Reviews of products for scale miscellaneous models.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
January 12, 2024
Company
Special Hobby
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$11.79

The M1A1 2.36-inch AT Rocket Launcher (aka ‘Bazooka’) is a smooth-bore, breech-loading, electrically operated shoulder weapon of the ‘open’ steel tube type. It is fired from the shoulder in either standing, kneeling, sitting, or prone position. The Rocket Launcher is used to launch high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rockets against tanks, armored vehicles, pillboxes, and other emplacements. The ammunition consists of rockets capable of penetrating heavy armor at angles of impact up to 30 degrees. The weapon itself can be aimed up to distances of 300 yards. The Rocket Launcher has a maximum range of 700 yards. The M1A1 improved upon the M1 with less weight, more simplified and reliable design, improved electrical system and removal of a forward hand grip.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
January 12, 2024
Company
Special Hobby
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$16.69

The M1917 Browning is a crew-served, belt-fed, water-cooled heavy machine gun used by the United States armed forces in World War I and World War II, through the Korean War (National Guard and Reserve units had them in their inventory through the 1970s). It was also employed by over a dozen foreign militaries. The M1917 had a long life and modelers have a plethora of options for a model of this ubiquitous machine gun in 1/35 scale.

Special Hobby hit it out of the park with this mixed media kit. A bulk of the parts are 3D printed resin with a PE fret. The kit comes with the machine gun, gun cradle (with traverse and elevation mechanism), tripod, water condensing can, and two sets of ammo cans (wooden WWI and steel WWII) – one closed and one opened. The modeler will have to source a wire piece for the cradle and flexible wire/rubber for the cooling water tube.

Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
January 8, 2024
Company
Green Stuff World
MSRP
$3.95

Green Stuff World (GSW) is a company based out of Spain. It is specialized in the design and production of tools, paints, and other types of resources for modeling, crafts, and wargames. GSW has provided IPMS-USA two (2) bottles of textured acrylic paint for review.

In the Bottle

The paint is packaged in a 30 ml bottle and comes in Fluorescent Red and Fluorescent Blue. Inside the paint has a consistency of thick paste with granules mixed in to give it texture. It is water based and can be thinned if needed.

Book Author(s)
Bill Norton
Review Author
Marc K. Blackburn
Published on
December 26, 2023
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

Helion has added another volume in their on-going series of modern conflicts in the Middle East. This is the first of a projected three volumes covering the War of Attrition between Israel and its Arab neighbors between the end of the Six Day War in 1967 and the beginning of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. If you have read any of Helion’s books on modern conflicts, this book follows a familiar outline. There are seven chapters providing a broad international context for the war. Events are outlined with an in-depth focus of the forces available with particular attention to the air forces of the various powers. It is richly illustrated with mostly black and white photographs contemporary to the conflict. In the center you will find color profiles of Israeli and Arab armies' ground and air equipment. The book finishes with an extensive bibliography of related works.

Book Author(s)
Benjamin Lai and Zhang Yiming
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
December 23, 2023
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

The Sino-Soviet border conflict was a seven-month undeclared military conflict between the Soviet Union and China in 1969, exacerbating the Sino-Soviet split during China’s Cultural Revolution. This book focuses on the Chinese perspective (another book in Casemate Publishers/Helion Company Asia @War series No.21 - The Sino-Soviet Border War of 1969, Volume 1 - First Clash at Damansky Island, and No. 23 - The Sino-Soviet Border War of 1969, Volume 2 – Confrontation at Lake Zhalanashkol) focuses on the Soviet perspective). The Battle of Damansky (Soviet name)/ Zhenbao (Chinese name) Island in the Ussuri (Wusuli) River in Manchuria, was a series of battles between the two largest Communist powers. While there were other skirmishes, the two battles outlined in this book are tied together well, with the Battle of Zhenbao (Damansky) Island (March–May 1969) being the most important and decisive, and the Tielieketi (Lake Zhalanashkol) Incident (13 August 1969).

Book Author(s)
Massimiliano Afiero. Translated by Raphael Riccio
Review Author
Orlando Reyes
Published on
February 11, 2024
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$28.95

The book is part of the Casemate Illustrated series. This is the second and final book dealing with this unit of the German Army during WWII. The scope of the book extends from Operation Goodwood to April 1945. The book is divided into 9 sections along with an Epilogue, Bibliography, and Index. At the beginning of the book, you will find a section called "The Timeline of Events." This section recaps some of the actions in Vol.#1 and then talks about the contents of this volume. This is a very concise, yet informative section.

Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
December 22, 2023
Company
ICM
MSRP
$12.99

ICM is a hobby company based out of Ukraine. They have provided IPMS-USA a six (6) bottle acrylic paint set for review.

In the Box

The paint set contains six (6) 12ml bottles with nontoxic water based acrylic paints. Inside each bottle is an agitator ball to help mix when shaking. The following colors are provided:

  • Dark Blue (1077)
  • Black (1002)
  • Deep Yellow (1003)
  • Chocolate (1054)
  • Offwhite (1028)
  • Silver (1024)

Straight out of the bottle, the paint’s viscosity is thick and purposely prepared for brush painting. The instructions do recommend thinning 40-60% with water or thinner for airbrushing. All surfaces are recommended to have primer applied prior to painting. Volume wise, the paint takes up about 70% of the bottle and has “room” to add thinner if so desired.

Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
December 22, 2023
Company
ICM
MSRP
$12.99

ICM is a hobby company based out of Ukraine. They have provided IPMS-USA a six (6) bottle acrylic paint set for review.

In the Box

The paint set contains six (6) 12ml bottles with nontoxic water based acrylic paints. Inside each bottle is an agitator ball to help mix when shaking. The following colors are provided:

  • Grey Blue (1075)
  • Deep Sky Blue (1076)
  • Blood Red (1046)
  • Deck Tan (1055)
  • Deep Brown (1008)
  • Black (1002)

Straight out of the bottle, the paint’s viscosity is thick and purposely prepared for brush painting. The instructions do recommend thinning 40-60% with water or thinner for airbrushing. All surfaces are recommended to have primer applied prior to painting. Volume wise, the paint takes up about 70% of the bottle and has “room” to add thinner if so desired.

Book Author(s)
Bill Norton
Review Author
Paul Bradley
Published on
December 18, 2023
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

Given the current situation in the Middle East, this is not an easy review to write; if nothing else, this publication proves that there is nothing new in the World.

The long-standing enmity between Arab and Israeli politicians has festered since the foundation of Israel in 1947. Aside from the continuing Arab terrorism during the period between the 1967 and 1973 Wars, there was a less-known ‘low-level’ conflict, known as the War of Attrition, where nation-states on both sides positioned themselves as best they could for the next war.

Book Author(s)
John Grehan, Alexander Nicoll
Review Author
Paul Bradley
Published on
December 18, 2023
Company
Pen and Sword Books Ltd
MSRP
$34.95

During the early months of 1942, there was much pressure on the Western Allies – especially from the Russians - to ‘do something – anything!’ to relieve the unrelenting bad news on all fronts. The British were struggling in North Africa and the Far East, Japan was running roughshod over the US in the Pacific while the Canadian Government was under pressure at home. The result of these pressures was to lead to one of the most ill-conceived operations of WWII – Operation Jubilee, the raid on the northern French port of Dieppe, which had been heavily fortified by the occupying German armed forces. The resulting operation in August 1942 was an unmitigated disaster, costing the lives of thousands of Canadian and British troops, sailors and airmen with very little to show.