Short History

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, supersonic interceptor aircraft which later became widely used as an attack aircraft. It was originally developed by Lockheed for the United States Air Force (USAF), but was later produced by several other nations, seeing widespread service outside the United States. One of the Century Series of fighter aircraft, it was operated by the air forces of more than a dozen nations from 1958 to 2004. Its design team was led by Kelly Johnson, who contributed to the development of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Lockheed U-2, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, and other Lockheed aircraft.

Matthew Moss is a British author and historian specializing in small arms development, military history, and current defense affairs. Matthew has degrees from the Universities of Liverpool and Chester and has contributed to publications in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He runs the website Historical Firearms, a blog that explores the history, development, and use of firearms. He co-founded the Armourer’s Bench (or on Facebook) with Vic Tuff a multi-media exploration of historic small arms. Matthew has contributed to a number of print and online publications including magazines such as Small Arms Review, Popular Mechanics, The Armourer, History of War and Classic Arms & Militaria. This is his first book. He lives in Lancashire, UK.

Lifelike is one of leaders in aviation decals with a unique variety of markings, usually hard to find subjects. This set covers one subject but six variants. I did not have a clue there were this many renditions of “Big Beautiful Doll” (BBD). Three restored P-51D Mustangs sported BBD markings over the years following WWII. Tragically two of these crashed recently, with one in 2011 where the pilot bailed out successfully after colliding with an A-1 Skyraider at Duxford England. The second crash in Arizona resulted in two fatalities in 2016.

The six subjects, all markings worn during WWII and flown by John D. Landers and two airframes include:

As a little background, the Petlyakov Pe-2 was a Soviet light bomber used during World War II. Pe-2s were manufactured in greater numbers (11,427 built) during the war than any other twin-engined combat aircraft except for the German Junkers Ju-88 and British Vickers Wellington.

In conjunction with the release of its new 1/72 MiG-21 series, Eduard has released an Overtree set of the weapons sprue that is included with its new MiG-21MF kits. In looking at the weapons included on the sprue, I expect that this sprue has been designed to be a common sprue through-out all its planned MiG-21 kits.

Background

The Electronic Aircraft (EA) EA-18G Growler is a modified version of the F/A-18F Super Hornet that is used in a naval strike package to jam enemy radar to make the strike package virtually invisible. The EA-18G Growler had its first test flight in August 2006, the later entered service in the U.S. Navy in September 2009. Our Australian allies later adopted the Growler in March of 2015. This aircraft is also able to provide self-defense with AIM-120 medium range air to air missiles, along with the Super Hornet’s speed and maneuverability. With this advanced technology, the Growler blinds the radar and the strike package is able to deliver its weapons with pinpoint accuracy with little or no resistance.

IPMS/USA again thanks the Eduard team for sending us more of their prolific output targeted toward improving already great kits. Thanks to Phil and John for obtaining the sets for the team…

This set for is for the Wellington Mk 1/b Flap and is the now-expected as a norm high-end upgrade to the 2018 release of the new-mold Airfix 1/72 Wellington 1a/c. I consider this an EXPERT level of detail, and I failed BUT read on…

I primer painted the unpainted fret, in retrospect, not smart, as the superglue tended to not bond the paint as well as the actual metal. I don’t have a good option here, as the glare and requirement to cover up the brass color will come up and require priming after the build. Sigh. Of course, if I had not kept having the tweezers wick up the superglue, then the problem would not be there. Maybe Gator glue would be a better option, as you can at least clean up a bit with water!

Introduction

This book is a fascinating account of the Central Pacific campaign and one of the most stunning comebacks in naval history when in 14 months the US Navy went from the jaws of defeat at Pearl Harbor to the brink of victory in the Pacific. The book’s emphasis is on carrier operations and on the air groups of the various fighters and dive and torpedo bombers that were instrumental in sending the Japanese fleet to its watery grave and ensure an end to the Pacific Theater of Operations. The chapters include:

IPMS/USA again thanks the Eduard team for sending us more of their prolific output targeted toward improving already great kits. Thanks to Phil and John for obtaining the sets for the team.

Eduard is a company that has truly come of age. They seem to go from one success to another, and there is not a part of their range I have not used or tried. In this case, I have the “BIG ED” set for the new ICM HE-111H3, and it fills a major niche.

Thanks to Eduard and the IPMS USA team for joining forces to make sure I have this set on my workbench!

In the “Big Ed” format, Eduard provides one each of the following photoetch frets:

If you are looking for some improved detail, and a quick way of handling cockpit controls painting for your F-14D, then Eduard has once again come to your rescue! This set consists of two PE frets, one being the Zoom set for the cockpit placards and one for additional cockpit and canopy details. Modelers with experience adding photo-etched details will have no issues utilizing this set.

When Tamiya released their 1/48 scale F-14A (kit 61114), which I immediately had to add to my stash, the parts layout led me to believe that a “D” model would likely follow. Just in time for the 2018 IPMS Nationals, Tamiya did indeed release kit 61118, of the ultimate F-14, which was also quickly added to my stash. While Tamiya did a fine job in rendering the cockpit and canopy details in plastic, this PE set makes quick work for representing the various panels with pre-painted items, and improves and also adds details to the canopy.

