Will Kuhrt
Reviews By Author
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ZiL-131 Armed Forces of UkrainePublished:
To begin, I am not a model builder who focuses on vehicles or on 1/72 scale. This project was a bit of a challenge to me personally. While building it, I discovered some surprising drawbacks, which I believe would be a bigger challenge to less experienced builders. Box and ContentsPacked in the typical side-opening white box, the box features eye-catching artwork of the ZiL-131. The ZiL is a general 3.5 ton 6x6 army truck produced in the Soviet Union / Russia between 1964 – 2012. This kit depicts a Ukraine Army version. Contained in the box are three sprues of soft gray styrene, one clear parts, one tree of rubber tires, a fully-molded cab, and a cab interior piece. There is one decal sheet for two camo schemes. The instructional guide is three pages and has no… more |
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Battle for Grozny Volume 1: Prelude and the Way to the City, 1994Published:
This well-researched book, The Battle for Grozny Volume 1, is part of the Europe at War Series, which contains 46 titles to date. The author, Efram Sandler was born in the former Soviet Union and is a former combat veteran of the Israeli Defense Force Armored Corp. He has authored or co-authored eight books of this amazing series. In the mid-1990s, the south-central region of the former Soviet Union was in turmoil. The Republic of Ichkeria had declared independence and influence from Chechnya was growing stronger. The Kremlin and Boris Yeltsin, Russian President from 1991-1999, grew increasingly concerned over controlling oil and gas pipelines, which Dzhokhar Dudadev, leader of Chechen opposition, had seized. Yeltsin eventually launched a large-scale military operation on… more |
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Cold War Berlin: An Island City Volume 3: US Forces in Berlin Keeping the Peace 1945 - 1994Published:
This 27th publication of the ‘Europe at War’ series was of particular interest to me personally. I lived in northern Germany in the years leading up to and including the Fall of the Berlin Wall and had many direct encounters – most of them not good – with East German authorities. Andrew Long of Great Britain is a military history researcher. His interest in the Cold War begin with a trip to West Berlin in 1986 (perhaps he and I crossed paths and didn’t even know it!). He traveled through Check Point Charlie to visit East Berlin. Andrew makes sense of this very complex period of history by intertwining stories of politics, ideology, personalities, technology and geography. He has also written Cold War Berlin: An Island City, Volumes 1 & 2 as well as ‘Secrets of the… more |
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M109 155mm / L23 Self-Propelled HowitzerPublished:
Although I was pleased with the kit by the very end of the build, I was not very happy with the kit itself. When I received the shrink-wrapped review sample, I discovered that two sprues were missing. This is actually the second AFV Club kit I’ve come across with missing parts. Because these parts were critical to the build, I first looked for a way to get replacements from the manufacturer. Nope. The instructions has a parts list (in this case on page 18) and a replacement order form. This is great and all, but where should it be mailed? There is no address. There is no website URL anywhere on the box or in the instructions and there no customer service number. I was stuck. I turned to eBay and was very fortunate to find a seller who had exactly what I needed. It would seem… more |
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WWII German Mortar s.Gr.W.34 with CrewPublished:
The KitOnce again, ICM has come out with another excellent diorama set. The 8 cm Grantawerfer 34 was the standard infantry mortar throughout World War II and was noted for its accuracy and rapid rate of fire. Inside the box you will find three gray sprues sealed in plastic. Tree A contains finely molded figure parts. Sprue W1 contains weapons and gear. The third sprue is identifiable only with numbered parts for the grenade launcher, rifles, ammo boxes, etc. The parts are all flash free and are very nicely detailed. A double-sided glossy assembly guide is provided. Color callouts are easy to spot – red capital letters inside of red boxes -- and they correspond to Revell and Tamiya paints. In addition to color callouts, weapon and gear placements are indicated… more |
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FUG 220 Lichtenstein SN2 German Radar AntennaPublished:
Contents DescriptionThe Lichtenstein radar was one of the earliest used by the German Luftwaffe and was also the first used for air interception. There were four variations of this radar - the FUG-220 being the third and operated at a low frequency of 90 MHz. This Brengun PE set is suitable for the following aircraft: Ju-88C/R/G, Me-110G, He-219 and Ta-154V15. The instructional guide is one page and illustrates how to replace the plastic parts with the PE parts. This Brengun set will certainly create a realistic look for your model! ConstructionI did not have a 1/72 scale plane on hand and therefore utilized a section of sheet styrene to make a mockup. The PE antenna are very fragile. I highly recommend you use a brand new hobby knife blade to… more |
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OV-10D Bronco Wing PylonsPublished:
Contents DescriptionPackaged within the recognizable clear wrapping with the bright orange Quickboost logo, you will find one instruction sheet and three resin castings. As with every Quickboost product, the quality is outstanding. Instruction GuideThe fold-out instructional sheet shows the three casting parts on the left-hand side and the assembly guide on the right-hand side. It is important to note that the intended kit for this set is the 1/32 Kitty Hawk OV-10D. As indicated by the instructions, the Quickboost resin castings will replace kit parts H23 and H24. ConstructionBeing that these are replacement parts, the construction is very straightforward. Carefully remove the parts from the casting blocks. I used a sharp #11 blade to… more |
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Henschel Hs 129 B2/RIII Landing GearPublished:
The Zoukei-Mura 1/32 Henschel Hs 129 B-2/RIII was first released in 2019. A new tool version of a Hs 129-B3 was released in 2022. This SAC landing gear kit is formed of white metal and has excellent detail, as is customary with all SAC products. There are a total of 16 parts. Very little clean up is necessary. There is no visible flash on any of the pieces. After detaching, a light sanding of the spurs is all that is needed. Prior to priming and painting, it is recommended to wash the parts in a mild dish detergent solution to remove any mold release, finger oils, etc. This replacement set is very nicely detailed and for a large kit such as the Hs 129 B-2RIII, it is an excellent way to increase the sturdiness of your model. I highly recommend this replacement set.… more |
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F/A-18 Hornet Main Landing GearPublished:
The BBI 1/18 F/A-18 Hornet is a fully-painted and detailed plastic display model and belongs to the “Elite Force” family of products. This is not a traditional plastic model kit nor is it a toy. These are prepared display models intended for the serious collector. This SAC landing gear kit is a replacement for the BBI Hornet’s main landing gear. Because the canopy, all control surfaces and the landing gear are all functional-you can extend and retract the landing gear—they are prone to breaking. This replacement set is very sturdy and for the scale, it has good basic detail. Thank you to Scale Aircraft Conversions for supplying this sample, and thank you for IPMS for the privilege to review it. |
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1/16 German Tank Bits #3Published:
Value Gear Details, based in Flagstaff, Arizona, produces a wide range of high-quality resin accessories for most common model scales. Many of the accessories and stowage sets are universal, which is a nice advantage. This allows the model builder to customize the look they want by mixing sets or you can use one sets intended for specific subjects, such as the “German Tank Bits” family of accessories. The set featured in this review has 21 pieces. Also available is set German Tank Bits #1 consisting of 22 pieces, and German Tank Bits #2 with 21 pieces. The detail of these is stellar. I never cease to be amazed at the level of fine detail Value Gear achieves! Clean-up is minimal. Two of the pieces (ammo cans) do need to be removed from their pour blocks. I… more |