Bob LaBouy

	Operation 'Dragoon' and Beyond Published: April 29, 2024 Book Author(s): Jean Paul Pallud Company: Pen & Sword Hope you understand if this review contains some insight into the After The Battle standard presentations. These books, of which there are now over 86 issues (and this number does not count the WWI, Military, Aviation, Maritime or Ancient History books), take a photographic trip through the battles or campaigns named (e.g. Arnhem, Bastogne, Omaha Beach). These publications take great pains to compare the war time photographs to modern day images of the same location, which in most cases still stand today. Most of the titles are available as eBooks, Audiobooks, DVDs, and the original magazines. My interest stems from several aspects in my life, including my father, who was a participant in several Pacific landings and invasions in South Korea and in Lebanon. My wife and I have… more
	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 airfields of impressive size. Most often, such coatings were used in army aviation. Various aircraft could be based on the sites created in this way, for example, combat helicopters AN-1Q Cobra, light attack aircraft, and observation aircraft OV-10A Bronco or O-2 Skymaster. Also on such sites were operated well-known B-26K Counter Invader. The Build As you initially open this… more
	F-4B Phantom II Landing Gear Upgrade Set and F-4B/C/D Exhaust Nozzles Upgrade Set Published: March 25, 2024 Company: Detail & Wonder 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 and 3D Printer Anatomy: 50 parts in 5 minutes (Basics). Reviewer's Observations It should be noted that these two aftermarket sets are intended for the Tamiya F-4B kit (#7600). This is important as the locating holes are intended for this Tamiya kit and in the case of the exhaust nozzle upgrade set… 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. MiniArt and Hawaiian Air Depot Link to product on company site: https://miniart-models.com/product/48001-p-47d-25re-thunderbolt-advanced-kit/ Hawaiian Air Depot This review is for an… 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 armored fighting vehicles and 68,000 trucks. You can easily spend hours reading about the exploits of the P-47 and many of the well-known pilots who flew them. The P-47’s maximum weight capacity was almost 17,000 pounds, compared to the P-51’s at 12,000 pounds, an increase of approximately 5,000 pounds or 41% more than the Mustang. It’s eight .50 caliber guns carried 3,500 rounds compared with the 1,… 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 personnel carrier was the main armored vehicle of the Wehrmacht. It was designed by Hanomag in 1938 and mass production started the following summer. The armored personnel carriers were in service with the German army throughout the Second World War and were used in all theatres of operations, with a total quantity of 15,252 vehicles of various series and modifications. The first modification, the… 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 recommended both for newer builders interested in the Corsair as well as those who felt the best such kit was the other Japanese company. Now we have a higher bar and it’s a great set of Corsairs. Now, as for the review itself- A Very Brief History the Corsair [from manufacturer’s website] F4U Corsair is a famous carrier-based fighter… 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, only 2,382,311 military trucks were manufactured in the USA. American army vehicles embodied advanced design solutions, defining the world level of automotive technology in general. In America, the main consumer of automotive equipment was the ground forces (US Army), which operated several types of trucks. The four-wheel-drive truck G7107 was one of the representatives of the G7100 military series.… 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 six RF-4Cs were deployed to Shaikh Isa AB, Bahrain, for Operation Desert Storm. The F-4G was the only aircraft in the USAF inventory equipped for the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) role, and was needed to protect coalition aircraft from Iraq's extensive air defense system. The RF-4C was the only aircraft equipped with the ultra-long-range KS-127 LOROP (long-range oblique photography)… 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) wheelbase. The Mercedes-Benz 320 (W142) was the most prestigious of the three 6-cylinder middle-class models. One of the body variants for long-wheelbase cars was the Cabriolet. In turn, there were also several versions of this version of the Mercedes-Benz 320, which differ with number of seats, doors, and side windows. The four-seat Cabriolet B version had two doors and four side windows. This car was… more