Mike Lamm
Reviews By Author
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Military Miniatures in Review #63Published:
If you’ve never read a copy of Military Miniatures in Review (MMiR), you need to. It’s an 80-page, full color magazine covering armor modeling so maybe if you build just planes, you don’t necessarily need to read it, but you’ll still be missing out. MMiR is printed on heavy glossy paper, with excellent photography, and well-written articles, with just the right amount of humor mixed in to keep it light, while still covering each subject very well. This issue has ten build articles, which cover each model build, not necessarily step-by-step, but in a way that the reader can follow the build as it’s going together. The authors are careful to point out any issues with the build, and they provide instruction and details of the builds from start to finish, all the way… more |
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Model Art 946, August 2016Published:
Model Art Modeling Magazine is an excellent monthly from Japan providing an abundance of modeling subjects in each issue. It doesn’t matter what your modeling focus is, each issue will provide something of interest for you, and more than likely, you’ll find something interesting that you didn’t know you would. The magazine is published in Japanese, but even if you can’t read Japanese, the photography is really fantastic and the old saying “a picture says a 1,000 words” is very true. Each issue includes enough “work in progress” photos for even a layman to be able to follow along. The photos of the builds highlight many of the tools, materials, and techniques used by the master builders for each model built. Although, I’m sure something is lost in translation, the photos go a… more |
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Fw 190A-8/ R2Published:
I don’t think the Focke Wulf 190 needs much introduction, so I’ll keep it short. When introduced in 1941, much to the surprise of the RAF, the fighter design was found to have excellent maneuverability, while being rugged and well-armed. The design went thru a number of changes, with the FW-190A-8 version becoming the most produced model. The FW-190A8/R2 was noted for its increased firepower, with 20mm cannons being replaced with 30mm ones, and increased survivability due to additional armor in and around the cockpit. Eduard’s Weekend Edition kits normally follow the release of their Royal Edition, and Profipack kits and consists of a scaled back version of the loaded Royal Edition and Profipack. The Weekend Editions include plastic sprues, and usually one or two decal options… more |
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WWII JeepPublished:
David Doyle has produced another excellent visual reference for the model builder or military history enthusiast. This time the subject is the iconic jeep. This publication is an updated version of Squadron/Signal Publications classic title, "World War II Jeep in Action." This updated version includes over 30 additional pages of information and photos. The photos are really incredible, and cover the entire history of the U.S. military’s need for a ¼ ton 4x4 truck. The result became an American legend. The book includes information, photos, and illustrations from the early Bantam vehicles, to the Ford GP, and to the Willys MA, all documenting the jeep’s use during World War II. The really nice thing about this book is that every photo or illustration includes a short… more |
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Model Art Magazine #944, July 2016Published:
Model Art Modeling Magazine is an excellent periodical from Japan providing an abundance of modeling subjects in each issue. It doesn’t matter what your modeling focus is, each issue will provide something of interest for you, and more than likely, you’ll find something interesting that you didn’t know you would. Although the magazine is published entirely in Japanese, the quality of the photos in each issue is really amazing, and goes a long way in telling the story. There are plenty of “work in progress” and “how it was built” photos highlighting the tools, materials, and techniques used by the master builders. These photo guides go a long way in explaining the builds visually, although I’m sure some details are missed without a proper translation. In fact, the photography is… more |
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Military ProvisionsPublished:
Hauler produces photo-etched and resin upgrade sets for armored fighting vehicles (AFVs), airplanes, cars, railway vehicles, and dioramas. They also produce a few resin kits. Their products are in most of the common scale sizes, 1/72, 1/48, and 1/35, but they also produce a number of other items in common railroad hobbyist scales. The kit for this review is a set of sharply cast resin Military Provisions. These military provisions include a number of different items, including a carving knife, 6 sausages, 3 wheels of cheese, 2 wooden buckets, 2 milk cans, 9 bottles, 6 loaves of bread, 3 crates of vegetables, and 2 bags of potatoes. In addition to the individual food items, this resin set includes parts to assemble a wooden wagon for hauling the food to the local farmer’s market… more |
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Dragon TeethPublished:
Hauler produces photo-etched and resin upgrade sets for armored fighting vehicles (AFVs), airplanes, cars, railway vehicles, and dioramas. They also produce a few resin kits. Their products are in most of the common scale sizes, 1/72, 1/48, and 1/35, but they also produce a number of other items in common railroad hobbyist scales. The kit for this review is a set of sharply cast resin Dragon Teeth. Dragon Teeth are those square concrete pyramids, most often associated with the Siegfried Line in Germany during World War II. However, these types of fortifications were used in many countries, other than Germany in World War II, and continued to be used today around the world. The idea behind these formations was to create an obstacle to slow the advance of enemy AFVs, or to… more |
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World of Tanks CromwellPublished:
Italeri has recently begun producing a line of 1/56 scale AFVs and figures. This might be an unusual scale for most model builders, but is a fairly common wargaming scale equivalent to the 28mm scale. The Cromwell tank kit is one of their newest kits promoting the on-line video game, World of Tanks®. Italeri currently has four kits in 1/56 scale promoting World of Tanks®, the other three kits include the Pz. Kpfw VI Tiger, the Pz. Kpfw. V Panther, and the M4 Sherman. This kit comes packaged in a side-opening box displaying a Cromwell tank crushing a burning car, with the British Union Jack flag in the background on one side, and a World of Tanks® logo proudly displayed on the other. This artwork is exactly the type of branding World of Tanks® does with their video game, and the… more |
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US Infantry on BoardPublished:
Italeri’s Infantry on Board kit is comprised of 10 of figures posed and equipped to assault the beaches on D-Day. In fact, this kit is comprised of a couple of the figure sprues from Italeri’s repackaged Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP) kit #6524, which was released in 2014. The kit includes 4 sprues of light grey styrene, with 2 of the sprues making up the figures, and the other 2 sprues making up the weapons and equipment. In actuality, the figure sprues are identical to each other, with the recommended poses being the only difference. The equipment sprues are identical too, with two sprues of the same equipment. Each figure is made up of six parts, with helmets, weapons and most equipment being molded separately. Assembly is simple, but there are no… more |
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German Paratroopers WWII EraPublished:
Master Box LTD is an Ukranian company specializing primarily in 1/24, 1/32, and 1/35 military and historical figures. They also produce some fantasy subjects, and a line of 1/72 WWI AFVs, and 1/35 vehicles. The company tends to package figures in groups to support a stand-alone vignette or diorama. This kit features four figures from one of Germany’s elite infantry units during World War II, the German paratroopers, or Fallschirmjäger. Unlike other countries during World War II, the Fallschirmjäger were part of the Luftwaffe, as opposed to the regular army, and as such had some notable differences in their uniforms and equipment. Master Box captures these differences perfectly. The four figures and their equipment are molded in light grey styrene on a single sprue. Each… more |