Will Kuhrt
Reviews By Author
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Semovente M42 da 75/18Published:
The SemoventeThe Royal Italian Army began to deploy self-propelled artillery guns at the end of the 1930s. Their purpose was to provide support for tanks and infantry units. The “Semovente” 75 /18 was developed on the back of the “M” series medium tank hull, and it soon became the most feared Italian armored vehicle. The 75mm howitzer was a highly effective anti-tank weapon and was capable of destroying the most heavily armored British and American tanks. The “Semovente” was also valued for its low profile, which made it difficult to locate. First ImpressionThis 2020 Italeri release of the Semovente M42 da 75/18 is a rebox with new parts and new molds. The box contains four sprues of dark-yellow molded plastic, one PE, one decal sheet, and one set of… more |
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The Luftwaffe’s Secret WWII MissionsPublished:
About the AuthorsDmitry Degtev is one of the leading Russian researches of the history of the Second World War. Widely known to readers for his publications on military aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s, he has been studying the air battles of the Second World War and the history of the Luftwaffe for more than twenty years. As a result, he has assembled a huge amount of exclusive material on events and battles previously little known to the wider audience. He also has more than twelve years of experience teaching Russian and world history and currently lectures at Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University. He lives in the Russian Federation. Dmitry Zubov is the author of twenty-two books on military history. In his works he prefers to analyze the psychological causes… more |
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Mission Models Paints New Color ReleasesPublished:
This review looks at four new releases from the Mission Models product line. They are:
Mission Models paints are a non-solvent acrylic-based paint, which are ‘airbrush ready’ and produce a flat finish. The product line consists of a wide array of colors, thinners, finishing coats & supplies. Since prior reviews have covered how to use Mission Models paints, I will forego repeating that. Some features I have come to really like about Mission Models paints are: bottle contains a “rattle ball” which ensures good paint mixture; some of the bottles have a flip cap which is great for counting/… more |
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Tiger I and Tiger II TanksPublished:
About the AuthorDennis Oliver is the author of over twenty books on Second World War armored vehicles including Tiger I and II Tanks, German Army and Waffen-SS, Eastern Front 1944, Panther Tanks, German Army and Waffen-SS, Normandy Campaign 1944, Jagdpanther Tank Destroyer, German Army, Western Europe 1944-1945, and Tiger I and Tiger II Tanks, German Army and Waffen-SS, and The Last Battles in the West, 1945. Table of Contents
SummaryThis book is another installment of the Tank Craft series which currently holds 17 titles and covers German, American, and British tanks,… more |
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Images of War - Hitler’s Panther Tank Battalions 1943-1945Published:
About the AuthorIan Baxter is a much-published author and photographic collector whose books draw an increasing following. Among his many previous titles in the Images of War series are Hitler’s Boy Soldiers, Nazi Concentration Camp Commandants, German Army on the Eastern Front – The Advance, Germany Army on the Eastern Front- The Retreat, The Crushing of Army Group (North) and the SS Waffen Division series including SS Leibstandarte Division, SS Totenkopf Division At War. He lives in Chelmsford, Essex. Table of Contents
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M1 IP Abrams MBTPublished:
M1 IP Abrams MBTThe M1 IP (Improved Performance) Abrams was produced briefly in 1984 and was a transitional tank to the M1A1. Some of the upgrades included a new “long” turret with thicker frontal armor—upgraded from 650mm to line-of-sight thickness of 880mm. 894 M1 IP tanks were manufactured for the US. First ImpressionThis PANDA kit was released in 2018 and is a re-issue with new parts from the original kit which came out in 2017. The box contains one clear sprue, PE, one waterslide decal sheet, brass wire, upper & lower hull pieces, and seven sprues (four of them dedicated to the tracks). The parts are molded in dark yellow plastic. The detail is fair. This kit has a large amount of injector pins and injector pin remnants attached to parts. Some… more |
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Panzer Divisions WWII DecalsPublished:
This is an excellent decal sheet, and it is nice for this to be on the market! Decals are provided for 28 panzer divisions. Between one and five decals are provided for each division. The decals for the divisions with three, four, or five decals are differentiated by the years which they were used. The color register is excellent, and the images are sharp and clear. The decals are thin and will conform to curved and uneven surfaces nicely, yet they are not so thin that they will tear when wet. They release form the backing paper easily and require minimal wet time. For this review, you can see the decals being used on two pieces of German armor: a King Tiger marked with an 11th Panzer Division Zusatzsymbol “ghost” (see kit review… more |
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Hitler’s Easter Legions 1942-45Published:
About the AuthorDr. Nigel Thomas, PhD, is an accomplished linguist and military historian, formerly at Northumbria University, now a freelance military author, translator and military uniform consultant. His interests are 20th-century military and civil uniformed organizations, with a special interest in Germany, Central and Eastern Europe. He was awarded a PhD on the Eastern enlargement of NATO. About the IllustratorJohnny Shumate works as a freelance illustrator living in Nashville, Tennessee. He began his career in 1987 after graduating from Austin Peay State University. Most of his work is rendered in Adobe Photoshop using a Cintiq monitor. His greatest influences are Angus McBride, Don Troiani, and Édouard Detaille. Table of Contents… more |
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U.S.A.F. Fighter Pilot with Ejection Seat for F-86 SabrePublished:
Thank you to Phil and to Bill for all the work that you do and your support of IPMS. The KitIntended for Italeri or Hasegawa 1/32 F-86 Sabre models, this Aires Aero Bonus kit includes one resin cast block and one single-sided instruction sheet with a full color illustration. They are packaged in a plastic container (for protection) inside of a plastic pouch. Prior to working on the kit, I recommend washing it in a mild detergent solution to remove any mold release residue. The resin cast has sharp detail and is flash free. ConstructionOther than the color illustration/painting guide, no instructions are provided, but they are not needed as the build is very intuitive. To begin, I used a razor saw to divide the cast into three sections: the body/… more |
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Jagdpanzer Marder I (Sd.Kfz.135)Published:
I would first like to give a HUGE shoutout to Mr. Gary Demory, Tamiya America Customer Service Supervisor without whose help this review may not have been able to be completed. During work on this project, I had a “the dog ate my homework” moment when a series of parts was suddenly missing from my workbench, and the guilty party kept saying, “I didn’t do it.” What to do? In spite of Tamiya’s California office being closed due to the pandemic, Gary went to great lengths to assist me in getting the parts I needed. Thanks for all of your help and outstanding service, Gary! First ImpressionThe Marder I was a WWII German tank destroyer with a 75mm PaK-40 anti-tank gun. Most of the Marders were actually constructed on the base of a French artillery tractor… more |