Reviews of products for scale figures and diorama models.

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Riich Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$66.00

Even if the German Army was known for their mechanized divisions, they had an incredible number of horses pulling wagons during WWII. This kit represents a horse drawn field kitchen. This is indeed a very valuable kit of an often ignored aspect of military: logistics support for a fighting army.

Upon opening the box you find 12 sprues, two photoetch frets, two 4-inch chains, a piece of thread and a small decal set. Actually it is hard to close the box once you have opened. That is a full meal of a field kitchen model! (pun intended).

Riich is reboxing and adding some sprues to their horse drawn wagon. There are a total of 19 steps for the assembly, but many of the steps include sub-steps, so it is over 100 total steps to fully assemble this kit. Instructions are very clear and well laid out.

Review Author
Doug Hamilton
Published on
Company
Hauler
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$7.80

One piece of equipment you’ll almost always need any place where freight is handled is a way to quickly move palletized goods from one place to another. Whether a moving a short distance, or in tight quarters a hand pallet truck, or as they’re more commonly called here in the States, a pallet “Jack” or “Mule”, is an indispensable piece of equipment.

Hauler, from the Czech Republic has introduced in 1/48 scale a pallet jack made from resin and photo etched parts. Cast in medium gray resin the kit consists of 7 resin parts and three photo etched parts. No decals are suppled or needed. A one-page sheet of directions is included.

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
PJ Production
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$11.65

The detail quality is great, there minimal flash or other imperfections. The parts once removed from the mold base are ready to assembly.

The Assembly is quick and easy. The final part is painted and I did my best but I am not a very good figure painter and did not do this great figure justice.

This is the first PJ Productions product I have worked with and I was very impressed with it. I am really looking forward to buying more of this great quality figures.

Thanks go to PJ Productions for providing this super figure to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them.

Review Author
Eric Christianson
Published on
Company
Res-Im
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$13.22

RES_IM, a small company out of Czechoslovakia, continues to add to its list of quality aftermarket and modeling supply products, this time with a package of ten generic wooden boxes in 1/35th scale.

The small, sturdy box contains three separate baggies of resin parts mounted on casting blocks. Two large, square boxes, three medium-sized rectangular flat boxes and five smaller, square flat boxes. All boxes are solid resin and sealed. All contain excellent fine wood grain and cross members representing generic crates. No decals, markings or instructions are included – although I’m pretty sure instructions aren’t needed here!

The resin boxes must be separated their casting blocks of resin, and this is no simple task. The entire bottoms of the boxes are attached, so it takes a little time and patience to separate the boxes from their backing, and it generates a lot of resin dust.

Review Author
Greg Wise
Published on
Company
MiniArt
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$27.99

History Brief

The Harley-Davidson WLA motorcycle was nicknamed the 'Liberator' because it was used by U.S. soldiers liberating occupied Europe. Harley-Davidson began producing the WLA for the U.S. military in 1940, later entry of the United States into World War II saw significantly increased production, with over 90,000 being produced during the war. The US Army motorcycles were used for police and escort work, courier duties and scouting. They were almost never used as combat vehicles or troop mobility, it was a single-rider design and rarely equipped with sidecars commonly found on the German motorcycles.

According to Wikipedia the model designation breaks down as follows:

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Hauler
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$11.25

Hauler has provided another addition to the great Diorama releases with this Modern Hand Pallet Truck. These were used to manually transport single pallet loads in commercial and military logistics operations.

The detail quality is great; there is a lot of easily removable flash and no other noticeable imperfections. The parts once removed from the mold base are ready to assembly. There is also a small Photo Etch sheet with some very delicate parts that need careful removal and adding to the assembly.

The Assembly is quick and easy. The final part is painted yellow and looks great as an addition to any diorama.

Thanks go to Hauler for providing this kit to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them.

Book Author(s)
Various
Review Author
Paul Mahoney
Published on
Company
Mr. Black Publications
MSRP
$49.95

This is the first in a series of diorama modelling handbooks to be published by Mr. Black Publications (the second has also been released). Mr. Black is a relatively new, European-based company specializing in modeling ‘how-to’ books and modeling-related history books. On their website they also offer a small selection of vignette bases and some pro-built models.

This handbook is in the standard European A4 (roughly 8 ½” x 11”) format, and is printed on very high quality, thick matte paper. There are over 400 photos between the covers.

The contents comprise of 9 articles, each written by a different author, explaining the construction and detailing of vignette-style dioramas. The emphasis is on figure-related dioramas, and the contents are as follows:

Book Author(s)
Stelios Demiras
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Mr. Black Publications
MSRP
$29.95

Mr Black Publications is a fairly new company that publishes several series of Hobby Modelling and History books and magazines. This Scale Model Handbook series covers figures, but other series are devoted to other areas; i.e. armor, aircraft, dioramas, etc. This book contains a unique collection of work that is aimed at all levels of modelers. This issue features seven well known artists who describe their techniques for sculpting and painting their figures or busts. The book itself comes in a nice clear re-sealable cover for protection. The 52 pages include the covers. The inside covers and the last two pages are devoted to figure advertisers. If you visit the product web site, you will find additional photos of the contents.

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
Mr. Black Publications
MSRP
$49.95

This book uses seven dioramas to illustrate several aspects of modeling dioramas and figures, such as scratch built, conversion, figure sculpture & painting, etc. They book covers several popular modeling scales such as 1/35, 1/32, and 1/24. The dioramas cover many historical periods including Roman Empire, the 17th Century, and World War II.

The book is 8-1/2 x 11 inches and printed on matte paper. There are over 450 photographs. Many are low contrast and printed against a dark background, making it hard to discern details. The color intensity is also fairly low so the colors do not pop out.

Contents

1. Elephant Down! Zama, 202 BC - 54mm (1/32)

Book Author(s)
Stelios Demiras
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Mr. Black Publications
MSRP
$29.95

MrBlack Publications is a fairly new company that publishes several series of Hobby Modelling and History books and magazines. This Scale Model Handbook series covers figures, but other series are devoted to other areas; i.e. armour, aircraft, dioramas, etc. This book includes a unique collection of work that is aimed at all levels of modelers. This issue features eight well known artists who describe their techniques for sculpting and painting their figures or busts. The book itself comes in a nice clear re-sealable cover for protection. The 52 pages include the covers. The inside covers and the last two pages are devoted to figure advertisers. If you visit the product web site, you will find additional photos of the contents.