Bill O'Malley
Reviews By Author
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The Pacific WarPublished:
This is an excellent book that briefly summarizes many of the major campaigns of the Pacific War, and provides detailed descriptions of the significant sea and land battles. The book is 264 pages, plus 56 pages of black-and-white photographs, and eight pages of colored maps of several of the military operations. Each of the chapters are written by different authors and have previously been published as separate titles. The Forward by Captain Dale Dye, USMC (retired) prefaces the book, describing the war in the Pacific as a dollar job on a dime budget. When the rest of the country was worrying about Europe and Hitler, the fighting men in the Pacific had a perverse pride fighting an obsessive enemy without the publicity that attended allied advances in Europe. … more |
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B-17F/G EnginesPublished:
This kit includes resin and photoetch parts to replace the base kit engines on the Revell Monogram B-17F/G kits. The Brassin engines have extremely fine detail, go together well, but require experience with resin and photoetch pieces. The engines add fantastic detail to the base kits and are a challenging but rewarding build. This kit is the iconic Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright, and widely used on aircraft in the 1930s through 1950s. These kit engines are replacements for the parts supplied with the Revell Monogram B-17F/G aircraft kits. The kit includes parts molded in light and dark gray resin, five photoetch frets, a small sheet of details, and two pages of instructions. There is also a half-size errata sheet of… more |
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‘Buffalo’ 6x6 MPCV w/Slat Armor & Spaced ArmorPublished:
This is the third version of the Buffalo 6x6 MPCV to be issued by Bronco Models. This release includes a different armor configuration than the previous two releases, with slat armor and spaced armor. This is an excellent kit that will be a challenging build for even more advanced modelers. The kit has lots of small parts, finicky assembly of the slat armor, but will result in a highly detailed and rewarding model. The previous releases were reviewed here:
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Show Rod Model Kits PreviewPublished:
This excellent book is a showcase of show rod model kits from the perspective of a collector rather than a model builder. The book is an excellent read and includes hundreds of photos of classic show rod kits. The first chapter is An illustrated History of Show Rod Modeling. The section describes how in the 1960s scale hot rod models begin to replace factory cars and older classic cars in popularity. Several examples of early show cars included the Lincoln Futura, Leva Car, and Outlaw as examples of early show rods. The chapter has 50 pages listing some of the most popular and most collectible show rod kids. Chapter 2, The Corporate Sprue, describes the formation of the early model car companies and again includes some early kits as examples. … more |
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Model Miniatures in Review, No. 62Published:
Military Miniatures In Review (MMIR) is a bi-monthly publication by The Ampersand Group of armor and other military vehicles. Each issue typically contains new product reviews and detailing articles, as well as regular monthly features. The magazine is 8.5 x 11 and includes 80 pages printed on a high-quality gloss paper. MMIR is a high quality publication and my favorite modeling magazine. Articles this issue include: The M103, A Primer, Part 2A walkaround and detailed photos of a M103 tank at the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Museum at Fort Hood. This particular tank is a T43EI. Various details are shown in high-quality photographs of the tank exterior. Napoleon Complex, The Little Renault Goes Big!This is… more |
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Zombie Hunter - Road to FreedomPublished:
Master Box has ventured into the post-apocalyptic world with Zombie Hunter – Road to Freedom. Dick M. was glad to get rid of this kit as it frightened the rest of the kits in his stash. Scared the bejeebers out of my mail lady when she dropped it off and the zombies came hissing and scratching out of the box. The kit is described as part of the Zombieland Series, so there may be more undead where these came from. The box art scene depicts a fair maiden defending herself from an onslaught of four zombies. One of the undead is a female police officer that has gone outside the law, one guy in coveralls with mouth tentacles, one bedraggled looking guy, and one female medical person crawling along the ground. Our fair heroine is well-armed and carries numerous supplies on her path… more |
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U.S. Motor Grader - Part 1Published:
This is a first look ‘In the Box’ review of PlusModel’s new U.S. Grader resin kit. A subsequent review will review the detailed assembly of the kit. The kit appears to be a very complete, nicely detailed, high quality kit of a unique vehicle from WWII. The U.S. Grader follows PlusModel’s excellent dozer models. The kit comes in a sturdy 10.5 x 7.5 x 2.5" deep corrugated cardboard box. First out of the box are a photo CD, 6” x 8.25" stapled instruction booklet with 28 pages, a small bag with decals, photoetch fret, and a length of copper wire. Next are six sealed bags of 231 gray resin parts. The parts have crisp detail and no air bubbles are apparent. The large grader blade appears straight with no visible defects. The radiator is nicely detailed with raised letters for… more |
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57 Chevy Funny CarPublished:
This is a very nice kit. Simple enough to be the first ‘glued’ kit for someone moving up from snap-kits, but also a well-made kit that more experienced modelers can build into a great scale model. The kit’s one-piece body and one-piece frame are both very nicely molded parts. Tom “Mongoose” McEwen is a drag racer best known for is legendary races against Don “The Snake” Prudhomme. McEwen’s “Mongoose” moniker even was a reference to Prudhomme’s “The Snake”. In 1968 McEwen introduced a new funny car based on the iconic ’57 Chevy. With runs of less than 6 seconds, this car laid claim to being the fastest ’57 Chevy in the world. Kit comes on three white plastic sprues, a one-piece tubular frame, and a one-piece body. The parts have good detail and only minor areas of flesh… more |
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60-Spoke Wire WheelsPublished:
3D Model Parts is a new U.S. based company that uses 3D printing technology to produce resin ship, automobile, aircraft, and armor detailing accessories. 3D states their printing process produces details with greater precision than either injection molding or resin casting. This set of 1/25 scale wheels certainly lives up to that claim! The spokes have amazingly fine detail, and the wheel rims are extremely thin. The interlacing of the spokes makes the wheels very realistic at this small size. I compared the 3D wheels to wire wheels from a Revell kit and there is no comparison. 3D accurately reproduces the opening between spokes, where many of the openings on the Revell wheels are filled with flash. The set includes 5 - 3D printed wire wheels with separate interlaced… more |
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W.W.II British Airborne Weapon & Equipment SetPublished:
This is a very comprehensive accessory set for British WWII Airborne vehicles or dioramas. The parts are well molded, and have very good detail. There are many very small parts that will require care to assemble, but will result in nice accessories. The kit includes a Welbike that can be assembled unfolded or folded for transport, a Welbike container that can be either open or closed, a collapsible trolley cart, BSA military bicycle that can be assembled either unfolded or folded, No. 18 Wireless Radio, various weapons, pigeon container, PIAT, several PIAT ammo containers, wicker pannier, airborne helmets, airborne rucksack, and type B airborne container. The weapons include Sten MK IVs, PIAT gun and ammo, Webley revolvers, Lee Enfield rifles, and Bren guns. The… more |