The F-35 Lightning II is an American single-seat multi-role aircraft developed through the Joint Strike Fighter program. The F-35C is the third airframe from this program to enter operational service. It was specifically designed to fill the role of a carrier-operated long range stealth strike fighter. It differs from the other previous variants by having larger wings for slower landing speeds and increased payloads, folding outer wings, a catapult capable twin-wheel nose gear, and a stronger tail hook for arrested landings. The F-35C entered service in August of 2021, with the first squadron of F-35Cs from VFA-147 on the carrier USS Carl Vinson.

This is the seventh book in the MMP Books Single Vehicle Series (as it is a Polish company, it isn’t surprising that three books are dedicated to Polish vehicles, 7TP single and twin-turret and Vickers E), two vehicles operated by Polish forces (SU-76M and T-72M1), and Type 5 Ha- Gō). The Single Vehicle series are short books, between 24 and 28 pages, and focus on that vehicle. This is not a book for someone wanting to read about the operational history, employment, etc. as the writing is limited to well detailed captions.

Background

The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the original jeep, and others such as the Vietnam War-era M151 jeep, the M561 "Gama Goat", their M718A1 and M792 ambulance versions, the Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle, and other light trucks. Primarily used by the United States military, it is also used by numerous other countries and organizations and even in civilian adaptations. The Humvee saw widespread use in the Gulf War of 1991, where it navigated the treacherous desert terrain; this usage helped to inspire civilian Hummer versions. The vehicle's original unarmored design was later seen to be inadequate. The vehicle was found to be particularly vulnerable to improvised explosive devices in the Iraq War. The U.S.

Bottom Line Up Front

This is a new tooling of the Bf-109 G14 from Zoukei-Mura introduced in 2022. As with the two other Zoukei-Mura kits I have built (J2M3 and DO-335), this kit is really designed to have all of the panels opened. Especially those around the engine. With the panels opened up, you don’t need to worry about gaps and alignments. If you build the model with these panels closed, you will have to address the gaps, because they can be significant. If you want to build a 109 in this scale with the panels closed, you are better off with the Hasegawa kit. The Revell kit also has the ability to open up the engine bay and is less expensive. This kit is very detailed and you should take your time in building (or assembling) it. It builds up into a nicely detailed rendition of a 109.

The Mig Solution Book “How to Modern Russian Tanks” is book number 07 and is a soft bound magazine style offering. The book is 68 pages in full color with photographs on almost every page and is available in four languages.

The first section of the book is a description of products of all paints and materials that Mig offers to be used during the weather and paint processes explained in the book, ending with a full page of icons that are used throughout the book. The Icons are used to describe or explain what the builder is to do during each various step such as paint, washes, wait for a certain amount of time to let paint dry, airbrush paint ratios etc. I recommend that you make a copy of the page for reference so that you do not have to keep flipping back and forth in the book to look up the meanings of the icons.

The book is well illustrated and shows the weathering for a Russian tank in steps as follows.

Hauler is a Czech Republic company that produces high quality resin & photo-etched sets for AFVs, airplanes, cars, railway vehicles, accessories for dioramas and resin kits. Their products are available online or in the US from UMM-USA or from Stevens International through your local hobby shop.

The military provisions set includes various food supplies including wine bottles, several crates with various vegetables, a sack of potatoes, several wicker baskets, several bread loaves, cheese loaf, a ham, and several meats & sausages. The parts are crisply molded in resin with very nice detail. All the parts are attached to pour blocks that will need to be carefully removed with a razor saw.

A new tooled kit from Tamiya. It is the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II in 1/72nd scale. This is one of those “Must Buy” kind of kits.

In the Box

Out of the box, this kit has gray sprues labeled A-B, C-D and are connected by a single sprue frame. There are two (2) F sprues for ordnance and wheels. The upper fuselage-wing is on sprue G and the lower fuselage-wing is on sprue G2. A clear sprue labeled E has the canopy, EOTS cover fairing, and lights.

A pilot figure is included, and ordnance includes two (2) AIM-9X Sidewinder Missiles and four (4) GBU-12 Paveway II Bombs.

A large decal sheet is provided for three (3) schemes: USAF 34th FS, 388th FW (June 2022), JASDF 301st FS, 3rd Wing (September 2022), JASDF 302 FS, 3rd Wing (September 2022). For this review I chose to do the JASDF 301st FS.

The book is another in the great Images of War series. This book covers the history and actions of the Allies during the Italian Campaign from the invasion if Sicily in 1943 to the end of the war in June 1945. The books front cover I think may be incorrect at it states 1941 not 1943.

This is the forgotten campaign as it was later overshadowed by D-Day. In Italy there were over 600,000 Casualties and well over 100,000 dead. Soldiers of many nationals took part in this campaign. The fighting at time was some of the most grueling and hardest fought campaigns of the war.

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

The book is from The Latin America at War series volume 32, and is the first volume of the history of El Salvador from 1970 through 1983. The book is divided into 8 main areas with an Introduction, set of abbreviations, Conclusion, Select Bibliography and a small information about the author.

