The JGSDF Modeling and Equipment is a MUST have for anyone wanting a top notch pictorial of current JGSDF equipment. Let’s do the main downside first, it’s in Japanese! OK, so getting over that, there are some very way cool things in this edition.

This magazine is packed with pictures and (if you read Japanese) text on all the latest equipment used by the Japanese army. The first couple of pages cover the disaster relief for the earthquakes that hit Japan. Then into the modeling guide, which covers 90 pages of different models. A list way too long to list here!

Then into the equipment guide. Everything from the current handgun, small arms, and body armor to the AH-64 attack helicopter is covered in color pictures. Just a great reference!

This is a high quality, glossy page magazine with great picture layouts and was very enjoyable. I would recommend this magazine to anyone interested in the Japanese army from about the 1960s to today.

Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen is one of drag racing’s icons. He is still one of the most popular drivers in the sport of drag racing. He has raced both funny cars and rail dragsters and set more speed records than any other driver. He earned the nickname “The Mongoose” from racing his arch rival Don “The Snake” Prudhomme during the 70s, which many consider the Golden Age of Drag Racing. This model kit represents the rail dragster that Tom McEwen drove during the 70s. The kit was first released in 1974 and, in spite of being 38 years old, has held up quite nicely. This kit has been released 3 previous times since 1974 and I for one am happy to see it come out again. The molds have held up well and the kit is filled with all kinds of extras, making it worth getting. There are plenty of aftermarket decals available, making it worth getting more than one.

Miniart has released a huge number of diorama and scenic kits designed for universal use. Miniart also includes excellent injection-molded accessory sprues in their kits. This kit includes the same accessory sprue as kit# 35530 Street Accessories.

This kit consists simply of two sheets of semicircle-patterned vacu-formed cobblestone brick streets, a sprue containing parts for a park bench and other accessories in 1/35 scale, and a 2-sided instruction sheet, which is really not necessary.

The streets are in two vacu-formed sheets which, when combined, measure 336x249mm. I only used a 40mm circle of the streets as basing for a scratchbuilt steampunk Walker project of mine, which is really in about 1/54 scale, so it is quite universal for modelers of all genres and multiple scales.

New to the modeling world is Hobby Collective. This excellent decal sheet covers the 1/72 JASDF UH-60J helicopter in 40th Anniversary markings.

Included in the bag are one decal sheet and a double-sided direction page.

The decal sheet itself is slightly larger than a standard sheet and includes markings for a single helicopter (UH-60J 28-4556) from the Japanese Air Self Defense Force in markings to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the group. The aircraft is very colorful in white over yellow with markings of a dragon on both sides of the fuselage.

The directions are all in Japanese but, with a few minutes of study, the modeler can determine what needs to be done. One side is printed in color and has FS color callouts and decal placements. The back is black and white and includes the decal placements for the stencil data of the aircraft.

Aviaeology has re-released their Sunderland decals in 1/48 as “Updated and Expanded.” This package contains a single standard size decal sheet with markings for three aircraft and national markings for one.

All three aircraft are Sunderland GR.III models and are as follows:

1. EK591: Aircraft 2*U of 422 Squadron RAF Coastal Command, Castle Archdale, Ireland early-mid 1944
2. DD859: Aircraft 3*G of 423 Squadron RCAF, RAF Coastal Command, Castle Archdale, Ireland August 1943
3. ML825: Aircraft AB*D of 423 Squadron RCAF, RAF Coastal Command, Castle Archdale, Ireland September 1944

Included with the decals is a very well done, four-page set of directions which includes the decal placement guide, color callouts, and some historical data for each aircraft included. All three of the aircraft included with this decal sheet are responsible for sinking German U-Boats in WWII.