Airfix Model World 08/2011

The Cromwell was the product of development of the British cruiser tanks, designed as a replacement for the Crusader. The main body consisted of welded sections, onto which armour plate was bolted to the frame; large bosses on the outside of the plate were used on the turret. Several British firms were involved with Cromwell construction during the war as well as Leyland including LMS Railway, Morris Motors, Metro-Cammell, Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company and English Electric. The driver was seated on the right in the front of the hull separated from the hull gunner by a bulkhead.The driver had two periscopes and a visor in the hull front.The visor could be opened fully or a small 'gate' opened; in the latter case a thick glass block protected the driver. A bulkhead with access holes separated the driver from the hull gunner from the fighting compartment. A further bulkhead separated the fighting compartment from the engine and transmission bay. In June 1944 the Cromwell received its baptism of fire, when its 75mm gun enabled it to use high-explosive rounds for infantry support, but the tanks received a mixed reception from crews.

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Airfix Model World 07/2011

Revell first produced its 1/48 scale Mercury and Gemini kits in 1964, with the most recent re-release occurring in 1999 as the Gus Grissom Memorial Combo. The Mercury kit, however, represents a late version rather than the original craft (our chosen subject), which carried Alan B. Shepard as the first US astronaut in space, and the cylindrical upper body portions of the model are not accurate. In addition, Freedom 7 had two round porthole windows in place of the later rectangular window. RealSpace Models' conversion includes new pieces for the upper body, a modified one-piece casting of the body shell with correct portholes, an instrument panel with periscope and other details. The remaining parts come from the Revell kit. The kit's interior is sparse, featuring only the instrument panel and rear bulkhead, but in reality the actual spacecraft was crammed with equipment and wiring.

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Airfix Model World 06/2011

Considering the historical and military importance
of the Tornado, and its popularity among modellers, it's surprising that there have been few models actually released - particularly in 1/48 scale. As for those that have been issued, they are fairly old now and it shows. Airfix and Italeri released F3s of varying quality and detail, and whereas either of these can be built to look like a Tornado, both need much work to bring them to a decent standard. Enter Hobby Boss, which recently offered its Tornado renditions, initially in the form of the mud-moving IDS/GR1. Now the fighter version is available, and first impressions are favourable. Both variants feature well-detailed surfaces, with a host of stores and the added bonus of wings that can have flaps and slats deployed, saving a tricky conversion job necessary on the earlier models.

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Panzer Aces No.33

Originally developed to perform work similar to the Humber Mk. Ill LRC (It was after all a similar vehicle). This was a simple and robust vehicle, dedicated to reconnaissance missions who accomplished its work in North Africa and in Europe, from the year 1942 right until the end of the war in 1945. The company who built it. Hamilton Bridge in Hamilton (Ontario), made 1761 units of this rare vehicle. Crew consisted of three men; the commander and the driver occupied the two seats on the front, while the gunman occupied the seat suspended from the small open turret on the roof. All of them gained access to the vehicle through the two huge hinged doors on both sides of the frame. The turret was mounted on rotating ball assemblies that could afford a 360 degree turn. From the turret the gunman could fire a Bren machine gun through a slot, and he could do it manually or mounted on a reclining resort that helped lift the gun easily.

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Panzer Aces No.32

The protection offered by the armoring to the four crew men (40mm in the thickest parts) was not very good when compared to other vehicles of the era. This situation was worsened by the lack of resistance to tension of the planks and the assembly of this with bolts. The SPA 125 h/p diesel motor was not powerful enough for the vehicle's weight and the air filters couldn't prevent sand from getting to the motor, which finally harmed it. The bad reputation of the M series was largely due to the Ml3/40. Finally, the model M 14/41 incorporated better filters and a better, more powerful motor. Nicknamed "motrorized coffins" by the Germans, we can say in defense of it, that originally these vehicles were designed to operate on the northern Italian mountain area were the "Regio Esercito" planned to fight as opposed to the radically different north African climate.

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Panzer Aces No.31

The base vehicle employed was the M74I, or an M113 with a modified roof piece and a modified troop compartment, with a system to block the wheels for the firing position. In the center of the roof was placed an open turret for housing the General Electric M6I gun consisting of six 20mm rotating tubes very similar to the weapons designed for the air force jets. The Gatling design type allowed for a firing rate of about 1000 and 3000 rounds per minute. In order to avoid an excessive ammunition use (bear in mind that it held 1900 shells in reserve) it had a selector switch that allowed you to release 10, 30, 60 or 100 shots per round. The assembled unit weighed about 1.5 tons; that meant that flotation units had to be placed on the vehicle's sides in order to maintain its amphibious status.

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