Will Kuhrt
Reviews By Author
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Arctic Leaders’ Notes, Volume I - Selected Cold-Weather OperationsPublished:
One thing I always tell people about the model-building hobby is how blessed I feel about the people I have met who are now my good friends. At the 2025 IPMS-USA National Convention, I made another new friend. I had the wonderful pleasure of meeting Lieutenant Colonel Dusty Finley, Retired, who hailed all the way from Alaska. He served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the 11th Airborne Division (Arctic) of the U.S. Army. During our conversation, he told me about a book he was writing and I was thrilled when he told me he would mail me a copy. I received it, and from start to finish, I was enthralled. I have even been telling my friends new things I learned as a result of reading it. Volume I Selected Military Cold-Weather Operations is part of a five-volume… more |
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P-40 E Warhawk Weekend EditionPublished:
2025 has seen several versions of Eduard’s P-40E released. Before this year, their P-40s consisted of M & N variants. Included in the 2025 lineup of P-40E Warhawks, Eduard has released a Royal Class Dual Combo R0023, P-40E Pacific Star Combo No 11185, the Kittyhawk Limited Edition Dual Combo No. 11187, the P-40E ProfiPack No. 82241, and the subject of this review, the P-40E Weekend Edition No. 84207. Inside of the box, five beautifully molded gray sprues, along with one clear sprue, are contained in sealed bags. There are two decal sheets – one for stencils and another for markings also provided. This kit does not contain any PE or 3D printed parts. Assembly begins with the cockpit. The parts fit together extremely well, and the outcome was impressive. Of note is the… more |
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Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 CabrioletPublished:
The Revell Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Cabriolet is a beautiful model kit issued in 2024 by Revell Germany. Contained in the box is a bag containing a small sample of Revell model glue and the following Revell colors: 02, 04, 99, 302, 331 and 378. Also sealed in bags are one clear sprue, white sprues B, MD, Q, F, and P, along with silver sprues A and J. The parts are mostly free from flash. There is one set of very nicely molded rubber tiresand a full-mold upper body (N). I am not a car model builder, so this project was a personal challenge. I learned and grew through this build and had some great conversation with car builder friends. The build begins with the engine. The assembly process was very straightforward and easy. I had no issues. There are several steps of applying… more |
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Miorine RembranPublished:
I have built several Gundam kits, but this figure is not typical of what you might envision. This kit features a character named Miorine Rembran, which is a deuteragonist (in literature the 2nd leading character), the mobile suit of the Witch from Mercury. Before proceeding, a quick primer on Gundam. Gundam are mechanized mobile suits, popularized in Japanese Manga and Anime books and films. The Gundam universe contains a vast assortment of characters: this character, Miorine, is a 16-year-old schoolgirl at the Asticassia School of Technology. The Bandai kit contains five color sprues and one clear sprue (the stand). Two sticker/decal sheets are provided. The colorful instruction guide is easy to follow. If you’ve never built a Gundam kit, the process is… more |
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Ju 88 WWII USAAF/RAF BomberPublished:
ICM continues to manufacturer interesting subjects, and this plane fits that mold. Per Scalemates, this Ju 88 kit is the newest iteration with the first ICM Ju 88 kit appearing in 2015. It was followed by two releases in 2016 with new parts, five Ju 88 kits released in 2018, one in 2019, two in 2022 and 2023 and finally two in 2025. The standard ICM box lid depicts beautiful artwork of the USAAF version flying over a deep blue sea and islands. Inside the box is a large plastic bag containing seven gray sprues and a separate bag with clear parts. The assembly manual, decals and an ICM painting chart is also provided. The manual has clearly labeled parts and color callouts. There are several mislabeled parts (discussed later). Also, the sprue diagrams only depict two parts which… more |
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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 |