This set is designed for Trumpeter’s new MiG-29 Model 9.51 Fulcrum B trainer and provides masks for the main canopy, the windscreen, and the wheels/hubs. I started with the wheels, and as I prefer to paint the hubs first and then the tires, I did the opposite of what is shown on the instructions. I painted the hubs using an old tin of Xtracolor Russian hub green, then I peeled off the center disks from the masking set and used them to cover the hubs while I sprayed NATO Black on the tires. Eduard instructs you to spray the tires first and then use the masks and masking fluid to cover the tires while you paint the hubs. I like to avoid masking fluid on acrylic paints, so I just reverse the order of painting.

Jakub Fojtik attended the Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague, achieving his Bachelor degree in Management of Security Forces, Security, and Law Studies. He followed up with a Master Degree in Management of Security Forces and a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Business Law. To top it off he achieved a Doctorate (JUDr.) in Security studies at the Academy of the Slovak Police in Bratislava and a Ph.D. in Management of Security Forces from the Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague. Jakub Fojtik is currently a University Lecturer at the Police Academy of the Czech Republic, the Vice President of Military Sales for Aero Vodochody Aerospace a.s. (Aero L-39, L-159, etc.) and an independent aviation journalist who is regularly published in aviation related journals and aviation magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Defence Helicopter, Fly Past, Flying Revue, Hobby Historie, Letectvi a Kosmonautika, 4 Rotors, and many others.

I have heard for the last several years that we live in a golden age of modeling due to the huge array of subjects now hitting the shelves of hobby shops. Academy continues this trend with the release of the Main Battle Tank of the South Korean Army. An indigenous design that is an evolution of the K1. Both vehicles bear a passing resemblance to the American M1 Abrams, though they are smaller. The K2 entered production in 2013 and was fielded in 2014. As you can see by the box art, it has reactive armor, a 120 mm gun, and a host of other defensive features to defeat anti-tank missiles. It has a crew of three. The loader was eliminated with an auto-loading system. It is a welcome addition to the plethora of modern vehicles that have entered the market in the last several years.

This is Angus Konstam’s follow-up volume to his earlier work on Pre-war Royal Navy destroyers. As he explains, the real division between “pre-war” and “war-built” destroyers came in 1938, when the new “Tribal” class destroyers came into service. Between the First and Second World War, the Royal Navy operated many destroyers, but by the mid-1930s it was obvious that the Admiralty’s older destroyers were being outclassed by those of foreign navies. Thus, a new series of destroyers was designed to compete directly with potential foreign adversaries, the first being the 8-gunned Tribals, built directly in response to the Japanese Fubiki class. Follow on classes were more balanced designs, with fewer guns and more torpedoes and ASW weapons, and finally, the War Emergency Program classes specialized in simplicity of design for quicker mass production, with lighter surface weapons and more depth charges for escort work.

Background

The air war in Vietnam was a departure from what the United States had experienced in prior conflicts. The over-dependence on air-to-air missiles, micromanagement of operations from the White House, and countless constraints and rules of engagement put American aircrews at a distinct disadvantage against North Vietnamese adversaries. Despite those limitations, the US forces adapted to circumstances, exercised some good old American ingenuity, and managed to generate several aces and some legendary missions based on unorthodox tactics. A common thread in the making of these aces and employment of these tactics was the F-4 Phantom II.

Osprey Publishing has previously released books on two iconic side arms: The Colt 1911 Pistol and The Webley Service Revolver. What has been missing from the history of pistols, until now, was one weapon that was developed and deployed in the late 1890's, namely the Feederle Pistol from Mauser. Otherwise known as the 'Broomhandle' Mauser.

While this pistol was manufactured and sold by Mauser and is often attributed to them, the design and development was actually done by brothers Fidel, Friedrich, and Josef Feederle. The Feederle brothers worked for Paul Mauser and, in his defense, it was somewhat standard operating procedure for a company to take credit for any design/development work done by the namesakes employees. [Fun Fact: Paul Mauser once forbade Fidel Feederle from working on a pistol design.]