Cross & Cockade International is a non-profit UK based group known as the First World War Aviation Historical Society that publishes their journal four times a year. They also provide a free newsletter. Those interested in the newsletter can subscribe by visiting the C&CI website.

PJ Production is well known for its figures and this time has provided another fine example of military pilots for a specific era. Most often, pilot figures covered are US Army or international pilots. This set is specific to the US Navy which is a nice touch to their ever-expanding product line.

The product contains two figures of two different styles with a small amount of flash is on the figures which is simply brushed away while detail is nice and crisp. Both complete figures (less arms), wearing helmets with the goggles up and seat belt harness on. The two have slightly different head positions and the arms only allow for right hand on stick and left hand on a throttle(s).

Test fit is in the 1/72 Azur Vindicator and the figure parts appear slightly under sized for this kit but a little material will be added to raise the pilot up to a correct height. The arms do align very well with the stick and throttles in this test fit.

IPMS/USA extends extreme gratitude to Paul and Susy Fisher for sending us this excellent set to upgrade the Trumpeter AD-2/6 or A-1H to an A-1E Hallelujah! WE HAVE A LARGE SPAD! And thanks to Phil and John for graciously allowing me to review this set.

On the “be patient” side of the ledger, Paul and Susy have had some misfortune by being located in Paradise, California. Although they lost most all their manufacturing capability and personal possessions, they are still here with us, and my last note from him showed he’s temporarily out of the business until they can recover with a new place. I expect they will be back.

On to modeling: This shall be a basic review of the set as received and built so you can see what is in the box.

This book is number 90 in Osprey’s Duel series where they take two opposing forces and compare/contrast them. The two subjects are the Imperial Japanese Navy’s submarines verses the US Navy’s destroyers. The book explains the develop of both these forces before the attack on Pearl Harbor, then goes into greater detail of the next 13 months of fighting until the end of 1942.

The book starts with a four-page introduction detailing Japanese developing submarine tactics of using their force to attack US Navy capital ships in a war of attrition leading up to a decisive grand battle between the fleets. They developed large, fleet submarines that were over 300 feet long and had airplane hangers on them. Whereas, the US Navy’s destroyer force was not training is anti-submarine warfare, but rather using their destroyers surface warfare fighters. These two beginning war strategies did not serve either side well the first year of combat.

The Etruscans are sometimes regarded as the fore-runners of the later Roman civilization, and they certainly appear to have had enormous influence over the development of that empire, and yet despite this, relatively little is really know today about them. Their language has only ever been partially translated and very little written documentation survives except later tomes by Romans and Greeks which are debatably accurate, to say the least. What is generally believed is that the Etruscans were something of an amalgam culture, having some seafaring antecedents as well as people from the Asian subcontinent and other places (which seems to suggest they were very much a merchant culture with extensive trade routes). However, there are other later writers who claimed they were native to the area of Northern Italy, so go figure.

Eduard Models has repacked the very good AvantGarde AMK L-29 in 1/48 scale. Eduard provides a striking Tiger finish, with decals for each stripe. It also offers a photoetch fret and masks, but these add-ons are not part of the original Weekend box. They are items FE903 and EX596. I had the opportunity to review the extra items together with the Weekend box, so I went ahead and review them all together.

I really like that Eduard now is offering PE and Masks in the same month that they release a Weekend item. That truly allows the modeler to customize the level of detail he or she wants to use in finishing the model.

In the box you find 4 sprues (one clear) of the recently released 1/48 AMK L-29. You find what you can expect of a brand new mold: no flash, sharp panel lines, small sprue gates, firm but not brittle plastic.

The Aircraft

The Grumman Avenger (TBF) was first used at the Battle of Midway. It was a carrier based torpedo bomber, but was also used as a light bomber, carrying one 2,000 pound bomb or 4x 500 pound bombs. The Avenger was the heaviest US single engine aircraft of WW 2, weighing in at 400 pounds more than the P-47.

In 1943 Grumman began phasing out Avenger production in favor of Hellcats. Production was taken over by Eastern Aircraft, a division of General Motors. The designation for these aircraft was TBM. There were 4,600 TBMs produced, but most of the aircraft used in WW2 were TBFs.

In June of 1943, George HW Bush, the future president of the US was shot down over Chichi Jima, parachuting from the TBF and landing in the Pacific Ocean. He was rescued by the submarine Finback, and later received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Avengers were also part of the operations which sank the Japanese battleships Musashi and Yamato.

The Vietnamese operated the AD-6/A-1H Skyraiders alongside their US counterparts. The Spad, or Sandy, was actually developed in the waning hours of WWII. It saw service in Korea and Vietnam. Capable of carrying a variety of ordnance and still having long loiter times the Spad was a vital part of the Air Rescue operations of the US and Vietnamese. Close air support was the name of the game and the Vietnamese were sold Skyraiders and they used them as effectively as their US counterparts.

