With every major conflict or war there are new developments on how fighting gets executed. The German use of the Panzergrenadiers is one such development that came along to support their novel Blitzkreig tactics of the Second World War. If a charge was to be ‘lightning’ fast, it could not be done with the traditional walking pace of infantry following fast moving armor. By motorizing troop movements via armored carrier and piggybacking personnel on tanks, German troops could move quickly to take advantage of the rapid changes in the battlefield.

The United States Marine Corps were a major operator of the F-4 Phantom during the Vietnam war flying both the B and J versions.

AoA’s very comprehensive set covers six Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons with more than 15 possible schemes. There is also a full set of stencils included for one aircraft.

The squadrons are:

• VMFA-115 Silver Eagles which include some neat looking metallic eagles
• VMFA-212 Lancers
• VMFA-232 Red Devils with their distinctive squadron markings
• VMFA-314 Black Knights
• VMFA-323 Death Rattlers which also includes helmet decals
• VMFA-334 Falcons

There are left side profiles and top views for all aircraft and multiple pages for the stencils which cover all sides of the aircraft. There is also a small sheet that covers details for each airframe including paint specifics and instructions if certain decals need to be applied before others.

This set provides replacements for the ventral fins for the F-14 Tomcat in 1/72 scale. As the ventral fins remained the same throughout the Tomcat’s production run, they can be used on the F-14A, the F-14A+/B and the F-14D. The set is generic in that it is not designed to be used just on one particular manufacturer’s kit.

To simplify production and especially maintenance and supply requirements, the left and right ventral fins on the F-14 Tomcat were identical, so the same part could be used on either side. Taking advantage of this fact, Brengun/Hauler’s set provides two identical castings of the ventral fin. Rather than make different versions of the ventral fin to fit different model kits, Brengun/Hauler elected to mimic Grumman’s decision and the set includes two identical parts.

Scale Aircraft Conversions, located in Texas, is well known to be a source of high-quality white metal landing gear sets for aircraft. Visiting the SAC Home Page on the internet, SAC states that,

“We manufacture a line of white metal landing gear for 1/18 to 1/144 scale aircraft. Some sets consist of the main gear only while others include the nose gear, tail gear and/or adjacent related components. Some inaccuracies in the original kit gear have been corrected but the mounting points remain identical to the factory parts. With numerous sets we have not sought to duplicate non load bearing component parts where the factory plastic parts are reasonably accurate. “

SAC also notes that they have been in business since 1990, offering white metal and resin parts. The SAC website features a page that will help the “first-timer” to successfully install the white metal parts of the model. Look for the navigation link labeled, “Using White Metal”.

In the Book

There are no chapters in this book. It’s contents are only 3 view drawings of the F-105 in 1/72 scale. Depicted in the drawings are the

• F-105D-10-RE
• F-105D-31-RE
• F-105F
• F-105G

The first set of drawings also include all the fuselage formers AA through GG.

Given that the book is only 3 view drawings and has 8 pages there is not a lot to write about. If you are a 105 fan than this would be something to add to your collection. This book would be a definite must if you are building a model true to scale and reference material.

The drawings are high quality and very detailed.

Summary

I want to thank Casemate and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review the publication.