The Medieval Longsword

Published: December 19, 2020
Book Author(s): Neil Grant
Company: Osprey Publishing

I recently started to learn how to do German Longsword training, so this book was perfectly timed for me.

In common with the Osprey Weapons series of books, this paperback book consists of 80 pages with colorful illustrations throughout.

Swords have always fascinated me, whether it was Excalibur or Light Sabers, the thrill of sword play has spanned the history of modern man. The Longsword came into fashion in the 1300s until the 1500s as weapons and until the 1700s as sporting weapons. The study of Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) has really taken off in the last few decades. This book is a great introduction of the longsword both as a weapon and a tactical, economic, and social artifact.

The book is broken down into introduction, development, use, impact, and… more

Bf-109F-4 Single, No.20

Published: December 14, 2020
Book Author(s): Dariusz Karnas & Karolina Holda
Company: Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books

These little single books by MMP Books are quite interesting. They focus on a single subject that is covered very well. The only text is the captions which are written in English. They do an adequate job.

These books are designed with the modeler in mind. As such they have scale drawings in 1/72^nd and 1/48^th scale. I couldn’t find fault with these. They look very accurate to me. After the drawings there are some historical photos and pictures from the parts manual of the aircraft. Intertwined with those photos are plenty of detail photos that should satisfy most modelers. The detail photos are of the F-4 in the Canadian Museum. There are four color pages and one aircraft of Hermann Graf is presented in a three view profile.

Overall these books are… more

F-16C/D Block 40/50 GE F110 Engine Nozzle

Published: August 3, 2020
Company: Brengun

The new engine was added to the F-16 beginning with the Block 30. This engine was the General Electric F110-GE engine. Two versions were used on the F-16, the GE-100 on the Block 30 and 40. The Block 50 fitted the GE-129 model. They are virtually identical externally. This is set for the Tamiya F-16 kit, in particular the Aggressor and CJ kit,

Packaged in a sturdy cardboard box are three high quality grey resin pieces which in themselves are packaged in a resealable plastic bag. There is a small instruction sheet that tells you what you need to replace. There are no blemishes anywhere on any of the resin pieces. The detail is phenomenal throughout.

Starting at the back, the exhaust itself which is the most visible part of the set, has flawless detail for the petals and the… more

F-16C/D Block 42/52 PW F100 Engine Nozzle

Published: August 3, 2020
Company: Brengun

The Tamiya F-16 series of kits are phenomenal renditions of the real airplane. There are multiple boxings. This particular set is designed to replicate the exhaust of the Pratt and Whitney F-100 Exhaust used on the Block 42 and Block 52 aircraft. They are externally very similar. The Block 42 has the -200 version and the Block 52 uses the -229.

Packaged in a sturdy cardboard box are two pieces of light grey resin inside of a resealable plastic sleeve. The two parts are perfectly cast with no blemishes anywhere. The detail on both pieces is remarkable.

The exhaust nozzle is a gem. It includes beautiful detail inside and out. Compared to the kit parts which only hints at the detail, the resin exhaust is perfect. There are beautiful exhaust petals and actuators.

… more

DH.98 Mosquito Two Stage Merlin

Published: August 3, 2020
Company: Brengun

The Tamiya Mosquito is a beautiful kit but it does have one drawback, it can’t be built into a two-stage version. The Airfix kit is the only way to get a two-stage Mosquito out of the box, but they are hard to find and not as easy to build as the Tamiya kit. A few other conversions have been done but they are long out of production. So if you want the build one of the high altitude variants, such as the FB Mk. IX, Mk. XVI, NF XV, or PR Mk.34 or any of the later variants you’ll need this resin set.

