I am often in a quandary with how to begin an IPMS/USA product review (It usually doesn’t last too long.) More often than not I'll just use the material that the manufacturers have made available via their websites. So, without further ado, via AMMO/MiG's website:

“Which are the most basic pigment colors a modeler needs to get started? Which are the most used colors across all types of modeling subjects including aircraft, ships, military vehicles, or spacecraft? This set (First Aid Basics) provides the easiest solution to the novice modeler who is just starting in the hobby and does not really know what is needed.

John Vojtech and the people at UMM-USA (Unique Master Models) have come up with yet another tool that is well worth having in your collection. The Profiler Scribing and Contour Guide is a very versatile tool to help you with scribing and replicating inside and outside contours of your models.

Modelers may need to find the exterior or interior contours of parts to either scratch-build additional parts or shape/sand kit pieces to fit better. The guide is made from a thin piece of pliable metal and covered with a non-slip material. The metal can be bent in several contour position without breaking it and once bent has no memory. The guide also is sold with a blue straw like holder with plugs at either end, so it is easy to find when you want to use it.

The guide can be bent and placed on a model lined up with areas to be scribed and taped down so it does not move, then a scriber can be used along the guide.

The American Civil War is a study in contrasts and similarities. Historians make a living comparing and contrasting both sides from every angle conceivable. Commanders, battlefields, tactics, and weapons are the usual subjects and this book focuses on the Sharpshooting arena. Published by our friends at Osprey Publishers, Union Sharpshooter VS Confederate Sharpshooters is authored by Gary Yee. Period photos, drawings, and maps convey a study in comparison and contrast in three battles where sharpshooters played an important role. A brief introduction opens the book, followed by chapters that cover the opposing sides, Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, Battery Wagner, an analysis, and the aftermath. A select bibliography and index complete the narrative. The book is printed on heavy stock paper and tells its story on 80 pages.

John Vojtech, the genius behind UMM-USA, gave us a nice collection of tools at the Chattanooga National Convention this year. I have the privilege of reviewing a handful of them and here’s #1.

If you’ve never used a UMM product (and why not?), they are exquisitely manufactured. This particular tool is an extremely narrow (0.8mm/0.031 inch) chisel mounted in a sturdy, contoured plastic handle. The blade tip is a grooved, wedge shape.

What’s it good for? Removing minute amounts of material in a controlled fashion – ejector pins, molded on detail that’s to be replaced, flash removal, scribing detail into small parts, etc. I have been attempting to do this with an X-Acto knife all along, now that I have this tool I can actually maneuver the cutting surface into the immediate area rather than trying to cut at multiple angles and clean up the resulting carnage <g>.

So, before we get into the specifics of the book. Here is a little about the author and illustrator. Dr Nic fields is the author of this publication and many others so he is not a stranger to the osprey family or to my memory. He’s a veteran of the Royal Marines, biochemist and historian so I guess you could say a jack of all trades. He does a lot of his research writing and editorials freelance.

Peter Dennis is another star contributor of the Osprey book family and is a graduate of the Liverpool art college. He’s has illustrated hundreds of books and I have quite a few examples of them , a sharp eye for accuracy and consistency your not going to find a bigger name than Pete when it comes to the historical art community.

Here we breakdown the contents of the book.