Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
February 3, 2024
Company
AMMO by Mig Jimenez
Scale
NA
MSRP
$39.99

Ammo is a company founded by Mig Jimenez and based out of Spain. It provides products for the modeling community by way of paints, weathering effects, tools, and various modeling merchandise. Ammo has provided IPMS-USA a twelve (12) bottle acrylic paint set for review.

In the Box

The paint set contains twelve (12) 20 ml bottles with nontoxic and odorless water based acrylic paints. Inside each bottle is an agitator ball to help mix when shaking. These paints are presented in a new clear container featuring a new cap that can be opened and closed with one hand. The following colors are provided:

Review Author
Paul Bradley
Published on
February 2, 2024
Company
ICM
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$20.00

Not to be confused with RAF Pilots in Tropical Uniforms (1941-45) in 1/32, this all-new figure set depicts five RAF servicemen in tropical rig and will be suitable for dioramas and vignettes in North Africa, the Middle East, Italy and the Far East for that time period.

The standard ICM white box comes with a colour slip cover with boxart of the figures posed in front of a North Africa-based Beaufort. The box contains a single medium grey plastic runner with 31 well-detailed and well-moulded parts. No decals are included, though it might have been nice to have some RAF wings and rank insignia to add where appropriate. A single full-colour painting guide with part numbers and colour callouts for ICM paints is all that is included (or indeed necessary!) in the box.

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
February 2, 2024
Company
Meng Model
Trumpeter
Scale
1/12
MSRP
$450.00

This Part 3 of the review of Meng’s GT40 Mk.II ’66 focuses on the engine and engine compartment of the GT40. A comparison is also made to the Trumpeter version of the GT40.

Ford GT40 Mk.II ‘66

Developed by the Ford Motor Company and Carroll Shelby to end the dominance of Ferrari in the preeminent 24 Hours of LeMans race, the Ford GT40 Mk.II become an iconic American built race car. After failing to finish the race in 1965, the Ford GTs finished 1-2-3 in 1966 to win at Le Mans in a humiliating loss for Ferrari. This also ended Ferrari's five-year-long dominance of this race.

Meng’s GT40 Kit

This MENG RS-002 Ford GT40 Mk.II ’66 is a large 1/12 scale model kit officially licensed by Ford Motor Company. The kit includes complete suspension system, power system, cab interiors, front trunk interiors, openable doors, front trunk cover and engine hood, as well as movable wheels and suspension system.

Review Author
John Noack
Published on
January 29, 2024
Company
Special Hobby
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$28.69

Anyone who has spent time at an airport is familiar with the ubiquitous Piper J-3 Cub. Having flown in a few models of this aircraft, I have a special affinity for the type and have built several of Mr. Piper’s Cubs. (Those who remember our late Treasurer, Ed Kinney, may have hear his comment about Cubs – “they have just enough power to get you to the scene of the crash”).

Anyway, I digress. Well packaged in a sturdy box, the kit includes 2 gray plastic trees, a separately packaged clear parts group, small PE fret, and one 3-D printed part. Note that Special Hobby offers a series of separately sold aftermarket details – a 3D printed engine, wheel set, and masking set – should you choose to use these.

Review Author
Phillip Cavender
Published on
January 28, 2024
Company
ICM
Scale
1:35
MSRP
$48.99

ICM boasts a rich heritage within the modeling community, establishing itself as a well-established Ukrainian-based plastic modeling company. Expanding its selection of modeling kits, ICM presents its newest release, the 35542 Typ 320 (W142) Soft Top - a WWII German staff car. While this kit is a reissue of the 2016 version, it includes additional new parts.

The following is a brief history of the Typ 320 W142 taken directly from ICM’s website:

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
January 28, 2024
Company
ICM
Scale
1:35
MSRP
$26.00

Reference from the ICM website:

The Air Assault Forces of Ukraine were created in 2017 on the basis of the existing Highly Mobile Landing Troops, which at that time already had its own separate command. According to their purpose, the units and subunits of the Air Assault Forces are divided into airborne and air assault troops; to enhance their strike potential, tank units were added to their composition; in 2022, a separate Jaeger brigade was added. The airborne assault troops are characterized by a high level of combat readiness, mobility, the ability to perform tasks independently in difficult conditions, high motivation, and morale. A special feature of their everyday and ceremonial uniforms is a maroon-colored beret. Since 2014, this army branch has been actively involved in combat operations, first in the southwest, and with the outbreak of full-scale hostilities – in other regions of Ukraine.

Review Author
Paul Bradley
Published on
January 27, 2024
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1:48
MSRP
$40.00

Strictly speaking, the name of this kit is incorrect. Grumman didn’t build the FM-1 – Eastern Aircraft did. Additionally the FAA option in this kit features Normandy Invasion special recognition markings for June 1944, by which time the type had become the Wildcat Mk.V, and not the Martlet.

Such pedantry aside, this is a nicely packaged re-issue of Tamiya’s well-received F4F-4 Wildcat kit of 1994 – was it really that long ago?! – featuring some new parts and some modified parts.

Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
January 27, 2024
Company
Green Stuff World
MSRP
$9.95

Green Stuff World (GSW) is a company based out of Spain. It is specialized in the design and production of tools, paints, and other types of resources for modeling, crafts, and wargames. GSW has provided IPMS-USA one (1) 250 ml bottle of textured acrylic paint for review.

In the Bottle

The textured paint is packaged in a 250 ml bottle and comes in a very dark brown color to represent Volcanic Earth tones. Inside the paint has a consistency of thick paste with small granules mixed in to give it texture. It is water based and can be thinned if needed.

Review Author
Bradley Moreland
Published on
January 24, 2024
Company
Italeri
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$65.99

Editor's Note: Let's welcome new Reviewer Brdley Moreland with his first published review! JN

Unboxing

Everything in this kit is nicely detailed. The sprues themselves are very clean, with minimal flash to clean. Sprues are molded in black, white and metallic, but thankfully not plated chrome. I am especially impressed with the instruction manual. No more guessing what is in the diagram. These pictures are crystal clear, and just as detailed as the pieces themselves. I am also very pleasantly surprised to see something I have never seen in other kits. On the back cover of the instructions, there are some templates to cut maskings for difficult areas, like the fenders.

Book Author(s)
Authors: Juan Arráez Cerdá, Eduardo Manuel Gil Martínez
Illustrators: Jose Fernandez, Teodor Liviu Morosanu, Claes Sundin
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
January 24, 2024
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$45.00

Helion is a UK-based company that produces books on many aspects of Military History from the Late Medieval period through to the present day. Helion was established in 1996, and since then they have published over 1,200 books, with 100 or more new titles coming out every year, for readers around the world.

Juan Arráez Cerdá is a Spanish Aviation expert and owner of one of the best pictures’ collections of Spanish Aviation. He is the author of many books and articles about Aviation (in French and Spanish).