Gino Dykstra
Reviews By Author
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Greek Hoplite versus Persian WarriorPublished:
Does anyone who is into historical modeling not know of Thermopylae and the famous last stand of the 300 Spartans? Personally, I’ve always been fascinated by the Greek Hoplite and this period in history, although I will NOT be going into a review of the recent movie on this subject. Let it just be said that this battle and those that occurred around the same period determined, to a great degree, the world as it stands today. Osprey’s Combat series focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of opposing forces in crucial battles, and this book by Chris McNab is a truly fascinating look into the differences between the Greek and Persian approaches to mass warfare. Although I’m certainly familiar with both military forces, having modeled them a LOT over the years, I wasn’t really… more |
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Brittany 1944Published:
I think most military modelers are pretty familiar with the Normandy landings of June 6, 1944 – the single largest endeavor yet by the human race in history. What a lot of people are not familiar with, however, are the strategic needs that came up immediately in the aftermath – mainly, the daunting task of equipping and supplying the massive Allied forces now on the European mainland. For that, they needed more ports of supply, and those were for the most part still in German hands. This book details the grueling job facing the Allies of wrestling these away from the Axis as quickly and efficiently as possible. The Axis, on the other hand, were just as determined to either hold these positions or destroy their usefulness to the Allies before succumbing. Steve Zaloga is a… more |
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Technicals: Non-Standard Tactical Vehicles from the Great Toyota War to Modern Special ForcesPublished:
Modern warfare within the last few decades has seen some remarkable (and sometimes deeply disturbing) changes. For the most part, combat in this century is no longer a matter of state-versus-state conflicts with large standing conventional armies facing off. It has instead devolved into much more local, sometimes tribal skirmishes with small, highly mobile forces either fighting other similar units or challenging large state armies with hit-and-run tactics which are oddly reminiscent of how American citizens fought against the much larger and better equipped British forces during the American Revolution. In a sense, what goes around comes around. Osprey Publishing through the excellent writing of Leigh Neville and Peter Dennis’s art examines an aspect of this new style of… more |
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Armies of the Greek-Italian War 1940-41Published:
As an amateur historian, I’d always assumed that I had a pretty good handle on my understanding of World War II and its various actions, armies, equipment and consequences. However, reading this book has humbled me considerably. Until now I’d known virtually nothing about the dramatic skirmishes that occurred between the ambitious Italian forces and those of the much smaller but fiercely determined Greek forces in the mountains bordering Albania. When the fighting started, no one familiar with the international scene expected much from the Greeks, who were facing a much larger and well-tested force. In fact, the Greeks proved something of an ugly surprise to the supposedly invincible force of “eight million bayonets” that Mussolini had at his disposal, actually throwing them back into… more |
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Kurganets-25 IFV (Object 695)Published:
Russia seems to be having a surge of military development these days, suggesting some expansionist policies which go far beyond the scope of a model review. What this offers for the modeler, however, is a wide range of interesting equipment never seen before. The Kurganets-25 IFV is a good example of this. Heralding back to the BMP-2 and -3 of the previous generation, this new machine seems to be the epitome of both defensive and offensive capabilities, literally festooned with sensors and targeting electronics. The spaced armor enhances survivability on the battlefield, while its armament makes it a worthy opponent for most challenges it might encounter. I've bumped into Panda only once before with a helicopter kit, and I really didn't know what to expect from an armor model… more |
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Vought F4U-1D CorsairPublished:
When I was a kid of about eleven living in Lincoln, Nebraska, I used to regularly visit one special park there. That's because not only did they have an open Sherman tank you could crawl around on, but a real live ex-Korean Corsair. I spent many a happy Saturday afternoon inside the cockpit or wandering over the wings of that aircraft, and ever since then I've had something of a love affair with this bent-wing beauty. As a modeler, I translated this love into 1/32nd scale ever since high school. I've built the Revell kit too many times to mention, the 21st Century Toys version and the Trumpeter version. However, nothing I have ever seen compares to the quality of the Tamiya rendition of this bird. So, what do you get for your money? Actually, quite a lot. Not only does… more |
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Sd.Kfz.250/7 Atle 8cm Mortar Carrier w/ Full InteriorPublished:
The Germans of WW2 were notorious for multi-tasking vehicles, and this one is a good example. In this case, they mounted an 81mm mortar in a standard light armored half-track. I’m old enough to remember the last time a plastic kit manufacturer took a shot at this particular make – a motorized version by Arii back in the early 1970’s. The older kit was pretty poor by even the standards of the day, although it did provide a nice ammunition trailer (to carry the batteries for the motor, of course). Otherwise, there wasn’t much to recommend it. Dragon has filled the void with a new release which does a fine job of capturing this beastie, including “magic tracks” which eliminate the odious task of snipping some 200 track bits off of sprues. As with all armored kits, I… more |
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T54 E1 - Smart Kit "Black Label Series"Published:
You’ve got to give Dragon Models some real credit – they’re willing to put out the oddball kit now and then, and to do it with class. The U.S.-made T54-E1 tank (not to be confused with the Russian T54) was one of the several attempts in the mid-50’s to upgrade the M48 from its 90mm gun to something with a bit more punch. Three different approaches to this idea were initially attempted, including this one, which clearly owes its ancestry to the famous French AMX-13 tank developed around the same time. The idea, of course, was that an autoloading main gun would eliminate the need for a human loader, and would permit extremely rapid firing during combat. There were a couple of problems with this idea, however. First, once the nine-round “magazine” was expended, someone typically had to… more |
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Finnish Tank CrewPublished:
Over the relatively short time that MiniArt has existed, I have been consistently impressed by the imagination and daring of their figure releases. They have released wonderful civilians, troops and tank crews, often filling gaps no other manufacturer has been able to do. I’ve had wonderful results from their French and Italian tankers, and look forward to getting their Hungarian tank crew soon. MiniArt has done it again with this current release, filling a void that has been in the armor field for quite awhile. On examining the contents of the box, you get five full figures, two of whom are in relatively typical light grey overalls, two in what can only be described as “pseudo-Russian” uniforms, and a single figure who really seems to exemplify the Finnish, with a mix of a… more |
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Dangerous Curves Series - Sloane, Vegas BabyPublished:
Masterbox Models in the Ukraine has been at the forefront of the figure end of the modeling business for some time now, never fearing to take some interesting chances on the market. This latest series of figures, designed to accompany most car models with some lovely ladies, has been no exception. Of all model companies which produce figures, Masterbox may have a truly unique approach. In most companies, sculptors produce the master figures, and illustrators paint their renditions for the box art. Masterbox, on the other hand, has illustrators create paintings of interesting figures and scenarios and the sculptors follow behind, making the three dimensional renderings afterwards. This one fact may explain why Masterbox figures are so innovative – post apocryphal figures, pinups… more |