Master Piece Models has an impressive collection of tools for scratch building all kind of projects. Among those tools they have rulers and scale rulers (a ruler that reads you the dimension of the model, ‘scaled’ to the real object).

In this review I’ll cover two of such rules: The 48^th scale ruler and the EZ-Read ruler.

Both rulers are clear (that is great for whenever you are looking at drawings) and about 1/16^th inch thick. They are slightly flexible, but I wouldn’t try to bend them much. They are laser engraved and very easy to read, given the contrast of the engraved number and the clarity of the material.

The MMR-48 scale ruler is 6 inches long and has scaled readings in both meters and feet. The EZ-Read ruler is 12 inches long (only imperial units) and has all the intermediate measurements in 1/8 of an inch increments in one side and 1/16 on the other side (no more guessing if 11/16 is smaller than ¾!)

During the IPMS USA Nationals this year, John Vojtech was kind enough to provide several of his tools from Unique Master Models (UMM) to the IPMS Review Corps, and this was one of the items I was fortunate enough to receive. Consisting of an ergonomic plastic handle, eight drill bits, and a bit removal tool, everything you need for drilling small holes is provided in one convenient set.

Measuring 120mm in length, the handle is quite comfortable to hold and the drill bits easily slide into an opening in the end. The drill bits are designed with a grooved base that securely locks into the handle. The bits are 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, and 1.0mm in size, which are sizes commonly called out in kit instructions, and UMM recommends this set for fine detail work. The wedge-shaped removal tool aids in quickly changing out the bits.

This illustrated photo album includes over 120 B&W pictures of the Kaiserliche und Königliche Eisenbahn-Bau Kompanie unit (German Imperial Railway Construction Company) which operated during early stages of WW1 in the Western Galicia, now southern Poland. The railways are mostly narrow gauge.

The book uses black & white photographs to illustrate various construction or repair projects by the K.U.K in Western Galicia during the early WWI years between 1914-15. Captions are provided with each of the photos to describe the location and content of the photo. The photos are clear, and many show damaged bridges being built or repaired with descriptions of various construction methods and materials. A brief, but detailed outline of military operations provides context for the projects.

The railway projects are organized in these towns or areas:

General Outline of Military Operations in Western Galicia between August 1914 and mid-September 1915

For a good long while, Mig Jimenez has been designing and producing products that make modelers lives so very much easier. In the case of this set of washes, AMMO has packaged up a “basic” set that includes an assortment of colors that would fit the bill for anyone trying to create a foundation for weathering their model of any sort. This set provides the easiest solution to the novice modeler who is just starting in the hobby and does not really know what is needed, and adds another tool to the toolbox for the intermediate or advanced modeler.

The set includes the following five washes:

This fine book is yet another in Osprey’s Air Campaign series. It concerns itself with the massive bombing efforts over Germany in late 1943 through 1944. The author provides an excellent overview it’s chronology, including the daylight bombing raids over Berlin, Hanover, Peenemünde, Hamburg, Magdeburg, Stettin, Leipzig, Augsburg and numerous other targets.

Of particular interest is the outline the leadership and organization of both allied offensive and the German defensive forces—both in terms of the array of aircraft, bases and the defensive guns and equipment utilized by both axis and allies.