By 1943, the US Navy had committed itself to an ambitious carrier building program, including not only the full-size Essex class carriers, but also a lot more smaller escort/jeep carriers. The escort carriers were envisioned to be equipped with a composite squadron comprised of Wildcat fighters and Avenger torpedo aircraft. As Grumman had ceased building both types of aircraft in order to concentrate on building F6F Hellcats, license production of Wildcats was transferred to General Motors, resulting in the FM-1 and FM-2 aircraft. The FM-1 was essentially a four gun F4F-4 Wildcat, while the FM-2 featured a more powerful engine, resulting in more engine torque necessitating the installation of a taller vertical tail on the FM-2 (which is accurately depicted on the FM-2 kit).

This volume continues Harpia Publishing’s look at the air arms of some of the less well-known nations of the world, examining the Republic of Korea’s Air Force (ROKAF).

With a highly unstable and unpredictable neighbor to the north, the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) has to be constantly on guard and ready to fight. To ensure its ability to do this, it is closely allied with the United States and operates not only some of the most modern aircraft built in the United States, but also several modern indigenous designs.

The book focuses on the ROKAF, its history, its current capabilities, its challenges, and its future. It also looks at the politics and alliances that play out in this region. The book is divided into eight chapters with two appendices:

Ian Baxter is a prolific author and has an impressive collection of photographs, many previously unpublished. The book follows the familiar Images of War format with brief introductions for each chapter followed by a lot of photographs to tell the story. While a plethora of books have been written about German armor, Ian’s latest book focuses on Germany’s allies Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, their armor, and German armor in their formations.

The Armour of Hitler's Allies in Action, 1943–1945, is composed of an introduction, four chapters and two appendixes:

• Chapter One: Joining the Axis Powers
• Chapter Two: Romania, 1943-44
• Chapter Three: Bulgaria, 1944
• Chapter Four: Hungary, 1943-45
• Appendix One: Order of Battle
• Appendix Two: Tanks used by the Axis Powers

Historical Background

This book is part of a series of detailed accounts of the developments of Arab air forces in the Middle East, concentrating mainly on the World War II era. One of the authors was a postwar pilot in the Egyptian Air Force, and the other was a PhD in Middle East History. The authors have divided the book into four major sections, the Anglo-Iraq War (May, 1941), Rebuilding the Royal Iraqi Air Force (1941-1942), the Development of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (1941-1945), and Local Involvement in Air Operations in Other Arab Lands, (1941-1942.

This Report 3 covers the completion of the build from Steps 49 through 64.

As stated in the previous two reports, the fit of plastic parts was excellent. Issues encountered involved the handling and attachment of small plastic and thin PE parts, particularly where there is little if any gluing surface, and with lack of detail in the instructions. None of the issues are deal killers. Each can be handled if you are aware of them in advance and plan accordingly.

Parts and Photoetch Issues

Overall, the thinness of the PE caused some headaches, as it was easy to damage or bend some parts out of shape in the routine handling and cutting of the parts off the sheets.

Examples