Andy Taylor

IPMS Number
46437
Generic Person

Reviews By Author

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

Published:
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

Roller handle shown

Track Roller Handle and Track Rollers

Published:
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.

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Package

Precision Sprue Cutter

Published:
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

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Sturmartillerie Crewman - Sturmgeschütze, Panzerjäger, and Panzerartillerie

Published:
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

Cover image

Acrylic Paint Set for WWII US Naval Aviation

Published:
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

Front of Package

PE/Resin Set for M5A1 Stuart (Tamiya)

Published:
Company: Hauler

Tamiya kits are known for their ease of building and detail. There are some tradeoffs that come with that philosophy, particularly with engine screens and other small metal parts on the real vehicle. While the base Tamiya kit is great out of the box, there is always room for more detail, and this Hauler kit does not disappoint.

This PE set fills that void and takes the Tamiya 1/48 M5A1 Stuart (Kit No. 32606) to the next level. This set includes two PE frets (A (1 5/8” x 2 ¼”) containing the M1919 MG mount, ammo can, periscope cages, spare track hangers, light guards, grab handles, etc.; and B (1 3/16” x 1 5/16”) containing the four engine screens and tool tie downs, and a resin sprue with onboard tools and M2 HMG… more

Curtis Kittyhawks in Soviet Far North Vol 1

Curtiss Kittyhawks in the Soviet Far North 1941-45: Volume 1 - Origins and Early Combat Operations, 1942–May 1944

Published:
Book Author(s): Andrey Latkin
Company: Helion & Company

Author Andrey Latkin writes,

Introduced through the Allied Lend-Lease program, the Kittyhawk entered Soviet service in the Artic in 1942. This volume explores the logistical hurdles of maintaining and operating these American-built aircraft in extreme northern conditions, and details their early missions supporting convoy protection, intercepting German bombers, and later, transitioning into reconnaissance and fighter-bomber roles.

This 76-page book is a part of Helion & Company’s @War Series. Curtiss Kittyhawks in the Soviet Far North 1941-45: Volume 1 -Origins and Early Combat Operations, 1942–May 1944 (Helion No. HEL2004) is outlined in the familiar @War format and is a little light in black and white photographs (not surprising given how… more

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Araguaia War, Volume 2: Counterinsurgency Operations Against the Communist Guerilla in Brazil, 1967-1974. Counterinsurgency and Legacy: The Struggle for Control in Araguaia

Published:
Book Author(s): Antonio Luis Sapienza
Company: Helion & Company

This is the second volume on the Brazil’s Araguaia War. The author, Antonio Luis Sapienza wrote,

In Volume 1, the military regimes that ruled Brazil during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were examined. This included an overview of the various guerilla groups operating within Brazil, as well as an analysis of the military strength of the Brazilian armed forces. This current volume focuses on the operational aspects of the conflict, detailing the guerilla actions and the military operations that ultimately dismantled these groups. The efforts targeted not only the guerillas in the Amazon region but also the urban factions. The military government’s directive was explicitly to ‘wipe them off the map’ at any cost, or, as they phrased it, to ‘root out the communist cancer’ – a… more

Box Top

Acrylic Paint Set for US Special Operations Aircraft

Published:
Company: ICM

ICM continues to be prolific with both kits and paint sets. The Acrylic Paint Set for US Special Operations Aircraft continues this trend and consists of six 12ml wide mouthed paint bottles. These paints are designed to be used with the following ICM kits (48290 – Cessna O-2A Skymaster; 48278 – B-26K Counter Invader (Early); and 48279 – B-26K Counter Invader). The colors include:

  • Deep Green (No. 1009)
  • US Dark Green (No. 1072)
  • Extra Dark Green (No. 1069)
  • Tan Earth (No. 1058)
  • Rubber Black (No. 1039)
  • Sky Grey (No. 1033)

Painting instructions are on the side of the packaging, stating

  • Shake well before use
  • Paint is prepared for a brush, for the airbrush dilute… more

Cover page

The Crimean Offensive, 1944 - The Russian Battle for the Crimea

Published:
Book Author(s): Ian Baxter
Company: Casemate Publishers

Ever since the German war machine occupied the Crimea in 1942, Hitler had been obsessed with the peninsula. In his eyes, the Crimea was the gateway to the Black Sea and the Romanian oilfields, on which his armies depended, and which were within distance of Crimean airbases. Hitler often referred to the Crimea as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier,” and for that reason, he said it was imperative to hold on to the peninsula at all costs

The Crimean Campaign was fought by German and Romanian forces as a part of Operation Barbarossa in late September 1941. While most Soviet forces were defeated, the Siege of Sevastopol lasted until early July 1942. The German 17th Army garrisoned Crimea with assistance from Romanian troops until the 4thmore