Although not as famous as the U.S. Army’s GMC CCKW ‘Deuce-and-a-half’ the Studebaker US6 trucks were historically important trucks in their own right. Over 200,000 were built by Studebaker and Reo, with the vast majority of these trucks provided as ‘Lend-Lease’ to the Soviet Union and other allies. Although not ‘standard’ in the U.S. Army, many trucks were used by the U.S. Army Corps of engineers and transportation units in building and using supply routes such as the Alaska-Canada Highway, the Ledo Road from India to China, and the Persian Corridor from the Persian Gulf to the Soviet Union. (Tankograd Technical Manual Series #6037 and Wikipedia).

When ICM released their 1/32^nd scale AH-1G series of models there was an outcry from US modelers, why in this scale? Helicopters are not like other aircraft where there are ‘preferred scales. Airplanes typically are sold in 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32^nd scale. Helicopters come in a more varied scale assortment. The common thought is that they are more akin to armored vehicles so they have been molded in 1/35^th instead of the common 1/32^nd scale so you could take advantage of armor figures and accessories. European manufacturers, namely Revell-Germany, have released helicopters in 1/32^nd but they are not as common as the 1/35^th offerings. So, US helicopter modelers reached out in forums and said that we prefer 1/35^th scale. ICM listened and decided to downscale their offering to the more common helicopter scale for the US market of 1/35th scale.

Founded in 2001, Casemate is a major specialist publisher and book distributor in the North American market. Casemate offers print and digital books to the public and to libraries through a variety of channels, platforms, and vendors, as well as traditional and online retailers.Casemate has grown to become the leading publisher in the fields of military history, defense studies, and military science in the USA. Casemate has a burgeoning publishing list covering subjects as diverse as Roman History and today's current conflicts. This series, Casemate Illustrated Specials is focused on offering focused text and detailed photographs and illustrations into the weapons, equipment, and machinery of war.

In a follow-up to the Bay of Pigs' attempt to oust Fidel Castro from power in Cuba came the events leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. This 37^th book in the Helion & Company Latin America at War series provides daily insights into the identification, escalation, and resolution that took place from January 1961 through December 1962. The author, Linda Rios Bromley, takes the reader into meeting rooms, briefings, and events that took place during one of the most critical events of the post-WW2 world during the 20^th century.

F-Toys/Platz have been producing small-scale (1/144th) aircraft kits for a few days now and originally released their F-16 kit in 2015. This latest iteration has new parts and decals that will allow you to build an F-16C with conformal fuel tanks. The new parts, in a soft resin, are those tanks and decals for a test bed aircraft stationed at Eglin AFB circa 2001 and another assigned to the 14th Fighter Squadron at Misawa AFB, Japan.

The kit comes in an open-ended box with some extra bits that will allow you to build several different configurations should you so choose. At the very least you will have some excellent parts (various under-wing stores) for the spares box. There is even a pilot figure. Another nice addition is an alternative vertical stabilizer with the braking parachute housing.