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Review Author
Tomasz Menert
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$65.99

From ICM

The 2 cm Flak 38 anti-aircraft gun began entering service with the Wehrmacht in the second half of 1940. With its reliable design and high rate of fire (up to 480 rounds per minute), it was an effective means of close-range air defense in the Wehrmacht, and its production continued until the end of World War II. In addition to targeting aircraft, the gun could also be used against lightly armored targets. To increase mobility, anti-aircraft guns were often mounted on various vehicles, both wheeled and semi-tracked. One such vehicle was the semi-tracked version of the widely used Wehrmacht truck, the V3000S, which was designated as Sd.Kfz.3b (also known as the V3000S/SSM). The anti-aircraft guns were mounted in the vehicle’s bed and could be placed either on special platforms or without them. For firing, the sides of the vehicle’s body were either folded down or completely removed.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$34.95

First, the usual “thank you greatly” to SAC for providing this set to IPMS USA. We appreciate the continual, long-term support from this manufacturer, and it’s always a good day when a package arrives from SAC HQ.

This metal gear is exactly what SAC says it is; an improved version of the kit gear. From their website: “The Trumpeter main gear is too long. Our set corrects this problem. Also, we recommend the modeler purchase a set of ResKit wheels because they have much better detail and they lower the model by an additional 1 mm”.

Out of the box, the kit has two different landing gear options; Plastic gear parts for a standard build, incorporating brake lines and other details, (which will begin to fail over time), and a cast- steel copy of the plastic gear without the brake lines. These lines are provided for by black vinyl add-ons in a bag containing the vinyl/rubber tires for the basic kit.

Book Author(s)
Bert Kinzey
Illustrators: Rock Roszak
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Detail & Scale, Inc.
MSRP
$21.99

Detail & Scale published its first two books on North American’s P-51 Mustang in 1996. Thirty years later, a new set of three publications, P-51 Mustang in Detail & Scale, significantly revises and expands the original coverage of this iconic fighter. This latest series of Detail & Scale started with Volume 1 in 2018 with the F3H Demon.

Review Author
Michael Reeves
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$29.99

ICM has been releasing quality kits, figure sets, and recently paints to support their vast library of releases. This is a new sort of release for me as included in the card stock envelope are sheets of decals that the modeler can use to add unit patches, shoulder boards, and ribbons to your Ukrainian 1/35 figures, as well as digital camouflage for the Kozak-2 models in their line. The cover art of the envelope lists the set has 468 combat unit patches of AFU, 56 patches of AFU, 34 shoulder boards, and 2 sheets of decals for the Kozak-2. For a little bit of bling, the set comes with a Ukrainian patch as well.

Review Author
Ron Bell
Published on
Company
OKB Grigorov
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$18.00

OKB Grigorov is a modeling company headquartered in Bulgaria. They do 3D printing, resin and photo etch items. Their inventory includes complete kits, track sets, figures and detail sets. I have now built two of their resin kits and have found them to be of the highest quality. There is no flash, no huge molding blocks to remove and the detail is very finely executed. Don’t go here looking for another Panzer IV or Tiger kit as they specialize in some rather esoteric subjects.

The subject of this review is their 1/72 scale kit of the U.S. Honest John missile. This was the first missile the U.S. produced capable of delivering an atomic warhead, although it could also carry a conventional one. It was ballistically “guided”, launched from a truck-mounted launching rail and was used by numerous countries, only coming out of the front-line U.S. inventory in 1983.

Book Author(s)
Ben Skipper
Review Author
Paul Bradley
Published on
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$24.95

According to the publisher’s website, the aim of the FlightCraft series “is to provide model makers and aircraft enthusiasts with a new standard of primarily visual reference to both full-size aircraft and their models, using detailed line drawings, plans, profiles and photographs, many in full colour. The series will provide colour references for paint schemes, summaries of design histories and careers, and critical reviews of available kits. ..The series will provide varied coverage across a range of different criteria, showcasing the best of the world's aircraft types and providing invaluable insight and guidance to model makers.”

I have quite a few of this series, now up to 32 in number, and, on the whole, they do what that statement of intent says. Some, however, are better than others.

Book Author(s)
Tom Cooper, Adrien Fontanellaz, Milos Sipos
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$30.00

Casemate Publishing is distributing Helion & Company’s 6th installment of their series “War in Ukraine”. This series is part of their “Europe at War” collection. “War in Ukraine” covers all aspects of the current conflict in Ukraine, like air warfare, drone warfare, armored vehicles or specific battles. This book is focused on the opening moves of air warfare in Mar-April of 2022.

Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
Company
Yahu Models
Scale
1:48
MSRP
$8.99

Yahu Models has provided the IPMS reviewer corps with a 1/48th scale detail set for the Yak 1/3/7/9 wing fuel gauges. This is a generic set that will work on any Yak 1/3/7/9 airplane kit.

In the Package

The fuel gauge detail set is enclosed in a plastic bag with one photoetched fret. The parts come packaged in an individual Ziploc bag and cardboard backing which also has instructions printed on it. Assembly is required to install the bezel to the gauge face, and you will need to reference the instructions to determine the correct gauge for a particular Yak variant. I would also recommend adding a drop Clear Gloss (like Future or clear UV resin) on the gauge once the bezel is installed to give it a glassed in look.

Conclusions

Overall, this is a nice detail set to upgrade your 1/48th scale WWII Yak kit. The close-up picture shows off the small detail printed on the PE parts and the fidelity at such a small size is amazing.

Review Author
Keith Gervasi
Published on
Company
Arma Hobby
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$23.50

History

(From the Arma web site): The Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (Falcon) fighter, nicknamed ‘Oscar’ in Allied code, was Japan's equivalent of the Spitfire and the Messerschmitt Bf-109 - it was a core piece of the Imperial Japanese Army Aviation throughout the Second World War, and was refined and produced in successive versions during all that period. Although it remained somewhat in the shadow of the naval Mitsubishi ‘Zero’, famous on the Pacific front thanks to its spectacular carrier battles, the Hayabusa played a major role in the battles over the Asian continent: over China, Burma, and Malaya, but also over the Philippines and New Guinea. There, it fought effectively against the air forces of China, the USA, Great Britain, Australia, and the Netherlands, making a major contribution to the initial great victories of the Japanese.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$104.98

ICM has done it again with a great combination kit with three early World War II armored vehicles. This boxing Wehrmacht Armored Vehicles (DS3524 – Diorama Set) has three complete kits: Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf B, Panzerspähwagen P 204(f), and Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf A. From the ICM webpage for the Wehrmacht Armored Vehicles boxed set: