Casemate - 617 Squadron "The forging of a legend"

Product Review
Reviewer: Pablo Bauleo
IPMS: # 46363

Title: 617 Squadron "The forging of a legend"
Publisher: Casemate Books
ISBN: 978-1-848840-02-7
MSRP: $50


The attack on the Ruhr dams was the opening act of 617 Squadron during World War Two. The other operations undertaken by 617 Squadron have been, somewhat, eclipsed by attack on the dams. This book corrects that, by covering the whole operative history of 617 Sqn, from the Dams, to the special operation on support D-Day (when they dropped chaff to fake an invasion fleet in the German radars around the Calais area), the attacks on the Tirpitz, and more.

The book has a great balance between historical research and easiness for reading. It covers with impressive details the operations, without being a dry enumeration of the mission debriefing reports.

Another good point of this book is that the authors interviewed witness (when possible) as to get 'first hand' versions of the events depicted in the book. They also went the extra mile, doing research on "both sides of the hill", reporting events from the Allied and Axis point of view, with very good detail of the follow-up German investigation after the sinking of the Tirpitz.

Highly recommended for aviation history aficionados.

I would like to thank Casemate Publishing for the review sample.

Hasegawa - 1/48 Isuzu Tx40 Type 97

Product Review
Reviewer: Pablo Bauleo
IPMS: # 46363

Manufacturer: Hasegawa

Product: Isuzu Tx40 Type 97 Truck (Kit X48-15)
               
MSRP: I've seen prices ranging from $24 to $32 in different online stores

The Hasegawa Isuzu Tx40 Type 97 (boxing X48-15) includes a very neat truck, plus two figures, drums, aircraft chocks and a very nice toolbox. Options are few, you can model an Army or a Navy truck (minor modification on the truck grille), and the flat bed can be assembled with or without a tarp cover.

Engineering of this kit is remarkable good. There are neither sink marks nor visible ejector pins in any external surface, however there are a few ejector pins in the underneath surfaces. Regarding assembly of this kit, the fit is outstanding; there was no need to use filler at all in this kit. Make sure that you carefully follow the instructions when putting together the flat bed. There is a definite order in which you are supposed to do it and it is clearly marked in the instructions. By the way, the wooden flat bed has gorgeous engraved detail that benefits of careful painting and weathering.

Interior cub detail is reasonable for the scale, with a couple of levers, steering wheel, separate seat, and raised detail for the instruments bezels together with a decal for the instruments dials.

Tires are molded in plastic and have a tiny mold seam that needs to be sanded. The tires are molded together with the wheels hubs. I wish they would have been individual parts as to facilitate painting.

Just a heads-up for purist: The kit does not include a full engine, just an oil-pan. It looks busy and convincing enough when looking from underneath, at least to my eyes.

Clear parts are provided for the head lamp, windshield and cab cover. The parts are thin, very clear and free of any optical distortion.

Something a little bit strange is the location of the spare tire, which blocks the driver door. I couldn't find any historical picture supporting or denying this, but I just decided to build the kit without it.

Although marketed as part of the aircraft series, this kit stands for its own merits as a vehicle model. It took me about 12 hs to finish this project, with about half of it devoted to painting and weathering.

In a few words: this kit is a joy to build.  Highly recommended.

I would like to thank Hasegawa for the review sample and IPMS for allowing me to review it.

Pen & Sword - Air War East Africa 1940-41

Product Review
Reviewer: Pablo Bauleo
IPMS: # 46363

Manufacturer: Pen & Sword Books LTD

Product: Air War East Africa 1940-1941
               The RAF vs the Italian Air Force
                Jon Sutherland & Diane Canwell
                ISBN 978 1 84415 816 4
               
MSRP: 19.99 British Pounds from http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk


Air War over East Africa covers the details of an obscure and often forgotten front of WWII: The battle for the Horn of Africa in 1940-41.. The air contingents used in this 8-month campaign were relatively modest in number, and mainly pre-war designs were used, like SM.81, SM 79, Fairey Battle, Gloster Gladiator, Fiat CR.32 plus handful of Fiat CR 42 and Hurricanes.

The book appropriately connects the air battles/missions with he ground movement counterparts or the strategic importance of the strike. Most of the narrative is a little bit impersonal, chronologically enumerating air strikes and missions. However, whenever possible quotes from the airmen involved in the missions are included, which spices the reading a bit. Most of the narrative is related from the Allied point of view. The book includes a list of RAF victory claims, but not a list from the Regia Aeronautica.

The book has 60 B&W pictures, about half of them of the aircraft involved in the campaign but no aircraft profiles. If you are after a book to get reference pictures/profiles for your next model, this is not the book for you. But if you are interested to learn about the battle for the Horn of Africa, then this book is for you.

This book is a very well researched study of the forgotten battle for the Horn of Africa. Recommended to all history aficionados.

I would like to thank Pen & Sword for the review sample.