The Vietnamese deployed the Skyraider in a variety of paint schemes. This first sheet covers the Skyraiders from 1962 all the way up to 1971 with some really colorful schemes.

Eduard’s new dual combo Reichsverteidigung (Defense of the Reich) profipack combo set is the newest way for Eduard to show off their new tool Fw-190A and Bf-109G kits. This dual combo is a perfect way to experience the new tooling and as a bonus you get an Eduard print of an fw190 racing away from a pursuing p-51.

This is the Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) white metal landing gear replacement option for the Wingnut Wings 1/32 LVG C.VI kit. If you have built in 1/32 scale you have probably wondered at some point if kit provided plastic landing gear will adequately support the model’s weight. These SAC items are primarily intended to address strength concerns but there are two other major advantages to using their white metal landing gear: First, it is possible to very slightly bend the strut pieces and attached wheels into perfect alignment once installed – to fine tune your alignment after gluing. With plastic, “once glued you’re screwed” so to speak. A second advantage of SAC landing gear is that oleos in white metal (although not applicable for this set) can be fine sanded to a very shiny and realistic finish – so no fiddling with bare metal foil or painting is necessary for SAC oleos.

The KTO Rosomak is a Polish 8x8 wheeled Infantry Fighting Vehicle. This smoke grenade launcher upgrade set is made for the IBG Models KTP Rosomak Polish APC – “The Green Devil”, kit number 35032 and for kit number 35033, the basic Polish APC. It is designed to be used with any Rosomak that have the 30mm turret.

This aftermarket kit consists of a resin plate, six brass launcher tubes, two types of resin tube covers and five very small brass rivets. The kit is very well packed in clear plastic bubble pack that is stapled to a backing card. There is a one-page instruction sheet that is inside this backing card. The parts are housed in cutouts in the foam backing, so they are very well secured and easy to see while still packaged.

The Saab 37 Viggen was an aircraft ahead of its time. Its designers used an unorthodox construction which enabled the plane to meet all requirements which had been laid on it and in some parameters even surpass them. The Swedish Air Force ordered several various versions of the Viggen jet fighter, its basic design formed a universal platform which, using specialized equipment, enabled the plane to be used for different roles. The first prototype machine took off for its maiden flight on 8 February 1967 with E. Dalström at the controls. The aircraft was powered by a Volvo RM8 turbofan, a license-built variant of the Pratt & Whitney JT8D with an afterburner and thrust reverser which, in addition to the double-delta wing design, enhanced the plane’s performance the takeoffs and landings on short airstrips. The avionics of the Viggen was state-of-the-art at the time, the Viggen was the first type to be equipped with a computer with integrated circuits.

Last summer Eduard released its much anticipated MiG-21MF kit in 1/72 scale. The initial release represents aircraft manufactured at the Gorky factory. In conjunction with the release of this kit, Eduard also released a separate resin cockpit set for these late model MiG-21MFs.

The set includes nine resin parts, a color photo-etch fret and an acetate sheet with 2 heads-up screens and is intended as a complete replacement for the kit cockpit and ejection seat. As you would expect with Eduard, the resin parts are beautifully cast with exquisite detail and the detail on the photo-etch set is crisp and sharp.

Thank you to the Eduard Company for sending this detail set for review, it is always a pleasure to see what your new products bring to the scale modeling world. Thank you also to the IPMS Reviewer Corps staff members who do the hard work in getting us modeling products to review, the reviews posted, and the news spread to the world.

The Kit

This is one in a series of architectural models that Italeri is producing. Kudos to them for doing some really different things in modeling, with their Leonardo Da Vinci line and now this architectural one.

No number of parts is given, but my guess is around 60 or so, most of those being the columns at the top. The parts are sharply molded in a light tan plastic with good detail. Included is a sheet of images of statues that are cut out and glued to the interior of the outer wall parts so that they show through the arches, which is a neat effect. You also get a few gladiators, a lion and what I think is a bear, but in 1/500 scale, they are pretty tiny and painting them is a challenge. You get a booklet about the colosseum with its history in Italian and English and the instructions are in this booklet. The history is pretty extensive and makes the model more interesting.

Background

Of late there has been a plethora of new WW2 German Panther tank kits in 1/35th scale from multiple manufacturers, and where there are Panther kits, there almost certainly will soon be subvariants of the Panther. Sure enough, having recently released kits of the Panther Ausf A and Ausf D, together with a Bergepanther Ausf A, Meng has added to their Panther pride with a Jagdpanther Ausf G1.

The Jagdpanther was a devastatingly effective attempt to mount a more powerful 88mm anti-tank gun to the Panther tank chassis, as such a gun was too large to put into the turret of a Panther. Also, producing tracked mobile anti-tank vehicles without the complexity for the need of rotating turrets made such vehicles cheaper to produce both in terms of financial cost, and time/manpower resources.

