And now for something completely different! UGears contacted us and offered to send a number of kits; I believe this is the first review of the group. UGears is a Ukrainian company started in 2015, and UB LLC are their US Distributor. Their extensive product line is well worth taking a look at if you’re a fan.
Price: RB-T028: €7 (approximately $9.23) plus S&H; RB-T043: €9 (approximately $11.87) plus S&H
First off, my apologies to the good folks at RB Productions for a late review. RB were present at this year’s Nationals in Chattanooga and were kind enough to provide us with a number of samples including these two delicate p/e stencils. Each is a carefully etched piece of brass material, the smaller measuring 2” by 3” and the larger, about 4” by 3”. They are easily bent in either axis which comes in handy for use on contoured surfaces, and I suppose one could cut them into smaller sections for use on cockpits. (Beware of some very sharp and fragile edges, however).
UMM-USA continues it tradition of innovative and useful tools with part MN040, a Flexible Scribing Ruler. What comes in the package it a 6.5-inch-long thin stainless steel ruler. I say ruler but there are really no demarcation lines on it like what is usually thought of as a ruler. But that does not affect its use at all. This can be used in combination with any of the UMM-USA scribing tools or the Template Scriber. The ruler is 0.08mm (about 0.003 inches) thick and is very flexible and strong and can work on curved surfaces.
This series by Pen & Sword features photographs from each year of the Second World War. This first volume includes photographs and illustrations of the first year, 1939 to 1940, and covers the contributing factors that led to the outbreak of hostilities. The book includes 750 images and photographs in a picture strip or collage style. It’s a quick, convenient, visual history of the first year of World War II. The text is in sidebars or captions for the photos and is easy to read. The text and photos are in chronological order as events unfolded
The book is packed with photos on each page like a collage, and includes captions describing the events and people in the photographs. Maps and illustrations of military movements, reproductions of posters, newspapers, and other historical documents are also included. The images are mostly black and white, but there is a 32-page section of color photos and images in the center of the book.
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 48th scale ruler and the EZ-Read ruler.
Both rulers are clear (that is great for whenever you are looking at drawings) and about 1/16th 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!)
In February 2014 the “Maidan Revolution” in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv toppled the pro-Moscow government of President Yanukovych. This started a process which led to Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, and an undeclared bloody war in southeastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.
Armies of Russia’s War in Ukraine describes the forces on both sides and how they have evolved since 2014. The book includes Orders of Battle for both regular and militia forces, descriptions of the motley range of wartime units and their weapons and equipment. Color photographs and color illustrations of the uniforms and equipment for the various combatants are also included.
The book does not discuss the political issues that precipitated the conflict or any of the current political issues but focuses on the combatants in the Ukrainian conflict.
The first 3 chapters give a brief description of the Ukrainian conflict:
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.
UMM-USA is one of the premier tool makers in the modeling market. John Vojtech has made many of these based upon his needs for his award-winning models. This is the Precision Sprue & Wire Cutter. This version, 02, has a rounded end. The piece comes in a plastic sleeve for easy storage.
So, let’s take a look at the cutter. I personally like the rounded end version as it allows great vision for cutting. The end comes to a sharp point and that allows a fine cut on smaller parts. The part is “springy” and acts like tweezers. Because of the action at the cutting end, it allows for a very flush cut and leaves almost no clean up necessary.
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
One of my favorite start of the new month activities is to head to Barnes and Noble on a Friday afternoon and peruse the new model magazines. I usually only buy one or two each month, but it is part of my routine. Apparently though, my solitary habits aren’t enough to sustain the space on the shelves as my local shop isn’t stocking much as of late. So I was happy to see this sample of SMMI show up with another review. Here’s the breakdown of what’s inside:
T-34 Captured - looks at Robin Gilby’s 1/35 ICM Pz.Kpfw T-34-747(r) - more so an overview of the painting process with no real in-build photos...describes paint and weathering stages.
The Desert General - Modelers Masterclass article on Robin Gilby’s 1/35 Tamiya Leclerc Series II build- this one describes the actual build, but again- photos only represent the tank during the painting and weathering stages.
