Pathan Rising tells the story of the large scale tribal unrest that erupted along the North West Frontier of India in the late 1890s; a short but sharp period of violence that was initiated by the Pathan tribesmen against the British. Although the exact causes of the unrest remain unclear, it was likely the result of tribal resentment towards the establishment of the Durand Line and British ‘forward policy', during the last echoes of the ‘Great Game', that led the proud tribesmen to take up arms on an unprecedented scale. This resentment was brought to boiling point by a number of fanatical religious leaders, such as the Mad Fakir and the Hadda Mullah, who visited the various Pathan tribes calling for jihad. By the time the risings ended, eleven Victoria Crosses would be awarded to British troops, which hints at the ferocity and level of bitterness of the fighting.

Bill Yenne has authored over 75 historical books and ten novels to date. He grew up inside Montana’s Glacier National Park where his father was the supervisor of back country trails. Bill is also a nationally recognized artist and illustrator with his work being showcased in many national magazines and some of his paintings on display in the official collection of the US Air Force. Bill graduated from the University of Montana in 1971 and founded the American Graphic Systems company. He later graduated from the Stanford University Professional Publishing course in 1989. The AGS BookWorks division has produced some 200 large-format, illustrated books. He has contributed to encyclopedias of World War I and II (for you youngins, this was Wikipedia before the internet came along). He has appeared on The History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, the Smithsonian Channel, C-SPAN, and ARD German Television.

The Toldi I tanks entered Hungarian service about 1940. They were used by the Hungarian Army against Yugoslavia in 1941. They were mostly used against the U.S.S.R. between 1941 and 1944. Their primary role was reconnaissance, due to their light armor and good communications equipment. They were not effective against the Soviet T-34 when they encountered them in operation Barbarossa.

When I opened the box I found: one small bag of resin parts, one small bag with photo etch parts, a die cut clear plastic sheet used for the headlights, and the instruction sheet.

All of the parts are molded in a grey/green resin, and are crisp, very well molded, and have excellent detail. The replacement mufflers are a sight to behold, and will look excellent when installed. There are also two nicely-molded resin tool boxes for the fenders, and many other small detail parts.

Many people don’t know that I am half English. I use that as an excuse to love some of the more interesting British aircraft. One such plane is the famous Avro Vulcan. Just something about that big bat shaped wing appeals to me. I have never had the good fortune to see one fly in person but I have seen video and have been able to view a few in the flesh.

This, of course, means that I have the old Airfix 1/72^nd scale kit in the stash. To say that this kit needs some loving attention to build right is probably an understatement based on some of the builds I have seen online but one day I will tackle her and mark her up in as one of the bombers used in the Falklands.

One thing you may not know is that the Vulcan fleet had had their refueling probes removed prior to 1982 and the maintenance crews had a hard time tracking down probes to get aircraft ready for action even resorting to taking probes off museum planes.

The movie Top Gun, love it or hate it, raised a lot of interest in the Navy Fighter Weapons School, and that interest was not lost on modelers with the markings of the Adversary planes standing out. Furball has given us an enormous sheet of markings covering twenty-two different schemes covering both the F-5E, F-5F and the T-38A between 1976 and 1986. There are options for twelve F-5Es, four F-5Fs, and six T-38s. As noted in the header, there are separate sheets for the 1/48^th and 1/72^nd scale planes and both cover the same subject. AND, there are complete markings for all 22 planes!

Here’s a complete rundown of the aircraft that are included in this set: