Jim Pearsall
Reviews By Author
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BTR-60 PU Soviet Armored VehiclePublished:
The VehicleThe BTR-60 series was developed in the late 1950s to make the Soviet Infantry motorized, allowing the troops to keep up with the tanks as they advanced. The vehicle is amphibious, with an internal propeller. The BTR-60 series had dozens of versions. The BTR-60PU is the command vehicle version, which explains all those antennas on the top. The KitThe base of the kit is the vehicle chassis. There are several sets of resin parts and one PE fret. Assembly and FinishingAfter removing the chassis from the pour block, I painted all the parts with my airbrush. I’ll have to say the color scheme was very easy. One color for everything except the tires and the mirrors. I put the decals on at this point. I removed the wheels from the… more |
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HG Wells Little WarsPublished:
The BookInside the front cover is a listing of other titles in Helion & Company’s “Paper Soldiers” series. Interested in the Civil War? Which one, American or English Civil War? They have games for both. Roman legions? American Revolution? Trafalgar? The Spanish Armada? It’s all in there. This book is based on H. G. Wells’ 1913 book which gives rules for movement and battle with miniature armies. The book is subtitled “A Game for Boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys’ games and books. “ Contents
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Landing Gear for the Eduard 1/144 MiG-15bis/UTIPublished:
The AircraftThe MiG-15 was the USSR’s first really successful jet fighter. The engines for the prototype were copied from Britain’s Rolls Royce Nene, with the cooperation of the UK government. The MiG-15 was used in the Korean War, with Chinese, Korean and Soviet pilots flying combat missions into “MiG Alley” in northwestern North Korea. There were many users of this aircraft, 39 countries, including the United States, who bought fighters as “opposition” aircraft for exercises like Red Flag. Only two countries still use the MiG-15, North Korea and Guinea-Bisseau. The two versions this landing gear set is for are the MiG-15bis, an improved single seat version, and the MiG-15UTI, the two seat trainer version. The Scale Aircraft Conversions… more |
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Sd. Kfz, 251-8 AmbulancePublished:
The Sd. Kfz. 251/8 was the ambulance version of the personnel carrier halftrack built by Hanomag. The vehicle was known in the Wehrmacht as the Krankenpanzerwagen, (armored ambulance). It could carry 8 “walking wounded” or 2 stretcher patients and 4 seated casualties. The KitThere are 4 sprues in the box, along with the decals and instructions. No clear parts. I pretty much followed the instructions as far as assembly, starting with the interior and then putting the top and bottom of the main compartment together. I did take a picture of the interior before I did the final assembly, because that’s the last time anyone’s going to see the driver’s compartment, since there are no windows or openings. I painted the entire vehicle panzer dark gray, including the… more |
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The Royal Dragoon Guards, A Regimental History 1685-2018Published:
Lieutenant Colonel Peter Macfarlane served with the Royal Dragoon Guards. The Colonel of the Regiment commissioned this history to make it accessible to the public. Histories cover the facts, but there has to be a lot of research and digging to get the information which is presented here. Contents
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Ki-43 HayabusaPublished:
The AircraftThe Ki-43 has been described as the “Army Zero”. The Hayabusa and Zero were contemporaries, and the Ki-43 was quite successful in the first part of WW2. The Allies code named the aircraft “Oscar”. But like the Zero, the Oscar had some design problems, mostly the lack of self-sealing fuel tanks, armor protection, and light armament. Nevertheless, it did well against the early Allied fighters like the Buffalo, the P-36, the P-39, and Spitfire I. Almost all of the Japanese Army aces got victories in Oscars early in their careers. The ModelThis is a Platz/Bego kit. The molding is delicate and outstanding. You get 2 kits in the box, nice extra parts, and decals for 4 Ki-43-1s. There is a nice fuel tank for beneath the fuselage, and bombs with the… more |
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Petsamo and Kirkenes 1944, The Soviet Offensive in the Northern ArcticPublished:
This book covers a short but brutal campaign near the end of World War II where the Soviets took northern Finland from the Germans, pushing them back into Norway. Finland had capitulated in September of 1944, and the Germans were seriously considering leaving when the Soviet Army (and Navy) attacked in early October. The battles lasted from October 7 to November 5. Contents
The area in question was somewhat political, but there also was a port at Kirkenes, which is in Norway, and… more |
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3cm Flak Panzer IV KugelblitzPublished:
OKB Grigorov produces resin kits and accessories. The kits are 1/700 submarines and 1/72 armor. The accessories are for 1/35 and 1/72 armor. The kits aim for great detail. This is one of those kits, and it hits the mark. The VehicleThe Flak Panzer IV Kugelblitz (fireball) is a Panzerwaffe ’46 model. There was an idea for a Panzer IV armed with anti-aircraft weapons, something like the Wirbelwind, but with 3cm guns instead of the Wirbelwind’s 2cm guns. The concept was for an enclosed turret, providing protection lacking in the Wirbelwind, and greater stopping power from the larger caliber guns. The Kugelblitz never made it into production or even prototype. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting vehicle based on an interesting idea. The ModelThe… more |
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P-47 RazorbackPublished:
The AircraftThe Republic P-47 was one of two very successful fighters flown by USAAF pilots and were built at Farmingdale, Long Island in New York State. Until the P-51 came along, there wasn’t a more successful American escort aircraft and tactical bomber than the P-47. I’ve been a fan of the P-47 ever since I found a copy of Robert S. Johnson’s “Thunderbolt!” in my high school library. This kit contains markings for 4 aircraft, and I decided to do Walker “Bud” Mahurin’s razorback. Bud was the first American pilot to become a double ace in Europe (10 victories) and wound up with 19.75 victories. He was shot down over France in May of 1944, rescued by the Resistance, and returned to Britain. Because of his knowledge of the French Resistance, he was transferred to… more |
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Fokker 100 Airliner Landing GearPublished:
The AircraftThe Fokker 100 is a 100 passenger medium range airliner built by Fokker AG in the Netherlands. When it was introduced in 1987, sales were brisk, and it was a financial success. But by 1995 there were several competitors introduced, and sales were low. Fokker had to declare bankruptcy. They were bought by Deutsche Aerospace AG, but they also had financial problems, and production was ended in 1996. Most have been retired, but there are still a number flying in Australia and Iran. The Revell kit was introduced in 1996, and has been re-released in 1996 and 2005 with new decals. There are also several aftermarket decal sets available for this kit. The Scale Aircraft Conversions SetYou get two sets of gear parts in this set. This is very… more |