Aires began in 1995, making 2020 their 25th anniversary. They are based out of the Czech Republic and include not only the Aires brand name, but QuickBoost, Aero Bonus, and Wheelliant.
Dennis Oliver is the author of over twenty books on Second World War armored vehicles including Tiger I and II Tanks, German Army and Waffen-SS, Eastern Front 1944, Panther Tanks, German Army and Waffen-SS, Normandy Campaign 1944, Jagdpanther Tank Destroyer, German Army, Western Europe 1944-1945, and Tiger I and Tiger II Tanks, German Army and Waffen-SS, and The Last Battles in the West, 1945.
This book is another installment of the Tank Craft series which currently holds 17 titles and covers German, American, and British tanks, Tiger I and Tiger II Tanks, and German Army and Waffen-SS, and Normandy Campaign 1944.
Ian Baxter is a much-published author and photographic collector whose books draw an increasing following. Among his many previous titles in the Images of War series are Hitler’s Boy Soldiers, Nazi Concentration Camp Commandants, German Army on the Eastern Front – The Advance, Germany Army on the Eastern Front- The Retreat, The Crushing of Army Group (North) and the SS Waffen Division series including SS Leibstandarte Division, SS Totenkopf Division At War. He lives in Chelmsford, Essex.
Casemate Publisher is distributing a book from Helion & Companion Publishers on “The Folgore Parachute Division, Operations in North Africa 1940-43”. The author has done extensive research on the topic and each chapter is profusely referenced.
Each chapter describes a very clearly defined period of time of the Division and has the very logical breakdown, as follows:
It also includes two appendices covering the Order of Battle and a list of recipients of the Gold Medal for Military Valor.
I did not know what to expect when I started reading this book. I thought everything that could be written about the B-17 had been written. I was wrong.
This paperback book is written in an easy-to-read style. It does get technical at points, but it is easily understandable. The 256 pages are 9.25 x 6 of high-quality paper. It does contain almost 480 photos: many I’ve never seen before. So, with the preliminary information, let’s see what is inside of the book.
Developmental history starts well before the B-17, or Model 299, went to the drawing board. The stories that accompany the development are gold. The problems, drawbacks, and trials of developing an aircraft that was operating in the stratosphere at extremely low temperatures are each talked about. And the ways they were overcome or ignored.
The R35 was a small, light infantry tank that was originally designed by Renault for the French Army. After the fall of Paris, many of these tanks were captured and pressed into service by the German forces. These were used as either second line tanks or they were modified for other rolls. The particular vehicle covered by this new kit from Hobby Boss covers a vehicle that has been modified to carry the 3.7cm Pak 35/36.
Brengun has issued another delightful photoetched accessory set for small scale aircraft modelers. This particular set is designed for use with Mark One's offering of the German Bf-109, specifically the Bf-109G-10 model. [ Note : There is a detail set for the K model of the 109, as well.]
Typically these small scale (1/144th) aircraft kits come with two complete models in the box and Mark One is no exception, nor are the offerings from either Armory or Sweet. Brengun provides detail bits for two kits. Those bits include photoetched pieces for the:
Additional items are provided for the:
This is my first exposure to the Middle East at War series. This paperback book contains the history of the Iraqi Air Force from its inception up to the Arab/Israeli Wars of the 1970s. It contains over 130 photos, maps, 21 color profiles, and various other illustrations.
The book starts out by providing the history of Iraq, even before the genesis of the air force. This historical background is appreciated since the history of the region has an effect on the formation of the military, especially the air force. The start of air power in the region was shown by the British during WWI And immediately afterwards. Training of Iraqi pilots began in 1930 by the British and with that the beginning of the Iraqi Air Force took hold.
I didn’t really know this, but the Swiss have a long and distinguished history of serving as mercenaries in other country’s armies, especially France, from as far back as the Late Middle Ages all the way through the Age of Napoleon and beyond. The last vestige of this type of Swiss service remains in the Swiss guards at the Vatican today. In some ways, these mercenaries were the harbingers of today’s professional soldiers – men dedicated to a life of arms rather than the temporary civilian levies standard up until that time.
I’ll be the first to admit it – I’m getting hooked on these Heimdal uniform books. Any dedicated figure modeler is well aware of the fact that the period roughly 1790 – 1815 constitutes the highlight of colorful uniforms worn by any belligerents in any war, before or since. The development of coal tar dyes led to the creation of a bewildering range of bright colors, almost immediately employed by all the major military powers of the time, as they regarded the quality of their military attire to be a direct reflection of the power and majesty of their particular countries.
Napoleanic uniforms in particular reflected this obsession, with an almost unbelievable range of military costumes. For figure modelers, the fact that almost all of them were based in large part on standard French military garb means that one can, if one chooses, create a incredible array of accurate toy soldiers with uniforms spanning the rainbow.
