Pablo Bauleo
Reviews By Author
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Spotlight on Mirage III & Mirage 5Published:
The Spotlight ON series specializes in color profiles of a given subject. In this case it is the Mirage III and Mirage 5 series of aircraft. The book starts with a two pages description (landscape format) the characteristics of the aircraft and operational history of it. It is not meant to be exhaustive; it is just a primer as the real reason for this book are the fantastic 42 color profiles of the Mirage in service with different air forces. With an aircraft that has seen such an extensive service -and combat- it is not possible to cover every single camouflage scheme worn by them. As such the book selects a representative sample of mainstream and one-off schemes, like retirement schemes and such. Among the profiles you will find the liveries of France,… more |
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Enemy at the Gates - Panic Fighters of the Second World WarPublished:
Fonthill Media has released the latest book from Justo Miranda, covering the “Panic Fighters” of World War Two. The definition of a panic fighter relates to designs that were rushed into service, due to the high likelihood of being attacked by a larger, more powerful country (hence the “Enemy at the Gates” title). In this book there are three countries listed as “Aggressors”: Germany, the Soviet Union and Japan. Almost all the other countries are the ones that react with some sort of ‘panic fighter’ design/prototype. Each reacting country has its own chapter with a description of their military situation and a description of the different airframes in their air forces. Given that most of these airplanes were designs, or even conceptual designs, some of the drawings… more |
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Armored Personnel Carrier M2/M3/M4 Half TrackPublished:
The Topdrawings series specializes in line-drawings of a given subject in each booklet. The 84th installment in this series is devoted to the always popular M2/M3/M4 Armored Personnel Carrier Half-Track. This booklet has 4-View for the M2 (early, mid, late production), M2A1 (early and late), M3 (early and late), plus color profiles of M2A1, M3, M4A1 (4-view color), and even an M9 in French Service. The booklet also includes a brief description on the overall history of the AFV and each line drawing has an explanation as to what was modified from the previous block series. If you are looking for detailed drawings of the M2/3/4 half-track, this book is your destination. Highly recommended. I would like to thank Kagero Publishers and IPMS… more |
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Case White - The Invasion of Poland 1939Published:
Osprey Publishing has recently released a book by Robert Forczyk covering the Invasion of Poland. He is a well-known author and superb researcher of military topics. Certainly, this book is not an exception to his well-earned reputation. The book is broken down in the following sections
Plus several appendices covering military ranks, glossary, etc. I would argue that this book is two sub-books in one single binding. The first sub-book covers the political history of Poland during the 1920s and 1930’s (the first 3… more |
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IDF F-CK 1C/DPublished:
Scale Aircraft Conversions specializes in white metal replacement parts. Its line of replacement landing gear has been expanded to include a set for the Freedom Model F-CK 1/C/D. The set is very comprehensive, including 12 parts covering the main landing gear, the nose landing gear and even the nose wheel well. These parts are drop-in replacements for the plastic parts. In addition to the actual landing gear, you get an nose landing gear wheel well. That should help with mitigating the chance of a tail sitter. You can see from the pictures the parts are very cleanly molded and formed, without any visible molding lines (typical of plastic parts). Recommended to modelers of all skill levels. I would like to thank Scale Aircraft Conversions and… more |
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Sea Vixen Faw.2 Landing GearPublished:
Scale Aircraft Conversions specializes in white metal replacement parts. Its line of replacement landing gear has been expanded to include a set for the Trumpeter 1/48 Sea Vixen. The set is including 7 parts covering the main landing gear struts and fork. These parts are drop-in replacements for the plastic parts. Considering the size of the Sea Vixen, investing on a sturdy landing gear is likely to be a good idea. You can see from the pictures the parts are very cleanly molded and formed, without any visible molding lines (typical of plastic parts). In addition to the listed advantages, when using white metal landing gear you can always ‘tweak’ the landing gear strut for an improved alignment of the parts, which again in a large model airplane is an extra… more |
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The History of Toy SoldiersPublished:
This book covers the history of toy and model soldiers for the last 2,500 years of human civilization. That is not a minor feat, considering that human civilization is about 6,000-year-old. The book describes the religious and martial uses of scale toys in the past and how the model soldier became a toy in the late 1800s through the mid-1950 and a collectible in the 21st century. It includes the evolution from paper, to tin, to alloys and finally to plastic. It also has a few chapters (listed as “Cameo”) where collectors tell very personal stories of how they got interested in toy soldiers, why they collect them and what aspect of collecting them gives them the most pleasure (it could be going “hunting” to an open market for that rare find or how the old memory of a… more |
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Italian Vittorio Veneto-Class BattleshipsPublished:
Casemate Publishers bring us a book from Polish editorial Kagero, covering the Vittorio Veneto class of battleships (Littorio/Italia, Vittorio Veneto, Roma and an unfished hull Imperio). The book was written by Andrzej Perepeczko and he has done a great research job in his book. The book is broken down in the following sections.
The first section covers the historical situation of the Italian Fleet in the interwar years and includes a high-level description of other contemporary battleships. That way you can understand better the relevance of this class within the Italian Fleet. The second section describes all systems of the ship (hull, propulsion, defensive and offensive… more |
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Mirage III IAI Nesher/DaggerPublished:
Casemate Publishers bring us a book from Polish editorial Kagero, covering the IAI Nesher / Dagger/Finger. The book was written by Salvador Mafé Huertas and his dedication and passion for the topic transpires in each page. A little bit of history in the airframe names: The Israelis named Nesher to their Mirage V. When transferred to Argentina - with some electronic changes- they were renamed “Daggers”. After the Falklands War, almost all the Daggers were upgraded to have an electronic package like the Kfir and renamed again as “Fingers”. In Argentina, the Daggers and Fingers (an also ‘Maras’) often were referred to as “Mirages” or member of the Mirage family. The book is broken down in the following sections.
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Mirage F-1 CT/CR "Special Edition" with Tru-Color PaintsPublished:
The paints were provided by Tru-Color Paint. https://trucolorpaint.com/ This is a combined review of the 1/48 Italeri Mirage F.1 “Bye-Bye Mirage” and a selection of Tru-Color paints provided for the build review. When you open the box you find a total of 5 sprues (one clear) with many parts marked as “not for use” -weapons for the most part. The overall look of the plastic parts is good. No flash, smooth surface, finely recessed panel lines and the transparent parts are free of scratches. You also get an excellent decal sheet with markings for 3 airplanes, all of them in the retirement scheme of the Mirage F.1 Based on my limited research the plastic parts were originally molded by ESCI back in 1978. Back in 2002 Italeri… more |