The Ilyushin Il-2, commonly known as the “Sturmovik,” was a ground attack aircraft used by the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War (World War 2) in great numbers. In fact, it was the most produced aircraft of all back then, with almost 37,000 being made during the course of the war. Simple, sturdy and heavily armored, it played a crucial role on the Eastern Front fighting against the Axis, destroying innumerable vehicles and tanks and greatly blunting the force of Hitler’s attacks on the homeland.

This new volume by MMP Books in their “Spotlight On” series is a wonderful reference for modelers. It begins with a quick overview of the camouflage specifications for aircraft of the Soviet Union, and then follows with page after page of profiles. In fact, the book is almost entirely dedicated to color profiles and plan views.

Somewhat of a trend in the hobby industry of late has been certain manufacturers releasing detailed, stand alone models of ship components. Fujimi has a 1/200th scale kit of a main gun turret from the Yamato battleship, Meng released two 1/35th scale kits of Russian Naval vessel armaments: a 130mm gun turret and the Kastean Close-In Weapons System. While Naval armaments are fine, what if your modeling interests are aircraft? Fear not gentle reader, HK Models has come to the rescue.

HK Models is releasing a complete kit of the nose section from their 1/32nd scale Avro Lancaster. This 'Nose Art' kit features all the bits from the full-size model, leaving you with a detailed, standalone replica of the Lancaster's pilot, bomb aimer/forward gunner, flight engineer, navigator, and radio operator positions. (The other two crew members sat in the mid and aft sections of the fuselage.)

IPMS/USA appreciates the continued support of Jan at Hauler/Brengun for supporting the IPMS USA reviewer corps with yet one more of his unique and useful products!

Today’s review is a pair of AGM-45 Missiles and Launch rails from Brengun.

What you get: Two Missiles, launch rail adaptors, decals (YAY), and diorama parts. The diorama parts are the transport spreader bars in PE for the aft Missile launch lug, and the electrical umbilical’s for a pre-loaded missile. Also included are the missile motor nozzle rings.

The missiles are well detailed with appropriate screw holes and scribing. The missile forward wings are separate, which allows them to be displayed in “off-line” condition, or in a missile transport coffin with the wings off. (This is not included).

This book is part of a series providing detailed information on a particular aircraft intended for scale modelers. It is not a historical account of the service life of the aircraft and does not provide a variety of color schemes for the type as by used by different units. It provides detailed six-view line drawings of the specific aircraft in three scales, plus black and white color photos of several complete aircraft (museum display survivors) and detailed photos of specific parts of the aircraft. Several drawings are included, including an excellent one of the instrument panel, and some drawings from maintenance manuals are includes.

The siege of Malta – a small island in the Mediterranean Sea – held by the British from 1940 to 1942 against the combined might of the German and Italian air and sea forces is one of the more memorable stories from World War 2. Directly on the route from Europe to North Africa, it was a thorn in the side of the Axis supply line to their forces duking it out for control of Libya and Algeria. They decided to reduce the island and its garrison as a threat, and Malta became the most bombed area of land in the entire war. Only a few fighters were on the island during the early months of the siege, and they were the already-obsolete Sea Gladiators of the Royal Navy. Totaling six in all, three of them became famous in military lore as “Faith, Hope and Charity”, fighting off incessant bombing by the Italian and German air forces and earning themselves a place in history.