Marc K. Blackburn
Reviews By Author
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R.M.S TitanicPublished:
Academy, the prolific Korean kit maker, continues to appeal to a broad spectrum of model makers. Kits that are easy to assemble have always been an entry point for modeling. Academy continues this trend with this very easy to assemble kit of the Titanic. There’s no need to retell that story here. The Titanic has been the subject of many kits, so here’s another one to add to your Titanic collection. The KitThe seven sprues have specific ‘Titanic’ colors, so they don’t require paint. The pieces are well molded, with a just a small amount of flash, something that a new modeler would more than likely not be too concerned about. The hull pieces are packaged separately with seven additional sprues of parts, including a small sprue of gold plated parts (the anchors and… more |
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Bedford MWD Light TruckPublished:
Airfix continues to knock out quality 1/48th kits as they continue surging ahead making a wide variety of kits. Their newest offering is a 1/48th version of the Bedford MWD truck. A 4x2 vehicle that entered service right before the war started, the Bedford saw service in France in 1940 and would continue to service with the RAF and the British Army after they re-entered the continent in June, 1944. The kit provides parts, decals, and paint schemes for two vehicles – the early version that served in France in 1940 and the later version that served with the RAF in 1943. The KitAs with their kits of late, the parts are molded in traditional light blue plastic. The parts are cleanly molded, with no flash and come on three sprues including a separately bagged sprue of… more |
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T-64 Main Battle TankPublished:
The New Vanguard series is Osprey’s long running series that looks at weapon systems through the ages. One of their most prolific authors, Steven J. Zaloga, has turned his considerable talents toward one of the most least understood Soviet Main Battle Tanks, the T-64. Unlike other Soviet tanks that were exported around the world and have seen combat, the T-64 has largely remained within the confines of the old Soviet Union, making this volume on the slim side. As with all Osprey books, this one includes color profiles by Ian Palmer, a cut away of the vehicle, and plenty of photographs. As the subtitle suggests, the T-64 was the Cold War’s most secret tank. Unlike other Soviet Main Battle Tanks that were exported around the world, the T-64 was not. Until the recent insurgency in… more |
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US Marine vs NVA Soldier - Vietnam 1967-68Published:
Osprey is a publishing house in the United Kingdom that should be familiar to most modelers, historians, and military history buffs. Osprey continues to expand their product line and one of their newest series is combat. The books examine the relative strengths and weaknesses of two adversaries across the historical timeline, from ancient empires to modern conflicts. This particular volume turns its attention to the Vietnam War. Rather than examine the entire conflict, this volume examines the critical years of 1967-68, through the eyes of the United States Marines and the North Vietnamese Army. As with all Osprey series, regardless of the topic, they follow a particular format. For the combat series, the chapters are organized as follows:
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Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Guns of the Soviet UnionPublished:
Osprey Publishing is a publishing house that has dominated the casual military history market for years, publishing dozens of military history titles every year. Their long running New Vanguard series continues with the exploration of Soviet era armor with a volume on self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. As is typical of these volumes, it is packed with color profiles, black & white photographs and a smattering of contemporary color photographs. As the title of the book suggests, this volume provides a broad overview of basically anti-aircraft artillery on tracks. The chapters are arranged topically, by vehicle type:
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Panzer II vs 7TP: Poland 1939Published:
In the modeling community, Osprey Publishing is well-known. I doubt that there is a modeler in this group who does not have something from Osprey in their bookshelves. They have several ongoing series that tackle a variety of topics, including the ‘Duel’ series. As the title suggests, each book concentrates on two similar pieces of equipment and how they stack up against each other. The sixty-sixth volume of the duel series tackles the opening campaign of the Second World War – the fall of Poland in the early fall of 1939. The author of the volume is David R. Higgins and the illustrator of the color plates is Richard Chasemore. At 80 pages of text, this is a fairly standard length for this series. As with other volumes in the Osprey library, the duel series follows an… more |
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Junkers Ju 52, A History: 1930-1945Published:
Specialty Press is a publisher and distributor of aviation books. Their long running series on in-depth design and operational histories of various aircraft in the Luftwaffe continues with the publication of their comprehensive look at the Junkers Ju 52. What the C-47 was to the Allies, the Ju 52 was to the Axis. The trimotor transport served as the primary pre-war civil aviation aircraft for Germany and during the war it served on every front in the war in a wide variety of roles – bomber, transport, ambulance, minesweeper, and seaplane. The book has fourteen chapters that provide a broad overview of the origins of the Ju 52 and its role in building a robust German civil aviation industry in the 1920s and 30s. The text, rather brief but concise, is supplemented with dozens of… more |
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Cherbourg 1944: The First Allied Victory in NormandyPublished:
Osprey is a publishing house in the United Kingdom that should be familiar to most modelers, historians, and military history buffs. They have several ongoing series that tackle a variety of topics, including famous campaigns in military history. The 278th volume of their campaign series tackles the capture of the French port city of Cherbourg in June, 1944. The author of the volume is one of Osprey’s most prolific, Steven J. Zaloga. The illustrator of the color plates is Steve Noon. At 93 pages of text, this is a fairly standard length for this series. As with other volumes in the campaign series, they follow an established formula in terms chapter layout and content. Each volume as several color plates, illustrating certain moments in the campaign; a variety of maps… more |
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T-26 Light Tank: Backbone of the Red ArmyPublished:
The New Vanguard series from Osprey Publishing is not so new anymore, but they continue to produce one quality publication after another. It seems that at one point they will run out of topics, but thankfully, they have not. The series’ most prolific author, armor expert Steven Zaloga has turned his attention to the T-26. As the subtitle of this book suggests, it was one of the most prolific tanks in the Soviet Army in the late inter-war era. As with all New Vanguard titles, this is prolifically illustrated with photographs from the era as well as several color profiles of the T-26. Again, as with all New Vanguard titles, the centerpiece is a two page, full color cut away of the vehicle in question. Both Hobby Boss and Zvezda have 1/35 kits of the T-26, so this book might be… more |
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British Forces Quad Bikes and CrewPublished:
Airifx continued their string of new releases related to British forces in Afghanistan with the Quad Bikes and crew. Basically, these are all-terrain vehicles adapted for military use. There are two complete vehicles and their accompanying trailers with four crew members. These are new kits, so the molding is superb. Given the diminutive size of these vehicles, however, the parts are rather fragile so please remove them from the sprues with care. The kits are molded in that familiar Airfix blue-grey plastic. There’s one sprue for the figures, two sprues each for the vehicles and trailers for a total of thirty seven parts. There is a modest decal sheet and colored instructions with 3-D drawings for instructions. As is typical with Airfix kits, the spues are packed together loosely in a… more |