A couple of new products from Wheeliant are two sets of Early Wheel Chocks for the U.S. Navy. They are cast in grey resin and come with simple details to set them apart. The instructions are adequate for assembly but give no painting directions.

Set 132-008, which is the "Blocks with Fixed Bar," comes with some small wire for the release fitting on the chocks. I had to drill and file the holes in the blocks to accommodate the bar. Only took a couple of seconds. Be sure you adjust the blocks to the wheel dimensions you are going to use them on before gluing the release cable and holder (piece # R-4). They are a sloppy fit and require a little more glue than you might expect, ultimately fixing the bar in place permanently.

Introduction

Many of us were taken by surprise on May 2nd, 2011, when the President came on TV and announced Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been found and eliminated by a team of US Navy SEALs in a secret operation,"Neptune Spear." In the following days, after the dust had settled, we found that the mission had been accomplished at bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, using then-unknown-to-the-public, radar-evading or "stealth" helicopters.
Between May and September (only 3 - 4 months), Dragon was able to design a conceptual kit that captures what the Neptune Spear helicopters might look like and get their kit into production and on the store shelves. There was a little confusion during that 4 month period - the name of the actual operation was "Neptune Spear" and "Geronimo" was the code word indicating the operation had successfully taken down bin Laden, but that's neither here nor there.

Armies cannot operate long without supplies (food, fuel, ammo to start with) delivered to them. The German High Command thought so highly of this Opel truck that the German government nationalized production in 1940, taking it out of the hands of the US GM owners. The Opel Blitz “S” model began production in April, 1937 and by July, 1944, 82,356 3t trucks had been manufactured. The final number is actually over 100,000 when specialized vehicles built on this chassis are included. To further emphasize how valuable this truck was to Germany, in late 1945 the US Military allowed Opel to reopen the production facilities for the 3t truck to aid post-war recovery.

This wonderfully documented book covers the history of one of Germany's largest paratrooper regiments – the Fallschirmjager Regiment 6, FJ.Rgt.6. Originally published in German in 2007, the book has been translated into English by Mara Taylor and released in the United States by Casemate Publishing in 2011.

Following a short Preface, Chapter 1, The Initial Organization, begins with the unit's formation on February 13, 1943 under the command of Major Egon Liebach, an experienced paratrooper and troop leader. The focus of Major Liebach's training was field exercises and close combat. In addition, advanced training was provided in combat parachute and glider deployment. As it turned out, they acted more as ground troops than as a parachute assault unit. In fact, their nickname, The Lions of Carentan, came about as a result of the strong defense they put up around Carentan during the Normandy invasion.

This delightful kit enhancement part come on a crisply cast frame in neutral tan-gray resin. The part replaces the nose pitot on any F-14 kit. Three tubes are included, allowing you to dress up three models, unless you operate like I do and retain spares for post-construction damage. The parts are all well supported with nice extensions. These extensions will allow you to drill out the nose and slide the new tube in, making a much stronger join with the model. The parts have sharp definition and no bubbles or sinks were found. The resin was just soft and flexible enough to allow easy trimming and sanding. The parts appear to be in scale, although I was unable to confirm this.

These parts will certainly dress up any F-14. I recommend them.

Thank you to David Lajer of Aires and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for the opportunity to review this gem! Your generosity is much appreciated.