Auto Modeling is a quarterly release from Model Art Magazine. The magazine is chock full of pictures of builds in progress, line drawings, and photos of the actual cars themselves.

This issue focuses on F1 series racing from the 60’s. Included are several articles written about the champion machines of this time period. Also included is what appears to be an article about the drivers from this time period. Unfortunately for most of us, the article is in Japanese.

Included is a new kit review article. These show the actual model under construction to completion. As with the rest of the issue, this is accompanied with a multitude of photos. In this issue, they cover one motorcycle, two cars, and some type of racing spaceship.

Even though the majority of the text is in Japanese, I think that fans of F1 racing would still enjoy looking through the pages at the wonderful models illustrating the articles.

History Brief

The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank built in 1931. Only twenty four tanks were completed. None of these tanks would ever see combat; instead, they were used as training aids or in other capacities. This was the first tank produced at the KhPZ factory in Ukraine. The same factory was later responsible for the amazingT-34 and T-54 Soviet tanks.

The T-24 was a well-armored tank for its time; its main armament was a 45mm gun. In addition, there were four ball-mount 7.62mm DT machine guns, one located in the top turret, two more in the main turret, and one in the hull. The T-24’s problematic engine and transmission ruined any future hope to put the tank in service. However, the suspension system was a success and was used in the Soviet Union’s first purposely-built artillery tractors.

When I received this kit for the review, the box wasn't as big as I’d expected, and upon opening it I also discovered the kit was double-boxed. There’s a nice colorful outside box of typical smooth cardboard and a second inner box of fine white corrugated board. The reason for the smaller-than-expected box is that the hull comes in four pieces – top and bottom front half and top and bottom rear half. They were packed very well with a light foam between the pieces, then sealed in a plastic bag. One side of the box states that the model is 40 inches long and the other side says it’s 42 inches long. I measured the completed model at a little over 42 inches in length.

I really liked the way Moebius handled their instructions. All the parts are named as to what they are, besides having part numbers assigned to them. As a young modeler, this is how I learned lots about the subject I was building.

Thank you to Andrea Lindell of Specialty Press and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me the opportunity to review this truly definitive resource. Author Bill Yenne does not disappoint in the least; rather,he provides a veritable gold mine of data, photographs, and narrative. He provides a wonderful introduction defining what a guided missile is, but also covers early guided missile concepts and development, the evolution of naming conventions, and, of course, the usual inter-service rivalries and territory disputes. For example, the Air Force and Navy viewed themselves as global projectors of air-power, which guided missiles are part of. The Army, on the other hand, viewed such missiles as a logical extension of artillery, whereas the Air Force thought of missiles as bombers! It didn’t stop there either, with surface-to-air missiles considered by the Army as antiaircraft weapons and the Air Force calling them interceptors.

The Kit

The kit is standard injection-molded plastic, molded in four colors across 78 parts. Wall sections are molded in a brick-red coloration; wooden objects, such as doors, are molded in brown; window frames are molded in white; and the roof shingles are curiously molded in blaze orange. All parts are cleanly molded with very little flash evident anywhere.

It seems as if MiniArt uses a standard set of sprues across all their building kits, as this one yielded quite a few extra parts that were not needed for this build.