HMS Colombo

Published: November 3, 2023
Company: Trumpeter

Thanks to MRC for the review kit and IPMSUSA for the opportunity to conduct and publish this review.

Bottom Line: 1/700 scale models of Royal Navy light cruisers built in WW I and repurposed as anti-aircraft (AA) cruisers in WW II have been long awaited as injection-molded plastic kits, and HMS Colombo is the latest arrival, and well done.

History

HMS Colombo (Pennant D89) was a later C Class light cruiser (also called Carlisle or Capetown sub-class) built near the end of World War I and launched in 1918, too late to see action. There were 28 C class light cruisers in seven groups built, and Colombo was in the last group along with Cairo, Calcutta, Capetown, and Carlisle. The later C class cruisers had a peaked forecastle to give better… more

Royal Navy WWII 1920-1941 Paint Set

Published: October 15, 2023
Company: Tru-Color Paint

Bottom Line: I am going to purchase other paints from Tru-Color Paints after my excellent experiences. Tru-Color Paint was founded in 2008 in Phoenix Az by Rick Galazzo & Scott Cohen. They have hundreds of paints, mostly for automobiles and railroad train hobbyists, but also military colors for aircraft, armament and ships. Starting in 2017, Tru-Color provides paints for German, Japanese, Royal Navy and US navies, from 1920s to modern era, but particularly WW2 colors. This review tries out the Royal Navy early WW2 basic warships colors in Set #1, TCP-13002. This is the first Royal Navy warship paint set from Tru-Color Paint, with more sets promised.

What You Get:

TCP-1302 Set#1 has six 1 fl oz. size bottles used from 1920-1941 for early WW2 Royal Navy colors. Tru-… more

British Light Cruisers. Leander, Amphion and Arethusa Classes

Published: July 22, 2023
Book Author(s): Les Brown
Company: Pen and Sword Books Ltd

Thanks to Casemate Publishers & IPMS/USA for the review copy!

Casemate Publishers presents ShipCraft 31, British Light Cruisers Leander, Amphion and Arethusa Classes by Les Brown from Seaforth Publishing. This heavily illustrated paperback is the ultimate single resource for building accurate models of WW2 British Light Cruisers with twin turret 6in main armaments – the Leander, Amphion and Arethusa classes. Class history, appearances of each ship over time, available model kits, model accessories, many photographs, camouflage examples, line drawings and color plates of finished models make a superb reference for these busy warships with many possibilities for modelers.

Les Brown is a well-known and accomplished British warship afficionado and builder of beautiful… more

IJN Carrier Photoetch Set

Published: April 30, 2023
Company: Gold Medal Models

Thanks to Squadron Hobbies for the Gold Medal PE set and IPMSUSA staff for handling the request and publishing this review.

Bottom Line

One of the original 1/700 PE sets for WW2 IJN aircraft carriers, designed to complete at least one carrier and having specific parts for 12 carriers. GMM IJN Carrier PE set is basic, supplying generic railings, antenna masts, 3-bladed aircraft props, flight deck nets, inclined & vertical ladders and two Type 22 radars for any IJN aircraft carrier, as well as specific details for older kits of Akagi, Amagi/Katsuragi, Hiryu, Junyo, Kaga, Ryujo, Shinano, Shokaku/ Zuikaku, Soryu and Unryu from early original-molds Aoshima, Fujimi, Hasegawa and Tamiya kits. Still serviceable for more recent IJN carrier kits, including Hiyo, the sister… more

Cruisers of the III Reich. Vol. 2.

Published: December 15, 2022
Book Author(s): Witold Koszela
Company: Stratus

The author, Wikold Koszela, has written 25+ books on warships – mostly British, United States and German battleships/cruisers, and modern Polish and Soviet Navy warships. Twelve of his publications are in the Kagero Top Drawing series. For this and other books, Witold also supplied the line and color drawings, and they are top quality and very helpful for modelers. I could not find additional information on Witold.

What You Get

You get a hardbound book, 11.875 X 8.5 inches (A4 size), 136 pages – not counting the covers and blank pages fore and aft. Unlike the 1st Volume, there is no 3-D photos or glasses. Cruisers of the Third Reich Volume 2 is loaded with 141 B&W photographs, nine tables and 24 line drawings. The last two pages of the book have… more

Nuclear India, From Reluctance to Triad - Asia @ War Series No.25

Published: December 9, 2022
Book Author(s): Sanjay Badri-Maharaj
Company: Helion & Company

Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy!

