What's New

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$30.99

ICM continues with its fascinating series of Chernobyl “instant dioramas” with the latest being a scene depicting the evacuation of civilians from the threatened region around the power plant disaster. In this case, five figures are provided, along with an apartment balcony, a small pot and a printed background to bring it all together.

The figures include one older gentleman, a young man and woman, and a somewhat matronly mother with young daughter. All are excellently sculpted and show lots of individual character along with natural poses. If there is any objection to the sculpting, it’s that none of the figures display the level of abject terror that I, personally, would be undergoing if such a thing were happening to me. In fact, all of the poses appear to be relatively relaxed. Maybe no one really knew what was happening.

Review Author
Eric Christianson
Published on
Company
ICM
MSRP
$9.50

Prolific Ukraine-based ICM has apparently set its sights on the competitive acrylic paint market. First out of the gate is nicely packaged six-bottle paint set specifically catered to their new 1/35th scale release of a German Marder I based on the French FCM 36 chassis (see separate IPMS review here).

The box set comes with six bottles and a fold-out chart listing 77 colors and three varnishes, as well as a color swatch sheet. The chart compares the color range to the most popular current offerings, including AK Interactive, Tamiya, Humbrol, Vallejo, Gunze/Mr. Hobby, Testors/Model Master, RLM, RAL, FS, Revell, AKI Real Colors, and Citadel. The range being offered is broken into 60 basic colors, 6 clear colors, 11 metallics, plus 3 varnishes (gloss, matte, and satin).

Review Author
Eric Christianson
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$49.98

Prolific ICM is back again with another new offering – this time it is in the form of a re-purposed, French FCM 36-based Tank Destroyer, designated the Marder I. This diminutive vehicle is actually (physically) larger than its other ‘Marder I’-designated cousins, the Lorraine and Hotchkiss-based vehicles. ICM’s kit sports a single piece barrel with a two-part muzzle brake and poly/nylon track that comes in four pieces. A nice, three-piece exhaust is rendered at the rear, and enough 75mm plastic rounds are included to fill two ammunition racks in the fighting compartment.

ICM is not only producing a lot of new kits these days, but they have also introduced a line of acrylic paints, a few of which were used in this build. A separate IPMS review of these paints can be found here.

Book Author(s)
Dennis Oliver
Review Author
Bob LaBouy
Published on
Company
Pen and Sword Books Ltd
MSRP
$24.95

Overview from Publisher

By 1944 the German army was on the defensive on all fronts and Allied bombing was putting increasing pressure on the nation's industrial output. Since the earliest days of the war the Germans had experimented with mounting anti-tank weapons on obsolete chassis and one of the most successful of these would prove to be the Jagdpanzer 38, more often referred to today as the Hetzer . Small and unimposing the Hetzers appearance belied its effectiveness. Armed with the powerful 7.5cm L/48 gun, the same weapon fitted to the Jadgpanzer IV, the Hetzer featured armour sloped armour plates of up to 60mm thickness and was capable of a top speed of 42 kilometres per hour. Almost 3,000 examples were assembled. Its low cost and ease of production meant that it was Germany's most important tank killer of the late war period.

Book Author(s)
Dariusz Karnas & Teodor LIVIU Morosanu
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$11.99

This is volume thirty-two in the Single series. This is a thin book with no text other than photo captions. The book contains very nice 1/72 and 1/48 scale drawings, B&W photos of various details and pages from the manuals showing different systems. There are also two color photos of cockpit details.

This book covers the jet version of the SAAB J 21A. Sweden took the piston powered J21A and modified it to take the De Havilland Goblin engine. The J21R was one of one two aircraft successfully converted from a piston engine to Jet power. Sixty-four were built and served with the Swedish AF. The biggest drawback was the limited range on internal tanks of 280 miles.

Book Author(s)
Yefim Gordon and Dmitriy Komissarov
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Crecy Publishing, Ltd.
MSRP
$64.95

With over 700 titles in print, Crécy Publishing has a growing reputation as a premier aviation, railway and transport publisher. The Crécy stable includes the highly respected Hikoki, Classic and Noodle book imprints, producing unique and highly illustrative bestselling books. Crécy books, with over 700 titles in print are available through a worldwide network of distributors and stocklists including museums, specialist retailers and high street bookshops.

Yefim Gordon was born in 1950 in Vilnius, Lithuania (then part of the Soviet Union) and graduated from the Kaunas Polytechnic Institute in 1972. He has been researching Soviet and Russian aviation history for more than 40 years. A professional photographer, Yefim Gordon has published hundreds of features and photographs in Russian and foreign aviation magazines. He has authored and co-authored more than 120 books on Soviet and Russian aviation.

Book Author(s)
Stephen Rookes
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

Helion produces books on many aspects of Military History from the Late Medieval period through to the present day. Helion was established in 1996, and since then they have published almost 1,200 books, with 100 or more new titles coming out every year. The 'Africa@War' series covers African military history since 1945.

Stephen Edward Rookes is originally from Exeter in the UK, Dr. Stephen Rookes is a French writer and academic who earned his PhD from the University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès, France. He specializes in the history of Cuban exiles and takes a particular interest in the CIA's covert operations in Central America and in Africa. This is his third instalment for Helion’s @War series.

Book Author(s)
David Grummitt
Review Author
Michael Novosad
Published on
Company
Pen and Sword Books Ltd
MSRP
$24.95

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) is a tracked fighting vehicle platform of the United States manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Armaments, formerly United Defense. It was named after U.S. General Omar Bradley.

The Bradley is designed to transport infantry or scouts with armor protection, while providing covering fire to suppress enemy troops and armored vehicles. The several Bradley variants include the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle and the M3 Bradley cavalry fighting vehicle. The M2 holds a crew of three (a commander, a gunner, and a driver) along with six fully equipped soldiers. The M3 mainly conducts scout missions and carries two scout troopers in addition to the regular crew of three, with space for additional BGM-71 TOW missiles.

Book Author(s)
Dariusz Karnas & Teodor Liviu Morosanu
Review Author
Paul Mahoney
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$11.99

This volume in MMP’s “Single” series covers the Avia S-199, and with the impending release of Eduard’s 1/48 kit (announced, but I have no idea of when), the timing of this publication is perfect. The idea behind this series of books (more like booklets) seems to be to get right to the point and show scale plan views, photos, profiles, etc.

Book Author(s)
Mark Proulx
Review Author
Paul Mahoney
Published on
Company
Eagle Editions Ltd.
MSRP
$19.95

This volume, #11, like all others in the series consists of pages and pages of clear photos, printed nicely on semi-gloss paper between laminated stiff covers. Eagle Editions consistently puts out first-rate publications.

Most photos in the Wings of the Black Cross series are previously unpublished, and this issue carries on that tradition. The entire booklet is chock full, starting with the cover (photos are identified on the inside of the cover). Also, in keeping with the tradition of ever-evolving information, errata regarding previous volumes are also printed on the inside cover.