This title is from Osprey’s well received Combat Series of books. It is number 26 in the series.
South Africa 1880-1902
Developed in parallel with the AX program which eventually led to the A-10 Thunderbolt II the General Electric GAU-8 "Avenger" was designed as a tank killer. The seven-barrel 30 mm cannon can fire over 3000 rounds a minute. When coupled with depleted uranium cored ammunition this weapon can penetrate most known armor. During my time in the USAF I was posted with the 23rd TAC who flew the shark mouthed A-10s of Flying Tiger fame. Part of my duties required maintenance visits to the firing range where I got to see these weapons awesome power first hand. A number of model companies have produced the A-10 in 1/48 scale and while the airframes are very good in most cases the gun is a solid piece without hollow barrels. Scratch building a GAU-8 is certainly possible but not necessary with this masterpiece of an aftermarket set.
Recently I was given the opportunity by IPMS USA to review Eduard’s BRASSIN Hamilton Standard Propeller for the new 1/48 Airfix P-51D kit. One of the first things to notice with this product is the excellent presentation of the packaging with the familiar clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card.
The set contains:
Upon removal of the components from the package you will notice the great level of detail with the inside of both the spinner front and back-plate boasting some great touches. The blades are great and the shape on these are perfect. The set also comes with a jig to help with location of the blades and is also nice to help hold the assembly if you want to drill a hole in the center for the prop to spin,
This informative and well-illustrated book covers early US armor from steam-powered units in the late 1800s, early armored cars used in pursuit of Pancho Villa, and armored cars in action during the Great War. Armored cars were abandoned prior to World War II in favor of more lightly armored scout cars and half-track cars that would see extensive use in World War II.
The T-90 “Standard Tank” was an evolutionary development of the Soviet T-72 tank, the latter being a prime component of Soviet tank forces during the mid-1970’s to the mid 1990’s. The T-72 was also exported widely, including to the armed forces of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. During the 1991 Gulf War, the Iraqi T-72 tanks suffered very badly against such tanks as the U.S. M1 Abrams. Whether this was due to the T-72 being notably inferior to the West’s main battle tanks or poor training and tactics on the part of the Iraqis is irrelevant: the perception in many nations following the 1991 war was that the Soviet tank was inferior. Thus, there was pressure within the Russian military-industrial complex to get rid of the “T-72” name. Hence naming the first tank out of the newly formed “Russia” the T-90.
The book is a part of MMP books “Inside” series and is an illustrated guide to some of the RAF WWII most famous fighters.
The book contains so fantastic illustrations which give any modeler a great reference guide for completing cockpit instruments.
This book is a very good reference guide and idea for all modelers.
I recommend this book to everyone with an interest in the aircraft and modeling them.
Thanks go to Mushroom Model Publishing for providing this book to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them
The new Zvezda kit picks up where the excellent Bf-109F kit leaves off. The new kit shares many of the same sprues and because of this it has some similar issues. Notably the kit needs some help in a few areas, namely the ailerons, exhausts and wheel wells. Well Vector has stepped up to the plate and provided some exquisite resin corrections.
Packaged in a small ziplock bag with a paper label at the top, Vector provides you with some beautifully cast light grey resin that is blemish free. You get two new wheel wells, two ailerons, exhausts, cockpit shelf and bulged battery box.
The kit ailerons feature some exquisite fabric representation on the top side, but only on the top side. The bottom is missing the fabric detail. Not a horrible thing but a noticeable oversight. It is a shame that Zvezda didn’t take the time to correct this but Vector provides you with two new ailerons with beautiful detail on both sides.
The website Deagel.com describes the MOAB as follows: the GBU-43/B, also known as Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) or Mother Of All Bombs, is a 20,000-pound class bomb designed to hit large areas of enemy territory to achieve a terrifying psychological impact. It uses a GPS-based navigation system and a single blast-type warhead. The yield of this weapon is equivalent to 11-tons of TNT, obliterating an area of 200-250 meters radius.
The MOAB bomb was developed to be available for the Iraq campaign in 2003 (Operation Iraqi Freedom), but it was not deployed. It has been designed to be dropped by an MC-130 Combat Talon aircraft. The final developmental test was carried out on March 11, 2003. It was employed for the first time by the US Air Force to fight the Islamic State in Afghanistan on April 13, 2017.
Marco Mattioli was born January 1, 1966 in Rome. Marco has been interested in military history since he was a teenager. In 1992 he joined the Italian National Journalist Order, after which he was employed as a writer for several leading Italian history publishers. A contributor to many important Italian history and defense magazines, as well as the author of a number of books on Italian military aviation, he wrote Osprey Aviation Elite Units 38: 53° Stormo and Osprey Combat Aircraft 106: Savoia-Marchetti S.79 Sparviero Torpedo-Bomber Units.
Ever wonder if there was ever a decal made for a particular aircraft by a particular company? Then this CD is for you! Totaling 861 pages of information, this CD lists aircraft decals from 1960 through late 2017. Did they miss any? Probably but they do promise updates as more information becomes available. The amount of research and work involved here is staggering.
The CD-book begins with a table of contents listing every decal maker they have found. These are listed alphabetically and cover 6 pages.
Next comes the explanation of the listings, giving you the name of the manufacturer, Home country, is the manufacturer active, inactive or out of print, explanatory material, scale, stock number, sheet title and finally aircraft types if not contained in the title.