The section dealing with the Bibliography gives you the name of the principal political, military and groups involved in the struggle. The names/abbreviations are given first in Spanish and then in English. This section is important to the book and one that the reader will continuously be checking during the reading of the book. The Introduction then provides you with the reasons for the book

The story of the Normandie (later, Normandie-Niemen) Escadrilles makes for fascinating reading. Originally recruited by DeGaulle himself, these French pilots flew for the Soviets in Soviet-made aircraft at more than typical risk to themselves. The Germans saw this development as a breach of the French Vichy government’s surrender agreement and made it a policy to execute any French pilots downed in their territory. In addition, family and relatives of the downed pilots were arrested back in France and sent to concentration camps, where few survived.

Despite this threat, the small French unit would wind up with over 30 confirmed aces and a total of 273 enemy aircraft downed by war’s end, making them the second highest scoring aerial unit in the Soviet Union. In addition, no Russian bomber under escort by them was ever lost to enemy action.

I must admit that when I first saw these paints, I did think that they were not really needed in this hobby as we have been dry brushing using normal paint for many years.

But I have been using them now for some time and I confirm they are in fact another useful product.

This set is very good, and I used them on a German North Africa Stug. and with great results.

I have also used this in an airbrush for shading and as a paint on other materials so they can be used in other ways very successfully.

Summary

These are very useful, and I have found it a great addition to my toolbox!

Thanks go to Ammo by Mig Jimenez for providing this set to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them.

One advantage of white metal over styrene plastic is strength. Metal parts will not warp under the weight of a built model regardless of the size of the aircraft, no matter how many years it stands on display. Another advantage of white metal is the way it holds up under "working" conditions (drilling, scoring, sanding, etc.), as it is much denser than styrene plastic and has a much higher melting point. Being quite malleable, it can be bent without the fear of breaking & a useful characteristic when it comes to final alignment "tweeking". Note: SAC white metal contains no lead.

This set is ideal for adding extra strength to your 1:35 scale Border Models Messerschmitt Bf-109G aircraft models’ landing gear. This set contains 7 nicely-cast white metal parts to enhance your project. As white metal is soft, one of the main gear axles in my sample was bent. Easy enough to correct.

ICM continues to pump out interesting new kits and paint sets despite being in a brutal war that has lasted 487 days as I sit here typing this review up. The subject here is one in a growing line of 1/16 scale figure kits- Soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Highly praised by military experts around the world, the Ukrainian army is now considered to be among the best trained and skilled in the world thanks to its experience fighting modern combat.

What’s Inside the Box

The kit comes as the standard ICM kit does—with a colorful box top that slides off of an enclosed cardboard box with flap. Parts were packaged well and details were crisp with no flash to speak of.

Introduction

With a mid-engined configuration, sturdy tricycle landing gear, and nose-mounted 37 mm cannon, the Bell P-39 was a thoughtful and innovative design. However, the plane lacked the all-out performance of some other key fighters available to Allied fliers (e.g., Spitfire, Hellcat, Mustang), particularly at altitude. Largely rejected by British and American combat squadrons, the Airacobra was much better received in the Soviet Union, where the Red Air Force successfully deployed large quantities of the type against the Luftwaffe. This new entry in the Legends of Warfare series features detailed photographic coverage of all variants of the Airacobra, including prototypes, trainer versions, production models C through Q, and the P-400

Contents

This publication is broken down into chapters as follows:

ICM continues to announce new models despite the ongoing Russian initiated war in Ukraine. While most subjects released by ICM are welcome, the current conflict subjects are even more relevant and welcome. When anything military engineer-related hits the market, I am intrigued; this kit is a double hit for me.

Unexploded munitions, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), booby traps and mines are hallmarks of modern warfare. Breaching obstacles and cleaning up battlefields often fall to sappers and combat engineers. This fantastic ICM kit begs to be opened upon arrival. Upon opening the colorful lid and cover of the typical sturdy ICM box, there is a reinforced white inner box that does a good job of protecting the single sprue containing the three Sapper figures and dog, along with an advertisement folder for ICM acrylic paints.

The first chapter/section deals with a history of the Ukrainian armed forces from August, 1991. The history continues with the events of November, 2013. and during 2014, the authors begin to provide us with information about how the Ukrainians started rebuilding their forces. How Ukraine started to arm itself, as well as the overhauling of its forces is addressed. Such topics as defensive weapons, the Army Aviation, Territorial defense, National Guard and Air Power are touch upon. The chapter ends with a short review of the Ukrainian Navy.

We’ve had the Testors O-2A Skymaster for many years but with the release of the ICM O-2A we get a modern tooled version of this aircraft.

Inside of an 8.5 x 11 ziplock baggie are three pages of double-sided, high quality paper instructions printed in full color. The instructions are full of useful information including loadouts and color callouts. There are 11 USAF/VNAF O-2As and three O-2Bs. The colors range from all black, to grey and white to camouflaged O-2Bs. Included in the decals and instructions are markings for three O-2B aircraft, straight off the shelf Cessnas fitted with loudspeakers and leaflets. True there isn’t a kit or conversion yet but there are decals for those so inclined. I thought that was a nice touch plus they are colorful. That will be my next one.

