With the recent release of the updated Meng 1/35 D9R Armored Bulldozer to include slat armor, Eduard has released a number of photo-etch detail sets to update the kit and add new details. This is a Meng kit so the detail is fantastic, but there can always be some room for improvement. This set includes replacements for all of the cooling slats and a few other parts.

The Somme by Richard Van Emden was originally published in England by Pen and Sword as a hard cover book on May 24, 2016 and a soft cover on June 6, 2016. Casemate released this soft cover edition on August 19, 2016.

London resident Richard van Emden has written profusely on the subject on World War One. He worked as a journalist after graduating from Newcastle University in 1988. He books focus on World War I and include: Tickled to Death to Go, Prisoners of the Kaiser, The Trench, Sapper Martin, Last Man Standing, Britain’s Last Tommies, Famous, Veterans, Boy Soldiers of the Great War, The Soldier’s War, and Tommy’s Ark. He has interviewed over 270 veterans of the Great War and many of those interviews are used in this book. Richard Van Emden also is heavily involved in television programs about The Great War and includes Veterans, Roses of No Man’s Land, The Boy Soldiers of the Great War, and The Real War Horse.

If you are building any of the host of Russian military trucks from the Great War, you may find yourself mumbling at the rather iffy rubber tires frequently included with the kits. Although a number of manufacturers have come out with really excellent kits of these workhorses of the Soviet Army, the tires included seem to be a regular stumbling block.

MiniArt has addressed this problem with a series of new detail sets that create beautifully detailed renditions to replace the soft tires included with most of these kits. This set, for instance, not only provides 12 complete tires, but the various hubs, bolts and brake drums needed as well. Each tire itself is composed of five individual “wafers” that when assembled create a realistic and detailed tread pattern. Finely molded manufacturer’s logos are included, of course.

Thanks to Eduard for providing more of their excellent aftermarket parts for IPMS USA to review, and to IPMS leadership for sending it to me!

This set vastly improves the appearance and detail of Revell’s 1/72 halifax B III. The kit consists of all the requisite improvements for the forward crew section on the Halifax: a new pilot seat, seat harnesses, instrument/control panels, engine throttles and control levers, radio and bulkhead details, and sidewall details.

This set is simple to use and improves the kit cockpit with little fuss. The parts are not self-adhesive, so there is a need to use your favorite cement/glue to attach things. I use Gator Loups’ polyurethane “Gator glue” for the instrument lamentations, and superglue to attach everything else.

Thanks to Eduard for providing more of their excellent aftermarket parts for IPMS USA to review, and to IPMS leadership for sending it to me!

Early British bombers were designed with wing bomb bays; these have been overlooked in the past, but this set brings the mystery of this equipment out of the darkness and improves the appearance and detail of Revell’s 1/72 Halifax B III; Consisting of all the requisite improvements for the wing bomb bays, including bomb racks, doors, and mounting hardware.

This set is simple to use; Revell provides convenient guides on the inside of the lower wing sections to make it easy to remove the closed kit doors; use a straight edge and #11 blade to do so. I used thick superglue to attach everything on this set.

A bit of simple folding is required for the bomb interior frames, just be careful of alignment while the glue dries and don’t push them too far out past the exterior of the wing. Take your time, and everything fits.