MiG-29 of Ukrainian Air Forces with JDAM-ER bombs

Published: October 8, 2025
Company: ICM

From the ICM website,

Soviet-made aircraft from Ukraine’s military aviation fleet have undergone special modifications to integrate Western weapons systems. Specifically, some Ukrainian MiG-29 fighters were modernized to use JDAM-ER precision-guided glide bombs. Special pylons mounted under the aircraft wings allow each plane to carry two bombs. The JDAM-ER bombs’ range — which can reach 70 kilometers under favorable conditions — depends on the carrier aircraft’s altitude and speed. These bombs strike important targets like bridges or military command posts that lie beyond the reach of standard air-based weapons and ground systems.

Upon opening the cover, there is a reinforced white inner box that does a good job of protecting the kit’s seven gray… more

Macchi MC.202 Seat - Early Version

Published: October 7, 2025
Company: Aires Hobby Models

The 1/32 Italeri Macchi M.C. 202 Folgore (Kit No. 2518) has garnered great attention for the large scale of an important yet often overlooked WWII Italian aircraft. This Aires aftermarket accessory provides everything for an early version seat for the pilot.

The resin and PE are well executed and defined, along with easy-to-follow instructions for construction. The Aires aftermarket seat is designed to integrate into the Italeri kit, using pieces of the seat frame, namely the tubular stand and pilot headrest. The construction of the seat was straight forward, and the use of PE straps gave a lifelike look to the seat, and thus the cockpit.

It took a little over an hour to assemble, with most of the time being the removal of the resin pour block without damaging the four… more

The Armed Forces of North Korea Volume 1, Part 1: Korean People's Army Ground Forces Organisation, Strategy and Infantry

Published: October 5, 2025
Book Author(s): Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans
Company: Helion & Company

From the Preface,

The DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea). Shrouded in mysticism and secrecy, the nation represents an absolute unicum for the military analyst. No other country in the world manages to attract so much scrutiny to its controversial antics, yet divulge so little of material importance about its inner workings. This might be at the heart of why this country specifically has gripped our attention for so many years, and drawn us to write this series about its largely mysterious armed forces.

We are fortunate the authors are interested in North Korea’s armed forces under its many confusing names and guises. This book is the first volume in a series that is bound to be interesting and fill in large voids in the current knowledge… more

China's Fighter for the World Volume 1, The F-7/FT-7 Family: Origins, Evolution and Variants

Published: September 27, 2025
Book Author(s): Holger Müller
Company: Helion & Company

I thought the Chinese Chengdu J-7 was a copy of the Soviet MiG-21 (even the NATO names are similar with Fishcan and Fishbed, respectively). This was but the first of many misconceptions put to rest by author Holger Müller. As stated in the Introduction,

The development of the Chinese MiG-21 derivatives is not only an interesting technological history in itself, but also reflects the changes in the politics of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on a smaller scale: from its alliance with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to rapprochement with the West and the PRC’s own path of state capitalism.

Starting out as a license-built version of the USSR’s most modern tactical fighter aircraft at the time, the J-7 was continuously developed by the Chinese… more

Macchi MC.202 Seat - Early Version

Published: September 20, 2025
Company: Aires Hobby Models

The 1/32 Italeri Macchi M.C. 202 Folgore (Kit No. 2518) has garnered great attention to a large scale of an important yet often overlooked WWII Italian aircraft. This Aires aftermarket accessory provides everything for an early version seat for the pilot.

The resin and PE are well executed and defined, along with easy-to-follow instructions for construction. The Aires aftermarket seat is designed to integrate into the Italeri kit, using pieces of the seat frame, namely the tubular stand and pilot headrest. Construction of the seat was straight forward, and the use of PE straps gives a lifelike look to the seat, and thus cockpit.

It took a little over an hour to assemble, with most of the time being the removal of the resin pour block without damaging the four delicate seat… more

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