While the F-4 Phantom is the plane many people think of when they think of the Vietnam War, the F-105 Thunderchief is the one that has always interested me more. Designed to deliver a nuclear weapon in a bomb with a low-level toss bombing attack it instead found itself conducting the majority of the strike bombing missions over Vietnam. Known as the Thud, a description of it’s gliding capability or lack thereof, the 105 would not only drop iron bombs on target but also shoot down its share of Migs and knock out SAM sites in the Wild Weasel mission.

This 160-page softback book covers the F-105 in full detail from history of the design, it’s different versions, a short time as a Thunderbird and its missions in Vietnam. It also provides all the technical information anyone who wants to know more about the plane would need. This is helped by 260 photos in black and white and color.

This publication is an MMP Books publication distributed in North America by Casemate Publications. MMP Books are characterized as being very high quality and this product is no different. This publication consists of scaled line drawings of the Mosquito Mk. VI. There is no text other than captions for the drawings.

Here is another great addition to Pen & Sword’s Images of War series. In the past, the series had focused on specific battles and campaigns. The shift to specific vehicles is a welcome shift and this book does not let down one’s expectations.

The book starts out by pointing out the evolution from the M113, the original evolution from the M113, the original armored personnel carrier to the Bradley, named after the famous and well-loved general from WWII, Omar Bradley. The manufacturer of the M113, FMC, developed two vehicles- the XM765 and the XM763 which would eventually morph into the M2/M3 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. The new vehicle began its service in 1981 and variants continue to serve to this day. A total of 2,300 M2s and M3s were eventually produced. Text is in English and there are over 300 color photos in the book, many of which are previously unpublished, as well as tables with, as well as tables with general data and engine data.

This subject needs no introduction or prolonged history so I’ll skip it. The kit has been around for a few years in various versions, this time as the short nosed F-4J of the U.S. Navy’s VF 102 aka the “Diamondbacks”. Having read a lot of great things about this kit I had high expectations and they were all realized when I opened the box. There’s a whole lot of plastic in there and it’s done to the highest standards. Most important is the one piece upper fuselage that eliminates the tricky gap you’d have otherwise. In fact a closer examination shows that most of the major joint lines fall in places that exist on the real thing making the builders job one of aligning the parts and gluing them. You get a full complement of missiles, iron bombs and drop tanks. The only negative out of the box are some faint mold seams on the canopy parts. Add to that a massive decal sheet with every (and I mean every!) stencil carried on this Navy bird, and you have a complete package.

Introduction

The Stryker has been in service with the US military nigh on fifteen years and up until now, it was at best simply able to provide defense against enemy infantry with its .50 caliber machine gun. In its newest iteration, the M1296 Stryker Dragoon IFV, it has been upgunned to a 30mm version of the 25mm Bushmaster gun used in the Bradley vehicles. While no match for heavy armor, it is capable of keeping enemy APCs occupied so the main battle tanks can duel unhindered.

Panda Hobby’s recent release of this newly revised version of the Stryker proves to be a decent mix of beautiful fit with some over-engineered assemblies to make one feel challenged during the build. Match that with an occasional error in the instructions and you’ll feel the need for care and patience, but you will be rewarded with a very nice build in the end with your perseverance.

Background

From Meng's Website - High altitude, large temperature difference, dry weather, broken stones and snow, Afghanistan has the harshest natural environment for ground weapons and soldiers. In response, the shrewd British has chosen a special light-weight vehicle for their famous and professional army. The vehicle was derived from the heavy pickup trucks of the U.S. company Navistar. It can be transported by the C-130. It has better cross-country capability than normal wheeled vehicles and can be easily modified. The British Army named this vehicle after the working dog Husky in the Polar regions.

I have been buying Squadron/Signal In Action books since they first hit the market back in 1971. They have always been an affordable way to get info regarding the subject that is helpful for the model builder and historian.

This is the third issue devoted to the F-15 Eagle. I did get the first version which was number 24 but it is buried in the library someplace so this review will not be a comparison. Aren’t you all lucky.

David Doyle had done almost 100 books for Squadron continues the success of the series with a very informative and covers the full history of the Eagle from development through the Strike Eagle. The book follows the tried and true style of the In Action series with a small bit of written info followed by tons of pictures with great descriptions. Interspersed among the pages are some line drawings showing either side views of the versions or details such as the ejection seat.

This is another resin set that Eduard released to upgrade its new MiG-21MF kit. The set provides the five base pylons for the MiG-21, two for each wing and one for the centerline station. The pylons are drop-in replacements for the kit parts and require the same holes to be drilled out as the kit pylons do, so no additional work is required to use them.

In reviewing the kit’s instruction sheet, it states that for the outer pylons, there is a difference between the ones used when weapons are mounted and the one used when fuel tanks are mounted on the outer wing stations. The set does not say whether the set’s outer pylons (parts R4 and R5) are weapons or fuel tank pylons, so I checked the instructions for Eduard’s R-3S missiles and pylons set (#672 18). This set also lists parts R4 and R5 as being used for the outside pylons to which the missile rails are attached, therefore I assume that the ones included in set 672 184 are also weapons pylons, not fuel tank pylons.

