Gino Dykstra
Reviews By Author
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Gloster Gladiator Mk. 1 in Foreign ServicesPublished:
Recently I had the pleasure of tackling ICM’s new Gloster Gladiator aircraft kit in 1/32nd scale. As is, the kit comes with a couple of British Air Service options for early World War 2 campaigns, but if you want something a bit more exotic, ICM has answered the call with a new decal sheet offering markings for four different nations which also used the Mk. 1 – China, Greece, Belgium and the Netherlands. All of the decal combinations offered are essentially fairly basic, with national markings and a few letters and numbers as well. Of these, only the Norwegian markings require some preparation, as the red of the marking bands needs to be painted on before decaling. The simplicity of this decal set permits you to easily add aircraft- specific details either from your… more |
Tank Battles in East Prussia and Poland 1944-1945Published:
Towards the end of World War 2 some of the most vicious tank battles were being fought on the Eastern Front as Russian forces pushed their way into the back door of the Third Reich. Although not on the scale of the Kursk campaign earlier in the war, these slugfests involved some of the heaviest, most sophisticated armored units the world had seen up to that point, and most engagements were hammered out between the opposing forces with no quarter given or taken. The atrocities that these two countries had inflicted on each other during the previous five years ensured that. My father was a professor of history, and he wrote a number of books relying on primary sources. Igor Nebolsin’s book on the subject of these brutal encounters likewise draws on a plethora of first-hand… more |
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French ZouavesPublished:
Zouaves were a branch of light infantry serving in the French Army from 1830 to 1962. Their flamboyant costumes were patterned after indigenous Algerian Berber troops, and were so popular that variations on this costume were adopted by countries worldwide, several zouave units serving with distinction in the American Civil War. The French units served in these outfits for a brief time at the beginning of World War One, changing out to a khaki uniform in 1915. ICM continues with its distinctive line of World War One infantry units with this new package of four zouaves, including three zouaves and an officer. All come in the distinctive Berber-style uniform. The kit also includes the comprehensive French equipment set released some time ago, so you’ll have a LOT of spare parts to… more |
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I-16 Type 10 WWII China Guomindang AF FighterPublished:
This Polikarpov fighter, developed in 1934, took a lot of its design ideas from the then-revolutionary Gee-Bee racing airplane of the same period – that is, the largest engine that could be fit into the smallest airframe. Adding retractable landing gear and four rifle-caliber machine guns and you had the miniscule I-16, a staple of the Soviet air force through the early part of World War 2, almost 10,000 being manufactured. These tough little aircraft served in other forces as well, most notably in the Chinese Guomindang, where they pitted themselves against the more nimble and far more numerous Japanese fighters of the period. How they fared is another story. ICM continue to broaden its I-16 stable by offering the Type 10 in Chinese markings. This is the version I was… more |
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Gloster Gladiator Mk.1Published:
ICM continues to floor me with the boldness of their release choices, and the Gloster Gladiator in the impressive 1/32nd scale range is certainly one of them that I never expected to see in my lifetime. The Gloster Gladiator was one of the rare biplanes to see combat service in World War 2 and was the last operation biplane fighter in British service, seeing service in most theaters of action via a number of air forces. Despite its obsolescence it acquitted itself reasonably well in combat, even making a couple of aces into the bargain. ICM’s Gloster Gladiator comes on a sturdy side-opening box with separate lid and features a somewhat soft gray styrene as well as clear parts. This plastic seems familiar, and in fact appears to be the type of choice for… more |
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WW1 ANZAC Desert PatrolPublished:
ICM has been going full bore on World War One ground war models for some time now, and during this process have come out with a variety of Model T variants from the period. As was the case elsewhere at the time, the Model T was pretty much ubiquitous, and served on all fronts in a remarkable range of roles. This latest offering provides no less than three variants all in one package. Listed as “Anzac Patrol” the packaging offers a staff car, a utility truck and a scout car, all on a common chassis, the late-model 1917 variant of the Model T. Both the scout car and utility truck share the exact same sprues, with only the sprue with body parts distinguishing the scout car. Because of so much commonality among the vehicles, they can be built in an “assembly line” fashion that… more |
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Wasp Flamethrower JeepPublished:
Meng sure does like to pop up now and then with the unique. This model is a case in point – a model of the single prototype flamethrower jeep developed for the British special services unit referred to as “Popski’s Private Army.” Why this particular concept didn’t take off isn’t really too hard to grasp. Imagine running around behind enemy lines in a completely unarmored vehicle with several gallons of extremely volatile fluids under pressure in tanks at your back. A single stray bullet could really ruin the crew’s entire day, I would think. The only effective way to survive a patrol in this contraption would be with the sincere hope that you have the element of surprise. Otherwise . . . Meng has made a terrific little kit here of this one-off machine. The only non-styrene… more |
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Desert Battle Series: Skull Clan – New Amazons. This is not the place for strangers!Published:
Master Box sure enjoys exploring new venues for its range, and their growing post-apocalyptic series is one really worth watching. As always, the concepts are inventive and the execution quite pleasing. This latest five-figure set (really a diorama in a box) is no exception. Four lovely ladies of the notorious Skull Clan have captured some unfortunate from another tribe and are enjoying their moment of gloating before hauling him away to an uncertain fate. All of the characters in this set are completely distinctive and have a LOT of character. As I’ve mentioned before, Master Box is unique in the modeling world for sculpting their figure sets based on illustrations rather than the other way around. As a result, there are typically small differences between the illustration and… more |
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WWII German MG08 MG TeamPublished:
ICM has made something of a name for itself in recent years by releasing some of the nicest WW1 figure sets available on the market. Along with infantry figures, they have started releasing machine gun sets with crew, which is certainly an appropriate addendum to their WW1 line. Their excellent MG08 is actually available with two separate crews – one appropriate to its World War I use and another for its later utilization during World War II. Although tasked with providing information on the WW2 version, I actually had both in my kit collection, so could make some comparisons. The WW2 variant includes the famous MG08 machine gun on its distinctive sled mounting, two crew members, two styles of ammunition cans, and two different water cans. Molding is very fine and… more |
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Building Gemini: A Guide for Scale Model Builders (Space in Miniature #9)Published:
Mike Mackowski has made something of a name for himself by his relentless pursuit of All Things Real Space in Miniature. This, his ninth publication along these lines, continues the saga as he delves into a number of models both real and speculative regarding the infamous Gemini space program from the 1960’s. One of the lingering frustrations of those interested in this era of NASA is the issues surrounding the most (at the time) available copies of this iconic spacecraft. Revell released two version of this craft – one in 1/24th scale and an identical item in 1/48th as a companion piece to their Mercury capsule of the same scale. Both versions were released onto the market before the Gemini capsule had actually flown, so that both reflect the prototype… more |