The excellent books on the Bf-109 by Richard A. Franks have been out of print for a few years now, so Valiant Wings decided to reprint and expand on the original book by issuing the Second Edition of The Messerschmitt Bf 109 Late Series (F to K including the Z series).

The book is divided on the following sections

Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMS/USA for the review copy!

The rapid Russian army takeover of Southeast Europe in 1944 is a seldom-covered topic, but its importance loomed huge for the Cold War and the fates of those countries to this very day. Kamen Nevenkin presents viewpoints of the events from German, Russian and the countries involved perspectives. This book shows the realities of war on the Southeastern Front, where nations changed allegiances, national boundaries were redrawn, and the Soviet expansion was inexorable. Numerous photographs show the conduct and aftermath of brutal battles, and are not for the faint-hearted. This book is an excellent primer on this little-known, forgotten theatre of WW2.

Laffley was a French vehicle manufacturer known for innovative engineering. In 1938 they developed the first prototype for a light military towing vehicle with an advanced transmission and unique suspension system employing “bumper” wheels on both the front and center of the chassis to aid in cross-country travel. Despite its advanced systems, only about 200 were built before the Fall of France, most of them never being employed in combat. However, the Wehrmacht was impressed with the design and impounded the majority of them to serve as light utility and radio transport. Only about four vehicles still exist.

ICM has produced a nicely detailed kit of this interesting machine, which features 6 sprues of detailed parts, clear parts, vinyl main wheels (although the bumper wheels are plastic), all creating a highly detailed chassis and engine. A couple of unused parts on the sprues suggests that a German version of this vehicle may be in the offing for the future.

Vietnam Earth texture from Ammo is a newish edition to their line of Vignettes Acrylics. This product is designed for small and medium sized dioramas or vignettes and comes ready to use in a 100ml tub.

This particular product has a coarser texture than some of the other textural products ( I.E. concrete) in AMMO/MiG's catalog.

Borrowing from Ammo's own description: The application method is remarkably simple. You can use any kind of tool at hand and the Vietnam Earth Texture can be mixed with other weathering materials such as pigments or acrylic paints to create a full range of authentic earthen effects. It can be used for any scale ranging from 1/16 to 1/72. Using this product, you can obtain a perfect finish in your scenes, virtually mimicking real soil. The new format has been optimized for working on scenes and dioramas, so that the product always remains in perfect conditions for each use.

Historical Background

The Republic P-43A “Lancer” was the immediate ancestor of the P-47 “Thunderbolt”, and was only produced in relatively small quantities at the beginning of World War II. Its immediate competitors for production contracts were the Lockheed XP-38, Bell XP-39, and Curtiss XP-40, all of which were produced in far greater numbers. However, Republic made up the differences when they produced the P-47, which turned out to be one of the best fighters of the war. The P-43A was powered by a supercharged Pratt & Whitney R-1830-35 radial engine, and was armed with .50 cal. Machine guns, although lack of self sealing fuel tanks was a disadvantage.