Some time after the end of World War 2 and the establishment of the U.N., one of the first opportunities for the fledgling organization to flex its peacekeeper muscles was on the heel of the 1956 Arab-Israeli war. This serious flare-up between Israel and its neighbors – the first really serious conflict of many to come – was seen by the world as a definite threat to the stability of the entire region. A multinational force of British, French and numerous other participants was hastily assembled and dispatched to try and create a safe zone between the hostile forces.

Tito of Yugoslavia, who was even then trying to establish international recognition and legitimacy for his communist government, looked on this multinational effort as an excellent prospect for increasing his country’s standing, and volunteered a small contingent of Yugoslavian troops to go to the Sinai Peninsula and help serve in this laudable effort.

In the aftermath of World War Two, the United States and the Soviet Union were not the only powers who pursued and developed nuclear weapons. Both France and England pursued the development of nuclear and thermonuclear weapons after World War Two. The problem came in developing reliable and effective methods of deploying these weapons. In the immediate aftermath of World War Two, prior to the missile age, the only option was the manned bomber. Unfortunately, as antiaircraft systems became more effective and sophisticated, questions began to arise with respect to the ability of the manned bomber to penetrate these defense systems and reach their targets with gravity bombs.

This is a book that provides you details of how to finish and weather military ground vehicle models. It has detailed chapters on 10 different and varied model kits.

The detailed chapters are very well illustrated with very well-presented photographs. The methods and materials used are very well shown and will help move your knowledge and work to a new level.

I found this book very helpful and used some of the ideas already on my latest build of an early Tiger 1. The methods depicted and described are great and will lead to better finishes. The only criticism I have is that it could have been improved with more written descriptions with each photo shown.

I recommend this book to everyone whatever level of modeling you are at.

Thanks go to MMP Books for providing this book to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them.

Background

Another of ICM’s beautiful 1/24 car kits, this one a 1911 Model T Touring Car. The Touring Car body had two rear seat doors in addition to the front seat doors, two bench seats, and a foldable canvas top. This release also includes two figures, a man and a woman, in period attire. ICM’s kit is an easy build with nice fitting parts and without a lot of small parts.

ICM’s Kit

The kit comes in a 9 x 12 x 2 1/2 light cardboard box with slipcover. The box art depicts the vehicle in a dark green color with brass accessories, the male figure driving, and the woman in the backseat. The canvas top is shown in a medium gray color.

The kit comes on five sprues crisply molded in a light gray color, one clear plastic sprue, and four white vinyl tires. The detail on the parts is simple, but very good, with no apparent flash and very minor mold seems.

This is a review of the Alpha Abrasives plastic sanding needles

I wasn’t able to find the assorted sanding needles on the Alpha Abrasives website. There were only individual packages of course, medium, and fine.

The needles are evidently made in a two-part mold because there are two mold lines running down the shaft. Not very good if you want to sand a round hole. The mold lines would cause a nick in the hole.

Another item is the point. When/if you break the point or round it off, how are you supposed to get the point back?

While they may be useful for sanding contours, I can’t see them being used on round holes like a headlight or taillight.

Thank you to IPMS for allowing me to review this product.