Now that we stand 100 years from “The War to End All Wars”, it seems reasonable to step back a bit and reflect on the vast changes this war instigated, not the least being the changes to warfare itself. The Maxim machine gun was used in some form by virtually all of the belligerents in that war (France notwithstanding), but nowhere to the effect that the German Army employed it. Looking back, it seems amazing that not every military mind of the age was able to perceive the terrible impact such a device would have on combat, in a time when the “line charge” was still regarded as a staple of tactical thinking. Nonetheless, it was the German army that realized how such a piece of equipment could help make up the disparity in military might between a relatively new nation and a host of other nations amassed against them. It also ruthlessly brought the tactics of warfare into the industrial age.

Thank you to Bert Kinzey and Rock Roszak for bringing back a tremendous resource for the modeler, this time in digital format. Thank you to the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me to test out this new and exciting method of researching history, details, versions and markings of the Douglas SBD scout/dive bomber.

Yefim Gordon was born in 1950 in Vilnius, Lithuania (then part of the Soviet Union) and graduated from the Kaunas Polytechnic Institute in 1972. He has been researching Soviet and Russian aviation history for more than 40 years. A professional photographer, Yefim Gordon has published hundreds of features and photographs in Russian and foreign aviation magazines. He has authored and co-authored more than 120 books on Soviet and Russian aviation.

Dmitriy Komissarov was born in 1968 in Moscow and graduated from the Moscow State Linguistics University in 1992. He has worked as a translator ever since, with the most of his work associated with his interest in aviation. Dmitriy Komissarov has authored two books and translated or co-authored more than 50 others. He has also written numerous magazine features in two languages on Soviet and Russian aviation.

The M117 is a general purpose 750 lb. (unguided) bomb used by the United States military starting in the 1950s and continuing up through Operation Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and Afghanistan. It was used extensively in the Vietnam War being carried by everything from F-100s, to F-111s, to B-52s. The bomb consists of a bomb body containing the explosives, one of several different tail assemblies and fuses.

Eduard has issued three different M117 sets. This set represents the M117 with the later version of the low-drag tail assembly primarily for use in medium to high altitude deliveries. This version of the M117 was used in Operation Desert Storm when USAF B-52s dropped over 40,000 M117s.

Once again, extreme appreciation and thanks to Ross at SAC for sending us another of your expansive line of metal landing gear, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it to me.

This is the standard SAC upgrade to the kit plastic. The set consists of 11 parts: Two main struts, two main strut actuators, and the remainder builds up into the detailed nose gear assembly of strut, nose gear fork, and steering actuators with shimmy dampers.

The SAC solution for stronger gear; superglue the upper strut and lower fork together, let it cure. The shimmy damper arm and the damper itself are cemented to the strut, and the extension/drag brace is glued into place. Then carefully glue the whole thing into the nose gear well.