Osprey Publishing has been providing books for enthusiasts since 1968 and since then it has grown, evolved and taken on new challenges until it stands today as one of the most successful examples of niche publishing around.
Dr. Nigel Thomas, PhD, is an accomplished linguist and military historian, formerly at Northumbria University, now a freelance military author, translator and military uniform consultant. His interests are 20th-century military and civil uniformed organizations, with a special interest in Germany, Central and Eastern Europe. He was awarded a PhD on the Eastern enlargement of NATO.
Johnny Shumate works as a freelance illustrator living in Nashville, Tennessee. He began his career in 1987 after graduating from Austin Peay State University. Most of his work is rendered in Adobe Photoshop using a Cintiq monitor. His greatest influences are Angus McBride, Don Troiani, and Édouard Detaille.
When HobbyBoss released a 1/72 kit of the German super siege gun known as ‘Dora’ I knew I wanted one. Unfortunately, I still do not have one in my stash (if anyone get me one cheap I am all ears!) so this book will have to do! As with most Osprey titles, they combine well reproduced historical photographs with artist’s renderings. This book is no different. The broad focus of the book are the super siege guns but it is split between those manufactured by Germany and those from foreign manufacturers that were absorbed by the Wehrmacht. The final part of the book concentrates on their operational history.
There is somewhat of a recent trend in home furnishing circles that gives renewed life to older furniture and kitchen cabinets. The painting technique of which I speak is dry brushing. The trend has even caught the eye of Bob Vila, once and former host of the PBS series 'This Old House'. Bob is no longer affiliated with the program after lambasting (allegedly) a homeowner for being a lazy twit, but that's a story for another time.
This dry brush technique involves dousing your paint brush into the paint of choice, removing almost all of it from the paint brush bristles and applying the minute amount of remaining paint onto the selected object. In the case of a home improvement project that might be cabinet doors or the odd tabletop but for our purposes this missive will focus solely on scale models.
"Peter Sikora makes excellent use of his outstanding knowledge, expertise and passion for history of the Polish Air Force to tell an often-forgotten tale of the Polish Few who fought alongside the British during the Battle of Britain. The author manages to capture in a moving way the reality of life for Polish airmen through personal stories and unique photographs. His work is an important contribution to honouring the memory of those who fought for the freedom of Europe, Britain and their faraway motherland." - Polish Ambassador Arkady Rzegocki.
I have been using enamels for many years (decades) now. Enamel hobby paints are getting harder to find and there are the health considerations on enamels, so I have been exploring different acrylics options out there. I was excited to see I had the chance to review the AMMO products, as some of my modeling buddies had good things to say about them.
Readying the AMMO website, you learn that these paints are odorless, water soluble, and non-toxic. All of those above make these paints interesting alternatives as non-toxicity is a great thing and odorless makes the rest of the family happy.
I have to say that I did find a very faint smell on these paints. It is not strong at all and it is not offensive nor headache-inducing as enamels or lacquers. The best I can describe the smell is ‘earthly’. A bit like mud or clay, from a pottery workshop.
I have been using enamels for many years (decades) now. Enamel hobby paints are getting harder to find and there are the health considerations on enamels, so I have been exploring different acrylic options out there. I was excited to see the chance to review the AMMO products, as some of my modeling buddies had good things to say about them.
Reading the AMMO website, you learn that these paints are odorless, water soluble and non-toxic. All of those above make these paints interesting alternatives as non-toxicity is a great thing and odorless makes the rest of the family happy.
I have to say that I did find a very faint smell on these paints. It is not strong at all and it is not offensive nor headache-inducing as enamels or lacquers. The best I can describe the smell is ‘earthly’. A bit like mud or clay, from a pottery workshop.
This new photo book series presents various selections of rare wartime photographs. They are selected based on numerous subjects. Each volume introduces photographs from battles, operations, vehicles, or complete photo albums from soldiers who fought in World War Two.
This volume is divided into two separate subjects. The first part presents a number of new photographs from the personal photo album of Oberleutnant d.R Peter Prien who began his army career with Pz.Nachr.Abt.37 with 1.Panzer-Division in January 1941 and finished the war as Führer of the Stabskompanie of Pz.Rgt.3 of 2.Panzer-Division. His album contains mostly photos of his time with 2.Panzer-Division around the time of the Kursk battles. The second part presents a series of photographs of the 8.8cm Flak 18 mounted on the chassis of the Sd.Kfz.8 half-track officially known as the 8.8cm Flak 18 Sfl. auf schwere Zugkraftwagen 12 t (Sd.Kfz.8) als Fahrgestell. Most are new and previously unpublished.
I recently started to learn how to do German Longsword training, so this book was perfectly timed for me.
In common with the Osprey Weapons series of books, this paperback book consists of 80 pages with colorful illustrations throughout.
Swords have always fascinated me, whether it was Excalibur or Light Sabers, the thrill of sword play has spanned the history of modern man. The Longsword came into fashion in the 1300s until the 1500s as weapons and until the 1700s as sporting weapons. The study of Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) has really taken off in the last few decades. This book is a great introduction of the longsword both as a weapon and a tactical, economic, and social artifact.
If you are looking for something a little different for your next build, want to have some fun, and even possibly remember your youth a bit, the folks at Round2 have released the kit for you! This Schwinn Continental 10-Speed is part of the MPC line of kits and follows their previous release of the Schwinn “Classic Krate” bikes. This was a quick build with no construction issues, and I would highly recommend it for modelers of all skill levels.
First released in 1960 for an astonishing $86.95, the Schwinn 10-speed was produced for 22 years and was the American standard for this style of bike for many of those years. While the steel frame is now incredibly heavy when compared to the materials used today, for a generation, these were the gold standard. Available in an assortment of sizes and colors, the bikes remain collectors’ items even today.