If you are of a certain age and remember duck and cover under your school desk for nuclear attack drills, under a poster saying “one nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day,” this book will cause stress – rightly so. India is the setting of this Asia@War Series book, describing the oft-ignored entry and burgeoning status of India as a nuclear nation. It describes how India came to love The Bomb. This book is No. 25 of the Asia@War series, and details the nuclear weapons journey of a reluctant India, from 1960s to now.

The author, Professor Sanjay Badri-Maharaj has written nine books in Helion’s @ War series (six in Asia and three in Latin America and other books on modern-day military topics. I have reviewed… more

The Japanese Destroyer Suzutsuki. TopDrawings No. 128

Published: November 3, 2022
Book Author(s): Mariusz Motyka
Company: Kagero Publishing

Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy!

Kagero Publishing, from Poland, in TopDrawings No. 128, details the appearance of the apex of WW2 Imperial Japanese Navy destroyers, the Akizuki class Suzutsuki (Calm Moon) in 1945. The TopDrawings series is designed for modelers to have an accurate reference for detailed appearances of individual ships and aircraft. TopDrawings consist of glossy color covers with matte black & white (B&W) line drawings of the ship, particular features, and equipment, especially armament. But the main attraction is the separate, large foldout of B&W scale drawings – 1/200 in this book. Suzutsuki looks huge (over two feet long) in the foldout, supplying plenty of tiny details I have not seen before. This book is the… more

Danger Forward. The Forgotten Wars of General Paul F. Gorman

Published: November 3, 2022
Book Author(s): Mike Guardia
Company: Magnum Books

Danger Forward is the title, but you will read how the book could have been titled Danger 360. The stuff of which good movies should be made. This hard-to-put-down book reads fast and easy with a you-were-there feel that covers key US military efforts from WW2 to the mid 1980s, when General Gorman retired. He is still alive at 94 years in Virginia. The author, Mike Guardia, came out with the first book on Hal Moore, and the resulting movie with Mel Gibson, which catapulted him to the Top 100 authors in the US, and he continues his excellence and making history palpable and more exciting then when the reader lived through it and remembers with the adventures of Paul Gorman.

What You Get

The book is 8.5x5.5 inch size with 295 pages and front/back covers (in color). The… more

The Development of Crude Oil Tankers. A Historical Miscellany

Published: September 7, 2022
Book Author(s): Dr. Ray Solly
Company: Pen & Sword

Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy!

Casemate Publishers presents The Development of Crude Oil Tankers. A Historical Miscellany by Dr. Ray Solly. This book is a large hardbound with glossy pages chock full of photographs, detailed line drawings, and explanations of how tanker design progressed to the present day. Our current lifestyles and national security depend on these ships, so learning more about them is a joy. Learn why supertankers are the safest and most regulated form of transportation in the world.

The author, Dr. Ray Solly, started as a Navigation Officer in the Merchant Marine, including supertankers. His hobby was coasters, smaller tankers dispersing oil and petroleum goods to smaller markets. Dr. Solly was a schoolmaster for… more

Mar Verde - The Portuguese Amphibious Assault on Conakry, 1970 - Africa @ War Series No. 55

Published: September 6, 2022
Book Author(s): Jose Augusto Matos
Company: Helion & Company

Headlines: Cold War Intrigue. Secret MilOps. Prison Camp Raid! Merry Band of Mercs & Rebels Overthrowing a Corrupt Regime. Freedom Fighters vs. Commies. Sean-Connery-James-Bond Style / Peter Graves Style Mission Impossible Skullduggery. Government Disavowal of Actions. Records Expunged. Postmortem Analysis From Forgotten Document.

Guinea is the setting of this Africa@War Series book, describing the little-known commando assault by Portuguese and Guinean ex-pats to overthrow the current government and rescue Portuguese prisoners to thwart the Guinea guerilla tactics trying to overthrow and absorb neighboring Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau).

The author, Jose Augusto Matos, is an independent researcher on Portuguese military history, especially the colonial wars… more