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Review Author
Tom Moon
Published on
Company
Master Box Ltd
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$19.95

The set had very minimal flash, and no ejection pin marks. The few mold lines were easily removed with a sharp blade. There are no decals, and no painting instructions. You will need to copy what you see in the illustration. There are not even any part numbers on the sprue, just a picture on the back of the box with the numbers listed next to the part.

The figures went together without a lot of shaping and filling. The weapons fit the hands and are nicely made.

As noted, there are no painting instructions and the photo on the front is useful as it gives you a sense of what the artist conception is. The photos on the back give you general idea of what the colors are, but my advice is to review your figure references for proper color.

Conclusion – Master Box is becoming the leader in vignettes in a box. The kit is very well done and appears better than my figure painting makes it look.

Review Author
Tom Moon
Published on
Company
Riich Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$14.00

The set had very minimal flash and no ejection pin marks. The few mold lines that exist were easily removed with a sharp blade. There are decals and painting instructions. The decals were a pleasant surprise. Now all the small details like shoulder patches and campaign ribbons are better shown.

The figures went together okay, but the Horricks figure has the hands and arms molded in one piece and that created a gap in the shoulder attachment that required some additional effort to close up. Colors are called out in Hobby Color, Mr. Hobby, Humbrol, and Tamiya paints.

Conclusion – Riich Models is a new company and is off to a decent start in 1/35 scale figures. The figures depict a section of a period photo taken of them. The action is very minimal, however. Since there is nothing else showing in the picture, I would add a British tank or some other vehicle to make a nice little diorama. The kit is well done and appears better than my figure painting makes it look.

Review Author
Tom Moon
Published on
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$69.95

This is a multimedia kit comprised of 15 sprues, magic tracks, one photo etched fret, decals, and the set of instructions that need to be reviewed very carefully before gluing any parts together. You can build the howitzer as either installed in the vehicle or in the towed format. The vehicle looks very plain without the gun mounted, so that is how I built the model.

Most Dragon models today are a collection of old sprues and new sprues added to create a new kit variant. In this case, Dragon has not done so; only the road wheels, suspension and a couple of pioneer tools are from prior kits, and everything else is new molding.

Review Author
Tom Moon
Published on
Company
Master Box Ltd
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$19.95

The set had very minimal flash and no ejection pin marks. What mold lines I saw were easily removed with a sharp blade. There are no decals, and some painting instructions. You will need to copy what you see in the illustration. There are not even any part numbers on the sprue, just a picture on the back of the box with the numbers listed next to the part. There are two insert photos of possible camouflage painting of the smocks but the paints listed don’t match the colors.

The figures went together without a lot of shaping and filling. Two of them are balanced so they can stand without pins or glue. The weapons fit the hand fairly well and are nicely made.

Book Author(s)
Mark Stille
Review Author
Anthony Tvaryanas
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$18.95

Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku is largely regarded as the archetypal Japanese naval commander of World War II, and his reputation remained high in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) despite numerous naval defeats. In his short book, Mark Stille undertakes a critical analysis of Yamamoto, calling into question his reputation as both a reluctant warrior and a brilliant and invincible admiral.

Book Author(s)
Colin Heaton and Anne-Marie Lewis
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
Company
Zenith Press
MSRP
$29.00

This book contains interviews with four prominent Luftwaffe fighter pilots who fought from the Spanish Civil War until the end of the war in Europe in 1945. They are candid about their combat experiences, dealing with the corrupt Nazi civil government and their dislike and contempt for RFM Goering and Hitler. It presents an interesting look into World war II as viewed from “the other side.”

Interview number one is with 197 victory ace Walter Krupinski. Serving mostly on the Eastern Front, his insight into combat in that arena is very interesting. Krupinski concluded his flying career with the West German Air Force after learning to fly jets in the US post-war.

Book Author(s)
Rafael A Permuy López
Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$22.95

The latest in Osprey’s Aircraft of the Aces series focuses on the Republican pilots who author Rafael A Permuy López believes achieved ace status during the Spanish Civil War. In this book the author draws upon the limited documentation available today to tell the story of those who he determined actually qualified to be ranked as an Ace during that conflict.

Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
Company
Lifelike Decals
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$15.95

After reviewing Lifelike #72-021 for Messerschmitt Bf-109s, I opened this set and found it difficult to resist working on a Tamiya 1/72 Fw-190A-3 that I had started dry fitting a few months ago. Lifelike’s set #72-022, much like the Bf-109 set, offers a number of appealing decal options that beg almost immediate attention.

Included on the two small sheets packaged in the zip-lock sleeve are markings for:

Review Author
Walt Fink
Published on
Company
Airfix
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$7.95

Folland’s Gnat is aptly named – it’s about the smallest airframe they could wrap around a tandem-seat cockpit, jet engine, and assorted systems to achieve an effective training aircraft. The aircraft was, in fact, selected by the British Aerobatic Team the Red Arrows, who flew it for several years before they adopted the BaE Hawk for their mounts. The Gnat is the outgrowth of Folland’s single-seat Midge (also aptly named) whose final derivative – the HAL Ajeet, flown by the Indian Air Force – became known as a “Sabre-killer” for its success against Pakistani AF F-86s. It was hard to see, fast, nimble, and possessed a potent offensive armament package.

Book Author(s)
Dariusz Karnas
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$28.00

This book contains all a modeler would need to build and super detail a model of the Storch in any scale. The book also includes scale plans in 1/72, 1/48 and 1/35. These plans were first rate.

The first 62 pages cover the basics of each and every variant of the Storch. The next 30 pages cover each of the many non-German operators of the type, also including those captured examples that were operated by both the United Kingdom and the USA. Even Gen. Eisenhower had one for his personal use. The many color profiles of these non-German Storchs help provide many alternate paint schemes to the modeler. The next 10 or so pages cover the technical description and the camouflage and markings.

The final section includes many color photos of both aircraft preserved in museums and flying examples. The photos cover every angle and look into every nook and cranny on the aircraft and provided information on even the smallest details.