Before I begin this review I think it is important to know that I flew Cobras in the Army and now fly them with the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation, so I am intimately familiar with them. So I tend to be a little bit of a nit picker or rivet counter when it comes to Cobras. Please forgive me.

When ICM released the AH-1G Cobra in 1/32^nd scale there was much rejoicing in the helicopter modeling world. We had waited so long for a replacement for the venerable Revell AH-1G. The Revell kit was released in 1968 and it was very basic. Accurate in outline but lacking in any detail. It needed lots of aftermarket to bring it up to speed. Would ICM be better? Oh heck yeah.

Eagle Editions is synonymous with Luftwaffe subjects so it comes as no surprise that their latest book in the Wings of the Black Cross series is an airplane that just evokes memories of the Luftwaffe, the iconic Ju-87 Stuka. The name and the noise of the airplane became a symbol for Luftwaffe dominance of the air in the early part of the war. By the Battle of Britain, it was grossly outclassed and obsolete, yet is soldiered on until the very end of the war.

Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy!

Kagero Publishing, from Poland, extends their Top Drawings Series with No. 116, the French Marine Nationale aircraft carrier Clemenceau (le Clem). She was placed into service in 1961, incorporating the latest advances in aircraft carrier technology. She and her sister ship, Foch, were active for more than 40 years, forming the backbone of French military power projection. The TopDrawings series is designed for modelers to have a reference for detailed appearances of individual ships and aircraft. TopDrawings consist of color covers with black & white (B&W) line drawings of the ship, particular features, and equipment, especially armament (including aircraft). But the main attraction is the separate, large foldout of B&W scale drawings – 1/400 in this book, to match existing model kits.

Many of the US fighter pilot figures are depicting older style safety equipment like helmets and oxygen masks. PJ production released a nice version of current Eurofighter “Typhoon” pilot with latest helmet. The new helmet has LED sensors on top of the helmet for head tracking. The helmet also allows a pilot to see below (or through) the airplane to target aircraft below their aircraft.

The product contains a single pilot figure cast in three pieces, lower torso, upper torso, and arms. There is a minimal amount of “flash” on the parts, but they are easily cleaned off. One thing to note is small bumps on top of the helmet, these are not a casting flaw. These “bumps” are on the real helmet (LED sensors for head tracking). As with most figures, there may be places that need to be altered. When test fitting, the fit perfectly in the Revell Typhoon cockpit with just a small gap between the feet and rudder pedals.

Tru-Color Paints is an American hobby paint manufacturer formed in 2008 and located in the Phoenix, AZ area. Their lines include realistically scale colored paints for the hobbyist for naval ships, military armor, aircraft, and railroading. They currently produce over 600 colors covering 7 product lines (naval, military vehicles, automotive, aircraft, etc.) and include airbrushable, spray can and brush paintable products. According to their website: "Tru-color paint is a solvent based paint with an acrylic polymer used as the binding agent which adheres very well to plastic or metal models, when those models are properly prepared. The pigments and/or dyes used to produce the correct colors are very finely ground so that they do not clog air-brushes."