What's New

Book Author(s)
Several
Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$60.00

Thank you Osprey Publishing for providing a review copy of their new ship’s annual! I first thought that Osprey was publishing a new series, but in fact, Osprey is continuing the Conway imprint of naval and military books, which is excellent news. As always, I truly appreciate all those in the IPMS Reviewer Corps, whose work is critical to sharing new and exciting modeling and historical products with the world.

Overview

Warship 2018 is part of an annual series and follows historical event anniversaries, new analysis of naval engagements, intriguing operations, and more general ship topics. Each of the 11 chapters is a stand-alone study, accompanied by abundant images, drawings and data. All writing styles are slightly different, but each is appropriate and engaging for the chapter topic.

Content Coverage

Brief highlights of each chapter are included here. Short engaging descriptions of chapter content following chapter titles.

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Aerobonus
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$12.00

If you are looking to add a figure to your F-5 Freedom Fighter, you may want to investigate the latest offering from the Aires Aerobonus line. The figure is posed in his ejection seat with his hands resting on the throttle and stick. With a little care in removing the parts from the pour plug, and some painting, this figure is an easy addition for most modelers to place in their aircraft.

The packaging for this figure is simple with a clear plastic bag containing the ejection seat and majority of the body of the pilot (the arms and head are separate) as well as a folded sheet of paper that provides drawings of the assembled figure as well as painting recommendations. The build was quick and easy, as the arms and head are set into position without issue.

Review Author
Mike Lamm
Published on
Company
MiniArt
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$48.99

The T-60 was a light tank designed for scout and reconnaissance missions that was rushed into production a month after the start of Operation Barbarossa. Over a two-year period, approximately 7,000 of these vehicles were built. The T-60 scout tank was lightly armored, lightly armed with a 20mm canon a a machine gun, that was roundly hated by the two-man crews who operated it. The light armor, less than effective gun and poor engine performance lead to its operators naming it the “brother’s grave for two”. Although it was intended to be a support or reconnaissance vehicle, it often matched up against more superior German armor where it fared very poorly. Until factories could be equipped to produce the T-34, Soviet production continued and efforts were made to upgrade the firepower to a 37mm cannon, but these plans were scraped due to a lack in ammunition, and eventually, the armament upgrades were incorporated into the T-70.

Book Author(s)
Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
Review Author
Blaine Singleton
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$32.00

Introduction

In Tidal Wave from Leyte Gulf to Tokyo Bay, Thomas McKelvey Cleaver offers a deep analysis of the political and strategic situation in the last months of the Pacific War, interwoven with engaging accounts of kamikaze raids and aerial combat. He explains how the last months of the Pacific campaign constantly challenged the crews of the US Navy ships, whose pilots conducted continual bombing missions and aerial skirmishes, how the success or failure of the ship’s gunners spelled life or death for their vessels, and how the commanders had to protect their ships from the worst ravages of the Pacific Typhoons.

Review Author
David Wrinkle
Published on
Company
Lifelike Decals
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$16.30

The A5M “Claude” known internally to Mitsubishi as the KA-14 and formally as the Navy Type 96 Navy Carrier-based Fighter was the first all metal monoplane to enter service as carrier-based aircraft. The Claude is the direct predecessor to the A6M “Zero” and did see combat through the beginning of the Second World War but had been pretty much removed from combat by 1942. Late in the war a few were even used as kamikaze aircraft.

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Mirage Hobby
Scale
1/400
MSRP
$19.99

If you are looking for a unique addition to your WWII U-boat collection, let me direct your attention to the kits of Mirage Hobby. In one of their latest releases, the company offers a Type VIIC boat equipped with a pair of Biber mini subs, each carrying a pair of torpedoes. Shying away from the typical 1/700 and 1/350 scales for ships, Mirage Hobby offers this and several other submarines molded in 1/400 scale. Modelers with some experience with small parts will have no issues with the construction of this kit.

Book Author(s)
Steve Ginter
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
Company
Ginter Books
MSRP
$49.95

This book covers the PB4Y-1/1P Liberator in US Naval service. Armed with the success of land based bombers used by the USAAC anti-submarine command in the Atlantic along with RAF Coastal Command on the other side of the Atlantic, the Navy went to the AAC to ask for a share of the B-24 production. This was granted in return for the Navy canceling orders for the Boeing PBB Sea Ranger thus freeing up that production capacity for B-29s.

Ginter books are well known in both the modeling and aviation community for their in-depth photo coverage and history of the title subject. This book on the PB4Y-1 , number 105 in the Naval Fighters series, lives up to the sterling reputation established by all of the previous volumes. It is a great companion volume to the one on the PB4Y-2!

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$13.95

This is a white metal landing gear set is to for the Eduard 1/72 Fw 190A-5/8, R-2/8, F-8 aircraft.

The white metal parts are very good and have more defined details than the original kit parts. They are a very good replacement for the already well-detailed kit parts. The advantage is these white metal parts will provide more strength and last longer than the kit parts.

The parts are well cast; you do need to sand off the few cast seams and metal pour points. The parts were a perfect fit to the existing mount and were easy to assemble. A couple of the parts were a little bent, but very easy to fix.

I recommend these parts are a great addition to an already extremely well-detailed kit.

Thanks go to Scale Aircraft Conversions for providing this set to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them.

Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
David Doyle Books
MSRP
$19.99

The book is one of the Squadron Signal series “in Action”. It explores the history and development of the Panther tank and its Variants. I have always loved the Panther design and was very happy to have this book to review. The pictures of the Panther in the book are fantastic.

The book has some extremely interesting and diverse photos of the iconic Panther, there are over 180 photographs included. The photos really show the classic lines and design of this wonderful symbol of the World War 2. The book made me want to build a couple of Panther models out of my stash and start building using the book for valuable reference. The last sections of the variants are an extremely interesting addition to the book.

This book should be in every tank lover’s library and I recommend this book to everyone. The great reference photos are ideal for all modeler’s.