Tim Wilding
Reviews By Author
|
M18 HellcatPublished:
Tamiya has released a newly tooled kit of the M18 Hellcat. There are six new sprues along with a clear sprue from their M4A3E8 kit and a sprue for the 50-caliber machine gun that is from past kits. A decal sheet has two marking options. A length of black thread is used for the tow cable and has enough for two lengths. Two poly caps are included in a small bag. There are no photo-etched parts. The black and white instruction booklet is 16 pages long with 37 construction steps. A separate color three-page, tri-fold supplement has the two painting/marking schemes and a history of the M18 in eight languages. Something different with the instructions is that it shows painting and decal marking locations in each step, plus they are also on this supplement. Construction starts with… more |
|
Das Werk Gepanzerter Munitionsschlepper VK3.02Published:
This munition hauling vehicle kit comes is a small, 7 inches by 11 inches, sturdy box. There are three tan color sprues individually wrapped in plastic, a separate hull and a small bag with four track lengths. I am not sure why this bag is in the kit, because the tracks are all on a sprue. I did not need to use them. The small decal sheet has 11 decals on it. The instruction booklet is small too, 9 inches by 7 inches. It has an antique paper look with seven steps on eight pages. The front shows Das Werks and Amazing Hobbies logos, so that tells me this is a partnership between these two model companies. The assembly instructions are typical line drawings and easy to follow. There are four full color painting and marking guides on the last two pages with Ammo by Mig color information.… more |
|
Pz.sfl.Ia – 5cm Pak auf VK3.02Published:
This 5cm anti-tank gun vehicle kit comes is a small, 7 inches by 11 inches, sturdy box. There are four tan color sprues individually wrapped in plastic and a separate hull. The small decal sheet has 14 decals on it. The instruction booklet is small too, 9 inches by 7 inches. It has an antique paper look with 14 steps on 12 pages. The front shows Das Werks and Amazing Hobbies logos, so that tell me this is a partnership between this two model companies. The assembly instructions are typical line drawings and easy to follow. There are four full color painting and marking guides on the last four pages with Ammo by Mig color information. There are no photo-etched or clear parts. Construction starts with the hull floor and the fit is very good. The fenders need some extra attention… more |
|
Jagdpanzer IV, German Army and Waffen-SS Tank DestroyerPublished:
This 64-page book is number 26 in Pen and Sword’s Tank Craft series. It is printed in the larger A4 size on high gloss, thicker paper. The topic of this book is the Jagdpanzer IV Tank Destroyer as used on the Western Front in 1944 and 1945. It starts by talking about the developmental history of this tank destroyer, then about the many kinds of units that used this vehicle. There are ten pages of color camouflage and marking pages with two tank destroyers on each page. Following that section are thirteen more pages of 1/35 and 1/72 scale kits builds. The first three kit are Dragon Models, then a Tamiya and lastly a 1/72 Matchbox. There are lots of color photos of these models and explanations how to build them. The ten pages after that are all the different modeling products concerning… more |
|
Panther Tanks, German Army Panzer Brigades 1944 to 1945Published:
This 64-page book is number 24 in Pen and Sword’s Tank Craft series. It is printed in the larger A4 size on high gloss, thicker paper. The topic of this book is not the Panther tank, but the German Army (Heer) Panzer Brigades that used this tank in 1944 and 1945. There are three generations of Panzer Brigades and each is discussed in detail. There are nice organizational charts for each Brigade. There are ten pages of color camouflage and marking pages with two tanks on each page. Following that section are ten more pages of 1/35 scale kits builds. The first kit is a Dragon Panther Ausf A, then a Dragon Ersatz M10 Panther Ausf G and lastly another Dragon Models Panther Ausf G. There is lots of color photos of these models and explanations how the builds. The ten pages after that are… more |
|
German Medium Tank Panzerkampfwagen III from Ausf. H to Ausf. NPublished:
This is book number 1 in Kagero Publishing’s “In Combat” series. This book is the larger A4 or European size with high gloss paper and is 80 pages long that has 12 chapters. The pages are laid out with English on the left side of the page and Polish on the right. The first chapter is about the development of the base Panzer III, then it jumps to Ausf. (model/version) H. Each chapter deals with a different Ausf number up to Ausf N. The detailed about each model is very extensive and a few charts are included that show production numbers. There are two to three photos per page showing the Panzer III version being written about. Some of the photos seem to be computer enhanced to bring out details. The eight middle pages are full color paint schemes of 16 vehicles. There are also… more |
|
T-34 mod. 1940 Idler Wheel with Rubber BandagePublished:
The company OKB-Grigorov from Bulgaria has released idlers wheels for early T-34 tank models. These replacement idlers have the rubber bandage (solid tires) pressed onto the outside rim. Later models were only all metal. There are six two-piece resin wheels included in the bag. The front and back of each idler are molded on one resin plug. The resin is dark gray and feels more like plastic. It is easy to cut the wheels off the plugs and sands up great with little resin dust. They supply six wheels, but you only need two per tank, so you will have enough for thee kits. I did not see any air bubbles or other molding errors on any part. Super glue works fine to join the two halves together and pant held fine to the surface without any cleaning beforehand. The idlers have a small… more |
|
T-64 Early Idler WheelsPublished:
The company OKB-Grigorov from Bulgaria has released early idlers wheels for early T-64 tank models. There are six two-piece resin wheels included in the bag. The front and back of each idler are molded on one resin plug. The resin is dark gray and feels more like plastic. It is easy to cut the wheels off the plugs because of the thin attachment points and sands up great with little resin dust. They supply six wheels, but you only need two per tank, so you will have enough for thee kits. I did not see any air bubbles, but a few has small resin lines on one of the spokes that need to be removed. Super glue works fine to join the two halves together and pant held fine to the surface without any cleaning beforehand. The idlers have a small pin on the back that might need to be… more |
|
10.5cm leFH-18/4 auf Geschutzwagen Lr.s.[f][Becker]Published:
The 10.5 cm LeFH - 18/4 auf Geschutzwagen Lr.S.(f) was a German Army (Heer) self-propelled artillery piece from 1944. The German used captured French Lorraine 37L tractors to mount their 10.5cm howitzer on. Alkett made 24 and Becker made 12. All were lost in combat between D-Day, June 6, and the end of August 1944. This model is of the Becker produced conversion. The kit contains four sprues packed in two bags along with two bags of metal tracks and a bag of pins for these tracks. A small photo-etches sheet with about 15 parts and a small decal sheet with six decals is also included. The booklet instruction sheet is 12 pages with 14 steps and a separate two-page color inset with the three painting/decals schemes. One of the sprues is marked as A, but in the instructions, it is… more |
|
The Second World War Illustrated, The Second YearPublished:
The second year of World War II was one of almost unrelieved disaster on the Allied side. The German side was doing very well, except their Italian partners. This 280-page illustrated book tells the story of the war from September 1940 to September 1941. This is the second volume in what I assume with be six book series. Here is the table of contents:
|