This book is from their Orange Series that specializes in particular aircraft types, in this case the Gloster Javelin. There are 208 pages of mixed text, photos, line drawings, charts and tables of info about the aircraft starting with a rather detailed recounting of the conception and initial design of the aircraft and how that design evolved into the final version. It then goes on to discuss the various armaments it carried, including the air-to-air missiles which also includes a brief run down on how the Firestreak missile was developed. Next is a mark-by-mark description of every variant of the aircraft with many illustrations to show the differences. Included in this chapter is a rather detailed technical description of all the various systems in the aircraft, such as landing gear, electrical and hydraulic systems, 12 annotated photos of various marks’ cockpits and cutaway photos, diagrams, line drawing and charts about the engines.
What's New
Boom. And just like that a Academy Panzer II model kit landed at my door. So The adventure begins. I have built many models of armor but was not a fan of early German subjects. This kit looked interesting and as a new molded kit I was curious what new technologies have been used on this kit. This review will read like bullet points for easy reading.
Un-Boxing
The box itself has very nice art on it. Paint call outs on the side have seven manufacturers listed and are a big plus in my book. The manufacturers are: Humbrol, GSI Creos, Life Color, Model Master, Revell, Vallejo and AK. The kit is a skill level 4 (out of 5) and is clearly marked on the box. The box itself is top opening and very stout.
Background
This book provides a very complete history of the development of the Polikarpov I-16 fighter series. It actually goes further than that, as it also explains the political and economic conditions in the Soviet Union after the 1917 Revolution, when the Tsarist Russian government was replaced by Trotsky’s Communist regime in the twenties and thirties. The author goes into extensive detail explaining how the Soviet economy was going through very severe changes, with violent repression of anyone who was even suspected of disagreeing with the system. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people were slaughtered during this process, and many more were imprisoned for extended periods, but some were still allowed to work on whatever projects they had been working on.
One of SAC’s (Scale Aircraft Conversions) latest gear is set 48402 for the wonderful Tamiya F-4B in 1/48th scale. The set has wonderfully cast metal parts to replace all the gear struts, retractions cylinders and other parts. They are drop in replacements and was I ever glad to get them for review and here’s why. I recently moved for work including 400 built models. During the move, my F-4B took a hit and broke off one gear leg. SAC to the rescue!
To start, I removed the tire from the broken gear leg and cleaned out the hole in the bottom of the fuselage making sure the new leg fit which it did with no issues. A quick clean up with sandpaper and then I primed with Tamiya fine primer, let it dry and painted the leg white. I added the tire, gave everything a quick gray wahs and glued it in place paying attention to angle and the like. Once dry, you would never know it was broken.
The Vietnam War, in my opinion, is not covered as well as many other conflicts both in the written word and in some cases modeling too. Arrigo Velicogna covers one of the parts of the war not talked about frequently and that is Operation Attleboro. This operation was not well detailed until recently and as late as 2018, it was poorly covered. The time frame involved is November 2, 1966 through November 23, 1966. These three weeks are analyzed thoroughly.
Introduction
Another item added to Ammo by Mig Jimenez’s line of products for the modeling community is their new item, the “Long Live the Brushes” described as a soap for the cleaning and care of your brushes. From the product web page, the items description states.
“The product is capable of removing acrylic, enamel, lacquer paint residue. In just two steps you can extend the life of your brushes.
- Moisten the brush with water and rub the hairs on the surface of the soap until it foams.
- Once the paint residual has been removed, rinse lightly and shape the hair. We advise properly cleaning your brushes after each use and store in a protective case.”
Also, available on Ammo by Mig Jimenez’s YouTube channel is an instructional video narrated by Manuel Gil. This video can be found at:
Federico Anselmino is the author of several books dealing with modern Italian Air Force aircraft.
Introduction - Page 1
The F-16 was chosen by the Italian Air Force as a "gap filler" until the F-2000 Typhoon became available as a replacement for the aging Fleet of F-104 Starfighters. Initially a lease was signed to acquire 20 single seat Tornado F.3 and four F.3T Tornados to supplement 60 F-104S/ASA.. This decision was motivated by logistical, economical and political reasons. Although a superior aircraft to the F-104 the Tornado was a more costly aircraft to fly and maintain. In order to conserve funds the Itialian Air force ended the contract with the RAF and chose the F-16 "Fighting Falcon; ADF to protect Italian skies.
When Napoleon Bonaparte first began his rise to power in France in 1799, there already existed a private armed force dedicated to protecting the person of the King of France. After the French Revolution, this force became known as the Consular Guard, intended to protect French politicians – sort of a personal secret service or bodyguard force on steroids. Private armies of this nature were not at all uncommon in the 1800s, as most aristocratic rulers feared their own subjects more than hostile outside forces. In 1804, with the creation of the French Empire under Napolean’s direct rule, this private army expanded enormously, gleaning only the “best of the best” from the various armed forces of France and its allies and loyal solely to Napolean himself, rather than the nation of France. This force became globally known as the Imperial Guard.
One of Haulers latest diorama accessories is a 1/72nd scale poster column. (They also offer a 1/48th scale poster column.) These advertising columns were ubiquitous throughout Europe during the early portion of the twentieth century. In many cases a version of these poster/advertising columns can still be seen in Poland, Germany, France and elsewhere.
I haven't located any definitive evidence but it appears as if Hauler may have inherited this kit from Tiger Productions. Scalemates website currently lists this kit as having been issued by Tiger productions in 2011. Tiger Productions may have been affiliated with Black Dog (https://blackdog-model.com/), a maker of resin structures and diorama accessories. All of which is speculation but it makes sense in my head.
Translator: Claudio Col
Background
This book tells the story of the Grumman SA-16A Amphibian as used by the Italian Air Force after World War II. It is NOT a study of all users of the type, as the Wayne Mutza book on the Albatross, published by Shiffer in 1996, was. This book gives a very brief account of the service life of the plane, and then shifts to Italian service exclusively. It therefore fills a gap, as Mutza’s book has very little coverage of Italian service.
One feature of the book is that the text is printed side-by-side in Italian and English, but the typeset is different, which I thought made the English text a little harder to read. Another problem is that the translation from Italian to English is a little bit strange grammatically, as words like “aircrafts” appear frequently. But it is understandable, and there is a lot of information in this book that is not available elsewhere.