The key to the end of World War II in Europe was the capture of Berlin, the heart of the Third Reich. The American, British and French forces were west of Berlin, but due to American influence had no designs on seizing the city. However, the Red Army was obsessed with capturing Berlin and pushed toward the city with all the speed it could muster The subject of this book is Berlin in 1945 before, during, and after its fall.

I have to admit that I am a paint addict. Part of it might be that I build every type of model and part of it is looking for that perfect paint. As I was reading another modeling publication, there was a nice ad for Reaper Miniatures and their line of paints and figures. For those who are unaware, Reaper Miniatures produces metal figures for use in RPG or role playing games and sells all the associated things needed such as paint. When Ed Pugh and Reaper offered to let IPMS review their paints, I was chomping at the bit to put these through trials on figures.

The twenty-seventh issue of Super Model Magazine from the Polish company Kagero appears to be the second issue released in 2010. In conducting my research for this review, the magazine seems to be available only from the publisher, as I found no distributors. I would compare this all-color, glossy-paged magazine with Fine Scale Modeler, as it is a mix of kit reviews, build-ups, and new product releases. The magazine is printed in a size A4-format. (I only know this because of another magazine the I frequently purchase for reference photographs is the same size.) It is 11 3/4inches by 8 1/4 inches and is printed in Polish. English words only show up in the kit description in the articles, as well as the kit manufacturers. Topics for this issue include aircraft, armor, automobiles and figures. The majority of the emphasis is on aircraft.

This little paperback is intended to provide modelers with examples of the various colors that are normally used in plastic modeling. It is organized according to nationality and service, beginning with primary colors, fluorescent colors, and a list of Mr. Color shades. The nationality colors lists begin, naturally, with Japanese Army and Navy, followed by Luftwaffe, RAF, US, US Contemporary, Israel , Japanese SDF, Car Model Colors, WWII German AFV’s, NATO German AFV’s, Allied AFV’s, IJA AFV’s, JGSDF AFV’s, Ship Colors, and Rail Colors. Some colors have FS numbers, and the Luftwaffe RLM numbers are provided. Also included are several shades of silver, and at the extreme back, there are some colors listed that are probably commercially available model paints.

This kit represents the famous Sherman tank. I am not a Sherman tank expert but the title of the kit says it is an M4A3 version. I don't know if that's accurate, but who am I to argue.

The model comes in A4 book size and is hand drawn with some computer drawn revised parts. Instructions are provided in English, German and Polish with 4.5 pages of construction illustrations. The model was printed in olive green but not all parts are the same shade. Different pages were printed with different shades of green which results in the fenders, mantlet and appliqué armor being slightly darker. Even though there are some color issues, the built tank looks good and the printed texture (faded paint and shading) add immensely to the end result.