When Eduard released its 1/72 MiG-21MF kit last summer it also released several resin and photo-etch sets to go with it. One of the sets is a package of resin wheels. The set provides two sets of main wheels (one with solid wheel covers, the other with spoked wheel covers) and two nose wheels. The instructions note that the solid wheel covers were seldom used on the MF version of the MiG-21, so check your references to see which type the aircraft you are modeling has. I used the spoked set and I have put the other set aside on the assumption that the MiG-21MF is just the first of a MiG-21 series by Eduard, therefore it will come in handy later on.

Introduction

'General Leclerc' was the nom de guerreadopted by the Gaullist officer Philippe de Hautcloque, to protect his family in occupied France. He became France's foremost fighting commander, and his armored division (the '2e DB') its most famous formation. Starting as a small scratch force of mostly African troops organised and led by Leclerc in French Equatorial Africa, it achieved early success raiding Italian and German positions in co-operation with Britain's Long Range Desert Group. Following the Allied victory in North Africa it was expanded and reorganised as a US Army-style armoured division, with American tanks and other armoured vehicles. Shipped to the UK, in spring 1944, it was assigned to Patton's US Third Army, landing in time for the Normandy breakout and being given the honour of liberating Paris in August 1944.

Introduction

The aim of this innovative new series is to provide modelmakers and tank enthusiasts with a new standard of primarily visual reference of both full-size tanks and their scale models. Each book will contain detailed technical information imparted through drawings and photographs while the meticulously researched full-color profiles will provide a complete reference for paint schemes and markings, in addition every volume of TankCraft series will feature summaries of design histories and operational careers, and reviews of available kits. Each book is devoted to an iconic tank type – chosen for its popularity as a modelling subject – and the series will provide coverage across a range of different criteria, showcasing the best of the world’s tank types and providing invaluable insight and guidance for modelmakers.

Background

For directing the 38cm and 15cm guns, Bismarck was equipped with three armored fire control posts (in the conning tower, on the foretop, and on top of the aft superstructure. The main and aft control posts were equipped with 10.5m rangefinders, while the front control post received a 7m rangefinder. Each station was also equipped with optical target givers (Zielgeber C/38 S), two pieces in the aft post and three each in the fore and main posts. Binocular columns were also probably placed in the fire control posts. Veteran Models provides a diagram of the Bismarck showing possible locations for the equipment. The Battleship Bismarck By Stefan Draminski

Following up the first three in this series, The Russian Aviation Colours 1909-1922: Camouflage and Markings, Volume 1 Early Years, Volume 2 “Great War”, Volume 3 “Red Stars”, comes MMP’s latest tome. This book, focused on ‘Against Soviets’ is the final volume in the series. The author leans heavily on Russian private archives, as well as archives, libraries, and museums.

The book is a nice hardbound, with a nice glossy cover, and 128 pages on high-quality stock with a matt finish. Mainly clear black and white period photos are supplemented with modern day color photos, color period posters and postcards, colour side and top views, and colour unit emblems and personal markings. The text is in English and quite readable. I counted 173 black and white photographs to go with an additional 21 color pictures. There were 79 color side profiles and another 51 color drawings highlighting markings details.

Here’s the second review of some new tools from our friends at Xuron up in Saco, ME.

The Photo-Etch Tool Kit consists of three discrete tools:

• Model 9180ET Professional Photo-Etch Scissor
• Model 450 Tweezer Nose Pliers
• Model 575 Micro Bending Pliers

I’m currently working on an Eduard Spitfire in 1/72 scale with some incredibly tiny p/e parts, several of which have found their way to carpet heaven. Using the tweezer pliers to hold parts, and the extremely sharp scissors to cut them, I’ve eliminated the problem. Figure X shows the results of cutting the cockpit armor plate part off the p/e fret – almost no cleanup required. A couple of swipes with a sanding stick while holding the part with the tweezer nose pliers and I am done.

Highly recommended as an alternative to hours spent under the workbench searching for bits of brass! Thanks go out to Abby at Xuron for the opportunity to review this tool set

Introduction

You can’t enter a discussion of World War II tanks that made an impact on the course of the war without the T-34 coming up somewhere along the line. While it was a surprise to the Soviets to see their “allies” attacking, the grit and determination of Soviet industry did not leave the attacks unanswered. While it may not be as aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, the design of the sloped frontal armor, rough weld lines, and wide tracks to accommodate Mother Russia’s terrible winters made it more than able to be up to the task of staving off German armor. Starting out with the 76mm cannon to fight off the Panzer III’s and IV’s of the time, the advances in design allowed for a new turret to house the much more powerful 85mm long barrel gun- which was more than a match for the dreaded Tigers and Panthers.

The R-3S (AA-2 “Atoll”) air-to-air missile was developed by the Soviet Union as their equivalent of the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile. It was used extensively by the Soviet Union on its fighters and it was exported widely to its allies.

