This book from the Images of War series, consists of 239 pages of mixed text, maps and black & white photos of the campaign to recapture the Philippines during WW II. There are seven chapters and an epilogue that cover the background to US involvement in the islands, the Japanese conquest of the islands, the terrain involved , the weapons used, brief bios of the principle commanders, the invasions of Leyte and Luzon and the recapture of Manila and the mopping up invasions in the remaining islands. While the historical text is relatively brief, it is only intended to provide context for the pictures. The photographic coverage of the campaign is extensive with over 250 photos of personnel, weapons and vehicles (which usually include a brief description), and pictures during and after the battle. The book is valuable in that many of the photos are rarely, if ever, seen and it covers a campaign that has a tendency to be either only briefly covered or overlooked entirely.

"From the moment the DDR was formed in 1949, many of its citizens chose to leave to start a new life in the West. By the mid-1950s, the trickle had turned into a flood as large numbers rejected Walter Ulbricht’s Communist paradise. His ‘Workers’ & Peasants’ State’ could not afford to lose the skills and productivity from these key workers, so he proposed a radical solution – physically stop them leaving by fencing in the whole population. His plan would fortify the Inner German Border from the Baltic to the Czech border and would build a Wall around West Berlin to stop the flow of East German refugees to the West. It was a bold, innovative, and desperate move from a morally bankrupt and failing state.

AMMO has added a new way to apply some products already in their extensive collection of “liquids” for weathering our models. The Effects Brushers come in an elongated 10 ml bottle 4.25” tall and 0.625" in diameter with a special cap 1.5” long. This cap houses a narrow, pointed brush 3.5” long and sports a painting tip with long bristles. My review samples are: Fresh Engine Oil (1800), Fuel Stains (1801), and Wet Effects (1802). There are currently 20 different effects supplied by these Brushers. Being enamel based, they allow the modeler a lot of time to “work” the effect. AMMO suggest using their Enamel Odorless Thinner to thin the product and clean up afterwards. Although these particular weathering effects are available in other containers, the advantage here is the built in brush with an inherent ease of application. With everything ready to go in one bottle, applying these different effects will be easier, faster, and cleaner and with little waste.

To start my review, I want to thank Phil Peterson for his efforts at the IPMS Nationals in reaching out to vendors for products for the IPMS Review Corps. As a result of his work this year, I can review for you the ScaleFinish SUPERgloss clear coat, which I had great results with, and would highly recommend. Spraying the product at 20 psi using my airbrush, I had no issues getting the results I wanted.

Packaged in a plastic 2-ounce bottle, SUPERgloss only has the following instructions on the label, “pre-thinned” and “Shake well before use. Spray at 20-30 psi.” The product is an acrylic enamel, so it does have a mild aroma when used, but nothing too bad.

Ammo By MIG’s new paint set “DAK (Africa Korps) Uniforms” includes six 17ml bottles of water-based acrylics. Each bottle has a steel ball inside to speed up the mixing of the paint when shaking the bottle. The colors included are: Dark Olive Green F-503, Pale Yellow Green F-505, Field Grey Shadow F-514, Dark Brown F-533, Italian Green Camo F-535, and Ochre Brown F-546 (photo-1). These colors are intended for painting German World War Two tropical army uniforms as worn by the Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK). After the German surrender in North Africa these same uniforms were authorized for summer use in southern Europe, so the modeler can put these paints to use on more subjects than the label would suggest. The paints come packaged in a small paper box illustrated with a miniature of a grumpy-looking DAK officer to serve as a painting example (photo-2). The back of the box has a color key to illustrate which paints were used for each item of clothing (photo-3).