The M915 is the basis for a series of heavy trucks built for the US Army. In the late 1970s the US army identified a need for a line of commercial trucks. AM General was selected in 1977 and the first vehicles were delivered in 1978. This new release from Trumpeter depicts the M915 Line Haul Tractor. This vehicle is limited to operating on hard surface roads and typically tows the M872 semi-trailer. This combination has a payload capacity of around 30 tons and this new release from Trumpeter contains the M915 tractor, M872 trailer and a 40ft container.

The Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow) was the first operational jet fighter. Design and testing of the first German jet engine was well underway even before World War II started. Due to problems encountered with new materials needed, fatigue and German High Command intervention and delays, the aircraft did not see operational flying until April 1944. The Me 262 was highly maneuverable and faster than any other aircraft of the time, but continued to suffer from engine problems. Many aircraft were lost to engine problems or mishandling.

Me 262B-1/U-1 was a two seat trainer converted into a night fighter, with the addition of a FuG 218 Neptune radar. This was an eight-dipole antenna array mounted on the nose of the aircraft.

This is a brand new tooling of the Bi-Plane flown by Scooby-Doo and Shaggy in the cartoon. It is a snap together kit aimed at the young modeler. With that in mind I had my 7 year old son build it while I looked on.

In the box is;

• 44 parts packed of the sprues
• 1 decal sheet (stickers)
• 1 instruction booklet

All the sprues are extremely well molded and no flash or sprue marks; the instruction booklet is easy to follow and well-illustrated.

Construction

Was very simple and my son had no trouble assembling the kit I about 20 minutes from start to finish. The only little issue he had was attaching the top wing assembly. In fact I did end up gluing this in place for him.

The final stages were the assembly of the three included figures which are Scooby-doo, Shaggy and Velma. These were a little tricky to push the arms on so I assisted.

AK’s Real Colors of WWII is a beautiful publication packed with historical information and photos documenting actual colors and camouflage patterns used on WWII military vehicles.

AK describes the book as a detailed study of documents and original vehicle material from each respective army, plus the synthesis of other publications which are recognized as benchmarks in vehicle color. The intention of the book is to share all this information and provide a guide to the colors that can be used to produce an accurate camouflaged vehicle in a specific theater of operations. The goal to provide a standard guide of colors is a noble one, and will surely generate lots of discussions.

Using the study of preserved military equipment, and scientific analysis, AK has developed the colors used in these paints. AK-Interactive also used the advice of four experts who have years of experience in the inception, development, production, and use of military colors:

Eduard Models continue to expand its Brassin line, this time with a drop-in replacement part for their excellent Spitfire Mk IX line: the top cowling.

The part itself is molded in resin and very small casting pours, making removal of the part trivial. The part itself shows no bubbles and exquisite fine detail, down to the rivets.

The plastic parts are not bad at all, however, they have a seam line that needs to be puttied and sanded to make it disappear. The resin part does not have any seam line and it is ready to be installed.

Note that the resin part fits excellently the width of the fuselage nose. However, when removed from the pouring stab it is slightly longer than the rest of the fuselage, perhaps by 1/32 of an inch.

It was very simple to sand it to fit of the surrounding plastic parts. Moreover, the sanding marks will be hidden by the propeller spinner.

Recommended to modelers of all skill levels.

This is the second adult coloring book published by MMP following their Classic Fighters book. The Operation Dynamo adult coloring book focuses on the airplanes and military vehicles used at the time of Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940.

The book is 8 1/4“ x 11 1/2“ and includes 32 pages with 15 vehicles on two-page spreads. Each vehicle or aircraft includes a black-and-white photo, technical specifications, and a brief description. The image to be colored is a simple line drawing without a lot of detail, which makes coloring easier.