In conjunction with Eduard’s release last summer of its new MiG-21MF kit, Eduard released several photo-etch and resin accessory sets for the kit. This set is actually the combination of two other sets: MiG-21MF pylons (672 184) and R-3S missiles for MiG-21 (672 185). As a result, the set not only provides replacement pylons for all five stations, but also four R-3S (“Atoll”) air-to-air missiles and their associated launch rails. Buying this set instead of the other two sets individually will also save you a few bucks as the suggested retail price of this set is $3 cheaper than the combined price of the other two sets.

Gareth Williams has been a curator at the British Museum since 1996, with responsibility for British and European coinage, about AD 500 to about 1180. Within this area, he specializes in Anglo-Saxon and Viking coinage. Much of his work focuses on the use of coinage as evidence within broader historical and archaeological studies. Gareth has authored at least fifteen books and led several projects at the British Museum, with a "Viking Voyages" exhibition that recently finished a run from March 2015 through February 2017. He has been actively involved in historical re-enactments. Check him out at the British Museum.

The book goes into great detail of the development, service, variants and full history of a classic car which is one of the world’s most popular cars ever produced. I have always loved this little car, with great memories of traveling in one when I was a child in the Sixties. The book is a wonderful treasure trove of pictures that I have ever seen before and even though I thought I knew a lot about this car it has so much more history and facts I never heard before.

Also, it is written by a very professional and knowledgeable author of lots of articles I have read and enjoyed before. The car's history goes back to Wartime Germany in the late 1930s and goes on till today! The car was the brainchild of the great car designer Ferdinand Porsche and was to be the Peoples car of the Third Reich under Hitler, hence Volkswagen (Peoples Car).

Despite having produced the world’s first ocean-going ironclad warship in 1859, the Glorie, the French Navy (Marine Nationale Francaise) entered the twentieth century unsure of its direction and at the mercy of confusing political demands. It was left with a hodgepodge of capital ships at the end of the nineteenth century few in number and facing obsolescence. It took the emergence of Germany’s Imperial Navy, the Mediterranean threat from Italy and Austria-Hungary, as well as its traditional rivalry with Britain’s Royal Navy to shake the French Navy and the Marine Ministry from their stupor and confusion, and institute a program leading to the development of modern battleships.

Divided primarily into four sections, this edition of Osprey’s New Vanguard naval series describes:

The Boeing (formerly McDonnel-Douglas) F/A-18C is an improved version of McDonnel-Douglas’ F/A-18A, which in itself was developed from the Northrop YF-17 lightweight fighter prototype.

Academy’s 1/72 F/A-18C is a faithful reproduction of the actual aircraft, although the details in the cockpit and the gear wells is sparse. The fit is generally excellent, with several seams, notably around the intakes (parts B16 and B17). Be careful when assembling the sides of the fuselage (parts B1 and B2), as it is very easy to misalign these parts. One other tricky assembly is the main landing gears, as each main gear leg has a smaller actuating cylinder that needs to be installed at the same time, and the best way to do this is to dry fit both pieces and once the alignment is correct, apply glue.

Background

(from The Battleship Bismarck, By Stefan Draminski

German battleships and heavy cruisers were equipped with seven searchlights for illumination at night or in poor visibility conditions. They were produced by Siemens-Schuckertwerke and had a diameter of 1500 mm. Three signal lamps were also provided: one on either side of the admiral’s bridge, and one on a platform at the base of the mainmast.

Veteran Models Searchlight Set provides seven 1540 mm searchlights and three signal lamps, both with transparent plastic lenses. The kit includes extremely finely cast resin parts with amazing detail, and a small photoetch fret, also with amazing detail. The resin pieces are exquisitely cast with virtually no imperfections. There is some minor flash on the parts, but no bubbles or voids. Some of the resin and photoetch pieces are extremely small and delicate.

When Eduard released its MiG-21MF kit last summer it also released an overtree set of just the sprues from the MiG-21MF kit. This set depicts the MiG-21MF (NATO reporting name - “Fishbed J”) aircraft that were built at the Gorky factory.

As this is an overtrees set, the box only includes the four sprues (3 medium gray and one clear). There are no decals, photo-etch, masks, or instructions. The circular clear sprue contains the canopies, lights and instrument panels. Two of the gray sprues are for the airframe and the third one provides the pylons, weapons and external tanks. The molding on all of the parts is superb, but some of them suffer from a slight molding seam. This is easily removed by scraping it with a hobby knife or using a sanding stick, but beware of it as the tolerances in the kit are so tight, sometimes the molding seam gets in the way.

The new Ford GT is a stunning supercar that competes favorably with the best of the breed at a price that the competition hasn’t seen in in a decade. Tamiya, not wishing to be left out of the fray has produced a similarly gorgeous replica of the car in scale for the advanced builder.

There are a lot of things to love about the kit and some things that could be improved, but in the end; if you want a great looking model of this superb car this the best example on the market.

Construction begins with the rear and forward body panels and you’ll quickly discover that you can’t use tube glue or the parts will not fit together. Thin liquid cement or thin superglue are needed due to the tight tolerances of the pieces and miniscule glue points. Reminiscent of the over-engineered 60’s kit that saw us trying to keep the front end together with a one-millimeter dot on the end of a tie rod, these joins require concentration and sparing use of adhesives.

