Marc K. Blackburn
Reviews By Author
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Zil-131 with TrailerPublished:
This is one of the newer offerings from the Ukraine based company ICM. The Zil-131 has been reboxed many times by ICM. The original tool, however, dates to the 1990s. Considering the age of the tooling, despite some very minor flash, the details are very crisp for a military truck and trailer at this scale. A note on the trailer, I cannot find any information on the trailer, so I do not know if this an older ICM mold or from another manufacturer. The kit comes in a sturdy ICM box. The sprues for the truck and the trailer are packaged in separate cellophane bags. There are two separate instruction sheets in ICM’s typical style with paint callouts in their own brand of acrylic paint. There are decals for two vehicles. I did the trailer first, ICM plastic is relatively soft, so it… more |
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Kozak 2Published:
ICM, a model manufacturer located in Kiev, Ukraine has exploded on the scene in the last several years. They choose a variety of interesting subjects, including from the Ukraine. I think I speak for many in the modeling community that it is amazing when the country is beleaguered by a war with Russia, they can continue to operate at the tempo they have chosen to pursue. The Kozak is a domestically produced MRAP in the Ukraine. This kit is a variant of the Kozak-2 that was released in 2023. This kit is the border guard version of the same vehicle. As a kit, it is virtually identical to the previous release. The exception is the vehicles weapon and the color schemes that are found are different. There are 431 parts, ten sprues (sprue D repeats three times; sprue G repeats twice),… more |
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NATO and Warsaw Pact Armoured Fighting Vehicles of the Cold WarPublished:
Pen and Sword books is a prolific publisher of military history base in the United Kingdom and distributed by Casemate Publications here in the United States. This is a partner volume to NATO and Warsaw Pact Tanks, published in 2022. As with most books that come from Pen and Sword, the book’s binding, printing, and photograph quality is outstanding. The pages are printed on glossy paper and the photographs (color and black and white) are crystal clear. Given the varying quality of published photographs concerning military history topics for hobbyists, it is nice to see that they are investing in quality products. There are six chapters in the book, splitting each category of vehicle into NATO and then Warsaw Pact vehicles. Chapter 1 covers infantry vehicles, Chapter 2 delves into… more |
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Sd.Kfz 251DPublished:
The Sd.Kfz 251D halftrack was primary vehicle in German mechanized formations in the Second World War. The vehicle was developed in 1937-38 and entered production in 1939. The variant that Trumpeter has produced is the last variant, ‘D’. The primary difference between the earlier models is that the back of the vehicle is a single sloping piece of steel. Over 15,000 were produced and continued to serve in various post-war armies. The Sd.Kfz 251 has been produced before in 1/35 scale. In 2023 both Trumpeter and Das Werk have produced Sd.kfz 251D in 1/16 scale. The Trumpeter kit has 816 parts on 19 sprues, 64 PE parts on two frets, a clear sprue, and two tires. As with most Trumpeter kits, there is a great deal of thought put into how the frames are packed. Nothing was broken and… more |
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The Arab-Israeli War of Attrition, 1967-1973. Volume 1: Aftermath of the Six-Day War, Renewed Combat, West Bank Insurgency and Air ForcesPublished:
Helion has added another volume in their on-going series of modern conflicts in the Middle East. This is the first of a projected three volumes covering the War of Attrition between Israel and its Arab neighbors between the end of the Six Day War in 1967 and the beginning of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. If you have read any of Helion’s books on modern conflicts, this book follows a familiar outline. There are seven chapters providing a broad international context for the war. Events are outlined with an in-depth focus of the forces available with particular attention to the air forces of the various powers. It is richly illustrated with mostly black and white photographs contemporary to the conflict. In the center you will find color profiles of Israeli and Arab armies' ground and air… more |
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The Nazi Death Camps, Then and NowPublished:
After the Battle (ATB) publications is a long lived publishing company that was recently acquired by Pen and Sword. For many years ATB published the quarterly magazine called, After the Battle. It recently was discontinued, but their many books use the same format of comparing photographs contemporary to the Second World War with modern views, hence the then and now moniker. They consistently publish articles and books of a very high quality. The images are superb, both contemporary and modern. They will be missed. This volume tackles the unpleasant but relevant topic of the Nazi’s Death Camps. Originally published in 2016, Pen and Sword is republishing all of the ATB books, which is welcome. As with all of their books, it is a sturdy with beautifully reproduced photographs. In… more |
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Operation Restore Hope: US Military Intervention in Somalia and the Battle of Mogadishu, 19912-1994. Revised Edition.Published:
Casemate Publishing continues to release and distribute Helion’s ongoing series on wars in the twentieth century. This particular volume is part of their collection dealing with conflicts in the continent of Africa and covers the United Nation and United States intervention in Somalia from 1992 to 1994. As with other works in this series, they provide text, contemporary photographs that are mostly black and white with a smattering of color photographs. The center of the book has some color profiles of ground equipment and aircraft. Apparently the difference between the first edition and second edition of the book is not the content, but a new cover and color profiles. The book takes a chronological look at the rise and fall of Somalia. Somalia, located in the horn of Africa,… more |
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Russian Cruiser Moskva (Top Drawings 129)Published:
Kagero Publications, a publishing house in Poland, has continued their series of top drawings of military equipment. This edition, number 129, covers the Russian cruiser, Moskva. In the spring of 2022, the Moskva made the news. The ship was a casualty in the recent war between the Russia and the Ukraine. The ship was hit by two anti-ship missiles and was sunk, though the Russians denied it. The top drawing series provides two double sides sheets with color profiles and drawings of the ship in 1989 and 1998. The book provides a series of black and white drawings of various parts of the ship. The modeling plans and drawings are crystal clear. Captions and text are in English and Polish. Originally the Slava, the ship was launched and commissioned in the waning decade of the Cold… more |
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Never Ready: Britain’s Armed Forces and NATO’s Flexible Response Strategy, 1967-1989Published:
Casemate publishing continues its ongoing series of post-World War Two conflicts in Europe with an interesting volume that concentrates on Britain’s contributions to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in the last phase of the Cold War. This is an unusual volume in that the text is derived from the author’s Ph.D dissertation on the same topic. The volume is richly illustrated with color photographs, which, I imagine, would be well received by the modeling community. As with other publications in this series, it includes maps and 22 color profiles of vehicles, aircraft, and uniforms from this era. The title of this work gives the reader a hint of where the author is going – examining the contributions that Britain made to the defense of NATO in the last half of the… more |
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Defending Rodinu: Build-Up and Operational History of the Soviet Air Defence Force, Vol. 1 (Europe at War Series, No. 20)Published:
Casemate Publishing continues its series on modern conflicts in Europe with the first volume of a projected two that deals with the creation and evolution of the Soviet air defense system. As with many books in this series, it is richly illustrated with contemporary black and white photographs, maps, and a series of color profiles of Soviet and US aircraft. Using English and Russian sources, the volume provides an excellent introduction to the establishment and growth of the Soviet air defense system. Readers with a passing knowledge of the Russian language will note that in the title the authors use a different form of the familiar word Rodina or homeland. It is not a misspelling but the appropriate grammatical construction. To no surprise, the book uses a chronological… more |