Review Author
Keenan Chittester
Published on
March 28, 2022
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$34.00

Tamiya’s line of 1/48 armor kits continues to grow, and I for one am thankful. This is kit number 100 in the series, and it comes in their usual black trimmed box with nice artwork of a Nashorn in winter camo. For a relatively small kit, the parts count is almost 200. As one would expect, the parts are very cleanly molded and nicely detailed. The tracks are link and length, with a very realistic sag molded into the top run of tracks. There is also a nice figure included and according to the instructions he is only to be used for the winter camo scheme. Speaking of camo schemes, there are markings provided on a small decal sheet for two options – the winter scheme and a three-color vehicle in desert yellow, green and brown camo. Instructions are provided in the usual Tamiya style – black and white with clear diagrams and detailed information for any additional guidance on placement, etc.

Book Author(s)
Javier Garcia de Gabiola
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
March 28, 2022
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

Helion is a UK based company that produces books on many aspects of Military History from the Late Medieval period through to the present day. Helion was established in 1996, and since then they have published almost 1,200 books, with 100 or more new titles coming out every year, for readers around the world.

Javier Garcia de Gabiola, from Spain is a lawyer, and has published numerous articles and books related to legal issues. Always interested in military history, he also regularly contributes to various Spanish military history magazines, for which he has written more than 50 articles and has published multiple pieces with the Universidad Autónoma de México. This represents Javier Garcia de Gabiola’s third title with Helion & Company with his previous two books being Volume 1 and 2 of The Paulista War: The Last Civil War in Brazil, 1932.

Review Author
Blaine Singleton
Published on
March 28, 2022
Company
Value Gear
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$17.00

Value Gear is known as a supplier of high-quality detail parts for armor kits as well as other subjects. Their accessories add to the detailed interest of any armor kit.

All the parts in this kit are resin and have an amazing amount of detail in them.

These accessory items are directed to the M-4 Sherman Easy 8 tank. I say items “directed to” because there are several armor kits that these items could be used on.

Package contents

The package contains 2 bundles of logs, 2helmet ruck sack combinations, bundle of tarps and storage boxes, a large tarp and 5 bundles of blankets.

Painting Materials

The first thing I did was to wash the resin barrels in soapy water to remove any residue that may be on the pieces.

I decided for ease of handling that I would attach the items to a small piece of wood with sticky tape ready for painting.

The following are paints that I used

Book Author(s)
Dariusz Karnas
Review Author
Blaine Singleton
Published on
March 28, 2022
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$11.99

In the Book

There are no chapters in this book. It’s contents are only 3 view drawings of the F-105 in 1/72 scale. Depicted in the drawings are the

  • F-105D-10-RE
  • F-105D-31-RE
  • F-105F
  • F-105G

The first set of drawings also include all the fuselage formers AA through GG.

Given that the book is only 3 view drawings and has 8 pages there is not a lot to write about. If you are a 105 fan than this would be something to add to your collection. This book would be a definite must if you are building a model true to scale and reference material.

The drawings are high quality and very detailed.

Summary

I want to thank Casemate and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review the publication.

Review Author
Chris Smith
Published on
March 28, 2022
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$13.95

This set is a metal replacement for landing gear in three kits of this aircraft currently on the market. Two main gear legs and a tail wheel are provided. The P-35 main gear has two retraction struts mounted on each side of the main gear. These are cast in the same soft white metal SAC is known for. The challenge of this set will be making those long thin struts straight. That said, this is a detailed replacement for the older kits of this aircraft. Thank you to SAC for the sample set and to IPMS for allowing me to take look at them for you.

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
March 29, 2022
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$21.95

Scale Aircraft Conversions, located in Texas, is well known to be a source of high-quality white metal landing gear sets for aircraft. Visiting the SAC Home Page on the internet, SAC states that,

“We manufacture a line of white metal landing gear for 1/18 to 1/144 scale aircraft. Some sets consist of the main gear only while others include the nose gear, tail gear and/or adjacent related components. Some inaccuracies in the original kit gear have been corrected but the mounting points remain identical to the factory parts. With numerous sets we have not sought to duplicate non load bearing component parts where the factory plastic parts are reasonably accurate. “

SAC also notes that they have been in business since 1990, offering white metal and resin parts. The SAC website features a page that will help the “first-timer” to successfully install the white metal parts of the model. Look for the navigation link labeled, “Using White Metal”.

Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Dana Mathes
Published on
March 29, 2022
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$36.95

Author David Doyle was recently awarded the coveted Bart Vanderveen Award by the Military Vehicle Preservation Association in recognition of his contributions to the preservation of military vehicles. He has written more than 100 books and has most recently applied his formidable talents to documenting the many vehicles used by US forces in the Vietnam War.

U.S. Vehicles & Heavy Weapons of the Vietnam is a handsome hardcover book, lavishly illustrated with over 250 color and black & white photographs. This work catalogs 36 types of American equipment: wheeled vehicles, tracked vehicles, towed artillery, and self-propelled guns.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
April 1, 2022
Company
Hauler Brengun
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$7.50

This set provides replacements for the ventral fins for the F-14 Tomcat in 1/72 scale. As the ventral fins remained the same throughout the Tomcat’s production run, they can be used on the F-14A, the F-14A+/B and the F-14D. The set is generic in that it is not designed to be used just on one particular manufacturer’s kit.

To simplify production and especially maintenance and supply requirements, the left and right ventral fins on the F-14 Tomcat were identical, so the same part could be used on either side. Taking advantage of this fact, Brengun/Hauler’s set provides two identical castings of the ventral fin. Rather than make different versions of the ventral fin to fit different model kits, Brengun/Hauler elected to mimic Grumman’s decision and the set includes two identical parts.