The opponent vs opponent series is one of Osprey’s most enjoyable, this volume does not disappoint. The Hellcat was a later war USN fighter of which 12,275 were built. It was fast, maneuverable and very rugged (there is good reason Grumman was called “The Iron Works”. The Hellcat became the premier fighter of the USN. The Kawanishi Shiden and Shiden-Kai of which a total of approximately 1400 were built, was developed from a floatplane and departed from customary Japanese design philosophy in that it was heavily armed and both maneuverable and ruggedly constructed.

The book is broken down into 10 sections beginning with two short introduction and design chronology sections totaling 4 pages.

Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy!

This book is also available in a hardback version (302 pages) priced at $55.00.

Casemate Publishers has reprinted a definitive review of the so-called “Treaty Cruisers” by Leo Marriot. The author has a long list of military books to his credit, focusing on WW2 ground actions and WW2 to modern naval subjects, including this title. He is known for an excellent book on the Titanic and The Universe, with illustrated views from the Hubble Space Telescope.

You get a 9.25 X 6 inches size paperback book with three Parts, 14 Chapters and four Appendices. Although the covers have a red tint, the book is completely B&W (no color) inside. The small print text is interspersed with B&W photos of ships, most of which are seen elsewhere, but there are a few rare ones. There are also small line drawings of profiles of ships. But mostly, this book is crammed full of text.

Hauler produces photo-etched and resin upgrade sets for armored fighting vehicles (AFVs), airplanes, cars, railway vehicles, and dioramas. They also produce a few resin kits. Their products are in most of the common scale sizes, 1/72, 1/48, and 1/35, but they also produce a number of other items in common railroad hobbyist scales.

This diorama accessory is a US Army Field Safe. The safe itself is a resin box, with 3 additional pieces of resin representing the combination dial, door handle, and the actual door with “US” stamped on the front. There is a small photoetch sheet, which contains six pieces of photo-etch that will make up the inside shelves for the safe. A simple instruction sheet is included too.

Osprey Publishing continues to expand its “Combat Aircraft” series, this time with an installment on the B-25 Mitchel Units in the CBI. Like all the other books in this series, you can expect lots of period pictures, color profiles highlighting markings and main camouflages with excellent and detailed research.

The book is broken down in chronological order, which sort of follows a geographical order as the priorities in the CBI front shifted between India, Burma, and China.

These are the chapters and subsections on the book:

When Eduard released its first 1/72 MiG-21MF kit last summer, it continued its recent trend of splitting the decals into two separate sheets, one with the unique markings for the aircraft depicted in the kit, the other being a full sheet of stencils. This method not only simplifies the decal printing process when Eduard decides to release additional boxings of the kit with new markings, but it also allows Eduard to release the stencil sheet as a stand-alone decal sheet.

The Eduard OVERTREE and Weekend Edition kits are really nice kits, but I think they benefit from having the pre-painted photo etch in the model. I personally love the pre-painted photo-etch. There is detail printed on them that I could never be able to replicate with a paint brush.

Packaged in the typical resealable package with a card stock protective backing is one fret of pre-painted PE. This single fret contains many essential interior parts but the biggest impact would have to be from the seatbelts, shoulder harness, and the instrument panel. Besides these key parts, there are photo etch deflectors for the engine exhausts, as well as, some other panels and rudder pedals. These parts are all important. There are oil cooler faces as well. Personally, I don’t use them as I like the way that the kit parts look, but that is up to the modeler.

Eduard releases a ProfiPACK of a new kit with all the bells and whistles and at the same time, they release an OVERTREE kit with no bells or whistles. An Overtree is for people like me who have a lot of decals and don’t mind not having the pre-painted fret or the masks. Now those things are available separately. Personally, I like the pre-painted photo etch and the masks and since I have a bunch of decals, including leftovers from the ProfiPACK, that I don’t mind. Even the box is devoid of anything that belies the beauty inside the plain white cardboard box. It just has an end sticker.

Additional information is available on Facebook--https://www.facebook.com/OKBGrigorov/

Background

OKB Grigorov is a scale model manufacturer based in Bulgaria. The business was established in 2003. Their main goal since then is to provide quality models and accessories with the maximum amount of details.

The product line includes several 1/72th scale armour kits along with separate photoetch sets, brass gun barrel and idlers. Also, they offer 1/72 and 1/35 resin armor accessories, 1/350 and 1/700 scale naval accessories, 1/72, 1/48, 1/35 and 1/350 resin and PE AFV sets. Also include is a line of 1/72 scale military weapons. Their product line continues to grow.

Eduard continues its way through the development of the Bf-109. Their latest offering is the Bf-109G-10 produced at the Regensburg manufacturing facility, of which 130 were built. This particular variant comes with the small bulges on the wings but large asymmetrical gun cowlings with a long tail wheel.

