Reviews of products for scale miscellaneous models.

Book Author(s)
Graeme Davis
Review Author
James Binder
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$18.00

The year is 1947, Operation High Jump is under way and will become a disaster. Admiral Byrd says it was due to weather and conditions in the Antarctic, but was it really? Could an attack by Nazi UFO craft have damaged and destroyed the High Jump fleet and aircraft? Did this cause the Nazi’s to then leave for an even more remote location to regroup and plan their ultimate revenge against the allies? That location…. The Moon!

Osprey Publishing brings us the new Osprey Adventures book “Nazi Moonbase”, written by Graeme Davis and illustrated by Darren Tan. This 80-page book gives an inside look at what the Nazi Moonbase is, what it’s made of, and how it got to be up there in the first place.

The book is broken down into chapters that delve into the beginnings of the Nazi space program to its present day status. Some of the chapters include

Review Author
Mark Costello
Published on
Company
Academy Models
MSRP
$22.98

From the MRC website listed above,

Da Vinci was fascinated by how timepieces operate. Based on one of his sketches, it uses the laws of motion and a vertical “flying” pendulum escapement to keep accurate time.
The pendulum’s weights, in a bucket suspended from a crane-style arm, act as the clock’s power source. The weights propel the pendulum from vertical post to vertical post. As it “flies” it turns precision gears, which in turn keep time. To speed up or slow the clock, adjust the weight-balance of the pendulum by adding or removing weights.

Kit

The kit comes packaged in a sturdy cardboard box with 2 bags of parts and the instruction manual.

One of the bags contains the parts molded in brown plastic that resembles wood grain. Included in this is 1 sprue containing 6 parts, 1 loose base, 1 loose top piece (C2) and 2 loose clock faces.

Book Author(s)
Steven J. Zaloga
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$24.00

This book covers the end of World War II in Europe from the campaign level. There is little examination of tactics or individual heroism; instead it looks at the challenges and opportunities faced by the top-level military leaders as the Third Reich neared its end.

Until I read this book, I had the concept that the Western Allies (US, Britain, France) had a pretty easy time after stopping the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944, and moved up to the Elbe River line to wait for the Russians. At the same time, I thought the Russians were pretty much beating up on the Germans and making their way toward Berlin and eventual victory. I was pretty much wrong.

Book Author(s)
Stephen A. Hart
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$24.00

This book covers the British/Canadian offensive to close the Falaise Pocket. After D-Day, the Allies were in a pocket surrounded by German troops and the ocean, and pretty much stuck in Normandy. The Wehrmacht, thinking the British forces in the north part of the pocket to be more likely to go on the offensive, moved their spare forces north to block a breakout.

The Allies were planning dual offenses in late July, having brought reinforcements in across the beaches and through the ports they held. Bad weather postponed these until Operation Cobra, the attack by the Americans in the south began. Cobra effectively destroyed the German defenses in the south, but left the center and northern forces intact.

The armored force continued to advance, and began to encircle the German forces opposite the center.

Book Author(s)
Stephen Bull
Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$20.00

Now that we stand 100 years from “The War to End All Wars”, it seems reasonable to step back a bit and reflect on the vast changes this war instigated, not the least being the changes to warfare itself. The Maxim machine gun was used in some form by virtually all of the belligerents in that war (France notwithstanding), but nowhere to the effect that the German Army employed it. Looking back, it seems amazing that not every military mind of the age was able to perceive the terrible impact such a device would have on combat, in a time when the “line charge” was still regarded as a staple of tactical thinking. Nonetheless, it was the German army that realized how such a piece of equipment could help make up the disparity in military might between a relatively new nation and a host of other nations amassed against them. It also ruthlessly brought the tactics of warfare into the industrial age.

Book Author(s)
Leigh Neville
Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$19.00

The Rangers are an elite arm of the United States Army that ostensibly traces its roots back to Roger’s Rangers of Revolutionary War fame. More plausibly, this unit was created shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and has served as a highly trained mobile strike arm of the U.S. Army ever since.

This most intriguing book delves into their operations, training and equipment during the tumultuous latter portion of the 20th Century into operations taking place right now, showing a snapshot of a force which utilizes the very latest in technology and techniques to keep them in the forefront of elite military forces around the world.

Review Author
Steve Collins
Published on
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$10.00

Model Art Issue 922 is typical of other Model Art magazines in that it is written entirely in Japanese, with occasional English words, usually in article titles or in captions. This issue shows a large photo spread of the result of a conversion of the 1/350 Tamiya Yamato to the Musashi, specifically as she currently is, lying on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Also, there’s a pretty good review of the Wolfpack release of the US Navy T-2 Buckeye training jet. Plus, there are lots of advertisements showing what is available and new, always useful for building up that wish list.

Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$10.31

Model Art Issue 940 is typical of other Model Art magazines in that it is written entirely in Japanese, with occasional English words, usually in article titles or in captions. The Model Art magazine is a monthly issue that has evolved from their first issues in 1966 that focuses on all modeling subjects. I’ve attempted to capture the contents below, but please be aware of translation difficulties. There are about 40 pages of advertising, out of the 160 pages, showing what is available and new, always useful for building up that wish list. Nearly all the articles are supported with color photos. A few of the ongoing series are supported with black and white drawings and photos

Review Author
Phil Peterson
Published on
Company
Italeri
Scale
1/547
MSRP
$24.99

On October 28th, 1886 a gift from France was dedicated in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty. I am sure most of you are familiar with it and those who want to read it’s fascinating history can find much more online than I can give you here. However, I can relate my personal experiences with the Lady of Liberty.

Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Rinaldi Studio Press
MSRP
$20.00

This is Michael Rinaldi’s second book in this series, the first being on the Industria Mechanika 1/35 FichtenFoo's Fantastical Fish-shaped Submersible resin kit. This issue focuses on the Trumpeter Stalinetz S.65 Russian Army tractor kit. The Single Model (SM) series represents a focus on a specific kit and as such is a limited edition (i.e. Only One Print Run!). This singular focus permits Michael Rinaldi to tackle topics outside of his successful TankArt series and allows him to address finishes that he has not attempted before. Indeed, the next in this series is on the Bandai Sazabi Master Grade Mobile Suit. A core premise of the new book series is to explore and redefine artistic and creative finishes for each subject.