Review Author
Tom Pope
Published on
July 6, 2015
Company
Round 2 Models
Scale
1/1000
MSRP
$23.99

Introduction

The original Star Trek TV series, in the 1960s, set the stage for TV science fiction drama in many, many ways - too many to go into here. Suffice it to say, that TV show, while great science fiction on the surface, hit all of the major political topics of the time including the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. In one particular episode “The Balance of Terror”, the crew of the Enterprise was forced to respond to attacks on Federation outposts along the Romulan neutral zone, made by a new and unseen enemy with sophisticated, as yet unknown weaponry. The enemy ship could electronically cloak itself from sensors and from being visibly seen. Because of the power required by the plasma weapon however, the ship had to un-cloak before they could fire. When the ship became visible, the image of a great orange bird of prey could be seen on the lower hull of the ship.

Book Author(s)
David DoyleAmpersand Group
Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
July 6, 2015
Company
Ampersand Publishing
MSRP
$22.95

This is another of Ampersand Group’s Visual History Series using high-quality photography to show subjects in detail and in action. These books are excellent resources for modelers looking for formation and details on specific vehicles. This book, by the prolific author David Doyle, covers the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) popularly known as the Humvee.

The two-page Introduction discusses the history of development of the Humvee, and then briefly describes some of the 40 models in its development. Several models of predecessors in early variations are included. The Humvee has evolved from its original function as a soft skin utility vehicle to serve many other functions, including an armored combat vehicle.

The book focuses on and includes a chapter on each of the following variations:

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
July 7, 2015
Company
Hauler
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$15.02

Adding to their line of detail parts for military models, Hauler has recently released a resin and photo-etched parts set for the Tamiya 1/48 scale German Motorcycle & Sidecar (Tamiya kit 32578). The set is comprised of seven resin and seventy photo-etched items. I would highly recommend the small photo-etched parts for experienced modelers, as removing the parts from the fret is a delicate process in itself, and maintaining control of these items through installation can be a challenge. In the end however, the results can certainly be worth the effort.

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
July 7, 2015
Company
Plusmodel
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$169.70

This is a great kit, and will build a beautiful model of a unique WWII vehicle. Building this model is a challenge however, and will require lots of resin experience and careful fitting of many delicate parts.

Originally introduced as the "Caterpillar Diesel No. 12 Auto Patrol" in 1938, the grader was renamed as a ‘Motor Grader’ one year later. The U.S. Army used the Cat 12 Grader during WWII in all theaters for airfield and road work. This is an iconic vehicle that has long deserved a quality kit and Plus Model has delivered a beauty. The Grader follows Plus Models other excellent full resin dozer kits.

An Out-of-the Box review is located here U.S. Motor Grader - Part 1.

Review Author
Tom Pope
Published on
February 3, 2020
Company
Revell, Inc.
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$54.95

Introduction

Since late in the Korean war, into the Vietnam War, and even more importantly today, one of the most important missions within the United States Air Force and Navy is the suppression of enemy air defense systems. Blinding the enemy air defenses was and still is crucial to clearing the road for massive bombing campaigns and air superiority. In the United States Air Force, this mission went to a group aptly named the wild weasels. Much like a weasel, the job of these aircraft is to stick their head up and get the enemy air defense systems to see and lock their radar on the aircraft. When the electronic systems in the weasel aircraft indicate the enemy is locked on you, you would launch your anti-radiation missile to ride the enemy radar beam back to the antenna it was broadcasting from. Once in proximity of the antenna, the missile would detonate releasing thousands of bits of steel shrapnel, shredding the enemy radar antenna thus blinding the enemy.

Book Author(s)
Kari Stenman and Karolina Holda
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
March 3, 2020
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$55.59

Mushroom Model Publication has released the second volume of the Finnish Fighter Color series. You can find a review of Volume 1 here on the reviews site.

This book, as Volume 1, is structured by aircraft type. Each aircraft type has two chapters. The first one is devoted to the historical introduction on each type including how it was procured and how it did perform in Finnish service. In many cases there are plenty of historical details on different missions including date, location, number of airplanes involved and mission kills/losses. There are no first-hand narratives of pilots involved in the action, so I suppose the information is coming from squadron records.

Review Author
Greg Wise
Published on
January 23, 2021
Company
Airfix
MSRP
$15.99

History Brief

The Boulton Paul Defiant Mk I, among RAF pilots it had the nickname "Daffy". It was a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. They were designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft without any forward-firing guns, as a two-seat turret fighter, powered by a 1,030 hp (768 kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin III piston engine and 723 built. It was a contemporary of the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc and the concept of a turret fighter, as it was developed in both aircraft, related directly to the successful First World War-era Bristol F.2 Fighter.

Book Author(s)
Ryan K. Noppen; Illustrator: Paul Wright
Review Author
Jeff Leiby
Published on
July 8, 2015
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$17.95

Background

The website description of this title, “At the start of the 20th century the Ottoman Navy was a shadow of its former might, a reflection of the empire as a whole - the "Sick Man of Europe". Years of defeat, nepotism, and neglect had left the Ottoman Navy with a mix of obsolete vessels, whilst the list of prospective enemies was ever-growing. An increasing Russian naval presence in the Black Sea and the alarming emergence of Italy and Greece as regional Naval powers proved beyond all doubt that intensive modernization was essential, indeed, the fate of the Empire as a naval power depended on it. So the Ottoman Navy looked to the ultimate naval weapon of the age, the dreadnought, two of which were ordered from the British. But politics intervened, and a succession of events culminated in the Ottoman Navy fielding a modern German battlecruiser and state-of-the-art light cruiser instead - with dramatic consequences.

Book Author(s)
Adrian M. Balch
Review Author
Phil Pignataro
Published on
July 9, 2015
Company
Guideline Publications
MSRP
$22.58

If you were a British student pilot during the late 1930’s through the end of WW II, you, most likely, spent many hours in the de Havilland D.H. 82 Tiger Moth. It was the basic training aircraft for the RAF, RN, as well as the air forces of all the British Commonwealth nations. USAAF fighter pilots in England flew 11 of them as squadron “hacks” – utility planes – until the war ended. Evidently it was not that easy to fly and demanded close attention during acrobatic maneuvers to prevent a stall and possible spin. As such, however, it was deemed suitable for future fighter pilots. Though long retired from military use, over 200 are still flying today with warbird groups and other enthusiasts. This “Warpaint Series” book by Adrian M. Balch covers these stories and much more.