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Review Author
Robert Head
Published on
Company
Hauler
Scale
1/87
MSRP
$7.50

Hauler is an accessory company based in the Czech Republic that produces high quality photo-etched sets for AFVs, airplanes, cars, railway vehicles, and resin accessories for dioramas and resin kits.

The product I will be reviewing for you guys is the “Warsaw weapons”. For those of you who don’t know about the Warsaw pact, it was a Defense treaty and Mutual assistance regime created by the Soviet Union and 7 other nations that spanned close to 50 years. So as you would expect this photoetched set contains soviet era weaponry.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Aerobonus
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$14.99

Aires and Aerobonus fill another gap with a Soviet pilot in a K-36 ejection seat meant to be added to Trumpeters very large 1/32nd Su-27. The set includes five well-cast resin pieces - two arms, the head/helmet, the top of the ejection seat and the seat/pilot figure.

Preparation is simple, remove the parts from the casting blocks and add the top of the seat and the two arms. There were small amounts of putty at the arms- I used Squadron white putty smooth with lacquer thinner. The head can be kept separate for painting if you like, or glued in place.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Academy Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$64.00

Academy has rereleased the Accurate Miniatures 1/48th scale B-25B in Doolittle Raid markings and it is a welcome sight as this kit was getting rarer as the days passed. Inside the box, you get all the plastic parts associated with the initial release as well as a decal sheet covering all 16 planes. The parts are well molded and even 12-15 years later, they are flash free and excellent. The clear parts are superb also.

I will forgo the history as most are well aware of the raid by Lt. Col. Doolittle and his pilots and there are many excellent references and even some fun movies referring to the raid. I have wanted to build this kit for a while ever since trading it off to a friend a while back and jumped at the opportunity to build it.

Review Author
Phil Peterson
Published on
Company
Moebius Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$34.99

Interstellar came out in 2014 and was a decent movie about team of explorers who travel through a wormhole looking to find a new world to ensure humanity's survival. The ship the stars used was the Transgalactic Survey Craft, Ranger which was launched on top of a secret Saturn V rocket.

Moebius recently released a 72nd scale kit of the Ranger based on the full scale prop, miniatures and CGI files used in the movie. As 72nd is my preferred scale, I was interested. The kit has 42 parts molded in white plastic which include 38 for the 72nd scale ship and 4 bonus parts to make the top of the Saturn launch vehicle with 2 Rangers. The parts for this should fit either the Airfix or Revell 1/144th scale rockets.

Review Author
Robert Head
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$12.95

I am bringing you guys the AIM-9J Sidewinder in 1/48th scale from the Eduard Brassin line. I have not worked with Eduard’s resin line ever up to this point, and I can honestly say I'm impressed! The Sidewinder Missile does not need an introduction from me, seeing as they have been around for 60 long productive years, with the J model being used in the early 70’s as an Air Force production model.

These missiles come in a clear plastic package with multiple foam inserts to protect the product and keep them still.

There are a total of 28 resin pieces consisting of: 4 missile bodies, 1 resin block with the clear seeker heads, 4 blocks containing a set of fins per missile, and 1 block containing seeker head covers. There is one photo-etched fret and one decal sheet.

Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$29.99

Model Art Issue 59 is typical of other Model Art magazines in that it is written entirely in Japanese, with occasional English words, usually in article titles or in captions. The Vessel Model Special is a quarterly issue that focuses on naval subjects. Advertising comprises the inside covers (and back cover) along with another four pages showing what is available and new, always useful for building up that wish list. I counted 596 photos (mostly in color) along with 17 side view or top view drawings. Additionally there are a lot of color scrap drawings highlighting details in the Ship Construction series.

Book Author(s)
Managing Editor: Mick Davis
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Cross & Cockade International
MSRP
$39.10

Annual Subscription (4 issues): £ 27.00 ($39.10) plus shipping

The latest journal of Cross & Cockade International - Spring 2016, features a water-color painting of two Short Admiralty Type 166 Seaplanes on the cover. The rear cover shows a photograph of Captain Eric John Stephens and his 41 Squadron SE5a along with a photo of Captain Frank Ormond Soden and his captured Fokker D VII of Ltn Adolph Auer (Jasta 40). If you check out the web site link above, you can get additional sample pics of the current issue.

Cross & Cockade International is a non-profit UK based group known as the First World War Aviation Historical Society that publishes their journal four times a year. They also provide a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publish WWI themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS USA. This Journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front.

Book Author(s)
Leigh Neville
Review Author
Phillip Cavender
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$19.00

Osprey Publications have given us another excellent book in the Warrior Series. Osprey's "US Army Green Beret in Afghanistan 2001-02" book delves into the making of a Green Beret from recruitment to the daily lives during the Afghanistan conflict. This publication is divided into 11 sections:

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Bronco Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$38.99

Whether you are interested in German paper projects of World War 2, a fan of Luftwaffe ’46 planes, or just a builder of unique aircraft, allow me to direct your attention to this recent release from Bronco Models. The relatively low parts count (57 in all) allows for a quick build for modelers with only limited experience. The only challenge may be a few small items, but these are not too daunting with a good pair of tweezers. The beauty of a kit like this is that you cannot go wrong with any paint scheme or markings that you choose, as no one will ever have a photo of the real thing to prove you wrong.

Review Author
Chris Graeter
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$25.46

History

The SOMUA S35 was a French Cavalry tank of the Second World War. Built from 1936 until 1940 to equip the armored divisions of the Cavalry, it was for its time a relatively agile medium-weight tank, superior in armor and armament to its French and foreign competitors, such as the contemporary versions of the German Panzerkampfwagen III. It was constructed from well-sloped, mainly cast, armor sections, that however made it expensive to produce and time-consuming to maintain.

During the German invasion of May 1940, the SOMUA S35 proved itself to be a tactically effective type, but this was negated by the French command's strategic mistakes in deploying the Cavalry armored divisions. After the defeat of France in June 1940, limiting production to a number of about 440, captured SOMUA S35s were used by the Axis powers, some of them on the Eastern Front*.