Reviews of products for scale military vehicle models.

Review Author
Eric Christianson
Published on
February 11, 2023
Company
Trumpeter
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$76.29

Trumpeter has recently released several WWII German, truck-mounted Flak platforms based on the Mercedes Benz L4500A, including the subject of this review. As with previous releases, Trumpeter continues to stick to its roots in providing interesting and often one-of-a-kind subjects for a competitive price.

The L4500 was a heavy-duty truck built by Daimler-Benz from 1939–44 in the Mercedes-Benz plant at Gaggenau, and from 1944–45 by Saurer. The long-bed vehicle was built as both a rear-wheel-drive truck (L4500S) and as an all-wheel-drive truck (L4500A). The German Wehrmacht used the L4500 with armored cabins as Flak trucks during World War II. Due to the lack of production material, the cabin was replaced with the simplified standardized Wehrmacht cabin and the mud wings with simplified wings in 1943. The L4500 chassis was also modified as a halftrack for use on the Eastern Front.

Review Author
Eric Christianson
Published on
February 11, 2023
Company
Italeri
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$36.93

Modeling powerhouse Italeri has re-released an old classic; the British Crusader Mk III, this time with updated decals and an all-new figure set. The Crusader was used extensively in the North African campaign and, while ideally suited for combat in desert terrain, it’s light armor and moderate armament were not able to adequately match the German anti-tank guns and vast mine fields, causing substantial losses on allied forces.

Opening the Box

After building newer kits with hundreds of parts, photo-etch sheets, brass barrels, and multi-part track links, opening the Italeri Crusader box was breath of fresh air.

Book Author(s)
Ali Altobchi
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
February 11, 2023
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

The history of Iraq is largely a history of civilization and Iraq today largely corresponds with the territory of ancient Mesopotamia. Skipping ahead several millennia and modern-day Iraq largely corresponds with the Ottoman Wilayets (administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire) of the Mosul, Baghdad, and Basra Provinces. The British influence dates after World War I and held sway, particularly with weapons and doctrine through the Tammuz Revolution of 1958. The Ba’ath Party came to power in 1969 with Saddam Hussein as the Vice-Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, second only to Major General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr.

Review Author
Chris Martin
Published on
February 11, 2023
Company
Academy Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$69.00

Summary

The kit builds up into a nice replica of the Jagdpanther Ausf G1. And while it has some odd points the overall look is spot on. The model is well detailed, but one must watch for option call-outs for the different vehicles. The parts layout and build sequence is simple and straight forward.

Background

The Jagdpanther G-1 was a dedicated tank destroyer based on the chassis of the Panther Ausf A. Armed with the formidable 88mm Pak 43 anti-tank gun, it first entered service in early 1944. Serving on both the Western and Eastern fronts, the Jagdpanther was capable of disabling any tank of the period, up to and including the heavily armed and armored Soviet IS-2. However, like many German innovations, it was too little, too late. With only 415 Jagdpanthers produced by the end of the war it appeared in too few numbers to make a difference in the course of the war.

Book Author(s)
Alexey Tarasov
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
February 7, 2023
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$22.95

Red Army Auxiliary Armored Vehicles 1930-1945 is a very well researched and written book on a relatively unknown subject. With less fanfare than the armored combat vehicles that did the actual fighting, these are the Russian vehicles in support and auxiliary service that made a lot of the fighting possible. This book is a departure from the usual Images of War format. Rather than a brief summary of the chapter to come with a dizzying number of great photographs, the first 61 pages of this 152-page book is all text with detailed footnotes. The photographic sections are broken into 1930-1940 and 1941-1945.

Book Author(s)
Peter Mujzer
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
February 1, 2023
Company
Kagero Publishing
MSRP
$26.95

Casemate Publishers has released a book on the Hungarian Armored Car Csaba 39/40M.

The book is organized as follows.

  • Introduction
  • Straussler and his designs
  • Design and development of the Csaba armored car
  • Production
  • Armored car units, organization
  • Operational History
  • Camouflage and Markings
  • Bibliography

The flow of the book is chronological by the nature of how it was written, starting with the design of the vehicle by Nicholas Straussler (while living in the United Kingdom) and quickly moves on the production, units organization and operational history with the Hungarian Army.

There are some color profiles which highlight the different camouflage schemes used by the Hungarian Army during the early years of World War 2, plus all the different national markings used in the pre-Barbarossa era..

Book Author(s)
Przemyslaw Skulski
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
February 1, 2023
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$11.95

Casemate Publishers is the distributor of MMP Books and they have started a new line on their series “Single”. This new line is focused on vehicles and the first installment of the series cover the self-propelled artillery SU-76M, a mainstay of the Soviet Army during World War 2.

As all the books in the “Single” series, it is devoted to a unique subject. The book has some period pictures of the SU-76M in service during World War 2 and it has an extensive walk-around style section, including detail images of the running gear, gun, hull, fighting compartment, etc.

The book also includes a 3-view line drawing in 1/35 scale and some color profiles as well.

Recommended.

I would like to thank Casemate Publishers and IPMS/USA for the review sample.

Review Author
Ben Morton
Published on
January 31, 2023
Company
ICM
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$18.99

This is a great kit! If you typically model in 1/72nd scale this will make a fine addition to a diorama or vignette involving any mid 1950's to current scenes. Assembly is straight forward with minimal effort, paints up nice and more than looks the part of an airfield mobile electric truck. You may wish to buy several copies....

This release from ICM Holding of an airfield mobile electric truck, the APA-50M, is a welcome addition to their 1/72nd line of soft skinned vehicles. Detail has not been sacrificed but it has been simplified. (No complete engine, for instance.) The engine (lower portion only), air tanks, power take-off, drive shafts, suspension and axles are all individual parts. Which is where assembly begins.

Book Author(s)
Eric Lefevre
Review Author
Orlando Reyes
Published on
January 25, 2023
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$38.95

This is the eighth printing of this book detailing the Battle of Normandy. The book is divided into an introduction, 21 sections, a glossary and a comparative rank section at the end. The first section is dedicated to the table of organization of the regiments that participated in the battle. This is followed by a description of the principal and ancillary vehicles in battle. Next section is dedicated to the units involved, and describes each unit participating in the events. This section is divided in the units of the SS and Heer in combat. A small section talks about the retreat of the German forces in the area after the Battle of the Fallaise Pocket, followed by another section describing what is left of the battle. The book ends with a glossary and a comparative rank table.

Review Author
Eric Christianson
Published on
January 24, 2023
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$13.49

Kiev, Ukraine-based ICM is back with a new offering from its infantry support heavy-weapons line, this time with a WWII German s.Gr.W.34 8cm Mortar. This nice little one-hour build comes with a bunch of extra goodies, and will fit right into a diorama or open halftrack/truck bed. This highly detailed and diminutive subject includes a deployed mortar, three ammunition boxes with lids, four single mortar rounds, two rifles and several other pieces of personal gear.

History

The 8 cm s.Gr.W.34 was an adaptation for use in self-propelled mountings and employed conventional 8 cm 3.5 kg shells (high explosive or smoke) with percussion fuses. Its range could be extended by fitting up to three additional powder charges between the shell tailfins.