Reviews of products for scale miscellaneous models.

Book Author(s)
Dick Camp
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
September 8, 2012
Company
Zenith Press
MSRP
$30.00

Zenith Press has published and excellent read with Boots on the Ground. The book covers the build-up and start of the war in Afghanistan during 2001-2002. The book starts with coverage of the Soviet involvement prior to their invasion, including their poisoning of the Afghani President and his subsequent execution, as well as coverage of the Soviet invasion and their loss of 15,000 troops and thousands of vehicles. There are great explanations of the Mujahedeen philosophy of "Death by a Thousand Cuts" where, in one year, the Mujahedeen conducted 5,236 attacks on the Soviets, one small attack at a time. There are great descriptions and pictures of the weapons used, from Stinger missiles to the Hind helicopter. This background history continues up through 9/11 and the decisions to get into Afghanistan.

Book Author(s)
Fred Pushies
Review Author
Mike Hinderliter
Published on
September 1, 2012
Company
Zenith Press
MSRP
$24.99

Fred Pushies has written a book on MARSOC (Marine Special Operations Command), which was formed in 2006 when the United States committed to build up the special forces after 911. It was made from Marine Force Recon companies and designed to take the war to al-Qaeda and the Taliban to stop terrorism.

The book is divided into 8 chapters:

Book Author(s)
Hans Halberstadt
Review Author
Mike Hinderliter
Published on
September 1, 2012
Company
Zenith Press
MSRP
$24.99

Hans Halbertstadt has updated his 2006 book titled U.S. Navy SEALS. It has all the great information of the original book, and now includes the operations in Afghanistan, the Osama bin Laden mission, SEALs at war, counter-piracy ops, and weapons and equipment.

The book is divided into 10 chapters:

Review Author
Rick Bellanger
Published on
August 28, 2012
Company
UMM-USA
MSRP
$12.99

I have used many sprue cutters from a lot of different companies, all with different designs, for many years, and this is the first time I have tried this design. I was a little skeptical at first, but these have turned out to be quite nice.

The tweezer design is nice and easy to hold. The ergonomic design makes them very user-friendly. I love the way the head is shaped, the extension of the cutting head making it easy to fit into tight spots. The cutting heads are very sharp, so beware.

As for using, just put the head against the part you want to cut off and squeeze. You get a nice clean cut with very little cleanup afterwards. This works great for small parts. When it comes to the larger ones, you really have to squeeze, and I mean squeeze, hard. I had to resort to my other cutters for these.

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
January 9, 2022
Company
Blast-A-Way
MSRP
$168.00

The Blast-Away Sandblasting cabinet is also labeled as the Blast-A-Way Sandblasting cabinet. For the purposes of this review it will be labeled as the “Blast-Away” cabinet. That is the manner in which it is identified on the instruction booklet that accompanies the product.

The Blast-Away cabinet is made from corrugated plastic and arrives in a box roughly 40x 24x3. Within the review sample was the cabinet itself, the clear “window” items which will be attached to the cabinet, and the 10 page instruction booklet. Additional parts can be purchased – those being additional clear plastic lenses, a replacement liner, and an exhaust manifold.

Review Author
Luke R. Bucci, PhD
Published on
August 20, 2012
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$14.00

ModelArt No. 848 July 2012 monthly update features modeling tools and supplies. As always, the format is close to 7x10 inches in size, and the printing and reproduction quality are excellent. Model Art’s text is almost entirely in the Japanese language, and most feature photos are in color. The usual sections follow and are listed by their topic:

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
August 19, 2012
Company
JH Models
MSRP
$34.99

JHmodels offers two different wooden stands, sometimes called “jigs,” that look similar to one another. A major difference, however, is that the item described in this review is for biplanes while the previously reviewed product, (No. 4801) is primarily used for monoplanes. There is an easy way to remember the difference….. No. 4801 is for a single wing and No. 4802 is for 2 wings. The other wooden stand, No. 4801, is reviewed at http://web.ipmsusa3.org/content/wooden-stand-building-painting-and-tran…

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
August 18, 2012
Company
JH Models
MSRP
$33.99

I have long seen the need for a stand or base that could be useful while painting a model, as well as for use in the construction of the model. I have tried to design and assemble such a base with some level of success, but recently I had the opportunity to try out a product by JHmodels. acquired through UMM-USA. This stand consists of a set of simple wooden parts, assembled with super glue, and including some metal nuts and bolts that allow for the parts to be adjusted to fit the model being built or painted.

Straight out of the package, the parts are held in a wooden fret that will remind one of PE frets that hold the parts in place with very small connecting tabs. These tabs can be cut with a hobby knife, popping the parts out of the wooden fret quickly and easily. Once the parts have been removed from the frets, one will need to do a little assembly. An instruction sheet illustrates those 7 steps

Review Author
Marc K. Blackburn
Published on
August 18, 2012
Company
Italeri
MSRP
$3.50

As many modelers know, Italeri has recently released their own line of model paints. These are not formulated by another company and packaged under the Italeri label. Since I was working on a review with the Trumpeter Russian ChTZ S-65 Tractor kit, it seemed like a nice fit.

The paint comes in plastic bottles that hold 20 ml of paint. The paint is very thick, almost like craft paint, so it brushes on well, but I was interested in how it would airbrush. I thinned it down with water to about the consistency of milk and, for the most part, it seemed to airbrush well and evenly, but each person will have to use their best judgment on how thin the paint should be.

Book Author(s)
Gordon L. Rottman
Review Author
Don Norton
Published on
August 17, 2012
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$18.95

The bazooka was a weapon born of dire need. When World War II began, the U.S. Infantry had nothing to fight armor except the anemic 37mm anti-tank gun. Two U.S. Army officers, thinking outside the box, developed a rocket-powered weapon that was portable and able to defeat most armor of the time. Officially called a rocket launcher, it became known by the men who would use it as a stovepipe, or a bazooka, because of its resemblance to a musical instrument used by comedian Bob Burns.

The M1 Bazooka was first used by U.S. troops during Operation Torch in North Africa. Crates of the new weapon were rushed to the ships heading out for the invasion with no manuals or instructors. Officers who found the crates in the ship’s hold taught themselves how to use the weapon and held classes for the troops on the fantail of the transports.