IPMS Number
40196

Reviews By Author

Box Art

17pdr Self-Propelled Gun "Archer"

Published:
Company: Bronco Models

Background

I'm sure, no matter what you model in WW2, you've heard of the British 17-pounder, most notably in the Sherman “Firefly’'. Well, there was also a towed version – however, it wasn't the most mobile piece, so the British looked for a way to create an SP gun. Fortunately, they avoided cloning the Bishop and instead came up with a new design based on the existing Valentine tank. To keep it compact, the gun faced over the rear deck in a rather low and sleek fighting compartment. The disadvantage of this layout is, of course, that one can't fire on the move, but it is great for ambush scenarios where you back into a firing position, crank off a few, and scoot away, and that ultimately became the fighting doctrine for this weapon.

There was a slight glitch in that… more

Box Art

Hughes H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose"

Published:
Company: Minicraft Model Kits

Background

I'll not spend much time here. Google for "Jane Russell", when you're done reading that, click any link to "Howard Hughes", and when done with that click the link to the "Hughes H-4 Hercules" to find out all you need to know about this aircraft.

I will add that SWMBO and I had a trip planned that would allow her to go to a big quilt show in Sisters, OR, and allow me to stop off in McMinnville and see the 'Spruce Goose' -- it didn't happen but is still in the back of our minds. Unfortunately, we'll never hear the sound of 8 R-4360's cranking over and running -- that's 224 cylinders generating 28,000 h.p. …. and 448 spark plugs to change ….

The Kit

This is a re-issue of the Gakken/G-Mark kit from sometime between 1965 and 1985; it has been (… more

Box Art

Industrial Building Sections - Module Design

Published:
Company: MiniArt

I don't do dioramas -- it's the lack of the creative and artistic genes. But having seen other reviews of these MiniArt diorama kits, I had to see one for myself.

The very first thing I did is go to the MiniArt website and go through both the Assembly Guide and the Painting Guide. The Assembly Guide is excellent even if you are familiar with vac-form kits as there are some differences from, say, an aircraft vac-form, mostly due to the corners and molding practices. And the Painting Guide pretty much shows even the least artistic of us how to get good effects with paints, primarily oils. You can do the quick tour by just reading the captions and looking at the still pictures, or you can also watch videos accompanying most all steps.

The Kit

This kit is one of… more

Front cover

Early Canadian Military Aircraft Vol. 1

Published:
Book Author(s): John A Griffin and Anthony L Stachiw
Company: Aviaeology

The full title of this book is: Early Canadian Military Aircraft, Acquisitions, Dispositions, Color Schemes & Markings: Volume 1, Aircraft taken on strength through 1920 with credits to the authors above and also illustrations by Andrew Tattersall (aircraft) and Terry Higgins (maps).

This is the first volume of an intended series which will cover all Canadian military aircraft taken on strength from 1920 through 1938 -- there are 58 such aircraft, and this volume covers the first seven. It's easier to visualize the contents if you know the "taken on strength" date is effectively the first date a particular type is brought aboard, and not just the date individual aircraft were received. The first seven types were taken on strength in 1920 but many aircraft of a type arrived… more

Box Art

Gloster GREBE and GAMECOCK

Published:
Book Author(s): Tim Kershaw, Illustrated by Krzysztof W. Wolowski
Company: Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books

Might as well get this over with right now - THE BEST MUSHROOM BOOK I HAVE READ!!!!

OK, I'll admit it - the Silver Wings era is my favorite, and in that, the Gamecock is high on my list - so I'm a bit prejudiced. But this book is much more than I expected - it is very well written, very well organized, and very well illustrated. The Grebe and Gamecock are 1920's aircraft; built in small quantities, never saw action - so there simply isn't that much around on them. The author has gone to great lengths to dig out that information and then cover it in a complete and well-organized manner.

