Let me start by saying that this review really took me out of my comfort zone. I am not a car modeler by any scope, but I feel that with reviewing this magazine it gave me a better appreciation for car models.

In this special of Model Art, the focus is primarily on the F1 series race car. Now, all of the F1 fans please be gentle with me as I give my review, as I am doing my best to interpret Japanese on a subject I know little about.

The issue starts off with coverage of Champion machines from 2006 - 2011. They use three different model manufacturers (Studio 27, Fujimi, and Minichamps diecast) to represent the winners. All the models are in 1/20th scale except for the Minichamps in 1/18th scale.

One of the newest titles in Squadron’s Walk Around series is the Heinkel He-111. As with other titles in this series, this softcover book is in a “landscape” format and features loads of detail photos of all aspects of the He-111.

Similar to other books in this series, there is a one-page introduction covering a brief history of the aircraft, and a short discussion of the few remaining airframes. This is followed by about 88 pages of detail photos and accompanying descriptive text. All the photos are very crisp and clear, covering about ¼ of a page each. Most of these are photos of museum aircraft, but there are several WW2-era photos that show some clear details.

The bulk of museum aircraft photos are of a He-111P-2 in the Gardermoen Museum in Oslo, which has been fully restored to its original configuration. Photos of almost any possible detail area (both inside and out) a modeler would want are provided.

This is another quality issue from Model Art Modeling Magazine. The text is in Japanese, with very little English. The pictures are top notch, so it does make it easy to follow along.

In the October issue, they do a series of questions and answers to what appears to be some common modeling questions. They use a series of new model releases to accomplish this. These include the 1/72nd Tamiya A6M5 Zero, 1/48th Hasegawa Ki-44 Tojo prototype, the 1/32nd Zoukei-Mura P-51D, Sankei 1/144th Alert Hanger (this appears to be in a pre-cut heavy cardstock), 1/48th Trumpeter Supermarine Spiteful, and the 1/48th Tamiya Sturmovik.

There is an article about each of the above models, and each one has a Q&A section. Topics range from different aftermarket seatbelts, how to reproduce rivets with straight pins, marking lights, panel line washes, and aerial antennas using EZ line.

As a Battle of Britain aficionado and avid reader of stories of the exploits of Allied pilots flying Hawker Hurricanes (and Spitfires of course!) on the Western Front and in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, it was with keen interest that I delved into this story of the Hurricane on the Eastern Front ― a story with which I was totally unfamiliar. Thus, it was much to my surprise that I learned that the Hurricane was the most numerous Western Allied fighter aircraft serving in the Soviet Union’s army and naval air force units on the expansive Soviet-German front in 1942. Having suffered significant attrition of fighter aircraft during the start of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, Soviet Premier Josef Stalin appealed to British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill for replacement aircraft.

This special issue of Model Art Modeling Magazine has two features that cover the genealogy of Japanese submarine depot ships and the history of Japanese escort vessels. There are two other smaller articles included. One is titled “Lets make the Special naval review of the Imperial Japanese Navy on Japanese Imperial reign 2600 ceremony,” and an article titled “Revell Archives.”

In the first feature, “Genealogy of Japanese Submarine Depot Ships,” there are several articles that cover the available model kits of these vessels. Also included are period photos and line drawings of these ships with what seems to be a description or history (here’s where the lack on my part of being able to read Japanese to know exactly what this section deals with). The last part of the feature is a conversion of Hasegawa’s 1/350 Hikawa-Maru to the Auxiliary Submarine Depot Ship Heian-Maru. This section finishes out with a poster of what appears to the Submarine Depot Ship Taigei.