Aircraft & Vehicles Included:

The M9 Armored Combat Earthmover (ACE) is a highly mobile armored tracked vehicle that provides combat engineer support to front-line forces. Fielded by the United States Army, its tasks include eliminating enemy obstacles, maintenance and repair of roads and supply routes, and construction of fighting positions. (Wikipedia)

Takom released a 1/35th scale model of this vehicle in 2015. That kit has been reviewed elsewhere and one of the minor shortcomings of that kit (and there are few) owes more to the limitations of injection molded styrene than to anything else. The oversized and out of scale headlight covers being one of those items that is first to come to mind.

Growing up during the Cold War which encompassed the red scare and fight against global communism, photos and information on aviation in the USSR was pretty skimpy! A short video of a plane flying over a parade in Red Square or a few grainy, slightly out of focus black and white photos Were all there was. A little bit more was available on export models as they were used by Soviet Client states and thanks to the September 6, 1976 defection of Viktor Belenko flying his Mig-25 to Japan a bit more was available on that aircraft.

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain and communism much more information is readily available to the modeler and aviation historian on Russian aviation designs and tactics. The authors are the go to folks for this information. I have had the pleasure of reviewing several of their books and like past volumes, this one does not disappoint!

Thank you to Bert Kinzey and Rock Roszak for continuing to bring back a tremendous resource for the modeler, in a 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 Convair F-102 Delta Dagger. The official title is Colors & Markings of the F-102 Delta Dagger in Detail & Scale, by Rock Roszak, Colors & Markings Series, Digital Volume 2.

Brengun has come to the modelers rescue, once again. This time with a set of photo-etched details for all of those that enjoy building 1/72nd scale World War One aircraft. If you are one of those folk then you already know that the finer details are often missing from the manufacturer’s kit. Gun sights, control horns, propeller details, and seats belts can be substandard or, more frequently, have just been omitted by kit manufacturers..

Brengun's World War One detail set includes:

• Two sizes of wire wheels
• Pitot tubes
• Three varieties of gun sights
• Steering controls
• Boarding steps
• Control horns
• Throttles
• Generator propellers
• Two varieties of propeller hubs
• Seat belts

In short, this set includes all the cool looking, fiddly bits. This new detail set from Brengun will definitely add piazza to your next aircraft project from the war to end all wars.

This set is designed to be used on the MiG-29UB kit released by Trumpeter last year. It includes not only the full color set SS593 to upgrade the front and rear cockpits and both ejection seats, but also a second brass fret of external details. The detail on both sets is outstanding and the color set is beautifully printed. Based on the colors used for the cockpit side consoles, it looks like Eduard used a later build MiG-29UB as the side consoles and instrument panels are in a medium grey, not the bright blue-green color seen on many other Russian/Soviet aircraft. Unfortunately, the instructions do not include any painting references for the cockpit or other kit parts, so you must do your own matching. To my eye, the grey looked pretty close to the Testors Dark Ghost Grey (FS 36320) I recently used on a F/A-18E build, so I used this color as the base interior color.

David Doyle’s latest book continues to expand on Squadron Signal’s long standing In Action series that initiated back in 1971. This is a completely updated and expanded edition over Squadron’s earlier Armor in Action number 23, a 50-pager on the Patton by Jim Mesko that was published in 1987. This 2017 release is essentially a new book, encompassing 80 pages.

This is the third book in this new Osprey series authored by Peter E. Davies. The previous tomes include the Bell X-1 (1), North American X-15 (3), and the future book on the North American XB-170 Valkyrie (7). Peter lives in Bristol, U.K. and as authored or co-authored at least nineteen book on modern American combat aircraft, many with Osprey Publishing. He was published by the Naval Institute Press in 1997 with his hardcover book, The Harrier Story, co-authored with Anthony M. Thornborough. His Schiffer Military History hard cover on the Gray Ghosts, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps F-4 Phantoms published in 2000 is considered a must have. Peter published a hardcover book with Crowood Press, North American F-100 Super Sabre, in 2003. He has also covered many aircraft in Osprey’s Combat Aircraft series, Osprey’s Air Vanguard series, and Osprey’s Duel series.

