This book from the Images of War series, consists of 239 pages of mixed text, maps and black & white photos of the campaign to recapture the Philippines during WW II. There are seven chapters and an epilogue that cover the background to US involvement in the islands, the Japanese conquest of the islands, the terrain involved , the weapons used, brief bios of the principle commanders, the invasions of Leyte and Luzon and the recapture of Manila and the mopping up invasions in the remaining islands. While the historical text is relatively brief, it is only intended to provide context for the pictures. The photographic coverage of the campaign is extensive with over 250 photos of personnel, weapons and vehicles (which usually include a brief description), and pictures during and after the battle. The book is valuable in that many of the photos are rarely, if ever, seen and it covers a campaign that has a tendency to be either only briefly covered or overlooked entirely.

In the last year or so I have been able to try out the Ammo by Mig Jimenez paints and I’m very well impressed with them. They are sturdy and durable, nothing like other acrylic paints I have used before. When I had the opportunity to review another set of them, I jumped on it, as these paints are among the best acrylics I’ve ever used.

This particular set A.mig-7242, Pucara FAA includes six 17-ml eye-dropper style containers of paint for

• A.MIG-0025 FS33446 US MODERN VEHICLES
• A.MIG-0244 DUCK EGG GREEN (BS216)
• A.MIG-0271 FS35450 AIR SUPERIORITY BLUE
• A.MIG-0023 PROTECTIVE GREEN
• A.MIG-0064 EARTH BROWN
• A.MIG-0263 IJN MEDIUM GREY

As you can see from the list of colors, most of the paints in this set (if not all of them) are from other sets and found to be a close match to the Pucara colors used in the Fuerza Aerea Argentina (FAA).

History

(From the instructions) In 1946, one of the most massive aircraft in the history of aviation came into being, the Convair B-36 Peacemaker strategic heavy bomber. For the next 10 years it became the principal weapon threatening retaliation in the event of a new world conflict, startling the imagination even today with its extremely large size. This was the instrument which was to deliver the deadly nuclear weapon as deep as possible into the territory of a potential adversary, which for the United States, soon after the end of World War II, meant the Soviet Union.

For anyone painting WWII US Paratrooper figures, Ammo by Mig has delivered with a new set of acrylic paints in their Figures set to make finding your colors easier. The set includes six colors (Yellow Green, Khaki Grey, Green Violet, Light Ochre, Buff, and Military Green), which will take care of the uniforms, web gear, and helmets. I find the Figures Set paints to be a little thicker than the standard Ammo colors, which aids in applying them with a paint brush. I would highly recommend this set to any modeler or figure painter that is working on US paratroopers of this era.

Way back in the 1960’s, McDonnell Aircraft had a winner with their F-4B Phantom II and it enjoyed a long production run in several versions. The plastic model manufacturers kept pace releasing and re-releasing many of these versions. Fine Molds is the latest modeling company to offer a line of F-4’s including several JASDF machines as well as the F-4E, F-4D, and F-4J. The F-4C is one of their latest releases and it is a winner.