The HMEE-1 is an armored backhoe loader designed for high speeds in order to self-deploy with military convoys, and capable of towing heavy loads with good off-road mobility. It is based on technology from the JCB Fastrac tractors. The maximum speed of the HMEE is 60 mph on improved roads and 25 mph on secondary roads. Wikipedia
From the Airfix kit: The British named the M3 "General Stuart" upon receipt of the tank under the Lend-Lease program in June of 1941. The tank's ability to "shoot and scoot" as well as keeping the crew safe from small fire arms fire, earned an affectionate nickname of "Honey" by its operators. The British cavalry men liked this tank as it could travel 10 to 20 mph faster than their own or enemy tanks, and for its ease of maintenance. The M3s were designed to replace the outdated M2s. The M3 incorporated a thicker armor, lengthened hull, and a trailer idler wheel to act as another road wheel to decrease ground pressure and improve weight distribution.
Bottom Line Up Front: Tamiya knocks it out of the park once more with a well detailed, brilliantly engineered ‘new tool’ kit of an interesting subject. The construction portion of this kit took me about three and a half hours to complete and I did not feel rushed.
The Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) was a pre-WW2 Czech design which compared favorably to early German armor. The German Panzerwaffe adopted the tank shortly before the outbreak of hostilities in 1939. The (t) stands for tschechisch, the German word for Czech. Pz. 38(t)s saw limited service in the invasion of Poland and France. The vast majority of the roughly 1,400 Pz. 38(t)s produced served on the Eastern Front.
For a long time, Airfix has continued the tradition of reboxing their older kits from their 1/76 scale line. Since this is a reissue, despite the newer box with red highlights, this Sherman M4A2 comes from a mold that is pushing 60 years old (and it shows). The kit includes rubber band tracks and a couple of sprues. Given the age of the mold, the parts are in okay conditions, though there is flash. Certainly, the parts are not as crisp as in a new kit, but they are adequate. When you compare this Sherman with newer kits, the details are soft. I can only assume that the vehicles depicted through the decals are new to this reissue.
At the end of WW2 Industries within the US were encouraged to design more sophisticated military equipment based on experiences gained during the war.
The US Navy Bureau of Ships invited multiple civilian engineering firms to submit proposals for a new tracked landing vehicle (LVT). The Borg Warner Company submitted a design for a new LVT. The prototype was completed in August of 1951. It’s large box like structure could transport 34 fully equipped infantry and possessed excellent seaworthiness. The vehicle was designated the LVTP5. Developed concurrently with the LVTP5 was the LVTH6, the support version armed with a turreted 105mm 24L Howitzer. The LVTH6 entered service in 1957 with 210 units produced.
The kit is produced by AFV Club, a well-known model company. The box art work in outstanding! The scene depicts marines landing on a pacific island beach.
Whether I am reviewing his armor books as now, or his aircraft books, like my previous review on the SBD, I am always finding David Doyle’s books to be tremendous additions to the reference bookshelf. I find myself referring to them numerous times, whether for my own projects or to check on something for friends asking advice. The best advice, of course, is to buy themselves their own copy of the book…and this Legends of Warfare volume on the Tigers is no exception.
The book is not the end all or be all purchase that you’ll never need anything else to buy for the library. It is, however, a good place to start for someone transitioning to armor modeling for the first time, or just looking to build one of the various offerings of Tiger kits available. WWII buffs in general will thoroughly enjoy looking through the texts and various photos. Enough babbling…what’s inside Mike?
Brengun, based in the Czech Republic, is known for producing a range of photo-etched and resin accessories for airplane models. They also produce a small number of 1/72nd and 1/144th model sets in both plastic and resin. One of their resin kits is the T-62 Main Battle Tank in 1/144 scale.
The T-62 entered service with Soviet Union in 1961, and remained in service with the former Soviet Union until the early 2000s. Originally, designed as an upgrade to the T-55 series of tanks, the T-62 was the first tank armed with a smoothbore gun and replaced the T-55 as the standard tank of the Soviet army. While the T-62 is no longer in service with the Russian army, it is still commonly seen on today’s modern battlefields in Syria and Yemen.
Guideline License Publications has unveiled a new series, Warpaint Armour. Instead of a monograph on a single aircraft, this series will contain a series of articles that focus on tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles that shaped pivotal moments in the history of modern warfare. Warpaint Armour will showcase articles by a team of experts utilizing the latest research. Each article features historical photographs along with color pics of museum displays or renovated AFVs from World War I to the current day. Each volume will feature eight focused articles and a modelling gallery, showcasing some of the finest models that have been seen in Miltary Modelcraft International over the last decade. Each article will also include specially commissioned color profiles in conjunction with Acrylicos Vallejo model paints.
The author of this tome, Mario Eens, is well known to those on the international modeling scene as an award winner at European model shows, together with being a regular contributor to the excellent French modeling magazine, Steelmasters. The book itself consists of a master class in building, painting and finishing scale models, divided into five chapters, and spanning 128 pages measuring 8” x 10”.
Kagero Publishing is one of the world’s preeminent publishers of military vehicle and aircraft books aimed at the modeling community. The book under review is from their Photosniper series, and the author, Dick Taylor, is a leading author on British military vehicles. The book is 88 pages in length, with a card cover. The pages measure 8.3” by 11.7”, on glossy paper. All the photos within its covers are color, with good production values. There are also three pages of color profiles, covering 6 different vehicles.
