Reviews

Book Author(s)
Edward Crowther
Review Author
Orlando Reyes
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

This is book #21 of the series Europe @ War series. The book is also, Volume #1 of a subseries dealing with the war in Ukraine. In this book the information deals with the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). The book consists of an Introduction, 10 Chapters, as well as a conclusion and bibliography. Within text you will find a breakdown of The Minister of Defense, and a known order of battle of the DPR and 21 profiles dealing with the equipment and personnel of the DPR. Many of the photos consist of unit patches, magnets and postcards. The postcards were issued by the DPR and are under the name of "Gold Star Heroes."

Review Author
Ben Morton
Published on
Company
AMMO by Mig Jimenez
Scale
NA
MSRP
$8.30

AMMO's Terraform Premium Textures series includes a number of different shades of texturing material for your next project. Or if you are just in the mood for a new landscaping adventure. The subject for today's missive is their Thin Concrete.

This product comes in a 100ml tub and as is the case with all of AMMO's texturing products, is water soluble. A fact that came in handy as my sample was a tad dry. I added a little distilled water which returned the texturing material to a more malleable state. These products can also be mixed with any acrylic based paint or other textures. It should be noted that the dried material does make convincing street or building rubble.

Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
Company
David Doyle Books
MSRP
$19.95

Squadron’s in Action series is back!

This volume covers the F/A-18 Hornet, Super Hornet and the E/A-18G Growler and it was one of the pending titles that had been announced before the Squadron Shop went into bankruptcy and its assets were auctioned off a couple of years ago.

The book follows the familiar “In Action” format starting with a brief history of the development of the F/A-18 for the United States Navy and Marine Corps starting with Northup’s YF-17. There are brief discussions of the various versions of the aircraft starting with the F/A-18 A & B models, followed by the F/A-18 C & D models, then the F/A-18 E & F Super Hornets and finally the E/A-18G Growler. Following each section of text are numerous color photographs illustrating airframe details and some of the markings worn by each of the variants as well as the upgrades that were made to the different versions over the years to keep up with advances in electronics and weapons.

Review Author
Michael Novosad
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$7.43

A funny thing happened on the way to preparing this review. I could not find this item on the Quickboost web site, the Aires web site on on any of the on-line retailers that I normally buy from. However I did find it listed with Super-Hobby for $7.43. For those modelers wishing to purchase this set you may need to search to find a supplier.

Background (from Wikipedia)

An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters. IRST is a generalized case of forward looking infrared (FLIR), i.e. from forward-looking to all-round situation awareness. Such systems are passive (thermographic camera), meaning they do not give out any radiation of their own, unlike radar. This gives them the advantage that they are difficult to detect.

Book Author(s)
Jack Holroyd
Review Author
Orlando Reyes
Published on
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$32.95

The book covers from the Battle of Guadalcanal through The battle of The Atlantic. The book is divided into 12 chapters, foreword by the author, bibliography, and Index. The Index consists of 11 pages. The sources of the photos consist of photos from Germany, England, Japan, United States, and Russia, as well as from personal archives. The book is an excellent compilation of war photos describing the events that took place during the fourth year of WWII. Again, like in previous volumes the photos are sharp and of very good quality. A very good detail of equipment, personnel both military and civilian is well represented.

Book Author(s)
Jean Paul Pallud
Review Author
Orlando Reyes
Published on
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$89.95

The book covers a detailed account of the battle that took place between May 10 through June 24 in which 6 countries found themselves at war. This battle took place across 6 European nations. These nations were involved in a 45 day chaotic war that ended in one of the most unique military campaigns of modern times. The book is part of The After The Battle Series and is in its fourth printing.

The book is divided into 5 parts each describing a specific time during that war. From: "Peace in Our Time" through the collapse of the French Army the book accounts for the battles that took place. In addition, the book A section accounting for the photo credits; a Glossary and a 27 page Index divided into three areas- General section; localities section and Personnel section. The book is full of information and a wealth of photos for those interested in this battle, or in the history of WWII.

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$60.99

In my last review concerning this interesting French vehicle, I described how the prototype was developed in 1938 with some of the most advanced mechanical technology of the day. The distinctive look of the machine is based on a double set of “bumper” wheels placed both in the center and the front of the chassis, designed to make the vehicle far more capable in an off-road capacity. Overall, only about 200 of these vehicles were manufactured before the fall of France, with most of them never seeing combat. Those that survived were largely converted by the occupying German forces into utility and radio cars for the Wehrmacht.

The original kit consisted of 6 sprues of well-detailed parts as well as vinyl main wheels. This iteration includes an additional small sprue which contains a machine gun pintle, two different versions of the Hotchkiss machine gun dating back to World War One, and a single box of additional ammunition.

Book Author(s)
Jakub Fojtík
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Guideline Publications
MSRP
$34.00

Guideline Publications Guideline Publications is the UK's leading publisher of modelling and hobby-related magazines. With a world-class portfolio of titles and an international Social Media presence, Guideline Publications has a dedicated readership that is constantly expanding into new areas.

Book Author(s)
Mike Rinaldi
Review Author
Michael Reeves
Published on
Company
Rinaldi Studio Press
MSRP
$27.50

I was very pleased when I heard the news that Casemate was going to be carrying Mike Rinaldi's excellent books. This Single Model series differs from the original books in size and instead of covering a handful of different projects to highlight his techniques, they focus on obviously a single model- in this case a Bandai Sazabi Custom kit. Anyone who has ever watched a Mike Rinaldi seminar in person or on You Tube knows you are getting educated when you take the time to listen and absorb what he is teaching.