Hauler produces photo-etched and resin upgrade sets for armored fighting vehicles (AFVs), airplanes, cars, railway vehicles, and dioramas. They also produce a few resin kits. Their products are in most of the common scale sizes, 1/72, 1/48, and 1/35, but they also have items in common railroad hobbyist scales.

This small sheet of photoetch provides upgrades to Revell’s 1/72 Sd. Kfz. 9 FAMO (03141) kit. The Revell kit is nicely detailed on its own, but for those of us wanting to reallydetailthe kit, Hauler provides this nice set of photoetch. The photoetch comes with a small instruction sheet listing each Revell part number to use, and instructions on whether something needs to be modified or replaced entirely. The instructions are simple and easy to follow.

Kev Darling is an aviation historian, writer, and publisher based in South Wales. He served in the Royal Air Force as an aircraft engineer for nearly 30 years, from June 1973 to March 2003. He has written at least 30 books since 1987, working in the RAF Illustrated series, Crowood Aviation series, Crowood Combat Legend series, Specialty Press’ WarbirdTech series, as well as Guideline’s Warpaint series.

Richard J. Caruana, who lives and works in Malta, is best known for his technical and colour drawings which appear regularly in magazines in the UK (Scale Aviation Modeller International), Italy (Elicotteri e Aerei Militari, Aerofan) and Greece (Model Expert). His aviation art, specializing in the history and colours of the Regia Aeronautica, has also been published in the US, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Argentina and Israel. He also has over 21 books to his credit as author.

From the Publisher’s Website:

Operation Torch, launched on 8 November 1942, landed Anglo-American forces in Vichy-controlled Morocco and Algeria to create a second front against the Axis forces in North Africa, catching Rommel's German and Italian forces in the claws of a giant pincer.

Tracks & Wheels is part of AK Interactive’s Learning Series of books that are profusely illustrated how-to guides that include step-by-step instructions on how to assemble, paint, and weather kits. Other titles in the learning series include:

Messerschmitt developed the Bf-109T, based on the Bf-109E series, for operations from the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin”, when it was being developed and built in the late thirties. Although the ship was launched in 1938, the carrier, which was to have had a capacity of 40 aircraft, was never completed. A second carrier, the Peter Strasser, was started but never launched. It was scrapped in 1940. The Graf Zeppelin was retained, and work resumed briefly in 1942, but eventually, it was stopped in 1943. Specialized folding wing JU-87B’s and Bf-109T’s were developed for these ships.

If you have ever been interested in 3D printing, then this printer will get you started. 3D printers take a plastic filament material and melt it into an extruding nozzle, then ejected on to a moving build plate forms an object, so as the material cools it hardens. 3D printers can use several materials to melt plastic and create objects of different plastic type materials.

I have no experience with 3D printing but have always been intrigued about the idea.

I have experienced times when a special tool or part would be good to have, but there is nothing available. Now if I think about the part I can design it and at the same time learn a new skill of 3D printing. I will be honest and say the kicker for designing a part was the last time I knocked over my Tamiya cement bottle and said to myself, I wish there was something I could put the bottle in to keep from tipping it over. Guess what my first design and project was with the 3D printer.

The Vehicle

In December of 1941 the US Government put all manufacturing on a wartime footing. Many of the factories which had been producing civilian cars went over to producing Jeeps, pickups, cargo trucks, ammo carriers, tanks, guns, and other wartime necessities. There were still a few assembly lines which continued to produce a few cars, and most of these were sold to the Army or Navy for use as “staff cars”. Because it wouldn’t do for someone as important as an Admiral or General to ride around in a canvas topped jeep. It might seem that it was tough on civilians to not be able to get a new car, but with gas rationing they couldn’t drive much of anywhere anyway.

The Kit

You get two resin staff cars in the kit. There is a photoetch fret, an instruction sheet, and a small decal sheet with license plates and white stars for two cars.

This publication is one in a series of books in the TopDrawings series. It is a 20 page, paperback, printed in 8.3x11.7 format. The publication date was Dec 19, 2018.

Other publications in this series are:

• #54 Ju-87B
• #59 Ju-88
• #52 F4U Corsair
• #49 He-219 and others.

This is a Kagero publication which is marketed in North America by Casemate.

As mentioned in this review, the text and captions throughout the publication are translated by Stanislaw Powala-Niedzwiecki. The color profiles were created by Arkadiusz Wrobel. The scale drawings were created by Maciej Noszczak.

[This review is the first installment of a three-part series on building and finishing this impressive kit.]

Since 2012, newcomer Hong Kong Models (HKM) has been rolling out some of the most exciting big-scale aircraft kits to hit the market. Ever since the prolific company first released the B-25J Mitchell, modelers have been anxiously waiting for the next big-kit announcement, perhaps none with more anticipation than the 1/32^nd scale Lancaster Mk.IB.

As the RAF's premier heavy bomber, the Lancaster was to eventually form the backbone of Bomber Command in World War II. Loaded with an increasing variety of bombs and special ordinance, the ‘Lanc’ lorded over the night-time Allied bombing campaigns in Europe, disrupting or completely paralyzing German manufacturing and industrial infrastructure.