Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
October 8, 2023
Company
Squadron
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$6.95

This product consists of two vacuformed canopies for FW-190 and TA-152 kits in 1l/72 scale. One canopy is the early flat variety, while the other is the “blown hood” type. The instructions state that they can be used for the Airfix, Frog, and Revell kits, but given the fact that there are numerous kits of FW-190 variants in 1/72 scale, these canopies should be useable for almost any of the available kits, although my experience shows that many of the available FW0-190 kits have totally accurate canopies, and do not require replacements. One use might be to use this type of canopy to display an open canopy to show cockpit detail, as they are very clearly molded.

Order several of these from Squadron and you’ll have one when you need it. Highly recommended. Thanks to Phil Peterson and Bill O’Malley for the review sample.

Book Author(s)
Ian Baxter
Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
October 8, 2023
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$24.95

The book is another in the great Images of War series. This book covers the history and actions of the German Self-Propelled Artillery at war 1940-1945 in rare photographs.

The book covers all the major battles as shown in the Chapter titles.

  1. 1940-1941.
  2. 1942-1943
  3. The End 1944-1945
    • Appendix I – Vehicle Specifications
    • Appendix II – Camouflage and Zimmerit

The images in the book are excellent and cover all the various Self-Propelled Artillery Vehicles used by the German Army in WWII.

The book is full of amazing photos, many gave me an insight into the conditions I have not considered before. There is a lot of Diorama inspiration in this book.

Thanks go to Pen and Sword / Casemate Publishing for providing this book to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them.

Review Author
Chris Martin
Published on
October 8, 2023
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$87.99

Summary

The kit is an extremely well detailed version of the civilian AR-2 (43105) 6x6 in service as a special fire hose truck. The model has a complete chassis with a full engine, a well detailed cab, and a fire hose box with outstanding exterior detail. The fire hose box itself is empty. So if one wanted to display the doors open an interior would need to be fabricated.

Background

The following is excerpted from the instruction sheet.

Review Author
Chris Martin
Published on
October 8, 2023
Company
ICM
Scale
NA
MSRP
$11.99

About ICM Paints

Water-based acrylic paints by ICM. Paints are prepared for brush, for airbrush dilute it with water or ICM Thinner. The range includes 77 base colors, but colors can be mixed with each other to easily achieve a desired shade. The paint is stable after drying. A wide assortment of paint sets are also available.

The Set

ICM acrylic paint set “Item 3031: Fire Trucks” contains six basic colors for use on most any type of fire truck. The front of the box has artwork of the AR-2 (43105) Special Fire Hose Truck. A small square of the six colors provided in the set appears in the lower right. The top has a photo of the six bottles. The rear of the box shows color callouts for an AR-2 (43105) Special Fire Hose Truck. Instructions for use are printed on the bottom of the box.

Book Author(s)
David Grummitt, Tom Foxon, and Andy Whittaker
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
October 8, 2023
Company
Guideline Publications
MSRP
$15.00

Fantasy Figures International is a figures, fantasy and Sci-Fi modeling magazine produced four times a year by Guideline Publications out of the United Kingdom. The cover price is £5.99 ($15 in the US), with an annual subscription or £20. Digital editions are available for £3.99 per issue or £11.99 for an annual subscription. In this era of increased publishing and shipping prices, digital editions are a viable option, especially for those modelers who don’t want a physical copy to read.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
October 8, 2023
Company
Value Gear
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$17.00

I jumped at the chance to review the Value Gear M10-ACH as I am a huge fan of Value Gear, its amazing sets, and its owner (and producer, shipper, sales, customer service, and everything else to make a company work guy), Steve Munsell (also known as one of the nicest guys in our hobby).

To best set the stage for this review, here is Value Gear's Goal from their website:

The Value Gear idea is to give model builders (me included) a more useful spares box! Creating and casting sets of Generic/Universal stowage. No helmets no weapons and nothing to keep you from using it in a wooden cart, a chariot, a truck, or a panther tank. "Any Army Any Era!" is my motto. They won't work on everything but so far I have seen people use them on so many different trucks and tanks and even some War Hammer tanks and dioramas. Stowage are accents to help give your model some story or a lived in realistic look. Armies live under canvas...

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
October 8, 2023
Company
Value Gear
Scale
1:35
MSRP
$17.00

I jumped at the chance to review the Value Gear USA Modern Gear Set #2 as I am a huge fan of Value Gear, its amazing sets, and its owner (and producer, shipper, sales, customer service, and everything else to make a company work guy), Steve Munsell (also known as one of the nicest guys in our hobby).

To best set the stage for this review, here is Value Gear's Goal from their website:

The Value Gear idea is to give model builders (me included) a more useful spares box! Creating and casting sets of Generic/Universal stowage. No helmets no weapons and nothing to keep you from using it in a wooden cart, a chariot, a truck, or a panther tank. "Any Army Any Era!" is my motto. They won't work on everything but so far, I have seen people use them on so many different trucks and tanks and even some War Hammer tanks and dioramas. Stowage are accents to help give your model some story or a lived-in realistic look. Armies live under canvas.

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
October 8, 2023
Company
ICM
Scale
1:35
MSRP
$79.99

I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the Civil War era, as this is the period in history that my father taught at the university. ICM has really delivered in this area, offering no less than four different infantry figure sets, each with a superb sprue of associated equipment, making it very easy to convert these figures as you choose.

ICM has now taken this a step further in introducing a full set of all four kits along with their associated gear for a total of sixteen figures and four equipment sprues. As you might guess, this is a real boon for figure modelers and certainly guarantees a good number of modeling nights in the garage for this particular enthusiast.

Review Author
Mike Kellner
Published on
October 8, 2023
Company
HK Models Co.
Scale
1:32
MSRP
$220.00

The A-20 G of this kit was built by Douglas under the company designation DB-7. 7478 were built, with nearly a third of them going to the Soviets. It served in many theaters, operated by the English, French, Americans, and Soviets. It had a crew of three, with its first flight being January 23, 1939 and being retired by the Brazilian Air Force in the late 1950s. A P-70 night fighter variant was built as a stop-gap until the P-61 Black Widow became available. The A-20G had a top speed of 317mph, and a cruise speed of 280mph. It was powered by two Wright R-2600 engines with three-bladed Hamilton standard propellers and had a wing span a little over 61 feet with a length of almost 48 feet.

Book Author(s)
David Grummitt, Managing Editor
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
October 8, 2023
Company
Guideline Publications
MSRP
$15.00

Military Modelcraft International is a military modeling magazine produced by Guideline Publications and hails from Great Britain. According to the Military Modelcraft International Magazine website,

Military Modelcraft International is the UK’s leading military modelling magazine, with a truly global reach attracting the best modellers in the world to its pages. Each month MMI brings you a mixture of in-depth build articles, reviews of the latest kits and accessories, superb reference articles, and reports from model shows across the world. MMI’s focus is on providing you with the inspiration and knowledge to improve your own modelling skills and gain more from the hobby whether that be from archive photos and references or modelling tricks and tips.