Reviews of books or magazines relating to scale modeling.

Book Author(s)
Csaba B. Stenge
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

This book contains 84 pages, 150 b/w photos, 3 color photos, 12 color profiles, 2 B/W maps, and 5 tables. It covers the war between Hungary and Slovakia in 1939.

Like WWII, which would begin 162 days later, the origins of this conflict could also trace its beginnings back to WWI and the Treaty of Versailles and specifically the Treaty of Trianon.

Hungary wanted to recover territory it had to give up as per the treaty, especially that in Sub-Carpathia. With Germany having seized Czechoslovakia and created the new nation of Slovakia, this seemed the right time to Hungarian officials. The war lasted approximately 12 days which in the end saw Slovakia cede roughly 655 square miles of territory back to Hungary.

The author has done heavy research to uncover much of the history of this short conflict and as he says in his author’s notes “was little known in the countries involved.”

Book Author(s)
Geoff Coughlin
Review Author
Paul Bradley
Published on
Company
Fonthill Media
MSRP
$28.95

This is the first in what is promised to be a new series of aircraft modeling guides, and the chosen subject is the incomparable Avro Vulcan, the best known of Britain’s Cold War “V-Bombers.” Designed for nuclear deterrence but made famous at the end of its career for the “Black Buck” missions against the Argentine invaders in the Falklands War.

Author Geoff Coughlin is well known in British aviation modeling circles and is the founder of the scalemodellingnow.com website. A well-established author and aviation historian, he starts the book with a good but necessarily brief history of the type’s development and service, I think that this would have benefited from being longer, but size restrictions clearly came into play.

Book Author(s)
Daniel Kowalczuk
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Guideline Publications
MSRP
$22.00

Guideline Publications Guideline Publications is the UK's leading publisher of modeling and hobby-related magazines. With a world-class portfolio of titles and an international Social Media presence, Guideline Publications has a dedicated readership that is constantly expanding into new areas. This English language book, Warpaint 152, Junkers Ju 86, is authored by Daniel Kowalczuk with scale drawings by Sam Pearson. The latest Guideline’s Warpaint series, 152, was published in 2026. A digital edition will soon be available. News on Guideline’s publications can be found on Facebook.

Book Author(s)
Ian Baxter
Review Author
James Kelley
Published on
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$24.95

Images of War: Tanks and Armour at Leningrad 1941–1944 is a photographic military history by Ian Baxter, published by Pen & Sword Books⁠ as part of its long-running Images of War series. The book is a 144-page paperback containing roughly 150–200 black-and-white photographs, many of them rare or previously unpublished.

The book focuses on the armored warfare surrounding the Siege of Leningrad, beginning with the opening of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 and ending with the German retreat in early 1944. It concentrates primarily on the German side of the campaign, especially the armored units of Army Group North and their advance toward Leningrad.

Among the formations discussed are:

Book Author(s)
Ian Baxter
Review Author
James Kelley
Published on
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$24.95

Images of War: Tanks and Armour at Kursk 1943 is a forthcoming entry in the long -running Images of War photographic-history series from Pen and Sword Military. It focuses on the German armored formations that participated in the Battle of Kursk during Operation Citadel in July 1943, widely regarded as the largest tank battle in history.

The book is written by Ian Baxter, a prolific historian specializing in German military history of the Second World War. Baxter has produced numerous illustrated campaign studies emphasizing archival photography, unit organization, and battlefield conditions.

What the Book Covers

The emphasis is on:

Book Author(s)
Dr David Nicolle and Air Vice Marshal Dr. Gabr Ali Gabr (EAF ret.)
Review Author
Paul Bradley
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

Air Power and the Arab World, 1909–1955 Volume 12: Palestine War, 12 July - 14 October 1948 (Middle East @ War #67) continues the story of the men and machines of the first half-century of military aviation in the Arab world, focusing this time on the critical period between 12 July and 14 October 1948 — from the final days of the ‘Ten Days’ fighting through the Second UN Truce. While part of an ongoing series, this volume also stands alone as a history of the period covered.

Book Author(s)
Peter Sikora
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$49.95

The origin of Pen & Sword Books is closely linked with its sister company, the Barnsley Chronicle; one of the UK's oldest provincial newspapers, established in 1858, and one of the few weeklies still in private ownership. The first books published by the company were in response to public demand following of a series of articles published in the newspaper: Dark Peak Aircraft Wrecks told the story of crash sites in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park, and a further weekly feature on the history of two Kitchener battalions, known as the Barnsley Pals, aroused a thirst for more information. Following on from the success of those books, a number of local history paperbacks were produced along with a series of battlefield guidebooks. Battleground Europe proved immediately successful, and the company made the decision to launch a book publishing arm of the group.

Book Author(s)
Adrien Fontanellaz
Review Author
Luke R. Bucci, PhD
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

Number 54 in Helion’s Asia @ War Series is the 4th Volume on the Sri Lankan War, from 1995-2002. Also called the Eelam War III, this Volume covers the Northern Theatre of the war to its conclusion. The author is a Swiss military researcher and has published 20 books on military topics. For this larger than normal Volume, he has done a brilliant and evocative job on bringing this civil war to light.

Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon) is a large island off the southern tip of India, and has a tumultuous history of internecine warfare. This volume is strictly about the military events, and does not cover the political situations, atrocities or human rights violations in detail - these have been manifested in the first three volumes, by Amnesty International and other NGOs.

Book Author(s)
editor - Nicole Greenslade
Artist - Howard Gerrard
Articles - Varius Contributors
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
The Great War Aviation Society
MSRP
$114.67

The non-profit UK based group known as the Great War Aviation Society publishes A new magazine, Contact!, is now available in both print and digital download. The first two issues of Contact! Are available for a free digital download on their website. Their journal, Cross & Cockade International, is also published four times a year. Issues are available in English as printed [Softbound, A4 (8.27” x 11.69”), 72 pages [Including Covers] as well as digital copies (or both). The Society also provides a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publish WWI themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS USA. This Journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front. The Great War Aviation Society also hosts a lecture series available through Zoom. If interested, you will need to register early as the call is limited in attendance.

Book Author(s)
Les Brown
Review Author
Ron Bell
Published on
Company
Seaforth Publishing
MSRP
$28.95

This is another book in this series, each concerning itself with one particular type or class of ship. This one is about British Anti-/Aircraft Cruisers and includes ships specifically built for this mission or converted to it. As usual for this series, it is not so much a history of the ships, although brief accounts of their careers are included, as it is a description of the various specific modifications made to them that made them anti-aircraft ships. Included are the “C” class cruisers that were converted for this work, merchant vessels that were requisitioned and converted and the more-or-less purpose build Dido Class ships.