IPMS Number
45454

Reviews By Author

Box Art

WWII "God's Blessing" 6 Figure Set

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Company: Bronco Models

For a sometime now, Bronco Models has been releasing numerous military figure sets in 1:35 scale, and has particularly shown an eye for the not-so-typical. Sure, there has been the British AFV crew set and the U.S. Tank crew set, and both the 17 pdr and 25 pdr Anti-Tank gun crew sets. But they have also offered the British War Correspondents set and the Allied Female Soldier set. As a Minister, they then caught my eye earlier this year with the release of “God’s Blessing”, a 6 figure set depicting a Priest and five U.S. soldiers during WWII. The Priest (a Catholic Priest) is shown leading a front line mass, with his sacerdotal implements on the hood of a jeep. Kneeling before him are five soldiers, two of whom are holding Bibles (or, perhaps Prayer books). The box art captures this… more

Box art

British Infantry, Somme Battle Period, 1916

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Company: Master Box Ltd

Master Box has joined the parade of World War One subjects, commemorating the centennial of the Great War, by providing this set of British Infantry from the time around the Battle of the Somme in 1916. During these centennial years of the Great War (1914 -1918), we are seeing numerous WWI subjects especially aircraft and armor hit the market in record numbers. Aerodrome ground crews, tank crews and infantry will provide modelers with the opportunity to create some dynamic dioramas of this important conflict.

The Master Box kit states, in fact, that it is “Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of World War One (1914-1918)” and does so with an impressive box art illustration by A. Varavin, and the actual sculpting of the figures by A. Gagarin. There is no set of instructions… more

Box Art: Dragon Models Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.M with Schurzen

Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.M with Schurzen

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Company: Dragon Models

The Panzer III Ausf.M was an improvement of the previous J through L versions, with extra superstructure front and mantlet of 20 mm of armor. It also was equipped with fording exhaust which allowed deeper river crossings. The gun was the standard long barrel 50 mm (1.97 in) KwK 39 L60. It also had six 90 mm NbK smoke dischargers, three mounted on each side of the turret. The Ausf.M could also be equipped with protective steel plates, called Schurzen, designed to protect the turret area from enemy anti-tank weapons. Further armor protection were large steel plate skirts suspended from either side of the chassis. A total of 1000 were ordered, but only 250 were completed. The Panzer III Ausf.M took part in the greatest tank battle of all time, the Battle of Kursk in July 1943. It is the… more

Box art

British Army 6 Pounder Anti-Tank Gun (w/crew)

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Company: Riich Models

The primary anti-tank gun for British forces during the middle of World War II was the 57 mm Ordnance Quick-Firing 6-pounder, or just 6 pounder. First used in North Africa in the Spring of 1942, it replaced the 2 pounder in the anti-tank role. The United States Army also adopted the 6 pounder as our primary anti-tank gun under the designation 57 mm Gun M1. The 6-pounders were issued to the Royal Artillery anti-tank regiments of infantry and armored divisions in the western theaters, consisting of four batteries with 12 pieces each.

The anti-tank ammunition was a basic Armor-Piercing (AP) shot, but by January 1943 an Armor-Piercing, Capped (APC) shot and an Armor-Piercing, Capped, Ballistic Capped (APCBC) shot was supplied. Then by 1944, the Armor-Piercing, Composite Rigid (APCR… more

Box Art

Blue Max Pfalz

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Company: Encore by Squadron

When Hollywood makes a movie that captures our modeling interests it usually is pretty exciting (or really frustrating). For those of us who focus on the air war of World War One, there have been some great movies, like The Dawn Patrol, some good movies, like Flyboys, and some not-so-good movies, like Von Richthofen and Brown. One movie that has become an icon of this genre is The Blue Max. This movie featured George Peppard as German pilot Bruno Stachel and Ursula Andress as the seductive Countess Kaeti von Klugermann. The other star in the movie was the Pfalz D.III. It is this important WWI fighter that has captured the imagination of modeling companies. Encore Models, produced by Squadron Products, first released their Blue Maxmore

Publication cover

Windsock World War Centenary, Spring 2014, Vol. 30. No. 1

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Company: Albatros Productions, Ltd.

Windsock Worldwide, which has taken on the name of Windsock World War Centenary, continues to produce one of the finest resources for all who are interested in modeling WWI aircraft. With the centennial of World War One upon us, there has been an uptick in scale modeling of Great War subjects, both in armor and especially in aircraft. As someone who has focused the majority of my modeling career on World War One biplanes, it is heartening to see the revival that is going on in this field of model building. A lot of this has to do with the emergence and success of Wingnut Wings. This has not been lost on the Windsock publications, as they give ample coverage to all news related to Wingnut Wings, and reviews of their latest kitsets.

The Spring 2014 issue, Volume 30, Number 1,… more

Box Art

SPAD VII c.1(w/Skis)

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Company: Roden

Background

The sturdy French built SPAD VII c.1 made its appearance on the Western Front in mid-1916. Although many French pilots considered the SPAD VII to be inferior to the Nieuport 17 as a dogfighter, it nevertheless proved to be a reliable and rugged fighter and was more than a match for any Central powers aircraft it encountered. The real strength of this aircraft was its durability in a dive and that it could take a lot of punishment and still stay airborne. SPADs were soon in production in Great Britain, as well as in Russia. In the spring of 1917, Russia received 43 SPAD aircraft which proved to be popular with Russian pilots. This original batch of SPADs was supplemented by 100 more SPAD VIIs manufactured by the Dux factory under license.

Eventually the SPAD… more

Box Art

Hermann Goering, WWI Flying Ace

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Company: MiniArt

Background

Hermann Wilhelm Goering (or Göring) is, of course, best known as the infamous commander of the German Luftwaffe during World War Two. Instrumental in Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, he became one of the most powerful men in Germany. He founded the Gestapo in 1933 and became commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe in 1935. He held this position until the final days of World War II. What some may not know is that he was also a decorated pilot of World War I with 22 victories to his credit. As an ace fighter pilot, he was the recipient of numerous medals and awards – The Iron Cross (1st and 2nd Class), the Zaehring Lion with swords, the Friedrich Order, the House Order of Hohenzollern with swords third class, and finally, in May 1918, the coveted Pour le Mérite,… more

Product Picture

Halberstadt CL.IV (Rol.)

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Company: Mirage Hobby

Background

After the success of the Halberstadt CL.II as a durable ground attack plane and effective escort for bombers and German recon planes, the decision was made to design an improved version. That improved design resulted in the Halberstadt CL.IV which started arriving at the front in the summer of 1918. The plane was produced by the parent company, as well as two production batches under license to LFG Roland. These Roland produced CL.IV’s had their fuselage extended by 0.4 m to stabilize the aircraft’s level flight. The craft quickly gained the reputation as one of the best ground attack aircraft in all of the Great War. The CL.IV performed exceptionally well in low-level, ground-strafing flying while demonstrating good maneuverability in avoiding ground fire. When… more

Box Art

FT-17 French Light Tank

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Company: Meng Model

Background

The French Renault FT-17 can claim the distinction of setting the standard for tank design for the entire Twentieth Century. By the end of 1915, Jean Baptiste Estienne, General of Artillery and a specialist in military engineering, realized that artillery could be mounted on tracked armored vehicles. This vision led him to create the French tank arm. He is considered by many in France to be the Père des Chars (Father of the Tank). Some early companies approached by Estienne produced medium size tanks – the Schneider and the Saint Chamond. Estienne believed, however, that a light tank was needed, and approached Louis Renault in July, 1916, who then developed the FT-17. Innovative in its design, the FT-17 featured the first rotating turret, along with a rear engine… more