Initially deployed with German forces in 1940, Sturmgeschütz (Stug) assault guns were purpose-built fully tracked armored fighting vehicles designed to support the infantry during the initial assault on enemy positions, especially useful for knocking out strong points such as bunkers. When the Germans invaded Russia in 1941 in Operation Barbarossa, they got a nasty surprise with the appearance on the battle field of heavily armed and armored Soviet tanks such as the T-34/76 and KV-1. The Stug assault guns were discovered to be excellent tank destroyers. They were quicker and cheaper to produce than tanks, making them a good “bargain” on the battlefield. As the war progressed, the Stug was up-gunned to deal with ever more lethal Soviet tanks, and spread across the battle fields as German industry struggled to keep up with tank losses.

Background

As a young man in the late 1960’s living in Canada, each weekday night I used to watch “The CBS Evening News” with Walter Cronkite. This was my window on the world, so to speak. And it seemed that almost every night the first thing that I saw through this window involved “the war in Vietnam”. Mr. Cronkite would tell me how many US troops had been killed or wounded, and then I would see a video clip from a correspondent in Saigon, or in some rice paddy somewhere in the countryside. Vietnam, I thought, was a place I didn’t EVER want to visit. Often in the background of the television videos, there were TWO objects regularly seemed to appear at some point during the newscast. One was a helicopter, often many, and the other was an M113 APC. These apparently, were the chariots that the Americans rode into battle, be it on the ground, or in the air.

Russia seems to be having a surge of military development these days, suggesting some expansionist policies which go far beyond the scope of a model review. What this offers for the modeler, however, is a wide range of interesting equipment never seen before. The Kurganets-25 IFV is a good example of this. Heralding back to the BMP-2 and -3 of the previous generation, this new machine seems to be the epitome of both defensive and offensive capabilities, literally festooned with sensors and targeting electronics. The spaced armor enhances survivability on the battlefield, while its armament makes it a worthy opponent for most challenges it might encounter.

Background

The M1 Abrams, named for former General Creighton Abrams (commanded US troops in Vietnam following General Westmoreland, and later became US Army Chief of Staff), is the current front line Main Battle Tank of the US Army and US Marine Corps. It also serves in the Armed Forces of nations such as Australia, Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. It first entered service with US forces in 1980 and has over the years since been upgraded with various enhancements, especially as battle conditions in which it finds itself have changed from a tank vs tank to “urban combat” situations.

The Imperial Japanese Navy ordered the N1K1-Jb in 1942 as an interceptor.

Hasegawa has come out with a fine representation of this Imperial Japanese Navy Kawanishi N1K1-Jb, with the Allied code name of “George”. The kit decals represent three factory-fresh “George” aircraft.

Building the kit is straightforward, with little flash on the sprues and pieces. Assembly begins with the cockpit. The instrument panel uses a decal for the instrument panel over a raised detail panel. A word of caution here: ensure that the cockpit is securely attached to the side of the fuselage, as mine broke loose during final assembly. I was lucky enough to be able to re-glue the cockpit on my model.

The Aircraft

The IL-76 has the NATO reporting name “Candid”. It came out about 2 years after the Lockheed C-141, and has the same mission, of strategic and tactical airlift. The aircraft are pretty similar in appearance. The IL-76 can haul about 60 tons of cargo, a C-141 can manage about 90.

The Scale Aircraft Conversions Set

The SAC set for the IL-76 consists of 5 parts, all in white metal. There are four main gear legs, with oleo scissors which use the kit wheels, and a nose gear leg. These parts closely match the kit parts.

Painting

I painted the parts light gray, and left the oleos metal. This was probably the easiest part of the whole thing.