I’ll be the first to admit it – I’m getting hooked on these Heimdal uniform books. Any dedicated figure modeler is well aware of the fact that the period roughly 1790 – 1815 constitutes the highlight of colorful uniforms worn by any belligerents in any war, before or since. The development of coal tar dyes led to the creation of a bewildering range of bright colors, almost immediately employed by all the major military powers of the time, as they regarded the quality of their military attire to be a direct reflection of the power and majesty of their particular countries.

Napoleanic uniforms in particular reflected this obsession, with an almost unbelievable range of military costumes. For figure modelers, the fact that almost all of them were based in large part on standard French military garb means that one can, if one chooses, create a incredible array of accurate toy soldiers with uniforms spanning the rainbow.

A true blast from the past, Atlantis Models has reissued the Aurora Godzilla kit with glow in the dark parts. As a kid, I remember the “Frightening Lightening “versions. This issue comes in a square box with alternate glow parts for the head, hands, feet, spine, top of the tail and nameplate. The kit also includes the destroyed city base. Total parts are 32 in Godzilla green with 14 separate glow alternate parts.

Normans, the direct descendants of Viking marauders who finally settled in France and the Low Countries, were a restless bunch. Due to population pressures many of the more ambitious traveled far afield, looking for conquest or new lands to call home. Italy was one such location. Here, they established a number of kingdoms, even going so far down the “boot” of Italy to settle on the island of Sicily, where many of their descendants remain to this day.

The story of this migration and the military events associated with it is the basis of this new book from Osprey. As is typical of Osprey works, this one is carefully researched, using surviving artifacts and stories to fill in the details. I know for my own that I was quite surprised to see what a cultural crossroads this area of the world was back then, with not only local, but Muslim and even Oriental influences impacting the weapons and tactics of this warrior breed. Quite the rich stew!

Osprey Publishing continues to expand its “Combat” line, this time with an installment of the Soviet Soldier vs Finnish Soldier during the so-called “Continuation War”, which lasted from 1941 to 1944.

This conflict started a few days after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, when Finland attempted to regain territories lost during the Winter War of 1940. Shortly after the fast advance of the Finnish Army, the military actions turned into trench warfare, with front lines mostly stable until the Soviet Army launched an offensive in 1944, in which the Finnish stopped the Soviet advance but were forced to seek an armistice and switch sides.

This the second volume in a series devoted to the uniforms and equipment of Napoleon’s Imperial Guard. The first volume concentrated on the Infantry and I have not seen it. This volume focuses on the cavalry. The Imperial Guard, as the name suggests, was Napoleon’s personal guard that expanded into the elite regiments of the French Army. The material culture of the military through the ages has always attracted buffs, historians, and modelers. The author, rather than relying on secondary sources has dipped into archives and museum collections to understand the nitty gritty details, in particular colors and construction. As the author points out, despite the evidence that does exist, in many cases, we will never know many of the details that made up the uniforms of Napoleon’s elite guard. I can only assume that the first volume is a similar layout.