Operation Crossbow 1944 Hunting Hitler’s V-weapons

Published: April 1, 2021
Book Author(s): Steven J. Zaloga
Company: Osprey Publishing

Operation Crossbow was the Allies attempt to destroy Hitler’s new Vengeance weapons, the V-1 and V-2. This book focuses on the bomber campaign rather than the defenses deployed in England to counter the attacks.

The usual soft cover book consists of 94 pages filled with Mr. Zaloga’s usual well documented and written information. There are lots of photographs of not only the allied… more

Republic F-105 Thunderchief

Published: March 26, 2021
Book Author(s): Dennis R. Jenkins
Company: Specialty Press

The Republic F-105 Thunderchief was designed to deliver a tactical nuclear weapon against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. However, it gained it’s fame over the jungles of Vietnam where they flew 159,795 combat missions from which 334 failed to return home.

This hard cover book contains 300 pages and 575 pictures in black and white and color. It covers the full history of the… more

25PDR Field Gun & Quad

Published: March 15, 2021
Company: Airfix

I built a lot of Airfix armor in my youth but never had this one before. Airfix has rereleased this kit as part of their Vintage Classics series and the kit is unchanged from the original 1963 molds except for newer decals.

There are 71 parts molded in a dark green plastic but there are no clear parts. There is very little flash which is nice but there are some seam lines that will… more

U.S.S. Defiant NX-74205

Published: March 15, 2021
Company: Polar Lights

If you are reading this review I am guessing you know what Deep Space Nine was and the Defiant but just in case, the Defiant was a prototype vessel designed for Star Fleet to battle the Borg. If you need more detail there is plenty on the web. The Polar Lights kit continues their series of 1/1000^th scale snap-together Star Trek universe ships. The kit has 27 parts including 13 in… more

Berlin Wall

Published: November 13, 2020
Company: AFV Club

Those of us of a certain age remember well the Berlin Wall and what it stood for and probably still remember when it was torn down in 1989. Those of you who are younger may never heard of it. If not, it is worth an internet search.

The kit has already been reviewed here and a very nice job was done so I went for a less… more

Horten Ho 229 Set, Part 2

Published: May 13, 2020
Company: Zoukei-Mura

This is the 72^nd scale build from this box. John did the 1/144^th scale one a bit earlier.

Zoukei-Maru are known for very detailed kits with interior parts in 1/32^nd and 1/48^th but this is the first time they have delved into the smaller scales, and on this 72^nd scale kit they have decided to go for the… more

M3 Half Track

Published: May 27, 2019
Company: Airfix

When I was around 10-11 years old I got into a small scale armor kick. The local shop carried Airfix kits and I built a lot of their kits at the time. The first time I built the M3 Half Track it was a MPC release in their Battle of the Bulge Historama kit.

Fast forward 45, cough, years later and Airfix is re-releasing many of their kits under their Vintage Classics range. The kit… more

P-40 Wheels - Cross Tread

Published: April 27, 2019
Company: CMK

Czech Master Kits, CMK, have released a really nice P-40N kit recently and a ton of aftermarket items for it and other P-40 kits.

This set is one of several replacement tire kits and features the cross thread pattern which resin is probably the best medium to capture this detail.

The set includes two main wheels and tires with alternate hub detail parts. The cross thread… more

P-40N-5 Through N-40 Seats

Published: April 24, 2019
Company: CMK

CMK, Czech Master Kits, has released several resin seats designed to fit their numerous P-40 kits. This one is designed for their new P-40N. The set includes 1 part, the seat. This is a direct replacement for the kit part. The detail is crisp and it should look nice settled in the cockpit. There are no seatbelts molded onto the seat so you can easily use your favorite option.

This… more

Fine Brass Chain

Published: April 24, 2019
Company: CMK

Czech Master Kits, known as CMK, is one of the prolific model companies out of the Czech Republic releasing full kits and aftermarket parts for aircraft, AFVs, ships, figures, and more.

This includes a series of brass chains which are listed as Fine (72^nd scale), Medium (48^th) and Coarse (35^th). This review covers the Fine version of these products as I… more