Over the relatively short time that MiniArt has existed, I have been consistently impressed by the imagination and daring of their figure releases. They have released wonderful civilians, troops and tank crews, often filling gaps no other manufacturer has been able to do. I’ve had wonderful results from their French and Italian tankers, and look forward to getting their Hungarian tank crew soon.

MiniArt has done it again with this current release, filling a void that has been in the armor field for quite awhile. On examining the contents of the box, you get five full figures, two of whom are in relatively typical light grey overalls, two in what can only be described as “pseudo-Russian” uniforms, and a single figure who really seems to exemplify the Finnish, with a mix of a Russian-style black leather jacket, Finnish riding pants and very local-looking boots.

Kitty Hawk Models has already released a 1/48th scale kit of the French Super Etendard. They are now gracing the shelves of your local hobby shop with an earlier version of that aircraft: the Dassault Etendard IVP/IVM. This model represents the maritime strike (IVM) or photo reconnaissance (IVP) version of the aircraft.

Etendard is the French word for standard or banner. For some historical perspective on the Dassault Etendard, I'd refer you to Air Vectors website.

Upon opening the box you will encounter five sprues of light gray parts and a sprue of clear bits for the canopy, clearance/anti-collision lights and photo-recon camera windows. There is a fret of photo etch parts for some of the finer details. Among those photo etch parts are seat belts, speed brake detail, flame holder for the Atar 8B engine, and wing spoilers.

The U.S. Army accepted their first M109 in 1963. The M109 sported the short barrel (23 Caliber) 155mm M126 gun. Since 1963 the M109 has gone through a series of changes and upgrades. Most notable is the change to the longer barreled (39 Caliber) M185 gun on the M109A1 and the removal of the external floatation kit and addition of the external ammunition storage box on the M109A2.

The Israelis received their first 60 M109s in 1967. After years of boycotts, refusals, and subterfuge, the United States agreed to openly sell Israel much needed modern armored fighting vehicles. The only changes the IDF did to the original M109s were to add some hull mounted crew rails on the side and the conversion of some muzzle brakes to the Soltam version (probably for testing purposes).

The Mi-24 Hind is one of the meanest attack helicopters on the battlefield. It is huge, ugly and spectacularly brutish. The Hind-D/E had a 12.7 YakB machine gun mounted in a turret under the nose. This gun was capable of carrying 1,470 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition and firing at a rate of 4,500 rounds a minute. This gun is a whole lot of whoop ass to go along with its brutish looks.

Master Model has started to release some helicopter armament systems in their turned metal barrel range. The third in the 1/35^th scale series is the gun and DUAS Probe for the Mi-24D/E.

Cross & Cockade has released their 2018 calendar and it is quite an edition to one’s Man Cave. As in past years, you are advised to order your copy now, and not wait. There may be a limited supply of these calendars and you do not want to miss out because you waited until the supply ran out.

According to Roger Tisdale of Cross & Cockade, the profits from the sale of the 2018 Cross and Cockade International Calendar are once again going to assist in the upkeep of the British Air Services Memorial at the St-Omer airfield in northern France”. This is a very worthy cause and deserving of your support. One can check out the St-Omer Memorial.