Luke R. Bucci, PhD
Reviews By Author
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WWII USN Crane Barges II YD98Published:
Thanks to DragonUSA for supplying the resin/PE set for review and IPMSUSA staff for handling the request and publishing this review. Special thanks to Dave Morrissette who forwarded this kit to me after I and everyone else refused to review it in 2014. I said it would take me a while to get to it, but better late than never! Apologies to DragonUSA for the delay. YD98 is still available! Photoetch Set ReviewLionRoar has produced a line of WW2 US Navy barges, either mixed resin + photoetch or all metal photoetch. This small box kit is the US Navy Crane Barge YD98, in service during WW2 and into the 1960s at Mare Island, California. Kit has 17 parts (2 resin, 15 steel PE), and a simple instruction sheet (front & back) for PE folding and assembly. 1/700 crane barges… more |
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The Battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Vol. IIPublished:
Bottom LineVolume 2 of the WW2 German Kriegsmarine battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau focuses on the career and appearance of DKM Gneisenau. Volume I gives more info on Gneisenau than anything previous – an extensive narrative history along with many B&W photos, a section of high-quality, large-scale photographs, stunning 3D graphic “visualizations” of her various fits, two large foldout sheets of 1/200 line drawings (four sides), a foldout sheet in 1/72 scale for the floatplanes and 3D glasses for the 3D photos. A modeler and historian could not ask for better references. BackgroundKagero Publishing, from Poland, is one of the major military history publishing houses. Since 1998, when Kagero started publishing in English, over 550 titles have been… more |
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WWII USN Crane Barge II YD98Published:
Thanks to DragonUSA for supplying the resin/PE set for review and IPMSUSA staff for handling the request and publishing this review. Special thanks to Dave Morrissette who forwarded this kit to me after I and everyone else refused to review it in 2014. I said it would take me a while to get to it, but better late than never! Apologies to DragonUSA for the delay. YD98 is still available! Brief HistoryCranes are ubiquitous at harbor dockyards. Some are permanently mounted on a flat barge, and towed to wherever they are needed. Unlike warships and auxiliary ships, information on barges is rare and suspect. In 1941, the US Navy received YD78, built by Washington Iron Works. Photographs of YD98 are usually in the background from other ship photos, but there is on side… more |
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From Bessarabia to Belgrade. An Illustrated Study of the Soviet Conquest of Southeast Europe. March – October 1944Published:
Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMS/USA for the review copy! The rapid Russian army takeover of Southeast Europe in 1944 is a seldom-covered topic, but its importance loomed huge for the Cold War and the fates of those countries to this very day. Kamen Nevenkin presents viewpoints of the events from German, Russian and the countries involved perspectives. This book shows the realities of war on the Southeastern Front, where nations changed allegiances, national boundaries were redrawn, and the Soviet expansion was inexorable. Numerous photographs show the conduct and aftermath of brutal battles, and are not for the faint-hearted. This book is an excellent primer on this little-known, forgotten theatre of WW2. Kamen Nevenkin is a native of Sofia, Bulgaria, and has… more |
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The War in Northern Oman 1954-1962Published:
Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy! Oman is a country with a rich history of trading, and an ancient crossroads commanding the Straits of Hormuz. Over millennia, tensions between rival sects of Islam led to internal strife in Oman and surrounding areas, disrupting trade. To ensure their own financial benefits, different European countries set up the Sultanate of Oman to restore order, and traded places until the British occupied Oman and helped to quell a civil war. This book tells the complicated story of how conventional military operations were followed by civil development programs to unify disparate groups and hold a stale peace. Even though this book is thin, the pages are loaded with text that delves into the complicated events. The… more |
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The Japanese Light Cruiser Oyodo. Super Drawings in 3DPublished:
Casemate Publishers just released the latest Kagero Publishing Super Drawings in 3D – The Japanese Light Cruiser Oyodo – in her 1944 fit (not her 1943 as-built appearance with the long catapult). This is a single-ship class of an odd hybrid ship that did not turn out to be a success (although she survived until the war-end harbor bombings at anchor). As always, the 3D book is jammed full of CG images of the Oyodo exterior and major fittings, including below the waterline. There is also a large foldout of B&W line drawings that are very helpful for modelers. This book is ideal for building models of the Oyodo, and will not disappoint IJN fans. Kagero Publishing, from Poland, is one of the major military history publishing houses. Since 1998, when Kagero started publishing in… more |
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Clemenceau Top DrawingsPublished:
Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy! Kagero Publishing, from Poland, extends their Top Drawings Series with No. 116, the French Marine Nationale aircraft carrier Clemenceau (le Clem). She was placed into service in 1961, incorporating the latest advances in aircraft carrier technology. She and her sister ship, Foch, were active for more than 40 years, forming the backbone of French military power projection. The TopDrawings series is designed for modelers to have a reference for detailed appearances of individual ships and aircraft. TopDrawings consist of color covers with black & white (B&W) line drawings of the ship, particular features, and equipment, especially armament (including aircraft). But the main attraction is the separate, large… more |
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Fighting Ships of the U.S. Navy 1883-2019, Aircraft Carriers, Escort Carriers, Volume One Part TwoPublished:
Venner Milewski, Jr., a longtime naval sailor and shipbuilder, decided to catalog all the ships used by the US Navy since 1883. This ambitious program has borne fruit in his first Volume of aircraft carriers. This review looks into the 2nd Part of Volume One – Escort Carriers. If you ever wanted a comprehensive who’s who of US Escort Carriers, with loads of photographs and camouflage patterns, this encyclopedic reference is it!
Chief Milewski, now retired, enjoyed a 32-year career in the US Navy with combat service in Vietnam, and as Chief Fire Controlman for the Tartar Missile System, Aegis SPY-1 radar and Weapons Systems. He also spent 16 years in the shipbuilding industry. Ably assisted by his son, Venner Milewski… more |
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Operation Meghdoot: India’s War in Siachen, 1984-2020. Asia @ War SeriesPublished:
“It all started with few maps and an innocent German rafting expedition.” (Chapter 4, page 20). The war for the Siachen glacier sounds like something from a historical fiction book. One pundit called it two bald men fighting over a comb, but Operation Meghdoot was a 36-year-long shooting war fought at the highest elevations ever (up to 22,000 feet or ~6700 meters) between two bitter, next-door neighbors with nukes fighting over the largest ice mass on Earth outside of the polar regions. Where the weather killed many times more men than the enemy, and where China was ever a threat to intervene at the top of the world. Warfare rules were rewritten for constant cold weather and elevation, and helicopters were absolutely essential. This “operation” was mostly ignored by the rest of the… more |
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British Sloops and Frigates of the Second World WarPublished:
Casemate Publishers presents ShipCraft 27, British Sloops and Frigates of WW2 by Les Brown from Seaforth Publishing. This long-awaited book is a ship modeler’s dream come true as a reference work on the large numbers obscure but important Royal Navy antisubmarine warships that helped turn the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic. This easy-to-digest book details each of the 17 classes of sloops and frigates used by the Royal Navy in WW2. These mostly forgotten, smaller warships focused on convoy escort duties and helped revolutionize antisubmarine warfare tactics. This book lists class history, available model kits, model accessories, many photographs, camouflage examples, line drawings and color plates of finished models – a superb reference for these plentiful ships with many… more |