Marc K. Blackburn
Reviews By Author
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Sink the Tirptiz, 1942-44Published:
The newest series for Osprey has moved from the land and the sea to the air. Whereas their previous series’ focused on large land and naval campaigns, this series turns its focus to well-known air campaigns. Using the tried and true format that Osprey has perfected, the volume has several full color plates rendered by an artist attempting to capture critical moments in the campaign, historical photographs, maps, and lots of charts comparing the relative strengths and weaknesses of each side. Often the color plates can be hit and miss. These are really quite dramatic. Anyone with a casual interest in World War Two has some familiarity with the Bismarck’s sister ship, the Tirpitz. Commissioned into service after the Bismarck’s sinking, she spent her entire service career in… more |
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Israeli Paratroopers, 1954-2016Published:
Israeli Paratroopers, 1954-2016 is one of the latest offerings of a long running Osprey series that examines elite forces from around the world. The elite series follows a certain formula; something that Osprey is very good at. Each volume covers origins, a short chronology, organization and various operations that fall within the time span of the book. As with many Osprey publications, this one includes historic and contemporary photographs, and a series of plates that feature the uniforms, equipment, and lengthy captions that touch upon the history about the paratroopers. I am surprised that the Israeli paratroopers have not been covered until now. Regardless, this is a handy one volume history. To the credit of the author, he puts the paratroopers in a historical context… more |
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Chinese Soldier vs. Japanese Soldier: China, 1937-38Published:
For most Americans, when you ask them when World War Two began, I imagine most people would answer December 7, 1941, the day the Japanese attacked the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. In my mind, as this book reminds us, I think it is necessary to push the timeline back to the late 1930s and the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Osprey’s combat series is one the more recent additions to their catalog of publications. As the title suggests, each volume looks at the relative strengths and weaknesses of a set of combatants across the historical time line. Each volume follows a specific formula – an introduction, a look at the weapons, tactics, recruitment and training of each side, descriptions of several battles the opponents fought, then an analysis and aftermath. As is… more |
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Forts: An Illustrated History of Building for Defence.Published:
In collaboration with Jeremy Black, Osprey has produced several coffee table style books to highlight the history of maps, naval charts, and now fortifications. Using photographs and illustrations from the National Archives of Great Britain, Black and Osprey have produced a concise history of fortifications from around the world. Black, to his credit, uses an international approach when telling the story of the development and evolution of fortifications. The books uses a chronological format, from the beginning of recorded history to the dawn of the 21st Century. The highlight of the book are the illustrations; there is not a great deal of text with each chapter. Black provides a broad overview to each time period and uses substantial captions with each chapter to expand the story.… more |
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Normandy, 1944: Hitlerjugend Soldier vs. Canadian SoldierPublished:
One of Osprey’s relatively new series is Combat. Each volume looks at a specific battle in a larger campaign and breaks down the relative strengths and weaknesses of the combatants (the key word in each title is ‘versus’). This particular volume takes a look at the Waffen SS formation, Hitlerjugend (a division made up primarily of Hitler Youth) and Canadian soldiers from a variety of units. The first chapters look at the relative strengths and weaknesses of each force and then devotes the balance of the volume to a set of battles in a larger campaign. The legacy of the prowess of the Germans continues to linger seventy-five years on. Similarly, the citizen soldiers of the Canada seem to pale in comparison to their German adversaries. On the surface it a clash between the classic… more |
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The Solomons, 1943-44: The Struggle for New Georgia and BougainvillePublished:
Osprey Publishing continues to add titles to its long running Campaigns series, this time tackling the struggle to liberate the remaining islands in the Solomon’s Island chain in the months after the successful conclusion of the Guadalcanal campaign. Using their tried and true format, the volume looks at the opposing commanders, forces, and plans before diving into the narrative on the campaign. Using contemporary photographs, superb maps, and full color illustrations, this volume does an excellent job in summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of both sides. Since these volumes are meant as an overview, they do not go into great detail into the campaigns, but provide enough information to give the reader a grounding in the campaign. After the successful seizure of Guadalcanal… more |
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British Ironclads, 1860-1875: HMS Warrior and the Royal Navy's "Black Battlefleet"Published:
Osprey’s newest addition to the New Vanguard series tackles one of the revolutions in naval construction and warfare – the ironclad. In one of the slimmer editions of this series, this volume follows the tried and true formula of the series. Using a mix of original artwork and contemporary illustrations, the author examines the origins, armor, ordnance, propulsion and crew accommodations on early British Ironclads. Unfortunately, if you are looking for service histories of the ships of the Black Battlefleet, they are not included in the narrative. That is the only disappointment in this volume. The date span of the volume, 1860-1875, encompasses the brief, but important decade and a half of the Royal Navy’s transition from wooden walls to ironclads. Spurred to action by the… more |
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Avro Shackelton AEW.2Published:
For the last several years, Airfix has transformed itself. They have been releasing a plethora of new kits that are heads and tails above the kits that we all put together as kids and young adults. The Avro Shackleton under review is further evidence of Airfix moving forward into the 21st Century. In 2015, Airfix released the Avro Shackleton MR.2. In 2017, Airfix released the Avro Shackelton AEW.2. This kit continues their current trend of crafting exquisite kits with modern molding technology and engineering. The plane had a long service life and pedigree according to the blurb on the instructions, “Developed from the Lincoln bomber and sharing with it the DNA of the famous Lancaster [bomber], the Avro Shackleton enjoyed a long career with the RAF, first as a maritime patrol craft and… more |
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M1A2 Abrams SEP V2 TUSK IIPublished:
Academy has released an update of their previously released M1A1 kit with the release of a SEP V2/TUSK II kit. Based largely on the M1A2 kit (no. 13298) released in 2016, this version provides some updates. Whereas the previous kit provided three different variants, this kit provides two. They appear to be same vehicle, one with the TUSK add-ons and the other with them removed. The only other difference between the two vehicles is the paint scheme, one is desert sand and the other largely in NATO green. For this build, I prefer the cleaner lines of the traditional Abrams, so I am going to focus on the SEP V2 variant rather than the TUSK. The KitRather than have one booklet, the assembly instructions are split into three parts. The plastic is in the familiar Academy… more |
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Mapping Naval Warfare; A Visual History of Conflict at SeaPublished:
For anyone who enjoys scale modeling or is a military history buff, Osprey Publishing is a familiar company. They are a prolific publisher of a wide-range of works related to the entire chronological spectrum of military history – from ancient Greece and Rome to contemporary events and weapon systems. Recently they have expanded their line into what can only be described as coffee table books. Authored by Jeremy Black, this work supplements a concise and brief text on naval warfare with a wide selection of color plates of maps and charts. Using a chronological approach, Black begins his narrative with the sixteenth century and goes through the present day, examining naval warfare through the prism of maps and charts. The narrative of each chapter is relatively short but is… more |