Value Gear resin products are well known to most modelers for the excellent quality resin stowage and gear to use on your models and diorama scenes. Owner Steve Munsell is a quality guy who, more often than not, throws in some extra pieces into most of the packages and one package can often inhabit more than a couple builds if used wisely- or you can completely deck out one model if you wish. His 1/16 product lines are growing as more companies release more 1/16 scale kits.

What’s Inside the Box

This set contains a small zip bag with five 75mm ammo crates for whatever 1/16 scale StuG or Panzer is sitting in your stash. A card with preparation and priming instructions are included. The quality is excellent in this scale and one might want to ding them up a bit to add some variety to the five– but the details of the wood grain, nail holes for the cross slats, and strap enclosures are amazing.

The book “The East Pomeranian Offensive, 1945: Destruction of German Forces in Pomerania and West Prussia” is a fully illustrated account of the offensive that took place before the Soviets pushed toward Berlin in 1945. Before that final drive toward the Nazi capital, the Russians wanted to clear the areas in the northern part of occupied Poland and reach the Baltic Sea to ensure the northern flank of the Red Army was secured during their advance toward Berlin. The Soviet advance created a series of German encirclement's that had to be dealt with. Many of the encircled areas were heavily fortified, although the fast Russian drive forced the German to build some of these fortifications in haste, making them less effective. There were some key cities like Danzig and Kolberg (today’s Gdańsk and Kołobrzeg, respectively) that the Germans were determined to hold at all cost to ensure an uninterrupted route for supplying their troops by the sea remained in place.

Pig Models is a model company based in Taiwan. It was established in 2016 with a commitment to providing interesting model kits. I first became aware of the company with their release of their 1/1 scale German Tiger II 8.8cm Pzgr.39/43 (APCBC-HE) L71 Shell Replica [Kit # 1-002]. They have also released 1/1 scale variants, 8.8cm Pzgr.39 (APCBC) L/56 Shell Replica [Kit # 1-001] and 8.8cm Sprgr. 43 (HE) kwk43 L71 Shell Replica [Kit# 1-004]. Since then, Pig Models has released over a dozen unique and interesting kits.

Jon Diamond, MD, is a U.S.-based kidney specialist enthusiastic about World War II history. An avid collector of historical photographs, he has authored several titles in Pen and Sword's Images of War series, including Stilwell and the Chindits, War in the South Pacific, Invasion of Sicily, Invasion of the Italian Mainland: Salerno to Gustav Line, 1943–1944,Onto Rome 1944: Anzio and Victory at Cassino, and Beyond Rome to the Alps: Across the Arno and Gothic Line, 1944–1945. His works also include Op Plunder: The Rhine River Crossing.

Book Specifics

With over 220 black-and-white images, Normandy Beyond The Beaches is the latest offering from Pen and Sword, published in December 2024. This 209-page book measures 6.75 by 9.5 inches and includes an introduction, six chapters, an epilogue, and a bibliography.

Volume 1 of Operativo Independencia (Operation Independence) covers the period from 1955 to 1974 in Argentina which was a period of political upheaval and change. This volume considers both the insurgencies and government responses. This is the precursor to the “Dirty War” which will hopefully be covered in Volume 2 or more.

The Table of Contents is small:

• Abbreviations
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction

1. Subversive Groups in Argentina, 1955-1974
2. Campora, Lastiri, Peron & Peron, 1955-1974
3. The Argentine Armed Forces in the mid-1970’s
4. The ERP and the Montoneros organizations

• Epilogue
• Appendices

The book is a history of the rise of Marxist groups from their beginnings in the 1950’s, the influence by Cuba, and their reign of chaos. Also detailed is the response of the well equipped and trained Argentine Armed Forces.