Ken McDevitt
Reviews By Author
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A History of the World in 100 WeaponsPublished:
ForwardThere is a trend developing with me relevant to Osprey Books. As with the last Osprey book, once I started reading it I could not put it down. The book arrived on a Friday and I started it Saturday afternoon. On Sunday afternoon I was finished. DescriptionThis is a 7 3/4 by 10 inch hard-cover book with 384 pages. Befitting the number of pages, the paper quality is good. This book contains many illustrations, diagrams and the photos come from public, private, commercial and museum sources. The font is not large but is very readable. Each weapon described is accompanied by several illustrations, photos and in some cases personal anecdotes about the weapon. Information “boxes” further describe the weapon’s characteristics and specifications. With all… more |
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US Multi-Role Fighter JetsPublished:
DescriptionThis is a 7 ½ by 9 ½ inches hard-cover book with 240 pages. All photos are in color and the paper quality is exceptional. Every time I turned the page, I thought that I was turning 2 pages due to the thickness of the individual pages. Book ThemeThe title of the book is “US MULTI-ROLE FIGHTER JETS” and prior to reading this book I only had a vague idea as to what “Multi-Role” meant. In this book Davies describes these jets as having the flexibility to change their mission capabilities (air-to-air, air-to-ground, jamming, protection, missile and AAA suppression, refueling, etc.). Some of the changes are done prior to missions and others are called upon depending on mission discoveries or opportunities. Table of Contents
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Model Art Plamo Manual, #6, How to Build Jet-FighterPublished:
DescriptionI have reviewed a couple of ModelArt magazines with their impressive variety of subjects and techniques in each issue. The “Plamo Manual” focuses on one subject theme and describes how to build each subject in detail. From ModelArt’s English web site they describe a Plamo Manual as “Plamo Manual is the key handbook for those who have wanted to perfectly build in cars, aircrafts and naval vessels. Moreover, it even elucidates how to use airbrushes for painting. Plamo Manual is a helpful and necessary guide for all modelers.” This issue focuses on modern jet fighter aircraft. The production quality of this “manual” is exceptional. The 112 pages are high quality and weight paper stock, all color and with superb photos. There are a few general and advertiser pages, but… more |
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Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeller, Volume 20Published:
DescriptionAnother excellent issue from the folks at Happy Medium Press with high quality production materials and a variety of articles to suit to suit many themes and interests of the Sci-Fi and Fantasy modeler. Between the heavyweight glossy covers are 98 color glossy pages containing 13 articles. There are fewer than 6 advertisements so the content is very high. The articles are well researched and relevant to the topics they cover. What I like about the articles is the balance of Sci-fi and fantasy along with a lot of subject matter variety within each genre. Also, there are OOB builds, kit-bashing, scratch building (both partial and complete), painting, in-depth background articles and enlightening interviews. Table of Contents
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Battlestar GalacticaPublished:
Description and HistoryFrom the Moebius Models web site: “Galactica was one of the first twelve Battlestars to be constructed by the Colonials, each representing one of the twelve colonies; Galactica represented Caprica. As such, she is some 50 years old. Galactica (BS 75) is a veteran Battlestar and the last of her kind still in service with the Colonial Fleet at the time of the destruction of the Twelve Colonies. Built during the early days of the Cylon War, she becomes one of only two known Battlestars (the other being Pegasus) to survive the renewed Cylon attack on the Twelve Colonies. By the time of this attack, she was part of the 75th Battlestar Group (BSG-75).' In the BoxSeveral light beige… more |
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German s.10cm Kanone 18Published:
Description and HistoryQuoting from Dragon’s web site product description: “The 5.6-ton K18 was of 10.5cm caliber, and was based on the high-speed towing carriage of the s.FH.18. Designed to be a long-range medium artillery piece, it was the standard weapon in medium artillery battalions. The gun had a range of 20,850 yards, and it remained in service throughout the war. A crew of ten operated this howitzer that was first introduced in 1934” In the BoxThis kit has approximately 231 styrene parts - approximately 228 parts on seven gray sprues and three parts on a clear sprue. Also in the kit are 2 etched brass parts, 2 etched nickel parts, 2 brass-tubing parts, 1 decal sheet and one turned aluminum barrel with rifling. There are 8 pages of… more |
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German Kz 8cm GrW 42 MortarPublished:
Description and HistoryQuoting from Dragon's web sitde product description: “The kurzer 8cm Granatwerfer 42 (abbreviated to kz 8cm GrW 42) was developed as a lighter version of the standard 8cm GrW 34 mortar. It was commonly referred to as Stummelwerfer (“stump-thrower”) by troops. The smaller size made it particularly useful for German paratroopers who needed a weapon that was easier to move around, but still offered more punch than the diminutive 5cm leGrW 36. It had a shorter tube than the standard 8cm mortar (tube length is 747mm), but it could still fire a round weighing 3.5x the earlier 5cm mortar weight, two times as far. Furthermore, at 26.5kg, it was half the weight of the leGrW 36. Maximum range was in the order of 1100m. Produced from 1941-45, the… more |
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Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeller, Volume 18Published:
DescriptionThis is my second review of Sci-fi & fantasy modeller and I am a bit disappointed. I like to challenge myself to present a balanced review of the Good, Bad and Ugly and at the same time keep it very objective. However, as in my first review, I can not find any Bad or Ugly to report on. Once again, the fine editorial staff and writers have produced a magazine filled with a variety of high quality articles produced on high quality materials and definitely worth the purchase price. The publication consists of 100 pages, about 7 X 10 inches on heavy stock semi-glossy paper. The isssue is very article dense with only a few advertisements with over 98% of the page space being given over to relevant content. Table of Contents
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