This is another book in this series, each concerning itself with one particular type or class of ship. This one is about British Anti-/Aircraft Cruisers and includes ships specifically built for this mission or converted to it. As usual for this series, it is not so much a history of the ships, although brief accounts of their careers are included, as it is a description of the various specific modifications made to them that made them anti-aircraft ships. Included are the “C” class cruisers that were converted for this work, merchant vessels that were requisitioned and converted and the more-or-less purpose build Dido Class ships.

Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS reviewer corps with a set of 1/48^th scale metal landing gear for UMa’s AV-8B Harrier II Plus. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties.

In The Package

The metal pieces are packaged in a clear blister package with cardboard backing. No instructions are provided.

Review

The metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for the kit parts as noted:

• Nose Gear: C1, D20, D21, and D26
• Rear Gear: D9 and D17
• Wingtip Outrigger Gear: D15, D16, D18, and D19

The metal used is malleable and has some give to allow for any minor bending if needed. Also, seam lines will need to be cleaned up prior to painting just like the plastic kit parts.

War Dog Modeling is a new company that produces work stand for all types of models, including aircraft, ships, cars, and armor (the subject of this review).

What’s in the Box

The stand arrives in a corrugated cardboard box containing the major parts and a small bag with the metal hex-bolts and plastic wing nuts, all protected by brown paper packaging. The wing nuts and main components are 3-D printed in a sturdy resin, the stand base is 6.25 inches long and the grippers will open to 4.625 inches wide.

The Instructions

Don’t look for any instructions, but do not panic as it only takes a quick visit to the War Dog Models website to see how the stand is supposed to look. Construction is beyond intuitive and takes no time at all.

Helion is a prolific publisher of military history based in the United Kingdom. This two-volume set provides an overview of the formations, equipment, and actions of German light divisions from 1938 through the end of the Polish campaign. As with all Helion offerings, they are paperback but professionally produced. Each volume is full of beautifully reproduced black and white photographs, campaign maps, drawings of tables of equipment and organization, as well as several color profiles of German vehicles in this time. The first volume covers the formation, armament, and pre-war deployment. The second volume is devoted to the Polish campaign with additional information on camouflage, markings, and the continued evolution and ultimate dissolution of the light divisions.

Details the StuG from its inception in December 1943 to the end of WWII on the Eastern Front. Officially, the Sturmgeschütz IV (StuG IV, Sd.Kfz. 167) was a German assault gun variant of the Panzer IV based on the identical in role and concept to the highly successful StuG III assault gun variant of the Panzer III. In the last two years of the war, both StuG models were given a tank destroyer role in German formations and tactical planning, greatly augmenting the capability of the dwindling tank force available to the German military. After all, what could be better than a StuG III? A plus one to StuG IV!

From the talented author, Dennis Oliver,