Gino Dykstra
Reviews By Author
|
M60A2 StarshipPublished:
Developed in the late 1960s, the M60A2 was an ambitious attempt to create a multi-tasking battle tank to accompany the M60A1, one capable of firing both conventional 152mm rounds or the new Shillelagh anti-tank missile. It featured a rotating command cupola with integral machine gun and a distinctive low-silhouette turret. Because of its technologically advanced design it was nicknamed “The Starship” by operators. It went into service in 1972, and all told, 526 were manufactured. Despite the hype, the vehicle proved to be a major disappointment, as the new anti-tank missile lacked both range and armor penetration capability. Consequently, it was phased out of service rapidly, the hulls being converted to M60A3 standards or being used as the basis for bridgelayers. The gun… more |
|
German Machine Guns of World War 1Published:
Now that we stand 100 years from “The War to End All Wars”, it seems reasonable to step back a bit and reflect on the vast changes this war instigated, not the least being the changes to warfare itself. The Maxim machine gun was used in some form by virtually all of the belligerents in that war (France notwithstanding), but nowhere to the effect that the German Army employed it. Looking back, it seems amazing that not every military mind of the age was able to perceive the terrible impact such a device would have on combat, in a time when the “line charge” was still regarded as a staple of tactical thinking. Nonetheless, it was the German army that realized how such a piece of equipment could help make up the disparity in military might between a relatively new nation and a host of… more |
|
US Army Rangers 1989-2015Published:
The Rangers are an elite arm of the United States Army that ostensibly traces its roots back to Roger’s Rangers of Revolutionary War fame. More plausibly, this unit was created shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and has served as a highly trained mobile strike arm of the U.S. Army ever since. This most intriguing book delves into their operations, training and equipment during the tumultuous latter portion of the 20th Century into operations taking place right now, showing a snapshot of a force which utilizes the very latest in technology and techniques to keep them in the forefront of elite military forces around the world. The book begins with some descriptions of the training required to become a member of this unit, then delves into the numerous… more |
|
Lost in Space Derelict and JupiterPublished:
Before I begin, one quick confession: I never watched this show much when it first came out. It was in direct competition with the original Star Trek and as a kid, I only go so much time in front of the idiot box. That being said, what we have here is one fascinating vehicle. Featured in the second episode of Lost in Space, it was part of a real attempt at science fiction story telling before the gradual descent into satire. It’s in 1/350th scale, which makes both it and the Jupiter included in the same scale as the series of large-scale Enterprise kits currently available. For that matter, you could have the Jupiter docked on an aircraft carrier deck. Anyway, the original model was only shot in black and white and apparently no longer exists, which gives… more |
|
German Panzer Kpfw.38(t) Ausf. E/FPublished:
Hobby Boss has recently re-released the TriStar kit of the Pz. 38(t) under their own label. Fortunately for me, the last time I worked on this particular vehicle it was using the elderly Italeri kit some years ago, so I can approach this model with no previous expectations. Let’s take a closer look at the kit. The sprues are molded in a crisp light tan (odd, as every version of this tank is Panzer grey), and the kit includes both a small sheet of photoetch and a clear sprue for the vision ports. The photoetch includes some very welcome details, such as engine grill, tool tie-downs and even the little rhomboid signs the Germans used briefly at the beginning of the war. Slide molding has been used to good effect on the plastic sprues to offer open machine guns and main gun as… more |
|
U.S. M-107 Self-Propelled GunPublished:
The Italeri kit this release is based on was first issued in 1988, and I not only bought it then but built it up into one of my all-time favorite dioramas. As with a lot of Italeri kits released at the time, there were a few spots of oversimplification, but it was a quick and fun build and certainly looked the part when complete. Tamiya has done something interesting here, in that they have re-released this almost thirty year old kit along with their equally venerable U.S. Command figure set. Since I have built these figures numerous times over the intervening years, I will forgo the pleasure of repeating myself here. Building the remainder of the kit remains a breeze, for the most part. Unlike a lot of slide mold kits today, there are a fair number of parts which have… more |
|
Airspeed A.S. Horsa Glider Mk.1Published:
As Wikipedia puts it: The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British World War II troop-carrying glider, built by Airspeed Limited and subcontractors, used for air assault by British and Allied armed forces. It was named after Horsa, the legendary 5th-century conqueror of southern Britain. It had an aircrew of two and normally carried 20 – 25 paratroopers. Originally, it was intended to carry bombs and was designed so that paratroopers could leave the plane while in flight using parachutes. Both of these ideas were eventually dropped and paratroopers were expected to ride the glider all the way to the ground. Bronco has been spending quite a bit of energy lately in modeling British Paratroopers of the Second World War – everything from figure sets to vehicles to equipment. The Airspeed… more |
|
Italian Artillery of WWIIPublished:
Italian Artillery in WW2 is a subject long neglected in the modeling field, although it’s good to see Italeri and other companies starting to create kits of these subjects. Italy’s artillery arm during that war suffered, to a certain degree, from their successes in the Great War, where they captured or otherwise obtained large numbers of artillery pieces from the defeated Austro-Hungarian Empire. This led to a certain complacency in the higher military echelons concerning further developments, so that Italy was always suffering from inadequate support in this field. That being said, when they did develop new materials they were consistently excellent with innovations such as easily replaceable inner barrels. Enrico Finazzer and Ralph A. Ricco have written an excellent and… more |
|
T-34/85 "Berlin 1945"Published:
No one needs to remind the typical armor modeler of the significance of the Russian T-34 in the development of modern armor. I have at least twenty variants of this machine in my own collection, and have been fascinated with this vehicle ever since Tamiya released the very first decent versions back in the 1970’s. This latest addition to the T-34 inventory comes from Academy models, and is a T-35/85 specific to the last-stage battles of World War 2 that took place within the confines of the German capital immediately before capitulation. At that point, even twelve-year-old Hitler Youth were being armed with the cheap and effective panzerfaust, and being sent up to the front lines often with nothing more than a solitary single-shot weapon. But they were effective enough to… more |
|
German Panther Ausf.D - Sd.Kfz.171Published:
I remember assembling my first Tamiya Panther kit back when I was in college; a wee bit before the Paleozoic. That was in the heady days when a typical tank model could be thrown together over a weekend. What they lacked in detail was more than made up for by expeditiousness. My last encounter with the Panther D was with Italeri’s release, which I made some years ago. This kit had poorly rendered wheels and other shortcomings, but was still an enjoyable build. This latest release from Tamiya, however, eliminates these shortcomings and offers what may well be the definitive Panther D. What the kit provides is about 300 parts in firm tan plastic, vinyl tracks, a little copper wire for tow cables and 3 decal choices from around the Kursk campaign. It also includes two… more |