Mike Lamm
Reviews By Author
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Glu-BudyPublished:
I can’t be the only one who has accidentally knocked over an open bottle of plastic cement while working on a model. The damage it does to your cutting matte can be pretty awful, but if it spills onto a sprue of parts or the model itself, it could downright ruin your day. Well, have no fear Tiger Werke has that issue solved, or at least has made it nearly impossible to happen again. Those fine folks have designed a resin bottle holder, for either a Tamiya or Mr. Cement bottle, to keep them upright and your cutting matts and model parts safe. The small resin block has two squares the perfect size for a variety of products, whether it’s glue or pigment or wash. Being that it’s resin, the holder has enough weight to keep the bottles in their locked and upright positions, and is… more |
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Sturmpanzer IV BrummbärPublished:
A variant of the iconic Panzer IV, the Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär (SdKfz 166, Sturmgeschütz IV für 15cm StuH 43) was a German self-propelled assault gun. Work on the design began in 1942 with a goal of creating a vehicle well suited for the demands of urban warfare. The gun was based on the PzKpfw IV Ausf. E and F and, later, Ausf. G. Initially, the vehicle carried 15 cm StuH 43 howitzer, which was later replaced by a 15 cm StuH 23/1 L/12 weapon. The Brummbär went into production in 1943 and its first use was in Operation Citadel around the Kursk salient. Eventually, units equipped with this assault gun defended the Anzio and Normandy landings and participated in the Warsaw Uprising. In total, 300 vehicles were built during the war, with 4 remaining survivors. The drawings in this… more |
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Turret for Panzer IV, Ausf. HPublished:
OKB Grigorov produces resin kits and accessories. The kits are 1/700 submarines and 1/72 armor. The accessories are for 1/35 and 1/72 armor. I’ve built a couple of the kits, and some of the resin upgrade pieces, and they provide incredible detail. This kit is an upgrade turret for any 1/72 Panzer IV kit, and I doubt you’ll find a better 1/72nd turret out there. The kit comes packed in a tiny box, but don’t let its size fool you, inside it packed with 36 highly detailed resin and photo-etch metal parts, as well as a metal barrel. There are 14 resin parts, and 22 metal pieces and each one is finely detailed. While the kit parts are highly details, the one page instructions are less so. The instructions show 7 different drawings of the completed model with lines drawn… more |
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15cm Field Howitzer/10.5cm Field GunPublished:
The 150 mm SFH18 Howitzer was widely deployed by the German army on all the key fronts during World War 2. Developed in secret, during the years limiting German rearmament under the conditions in the Treaty of Versailles, when Germany began their rearmament in 1933, it was a fully functioning design ready for immediate deployment. Interestingly enough, its first combat use was by the Chinese National Revolutionary Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The SFH18 had a simple and reliable design and a maximum range of 13.5 km. The gun and its limber could be separated and towed by horses, or more commonly by a half-track. A less common 105mm version was also developed and shared the same carriage as the 150mm version. Italeri’s new tool design of this German artillery piece is a… more |
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Spotlight On Battle of Britain DefendersPublished:
The latest title in the "Spotlight On" series published by Mushroom Model Publications focuses on 40 individual aircraft that defended the UK skies during the Battle of Britain. While the Supermarine Spitfire and its pilots are probably most celebrated as the heroes of the air war, it was the Hawker Hurricane that was the true work horse of the battles raging over England 81 years ago. This book is the latest of this popular reference series for aircraft modelers, presenting detailed illustrations of the Hawker Hurricane Mk. I, the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I, as well as a couple of illustrations featuring Boulton Paul Defiant I. The aircraft illustrations are incredibly well illustrated with full color profile views of the camouflage, colors and markings. Of course, there… more |
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2S19-M1 Self-Propelled HowitzerPublished:
One of Hobby Boss’ latest releases is the Russian self-propelled howitzer known as the Msta-S, or officially the 2S19-M1. The design of these vehicle began in the early 80s under the “Ob-yekt 316” program. Mounting a 152mm howitzer, the Msta-S can fire just about every type of munition in the Russian arsenal, including all types of high explosive, smoke, chemical, tactical nuclear, and even some laser-guided munitions. The Msta-S is basically the Russian response to the United States’ Paladin program, an armored self-propelled large gun to provide indirect fire support. The 2S19-M1 has seen operational use in the Second Chechen War, and more recently in the conflicts in the Ukraine. Upon opening the box, you find a rather small number of parts and sprues. In fact, there are… more |
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Panzerfaust vs. Sherman, European Theater 1944 - 1945Published:
Osprey's Duel series is a well-established line of books providing an overview of machine-on-machine combat action from design and development through combat. The books include a thorough analysis of the elements which affected the overall outcome of specific battles, or operations. This volume focuses on Germany’s development of the anti-tank weapons that could be carried by a regular infantry soldier, or specialized team of soldiers, with enough firepower to knock out a tank. To deal with the surprising threat of Soviet armor on the Eastern Front. Focusing on primarily on the Panzerfaust and the Panzerschreck, the books takes the reader from the improvised weapons soldiers used thru the development of the Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck. The Panzerfaust revolutionized anti-… more |
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German Flak Defenses vs. Allied Heavy Bombers, 1942 - 1945Published:
As with all the Osprey Duel series books, most of the book provides a detailed description of the weapons and equipment involved. This book is no different with a large section of the book covering the various heavy bombers used by the Allies from the early RAF Short Sterling and Halifax bombers, to the US B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers. Interestingly enough, while the Lancaster is discussed, in the book, the Sterling bombers receive more attention, which is mostly based on their inadequacies. The book has an extensive section dedicated to the various flak guns, with detailed drawing and many photographs of the various types used by Germany. Osprey's Duel series is a well-established line of books providing an overview of machine-on-machine combat action from design and development… more |
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Walker Bulldog vs. T-54Published:
Osprey’s Duel series is a well-established line of books providing an overview of machine-on-machine combat action from design and development through combat. The books include a thorough analysis of the elements which affected the overall outcome of specific battles. This volume focuses on some lessor known armor actions of the Vietnam war. When we think of the battles in Vietnam, we generally don’t think about armored warfare, we tend to focus on guerilla warfare, aerial bombardment, and helicopter assaults. However, near the end of the war there were few battles featuring rather extensive use of armor by the North (PAVN) and South (ARVN) Vietnamese armies. The ARVN’s main armor component was the M-41 Bulldog light tank, which by the early 70s had been long since retired by… more |
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T-62 MBTPublished:
Brengun, based in the Czech Republic, is known for producing a range of photo-etched and resin accessories for airplane models. They also produce a small number of 1/72nd and 1/144th model sets in both plastic and resin. One of their resin kits is the T-62 Main Battle Tank in 1/144 scale. The T-62 entered service with Soviet Union in 1961, and remained in service with the former Soviet Union until the early 2000s. Originally, designed as an upgrade to the T-55 series of tanks, the T-62 was the first tank armed with a smoothbore gun and replaced the T-55 as the standard tank of the Soviet army. While the T-62 is no longer in service with the Russian army, it is still commonly seen on today’s modern battlefields in Syria and Yemen. At 1/144 scale, most kits are small, but… more |