Reviews of products for scale figures and diorama models.

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
November 22, 2023
Company
ICM
Scale
1:35
MSRP
$30.99

ICM continues to model the Chernobyl disaster and its side effects, and this is the sixth set in that series.

Backstory

Unlike the previous, more generic versions of various first responders and/or victims, this is a specific set dealing with a very specific set of men. Here’s the story:

In 1986, the Number 4 reactor at Chernobyl in the Ukraine exploded, heralding one of the worst nuclear accidents in history. More than 500,000 personnel were mobilized to contain the disaster. The total cost of the effort exceeded roughly $68 billion dollars overall. Completion of the cleanup will still not be complete until around 2065 and with the current war going on, is likely to take much longer than that.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
November 18, 2023
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$26.00

From the ICM website -

The modern Special Operations Forces (SOF) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were created in 2016 on the basis of existing units and subunits, most of which already had some combat experience. As of the summer of 2023, the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces are based on two special purpose regiments – a special purpose maritime center, a special operations center and several other units. Their main tasks include in-depth reconnaissance, combat raids behind enemy lines, search and evacuation of captives or hostages, and anti-terrorist activities.

Review Author
Robert Merz
Published on
November 13, 2023
Company
ICM
Scale
n/a
MSRP
$8.99

Packaging and Contents

The ICM WWI German Infantry paint set comes in a small cardboard box (Image #1). The back features (Image #2) graphics showing some common uses for the included colors. The set of six paints includes: 1008 Deep Brown, 1072 US Dark Green, 1038 German Grey, 1037 Dark Grey, 1070 German Field Grey, and 1034 Dark Sea Grey (Image #3).

The paints come in 12ml plastic bottles with twist-off type caps. I believe ICM has included ball bearings in the bottles to aid in shaking/mixing, which is nice. Like many, I add a small 6mm ball bearing to all of my paints, and anyone who does this knows that it can be messy, so having these in already in place is both a time and mess saver. (Image #4). [Caption: Colors, from L to R: 1070 German Field Grey, 1037 Dark Grey, 1038 German Grey, 1034 Dark Sea Gray, 1072 US Dark Green, 1008 Deep Brown]

The Testing

I am a figure painter, so understand that this review is written from that perspective.

Review Author
Michael Reeves
Published on
November 10, 2023
Company
Value Gear
Scale
1/16
MSRP
$25.00

Value Gear resin products are well known to most modelers for the excellent quality resin stowage and gear for models and diorama scenes. Owner Steve Munsell is a quality guy who more often than not throws in some extra pieces to most of the packages and one package can often inhabit more than a couple builds if used wisely- or you can completely deck out one model if you wish. His 1/16 product lines are growing as more companies release more 1/16 scale kits.

What’s Inside the Box

This set is the perfect complement to the Andy’s Sherman kit or to any American tank in the scale you may have. As always, the quality is amazing on this scale and there are exactly 14 pieces as the label says. In the first photo, there are five identical packs that can be strapped to a turret or placed inside a vehicle, a wrapped-up tarp with rope and strap around it, and a large piece of stowage for the deck with a number of wooden crates covered by a tarp.

Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
November 10, 2023
Company
Doll and Hobby
Scale
1:8
MSRP
$39.95

Background

Doll and Hobby GA is a specialized hobby distributor focusing on science fiction, fantasy, and comic related model kits. They carry the latest releases from Moebius Models, Round 2 (AMT, Polar Lights, MPC, Lindberg) and more. They focus on subjects like Star Trek, 2001, Space 1999, classic monsters, and comic book heroes. Their warehouse is located in Lawrenceville, GA, just east of Atlanta. Owned by Steve Iverson who purchased the company from Frank and Joanne Winspur in 2018. Steve Iverson might also be familiar since he also owns CultTVman’s Sci-Fi Modeling.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
November 5, 2023
Company
HAD Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$12.95

Recently HAD Models released several sets of decals specifically for US Navy F-14 aircrew. I don’t know if the translation program messed up when the title was translated into English, but these sets actually provide decals for the helmet markings and the flight suit patches for the arms and chest for Tomcat aircrews. It appears that these sets were originally created for 1/32 scale pilots and RIOs (Radar Intercept Officers – backseaters in the F-14) as the instructions state that the decals were scaled for Aerobonus 1/32 scale ejection seats and flight crew models, and then scaled down to 1/48 and 1/72 scale.

Review Author
Phillip Cavender
Published on
November 5, 2023
Company
AFV Club
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$21.99

Box and Contents

The kit is packaged in the standard AFV Club accessories box, which has dimensions of 10-1/4” (260mm) x 6-1/2” (165mm) x 1-1/2’ (12mm). The front of the box features a colored image, and on the back, you can find ten real photos showcasing the completed workbench and toolset. Inside the box, you will find four olive drab sprues, a small photoetch fret, one poster, and media placards, and one four-page instructional manual printed on gloss paper with the last page being the painting guide.

Sprue Breakdown

(I) x 3 sprues from AFV Club kit 35304 1/35th scale M109A3 2.5-Ton 6x6 Shop Van. These three sprues contain the parts for two workbenches, stools, basic machine tools such as drill press, vice, compressor, bench grinder, toolboxes, and hand tools.

(Q ) x1 sprue from AFV Club kit 35113 1/35th scale M113A1 ACAV Vietnam War. This sprue contains 8 weapons.

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
November 3, 2023
Company
ICM
Scale
All
MSRP
$19.99

ICM continues to come out with interesting paint sets for their kits, and this one is no exception. As with all of the ICM acrylic paints that I’ve tested so far, I’ve found these to be smooth and creamy with no pigment separation in the bottle. They have excellent opacity and cover nicely with one coat, and are clearly intended for hand painting rather than airbrushing. I’m finally overcoming my reluctance to paint figures with acrylics because of the excellent quality of these paints.

This set is a bit different from others in that it includes paints representing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for figures that can be found in several of their Chernobyl series, rather than just the latest Brave Divers set. However, I had already assembled the Brave Divers set for another review so decided to test the entire range on these figures.

Here are the paints supplied in the set:

Book Author(s)
Andy Singleton
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
October 30, 2023
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$29.95

I was excited to review a Pen & Sword book on allied forces during the Blitzkrieg, thinking it would be part of the amazing Images of War series.

When I received "Allied Forces in Blitzkrieg Europe, 1939–1940; British, French, Belgian, Dutch and Polish Forces", I was a little surprised to find out that it is part of their Painting Wargaming Figures series. Author Andy Singleton gives a brief overview of the allied forces, then delves into painting the figures of the five major allied armies facing the German blitzkrieg. Since I want to become a (much) better figure painter, this book really spoke to me.

Book Author(s)
Richard Marmo
Review Author
Orlando Reyes
Published on
October 15, 2023
Company
Richard Marmo
MSRP
$3.99

This is a PDF book that describes how to build a scratchbuilt a 1/64 scale Five Bay Vehicle shed. The book is divided into 18 sections and starts with an Introduction, followed by a detailed way of building the shed. The author shows the builder how to get started, basic tools and then follows a detailed description of how to build the structure. He starts at the foundation of the building followed with cutting the pipes, adding substance to the floor of the building and step by step how to cut and install te beams and walls. In addition he talks about the vehicles he added to the building and ends with the construction of the structure and how to install the rafters and roof, as well as the finishing touches. The last four sections are divided by a small history and benefits of joining IPMS/USA, as well as a short bio of the author. The author ends the book with a roster of the guides he has created, as well as a small request for the "wants and needs" that the reader may want.