Trumpeter’s 1/32 scale MiG-3 kit is quite nice and needs only a few changes to improve it. Some kit reviews have pointed out that number one on the list is enhancing cockpit details, and the seat is the most conspicuous item noted. Quickboost has now addressed that issue by offering a two-piece resin replacement that includes a high level of detail and nicely molded safety belts (the photos below show the level of detail on the front and back of each part). The two-piece seat is designed to fit in place of the kit’s three-piece seat parts. In the comparison photo below, the Quickboost seat (on the right) exhibits superior detail and avoids the ejector pin repair issue found in the kit’s seat back (on the left).

Quickboost now offers a resin 1/48 scale three-piece resin ejection seat to replace the injection molded seat found in the various F-86F kits marketed by Hasegawa (also should fit Academy kits). The Quickboost seat offers a more correctly proportioned seat with superior detail than provided in the kits, plus it includes nicely molded safety belts (the photos below show the level of delicate detail molded into the parts). See the comparison photo below to determine the difference in the Quickboost seat (on the right) to the Hasegawa kit’s rather basic seat part (on the left).

Although the He-111 was designed supposedly as a civil transport prototype capable of carrying 10 passengers and mail, its main purpose was of a military nature. It first flew in 1935. Several modifications were made to improve performance. A major change was replacing the two 660-hp BMW engines with the 1,000 hp Daimler Benz DB 600A engines, which significantly improved performance. The He-111 cut its fighting teeth in the Spanish Civil War, serving with the Condor Legion where it was very successful. That success continued in the early days of World War II. Germany overran several countries with its Blitzkrieg tactics, staring the Ju-87 and the He-111. Its success faded with the onset of the Battle of Britain when the lightly armed He 111 encountered the fast Spitfires and Hurricanes. By the time Hitler lost this battle, he was already planning Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The He 111 again found success on the Russian Front.

Osprey Publishing has a series known as “General Military” which has one-off books on different topics. This one is dedicated to the Tiger tank, although reading the book also provides a good insight on armored vehicle operations, as it includes descriptions of how the Tiger tanks worked together with Panzer III and half-track armored carrier personnel.

The book is divided into nine chapters. The first three chapters (Development, Organization, Mobility) basically evaluate the tank’s performance as a vehicle and how it was used in combination with other AFV. The following three chapters (Firepower, Armor, Combat), cover the combat experience of the tank, with specifics sections for combat in each front (Western, Eastern, and Africa), while the final three (Maintenance, Under Fire, Conclusions) cover different aspects from the recovery of those vehicles to how they performed in the last years of the war, facing upgraded allied armor vehicles.

The Saab 37 Viggen was designed to a Swedish air force requirement for an integrated weapon system with high performance, great versatility, and STOL capability. It was intended to replace the Saab 32 Lansen attack plane and the Saab 35 Draken fighter. To meet the requirements of a multi-roll aircraft, Saab came up with a radical configuration for the day. The design used a conventional low-set delta wing extending from mid-fuselage to tail pipe, with small clipped canard wings mounted forward of the main wings and above the intakes. This single-seat aircraft was powered by a single license-built version of the Pratt & Whitney JT8D engine equipped with a thrust-reverser. This innovative design package created a plane capable of Mach 2 at high altitude and Mach 1 at low altitude while maintaining short-field takeoff and landing capabilities. A total of 329 Viggens were built, and from 1970 to 1990 they were the backbone of Sweden's air defense.