The book provides great detail drawings of the Jagdpanzer IV which was German WWII tank destroyer based on the Pz.Kpfw. IV as a replacement for the successful StuG III. It was produced in two versions the L/48 with a 7.5cm PaK 39 gun produced from Jan to Nov 1944 at the Vomag plant. The second was the L/70 produced in two factories Vomag and Alkett plants. It used the Pak 42 gun and produced from Nov 1944 to April 1945.

I found the drawings in this book to be fascinating and very detailed.

Along with the many outline drawings (in 1/35, 1/48 & 1/72 scales) there is also very nice profile drawings.

The final few pages have so great details of components of the tank.

I recommend this book to everyone with an interest in the armour and a must for modellers.

Thanks go to Casemate Publishing for providing this book to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them

Once known as MPM, Special Hobby is one of the premier model kit manufacturers in the Czech Republic. It is actually a collective of other well-known brands, such as Azur, CMK, Planet Models, and many more. Once known for its short-run kits of esoteric subjects, Special Hobby has now become a major powerhouse in the model kit industry, using cutting-edge steel molds to produce a diverse and well-engineered range of subjects.

What’s Inside

This exciting new volume in the New Vanguard series from Osprey gives the reader a new analysis of the tanks from both sides of one of the last and most intensive battles of the European Theater of Operations- the Battle of the Bulge. Who better to offer up the analysis than one of the most acclaimed authors in military history in the present day- Steven Zaloga. His book gives a thorough survey of the principal tank and tank variants that took part in the Ardennes Campaign from December of 1944 through January of 1945.

As per usual with the New Vanguard series, the book opens with an overview of the campaign including tables of Wehrmacht Panzerwaffe in the Ardennes (16 December, 1944) and US Armored Divisions in the Ardennes from the duration of the campaign.

When Napoleon returned from Exile on Elba he wanted to rule France in peace but that was not to be. In the following weeks Napoleon gathered an army of 128,000 soldiers. This book gives all the details of the troops of the French Army under Napoleon at the battles of Ligny, Quatre-Bras, and Waterloo.

I was surprised at how much content this book held when it arrived for review, it is one heavy book (in weight)! The book's chapters are based on all the different divisions and corps within the army. The details within each of the chapters are incredible and shows how much research the author did to put this book together. I was amazed at the pictures of original equipment and uniforms. They make this book a great reference source.

I must say that the book is very in-depth which some may not like, and could make it heavy work for some. I myself loved the amount of information and lists included.

The Aircraft

The JASDF is nearing the end of service for their F-4EJ Phantom IIs. They have ordered F-35s as replacements. This aircraft is one of two from the 302nd Squadron which were celebrating the retirement of their F-4s. This one is the black one. They also had a white one.

Japan will still have some Phantoms for about a year, depending on F-35 deliveries.

The Model

This kit was originally produced by F-Toys, a Japanese company specializing in pre-painted kits which are easy to assemble and finish. Platz then acquires the molds and makes kits which are pretty easy to assemble, but need to be painted and decals applied.