With over 700 titles in print, Crécy Publishing has a growing reputation as a premier aviation, railway and transport publisher. The Crécy stable includes the highly respected Hikoki, Classic and Noodle book imprints, producing unique and highly illustrative bestselling books. Crécy books, with over 700 titles in print are available through a worldwide network of distributors and stocklists including museums, specialist retailers and high street bookshops.

Yefim Gordon was born in 1950 in Vilnius, Lithuania (then part of the Soviet Union) and graduated from the Kaunas Polytechnic Institute in 1972. He has been researching Soviet and Russian aviation history for more than 40 years. A professional photographer, Yefim Gordon has published hundreds of features and photographs in Russian and foreign aviation magazines. He has authored and co-authored more than 120 books on Soviet and Russian aviation.

Overview from Publisher

“By 1944 the German army was on the defensive on all fronts and Allied bombing was putting increasing pressure on the nation's industrial output. Since the earliest days of the war the Germans had experimented with mounting anti-tank weapons on obsolete chassis and one of the most successful of these would prove to be the Jagdpanzer 38, more often referred to today as the Hetzer . Small and unimposing the Hetzers appearance belied its effectiveness. Armed with the powerful 7.5cm L/48 gun, the same weapon fitted to the Jadgpanzer IV, the Hetzer featured armour sloped armour plates of up to 60mm thickness and was capable of a top speed of 42 kilometres per hour. Almost 3,000 examples were assembled. Its low cost and ease of production meant that it was Germany's most important tank killer of the late war period.

Prolific Ukraine-based ICM has apparently set its sights on the competitive acrylic paint market. First out of the gate is nicely packaged six-bottle paint set specifically catered to their new 1/35th scale release of a German Marder I based on the French FCM 36 chassis (see separate IPMS review here).

The box set comes with six bottles and a fold-out chart listing 77 colors and three varnishes, as well as a color swatch sheet. The chart compares the color range to the most popular current offerings, including AK Interactive, Tamiya, Humbrol, Vallejo, Gunze/Mr. Hobby, Testors/Model Master, RLM, RAL, FS, Revell, AKI Real Colors, and Citadel. The range being offered is broken into 60 basic colors, 6 clear colors, 11 metallics, plus 3 varnishes (gloss, matte, and satin).

Brengun Models is a scale model and detailing parts manufacturer located in the Czech Republic. Their lines include limited production run multi-media kits and exquisitely detailed photo-etched, turned brass and white metal replacement parts for aircraft in the most commonly produced scales.

Brengun has produced a set of engine nozzles for any 1/72 scale F/A-18E/F Super Hornet kit. The parts should fit the F/A-18G Growler kits as well. Any modeler familiar with resin parts will have no issues installing these exhausts in lieu of the kit parts. A close-up evaluation of the parts (see photos), indicates a simple cut and replace installation that provides realistic scale-detailed exhaust cans and afterburner rings with significantly improved appearance to molded plastic kit parts. The photo comparison is to the exhausts supplied in the 1/72 Hasegawa F/A-18E kit. The Brengun exhausts have superior component detail to those supplied in the Hasegawa kit.

The Kit

The kit consists of 14 nicely cast resin pieces, one fret of PE parts and a small decal sheet. I found no bubbles, voids or “mushy” casting, however, as can be seen in the photos, there is more resin contained in the casting blocks than in the kit parts. These are quite frankly huge and removing them is the single biggest chore in assembly. I used a Dremel tool saw to cut the largest parts off, then a Dremel sander to remove most of the rest and sandpaper and files to finish off the job. The PE parts are nicely done, but are tiny! A good Opti-visor or microscope is advisable when working with them. The model is solid, so there is no chance to “open it up” and add an interior.