America In WWII 06/2013

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD Sewell Avery sat stiffly at his desk inside the Chicago headquarters of the Montgomery Ward catalog company—lovingly dubbed "Monkey Ward" by its legions of customers—on April 26, 1944. He wore a dark suit and tie, his jacket buttoned tight across his chest, and his lips drawn with equal conviction. Two national guardsmen kept watch over him. Also in Avery's office was US Attorney General Francis Riddle, who had flown in from Washington to try to defuse a potentially explosive situation. The National War Labor Board had twice ordered Avery to honor pacts it had brokered between his company and the United Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union. Twice Avery had refused. He didn't believe he had any obligation to recognize a labor union as a bargaining representative for its collective membership. So 12,000 workers remained on strike—now four months and counting. "To hell with the government!" Avery barked at Biddlc. "I want none of your damned advice."

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America In WWII 04/2013

The demise of Tang highlighted not just the torpedo problem, but also the inherent dangers of life as a submariner, the most obvious of which was living and working underwater in a high-pressure environment. If trapped, a submarine could quickly run out of options. The crew of USS Perch (SS-176), for instance, spent March 2, 1942, stuck at the bottom of the Java Sea as Japanese destroyers took turns dropping depth charges on her. The sub survived the teeth-jarring assault and surfaced. The next morning, Captain David Hurt ordered a test dive, which revealed nearly wrecked propulsion and electrical systems in addition to massive leaks and inoperable torpedo tubes. "So we had to resurface," Electrician's Mate Ernest Plantz said later, "and when we did, there was three Jap tin cans [destroyers] and two cruisers about three thousand, thirty-five hundred yards out ahead of us, and they started to fire.

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America In WWII 02/2013

You may have heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. I thought about that old bromide as I flipped through Colors of Confinement: Rare Kodachrome Photographs of Japanese American Incarceration in World War II and glimpsed a blur of what turned out to be page 65. I flipped back to take a closer look. The photo filling the page is mostly empty, with a squat sprawl of buildings plunked down in the middle of barren ground with snow-frosted mountains stretched across the horizon beyond. Someone obviously didn't want the people here to have contact with the outside world. Many of the other photos have the same empty feel, even the close-ups of the internees mugging for the camera. The background behind their faces is distant. We glimpse beautiful country in the distance, but beautiful in a melancholy way. In fact, melancholy permeates these images. There's little obvious squalor in the camp. The internees wear decent to fine clothing. They look well fed. But even when they're smiling or celebrating— like dancing in kimonos on a traditional Japanese holiday or watching a couple of fellow internees sumo wrestle—something is missing.

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Military In Scale 10/2012

The Lockheed Ventura was designed as a long-range patrol and anti-submarine aircraft to replace the same company's ageing Hudson. The first Ventura Mk.ls went to the RAF and were operated as day bombers. It soon became clear, however, that the aircraft simply couldn't survive the hostile environment over Western Europe and the type fell from favour as a straight bomber, when the more developed version, the Mk.ll (PV-1 in US Navy parlance) became available, this type being utilised as a maritime patrol aircraft. The type served with distinction in the Pacific with the US Navy, Australian and NZ Air Forces, many more served with the RAF, RCAF and SAAF, the latter going on to serve well into the postwar period in a variety of colour schemes and markings.

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Military In Scale 09/2012

The kit itself is fantastic - the quality of parts is next to ideal, the detail level is outstanding and the inclusion of workable tracks and personal equipment as well as full tarp, is exactly what we want from the kit to be able to build it without aftermarket add-ons. Some parts may appear tiny for inexperienced modellers so I recommend taking extra care when removing them from sprues or painting the model (I broke the width indicators several times). As with many other kits this release from Bronco is not ideal and has dimensional issues with the instrument panel and contour of the cab's sidewalls (fixed in the recently released artillery version), plus the engine type is incorrect (NL38 TUKRM should be replaced by HL54 TUKRM if that one were to appear as an aftermarket item).

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Military In Scale 08/2012

There are two boxed versions, the British Army Lynx and a naval Lynx. Within each kit there are sub-types to choose from and in due course, there will be further issues of the kit incorporating more parts to build accessories and gift sets that will include paints, etc. Within the box of Army Lynx parts there are three versions; (A) a Lynx AH-7 as on operations in Afghanistan in 2006, (B) an AH-7 in tiger markings for a Tiger's Roar meet in 2005 and (C) an AH-7 operated by the Royal Marines and based at Yeovilton in 2005. The main difference between the three is the weapons fit and the weapons ancillary equipment. Version A was also fitted with modified intakes and exhausts to cope with the sandy environment and combat conditions. One of the main cosmetic options in the kit is the choice of spread or folded rotor blades; the Army don't tend to fold their rotor blades or tail boom unless they are stuffing the aircraft into a cargo hold for transportation.

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Military In Scale 07/2012

We are delighted to bring you the July issue of your favourite modelling magazine. Military In Scale. Following our launch of this the redesigned MIS, we have tried once again to build on the success of the last issue with another that is jam-packed with up-to-the minute news, reviews and some truly stellar modelling that will have you running to your bench to get cracking on one of your own projects! There are many highlights this month; from John Murphy's rendition of Tamiya's M1 'Super Sherman', through Alan Firbank's look at the massive Revell A400 and onto Alex Clark's extraordinary T-72, there is much to enjoy, much to admire and much to inspire. But of course it's not all about the modelling - oh no! This month you will also find an amazing look at the German Army's Marder and its operation in Afghanistan. Modern vehicles are very popular at the moment and so the inclusion of such an impressive feature is sure to delight modellers everywhere.

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