It’s hard to think of an aircraft that has had a longer career than the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, frequently called the Scooter. That career started in 1954 (a very good year, by the way) and continues to this very day. The design was the result of Ed Heinemann’s efforts to give the Navy the attack aircraft it wanted while making it fit on any aircraft carrier the Navy used. The maximum unfolded wingspan the Navy stipulated for carrier aircraft, 27’ 6”, determined the span of the A-4. The ability to carry the then-current Mk. 7 nuclear weapon resulted in the stalky landing gear with which we’re all familiar. The product of Heinemann’s genius was a reliable aircraft that could carry a useful weight of weapons a considerable distance while being tough enough and maneuverable enough to bring the pilot home after delivery.

This publication covers the development and acquisition of armored vehicles for the Polish army from 1919 until 1939. Each page has several period images of the miscellaneous vehicles. Included are color profiles along with some line drawings and one blueprint of a Polish tractor. Although the text is minimal, it is quite informative. One gets the sense of the lambs being lead to the slaughter inflicted by the much superior German armor in September, 1939.

Vehicles addressed include the Vickers 6 ton Mark E types A , B and E, the C6P and C6T Tractors, the C7P artillery, and recovery and combat engineering tractors. Granted, these vehicles are certainly not as well known at those of the major World War II powers, but are quite interesting in their design and performance, and provide some unique topics.

I received this conversion set with great anticipation and look forward to installing it on my latest venture.

I have built quite a few Tamiya 1/32nd Phantom kits since its debut, a total of 77, to be exact. (I know this guy's lying…but it's true.) I used to build for a decal manufacturer that had over 100 decal sets for the F-4 and he wanted a model built for every one of them, all in 1/32nd. Well, he is out of business, so now I build for myself. I have used just about every aftermarket product out there for the F-4 and I'm always looking for something new. Eduard has come aboard with a very nice exhaust nozzle set.

Opening the package revealed some nice protective foam and each assembly was in its own plastic bag. No damage or lost parts. You get direct replacement parts for two engine intakes, discharges, tubes, and nozzles. Also included is a new arresting hook. All the parts are of a very high quality resin casting and photo etch.

After the American Civil War, the railroad gun became a common weapon system throughout Europe. They provided a rapidly deployable heavy artillery gun that could defend a coastline or bombard enemy positions and fortifications. By the end of World War I, these guns grew in caliber and popularity. In the 1930s, Hitler initiated several programs to develop and procure more of these systems. Krupp initiated its own design and this program resulted in the" 28cm Kanone 5 Eisenbahngeschutz." The name is often abbreviated to 28cm K5 (E) (Eisenbahngeschutz means railroad gun) and 24 examples, the largest quantity of any rail gun, were produced. They were initially deployed along the English Channel to support the invasion of Britain. After this aborted event, they were deployed on all fronts to support other actions.

The Vehicle

The Sd.Kfz.250/1 (neu) was a compact version of the SdKfz251. Its mission was to carry a scout section for reconnaissance purposes. There was a previous (alt) version which had multi-faceted armor plate which stood up better than the simpler flat plates used by the “neu” version. But because the older version was more difficult to build and cost more, the newer one became the standard in early 1944

The armor of the Sd.Kfz 250/1 could stop rifle caliber bullets and shell fragments, but didn’t stand up to anything heavier, such as a .50 caliber or larger weapon. The half track design was superior to wheeled armored cars when off-road, so the 250 was preferred in many situations.

The Model

Ace has produced a vehicle which we haven’t seen kitted previously. ESCI had a 250/9, but it’s a different vehicle in that it has a screened top to prevent insertion of grenades and other litter.