Packaged in a sturdy cardboard box with eight resin pieces, two upper engine nacelles, two lower nacelles and four exhaust stacks. Also included is a fret of photo etch to make the intake screens. The parts are protected in a resealable bag. The resin is light grey and absolutely… more

Focke-Wulf Fw-190 A, F, S, G

Published: August 1, 2020
Book Author(s): Krzysztof Janowicz
Company: Kagero Publishing

Kagero has released books of various aircraft in the past. This is their 12th edition of the Mongraph Specials and focuses on the FW-190 short nosed variants. The beautifully hard bound book has over 250 pages of high quality paper. It has all the hallmarks of Kagero’s other books.

There are plenty of clear, large pictures throughout the book. There are also some exquisite color profiles that are an inspiration to any would be modeler or historian. On top of that there are some first rate line drawings in the book as well as separate 1/48 and 1/32nd scale fold out drawings for the FW-190A5 and A-8 that are absolutely gorgeous. There are 1/72nd scale drawings included in the book. Now that all sounds great, so lets see if the contents match the highlights.

We start off… more

Building the Revell 1/32nd Scale Bell AH-1G in a Vietnam Vignette

Published: May 23, 2020
Book Author(s): Richard Marmo
Company: Scale Publications

This is my first time reviewing a PDF book. The author, Richard Marmo, is a long time IPMS member. His IPMS/USA number is #2 so that means he has been modeling for years. So he may know a thing or two about modeling and being an author.

Richard has taken this 52-year old kit and enhanced it with some Cobra Company (now Lonestar Models) upgrades and placed it into a neat vignette. He describes how to build the model and the entire vignette, including a cover for it. As a former Cobra pilot, I couldn’t wait to see what he had to say.

Utilizing the 1967 release of the Revell Bell AH-1G, Richard puts a unique camoflage scheme on the model, but first he tells you how to build it. There are plenty of pictures of how to build it included. There are 47 photos interspersed… more

MiG-17F Zoom

Published: November 13, 2020
Company: Eduard

The Hobby Boss 1/48^th scale kit of the MiG-17 series are THE kits of this fighter plane. The kit does have good detail but like anything, it can be improved upon. Included in this photo etch set are some major upgrades.

Packaged in the typical Eduard resealable package with card stock support. This pre-painted single nickel-plated photo etch fret features some prominent upgrades.

Most of the parts are designed for use in the cockpit. The biggest being the instrument panel. The instrument panel is a two-part affair with the instrument faces having glass like faces and over that is the visible panel with its various switches and buttons. On top of that there is a HUD for the gunsight. It is a single piece of photo etch that replaces the kit clear plastic… more

MiG-17F Seatbelts STEEL

Published: November 13, 2020
Company: Eduard

The ejection seat in the Hobby Boss kit is a little sparse. It needs ‘help’. That help comes from Eduard.

Packaged in their typical self-sealing package. The pre-painted nickel coated fret contains nine pieces that make up the seatbelts. They are steel so they are easy to bend and don’t lose their color coating unless you are excessive with the bends. The instructions are easy to understand. They do have you cut the kit seat and add part C6 in place of C3. Then it is just a matter of adding the belts. Simple, easy and effective.

The ejection sheet is the most visible item in the cockpit. This little fret will add dramatically to the interior of your MiG-17. This set, along with FE1000, will make your cockpit ‘pop’.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Eduard and… more

T-38 Talon, F-5B, RF-5A/E/S Pitot Tube and 20mm Gun Barrels

Published: April 8, 2020
Company: Master Model

The release of the Wolfpack and Trumpeter T-38 Talon/ and F-5B/ RF-5A/E/S Freedom Fighter kits brought this light weight multi-role fighter into the modern age. I hate having to remove the mold lines. I can never keep the roundness of cross section. Then there is the strength of the brass itself. No plastic can withstand the same amount of pressure as the brass can.

Packaged in a resealable plastic bag, with card stock backing, are three beautifully turned metal pieces. One pitot tube and two gun barrels. Depending on what aircraft variant you want to do depends on what you will use. The T-38 only needs the pitot tube. Any variant of the F-5 would need the pitot tube and the gun barrels. Again, it depends if one or two guns are used.

The instructions are printed on a… more