The author leads off with 3 paragraphs that properly fix the aircrafts' place in history and it just gets better from there. The Grebe was the RAF's first post-WW1 fighter, replacing the… more

Box Art

HMS Campbeltown 'St Nazaire' Operation Chariot, 26 March 1942

Published:
Company: Mirage Hobby

Background

I don't know why we need fictional action movies -- there are more than enough tales of derring-do in the real world and in my book Operation CHARIOT, the raid on St Nazaire, is right up there near the top.

The British were ever concerned about the various German battleships, battle-cruisers, etc., and numerous air raids were flown to sink or cripple them in port, damage the ports facilities, etc. One such target was to render the graving, or Normandie, dock at St Nazaire incapable of handling Tirpitz and thus forcing her off the western coast of France -- from this was born OPERATION CHARIOT. The basic plan was to disguise a ship to look like a German patrol boat, load it with explosives, and ram it into the Normandie Dock, rendering it useless.… more

Decal sets cover sheeets

Vital Storm Early Hurricanes Collection Part 1 and Part 2

Published:
Company: Aviaeology

Aviaeology did a series of 1/32 decals for Zotz -- they released under their own name the 1/24, 1/48, and 1/72 versions. Of the 16 total aircraft in the original super set for Zotz, 7 have been released in 1/24 scale in these two sets. More may be coming, depending on how these sell.

Here are the decals from the two kits, Airfix #14002 and Trumpeter #02414, both Mk.I Hurricanes. Both have markings for two aircraft with one, LK-A of 87 Sqn, in common. There are several immediate differences. Trumpeter used the pre-war bright red in the roundels, Airfix used dull red, although it is interesting to note that Airfix did not release the red part of the fin flash and the color profile in the book would lead you to believe, absent any specific direction (it doesn't say), that they… more

Book cover

AFVs in Irish Service Since 1922

Published:
Book Author(s): Ralph A. Riccio
Company: Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books

I am a Rolls Royce Armored Car mega-fan, so I pleaded for this book when it showed on the review list. Also, my real name is Sean O'Ratzenberger ….

The book covers wheeled and tracked armored fighting vehicles used by the armed forces of the Republic of Ireland from independence to the present day. It, of necessity, starts before then, in 1916, and works forward through the civil war as much of the armor was first used by the British and then acquired by the Free State (National Army) or captured by the Republican Army. This story is told in some detail. From there, the book covers the Irish forces during The Emergency (WW2, in which Ireland was neutral) through various UN peace-keeping operations.

Following the general and organizational history, there is a lengthy… more

Front of packagings

Generic WW2 RAF Instrument Dial Decals and Hawker Hurricane Mk.1 Instrument Panel Decals (Revised)

Published:
Company: Airscale Model Aircraft Enhancements

Airscale Decals is evidently new, at least within the last year, and their website shows plans for numerous waterslide decals of instrument dials and panels for various 24th and 32nd scale aircraft, Allied and Luftwaffe. I note that placards and data plates are scheduled for future release. I don't do 24th scale, but happened to have a couple Hurricanes around, well, because one can never have enough Hurricanes.

As you can see from the photos, the Hurricane specific sheet gives you a full instrument panel decal while the generic set gives you numerous individual dials in different styles and sizes. Unlike many dial sheets, Airscale has the various dials identified so you can get them right. On the other hand, although a detail check of the gauges looks like the aircraft is at… more

Box Art

Barrel of a Gun: A War Correspondent's Misspent Moments in Combat

Published:
Book Author(s): Al J. Venter
Company: Casemate Publishers

This book has nothing to do with models or modeling. If you are into modeling that part of the world, you might find a useful picture of a vehicle or aircraft.

The author, Al J. Venter, is a South African war correspondent who has covered Africa and the Mideast for 40-some years He has about 20 books to his credit, a few of which are on diving. I have read none of them, so this was a first for me. There is no doubt that he is not, and never has been, sitting behind too many desks.

From the publisher's data sheet and the book end covers, I gathered the purpose of this book is the show that it's a dangerous profession -- well, yeah, think Ernie Pyle. It was fortuitous (I guess) that as I was reading this, the Egyptian government was being overthrown -- the media became… more