M8A1 Landing Mat

Published: April 23, 2024
Company: ICM

To quickly build temporary runways, US engineering services built various options for the airfield. Aerodrome steel plates were M8A1 used in the Vietnam War in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s and were installed by engineering units of the US Army.Plates were connected to each other either staggered or in a row and allowed to build either separate small sites or… more

F-4B Phantom II Landing Gear Upgrade Set and F-4B/C/D Exhaust Nozzles Upgrade Set

Published: March 25, 2024
Company: Warspite Model Company

3D basics: I really fell down the rabbit hole in this respect and very quickly found a whole bunch of information about the ‘art’ of 3D printing and other basics. While I can’t say I’ve mastered anything, I suggest that you consider these URLs as a jumping off point: Tom's 3D for basic information,… more

P-47 Thunderbolt Masking Set

Published: March 17, 2024
Company: Hawaiian Air Depot

Please note: this is a companion review for the Hawaiian Air Depot masks; here is the review for the MiniArt P-47D.

… more

P-47D-25RE Thunderbolt - Advanced Kit

Published: March 17, 2024
Company: MiniArt

A Very Brief History the P-47

A great deal of information and data is readily available online about the legendary P-47, often referred to as ‘Juggernaut’ or just the ‘Jug.’ The thousands of women and men working around the United States produced over 15,683 P-47s with the P-47s accounting for over astounding 7,000 enemy aircraft losses,86,000 railway cars, 9,000 locomotives, 6,000… more

Krankenpanzerwagen Sd.Kfz. 251/8 Ausf. A WW II German Ambulance

Published: February 16, 2024
Company: ICM

A Very Brief History the Krankenpanzerwagen

The Krankenpanzerwagen is another lesser-known version of the Sd.Kfz. 251 and as such a lightly armored semi-tracked vehicle—in plain English, it’s an ambulance.

From the manufacturer’s webpage, this is how ICM describes this vehicle:

Sd.Kfz.251/8 Ausf.A WWII German Ambulance

The Sd.Kfz.251 semi-tracked armored… more

F4U1A/2 Corsair

Published: December 26, 2023
Company: Magic Factory

Overall Evaluation

‘Move over, there’s a new sheriff in town’ – at least as quarter scale Corsairs are concerned. As I have built this F4U-2 kit, I am overjoyed with the kit’s attention to details and overall accuracy. As I previously said: Almost any way you slice it, this is a beautiful kit! And, for the price, you receive two beautiful Corsair kits. These kits are highly… more

WWII Military Patrol

Published: October 31, 2023
Company: ICM

From the kit manufacturers web site description:

WWII US Military Patrol

(G7107 with MG M1919A4)

At the end of 1941, the United States of America was already a well-deserved world leader in the production of various automotive equipment. This was facilitated by the most powerful production base in the world. During the Second World War,… more

F-4G Phantom II

Published: October 31, 2023
Company: Meng Model

A Very Brief History the F-4G

As usual, I look to Wikipedia for some insight into the operation of Wild Weasels (as well as the entire F-4 family of aircraft), at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II

On 15 August 1990, 24 F-4G Wild Weasel Vs and… more

Typ 320 Cabriolet

Published: August 14, 2023
Company: ICM

A Very Brief History the Typ 320 (W142) Cabriolet

WWII German Staff Car (from Manufacturer’s kit notes)

“The Mercedes-Benz 320 (W142), developed by Daimler-Benz AG, was launched in 1937. It was equipped with a six-cylinder engine with a volume of 3.2 liters (3.4 liters in later versions), which had 78 horsepower. It was available with a short (2880 mm) or long (3300 mm)… more

Target Saigon 1973-75 Volume 4: The Final Collapse, April-May 1975

Published: January 14, 2023
Book Author(s): Albert Grandolini
Company: Helion & Company

A Brief Introduction of this Book

This book contains 86 pages, including 130 black & white photographs, 34 color pages of colored profile drawings and eight maps. The color drawings illustrate several vehicles (primarily those of the PVAN (People’s Army of Vietnam) with a few US tanks and aircraft). Almost all of the photographs serve to illustrate the futility of the war in… more