeler Online for the quick paint reference. The colors include:

• Neutral Grey (No. 1036) corresponds to Gunship Gray (FS 36118/ANA 603)
• Sky Grey (No. 1033)… more

F-16AM of Ukrainian Air Forces with PAG-14

Published: September 9, 2025
Company: ICM

Reference: the ICM website:

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is the most widely produced lightweight fighter aircraft in the world. As of 2018, a total of 4,604 units had been built, and it was operated by the air forces of more than 30 countries. The aircraft was developed in 1974 by General Dynamics and was notable for its high degree of standardization in parts, assemblies, and systems. Over the course of its service, the F-16 has undergone several upgrades, allowing it to remain in the military aviation fleets of many countries around the world.

Since August 2024, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has also received multirole F-16 fighters. It is known that Ukrainian F-16s can employ AIM-9 and AIM-120 missiles, as well as precision-guided bombs such as the… more

Schnellboot Type S-38 and S-100, Super Drawings in 3D

Published: August 27, 2025
Book Author(s): Carlo Cestra
Company: Kagero Publishing

While Kagero has an established reputation for quality books that modelers appreciate and use on their reference shelves, Super Drawings in 3D focuses on ships beautifully rendered in 3D CAD. Number 16056 in the series focuses on the Schnellboot Type S-38 and S-100, the most common of the WWII German Kriegsmarine classes, with the Type S-38B serving from 1939 and the S-100 from 1943, with both variants serving until Germany’s surrender in May 1945.

The book is broken into the following sections

• Overview
• Design, propulsion and armor
• Armaments
• Service and conclusion
• Bibliography

The above sections are contained within the first 11 pages and give a brief overview of the boat’s concept, design, armor and armament, use and service… more

Track Roller Handle and Track Rollers

Published: August 25, 2025
Company: Squadron

Please note: This is a multi-item review; handles and rollers can be purchased individually from Squadron as noted in the review itself. Pricing is for each individual component.

This is a benchmark tool and a game-changer for 1/35 armor modelers. It is a wonder it hasn’t been made before.

From the Squadron.com website:

Real tanks leave deep tracks on the ground wherever they go...and so should your model. Designed to imprint track marks into scale model terrain and bases without damaging the model or its tracks. Simply roll the imprint into your groundwork, and remember to wash any excess base material from the roller after use. This Track Roller Handle works with all the Squadron Track Rollers.

… more

Precision Sprue Cutter

Published: August 24, 2025
Company: Squadron

From the Squadron.com website and packaging,

Squadron Tools offers three different sprue cutters. A basic/rough cut, a precision cut and a high precision cut for the most delicate parts. When used together, these three cutters make the perfect team for tackling any plastic model kit. The basic/rough cut will remove parts from the sprue with no risk of damaging the cutter. The precision cutter allows for good clean cutting of most parts while the high precision cutter will allow removal of the most delicate parts with little to no cleanup required.

The Precision Sprue Cutter is in the middle of Squadron’s new custom-made sprue cutter series. There are three sprue cutters available, increasing in price with the type… more

Sturmartillerie Crewman - Sturmgeschütze, Panzerjäger, and Panzerartillerie

Published: August 3, 2025
Book Author(s): Simon Forty and Richard Charlton Taylor
Company: Casemate Publishers

The U.S. Army’s Tactical and Technical Trends (Vol. I, No. 11: July 1943) quoted Red Army sources,

The Germans make extensive use of self-propelled guns as assault artillery. Their most important mission is to destroy the opposition’s antitank and heavy infantry weapons… Assault batteries, which are assigned a limited number of targets, have the mission of supporting the attacks of the infantry, and of destroying the opposition’s heavy infantry weapons and strong points disclosed during the attack. In supporting tank attacks, the self-propelled artillery assumes some of the normal tasks of heavier tanks, including the destruction of antitank guns.

While the German Army was largely a horse-drawn army, the Germans focused, and relied on,… more

Acrylic Paint Set for WWII US Naval Aviation

Published: July 29, 2025
Company: ICM

ICM continues to be prolific with their production of both model kits and paint sets. This Acrylic Paint Set for WWII US Naval Aviation continues their trend, and it consists of six 12ml, wide-mouthed, paint bottles. The packaging includes a picture of a Douglas SBD (Scout Bomber Douglas) Dauntless in an early war scheme of pale blue over light gray two-tone scheme on the front. The back shows both the SBD Dauntless and a Grumman TBF-1C Avenger in Measure 22 (light gray over white, primarily used in the Atlantic Theater during 1943-1944), with the color call-outs noted. These paints are designed to be used on early World War II US Naval aircraft. The paint colors include the following:

• Camouflage Green (No. 1071)
• Pale Blue (No. 1074)
• Sky Grey (No. 1033)
… more