No one can argue that being a war correspondent is anything but dangerous work. Journalists who choose this branch of their profession face death, kidnapping, torture and more on a regular basis, as well as dealing with the repercussions this activity can have on their family lives back home. All of this is especially true in this age, where the “Press” label affords far less protection than it has in the past.

ICM is no stranger to controversial or challenging subjects, and this package offers a selection of figures that can be utilized in a wide variety of contemporary settings, not just the Ukrainian conflict. This set includes a camerawoman, a video cameraman, an interviewer with microphone and a standing Ukrainian soldier. I believe the journalists are supposed to represent international correspondents (rather than Ukrainian) as the PRESS markings are in English on both their helmets and vests.

Introduction

Sleek, futuristic and deadly – the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon was born from the crucible of the air war over Vietnam and the need for cheaper, simpler and more maneuverable fighter aircraft with which to combat the many thousands of Soviet-bloc supplied aircraft sold around the world. Back in the early 1970s the F-16 was the pinnacle of modern design, integrating a powerful turbofan engine and offering unrivaled maneuverability – thanks to its relaxed static stability and fly-by-wire system with computer control. Today’s F-16 Viper is light years away from the simple, lightweight point defense fighter first envisaged, but it has evolved and matured into the finest and most exported fourth-generation combat aircraft around the world. This is its story.

The book's cover has a stunning, head-on, in-flight photo of an F-16.

I’ve built two ICM AH-1Gs in 1/32nd scale. They are great kits, but the landing gear mounts can be fragile in the hands of a ham-fisted modeler like myself. On the two I built I had to pin and glue the gear back on a couple of times. It was frustrating as it was near the end of the build.

The difference between the early and late gear is the early gear has the fairing around the crosstubes. The late are just the round crosstubes.

Inside SAC’s typical blister pack are two white metal landing gear and four parts for the ground handling wheels. Mine were perfectly cast and were exact replicas of the kit landing gear, but stronger. This set does NOT have the aerodynamic fairings installed. Many of the later Vietnam era Cobras had the fairings removed to save weight but more importantly was they really didn’t help. They were a major pain to remove and reinstall.

Atlantis Models gets credit for another Tom Daniel classic save by resurrecting the Glowing Ghost of the Red Baron kit Atlantis M6742-Model Kit. At 1:4 scale it’s easy to work with and It’s a great kit for beginners too.

Attesting to its popularity the kit’s been re-released a few times in various versions as well as, but this fresh new 2023 offering by Atlantis Models is the first reissue in decades.

Originally released as kit #PC220 in 1969, and according to Tom, “I thought we could do something fun with the chrome helmet again (at the time) and sketched out this skeleton "ghost" design on a place mat at a Mexican restaurant.”

Also included is a beautiful new waterslide decal sheet featuring the Iron Cross markings from WWI and a rubber band to activate the “bobble bone” and invoke the jittering eyeballs.

The original, “far out” instructions now printed in red and black, detail the 10,740 steps required for construction.

Ryan Aircraft was awarded a contract to develop a new, second-generation target drone based loosely on the Q-2A drone. It vaguely resembled its Q-2A ancestor in general outline. The BQM-34 would spawn a whole family of remotely controlled drones, from the original aerial target, up to reconnaissance variants.

Molded in light grey plastic, there are 42 pieces in all, four of which are not used in the build. The only major problem with the kit is that the intake lip, for some reason, is a separate piece.

Chasing the Soft Underbelly - Turkey and the Second World War is an amazing, detailed and concise (for the breadth of history covered) book on Turkey’s involvement in World War II, its involvement in the Balkans, its neighboring countries, and the aftermath of World War I that saw the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. While this is not an easy book to digest if you don’t have any background with Turkey, the Balkans, or the principal players (especially the non- historically relatable Turkish leaders), it is well worth the time and money invested. It will fill in a lot of previously known factors of Turkey and its neighbors in the critical 20th Century.

Anthony Tucker Jones really doesn’t need an introduction to military history readers with his impressive book pedigree, over 500 articles and his contributions to modelers through Pen & Sword and Casemate. His latest book builds on his impressive reputation, and his ability to tie in well-known history of a pivotal and influential German Field Marshall, along with amazing color photographs from Ian Spring’s digital archive, makes this a highly recommended book.

Rommel's Afrika Korps in Colour - Rare German Photographs from the Second World War, is composed of an introduction, five parts with 14 chapters, and an order of battle:

Operation Chastise, the Dambusters Raid, hardly needs an introduction to anyone remotely interested in military aviation history. In this 80th anniversary year, there are several new books about the raid. This slim new volume from Guideline explores different aspects of the operation, its build-up, and aftermath in a general and abbreviated manner.

Author Des Brennan will be familiar to modeling magazine readers, and he approaches the subject with a number of short chapters outlining topics including:

• The development of the Lancaster
• Short biography of Barnes Wallis, developer of the ‘bouncing bomb’
• Bomber Command and Arthur Harris
• Preparations for the Raid
• The aftermath
• And others.

It’s an interesting, if short read. Brennan does a good job distilling the essentials into a cogent narrative.