Model Railroader 06 2007

Inspiration for modeling projects can come from a variety of places, such as photographs, books, or magazines. Mine came from a plate. The artwork on the plate (at right) I purchased at a rural South Dakota antique store shows the elevator complex at Viborg, S.D. Though Viborg is a long way from Lake Beulah, Wis., the layout of the complex is similar to that of elevators in rural southeastern Wisconsin. The Lake Beulah elevator is typical of the clapboard-sided structures that were once commonplace in rural America. Though many of these structures were rendered obsolete as new, larger capacity elevators were built, some did survive. Many of the wood structures were sheathed with metal siding to protect them from the elements, and these elevators were used in secondary roles, including grain storage. Today, most elevators are of concrete construction and are designed to handle 110-car unit grain trains. Elevators are fun industries to model because they're loaded with detail and they're visually interesting. For example, the Lake Beulah complex includes an elevator, grain dryer, and two bins. Chutes from the elevator connect to the grain dryer and one grain bin.

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Military in Scale 07 1994

The Spitfire will need no introduction, being one of the most famous aircraft of all time. The first Spitfire flew in 1936 and the aircraft progressed through many design improvements until the final mark, the Spitfire 24, some 20,400 airframes later. The last Spitfire left the factory in February 1948, a much changed machine compared to the first, but still bearing a strong family resemblance. The Spitfire was improved as Worla War II progressed in order to stay ahead of improving Luftwaffe aircraft such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Focke Wulf Fwl90. Improvements were made to all aspects of the Spitfire, with improved fire-power, engine and aerodynamics. Pilots of the day tend to quote the Mark IX as being the best of the breed, where all of the aircraft's features were in harmony, producing the classic piston engined fighter. Spitfires are popular performers at airshows throughout the summer, with numbers increasing as more airframes are restored to flying condition, at some shows there have been as many as twelve Spitfires in the air together, a thrilling sight and sound.

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FineScale Modeler 07 1991

PERHAPS THE GROUND WAR phase of the war with Iraq was as brief as it was because of the M1A1 Abrams main battle tank. Critics predicted that its high-tech weaponry would break down in the fine desert sand; that its thirst for fuel would make long-range operations difficult; or that losing these extremely expensive weapons would be unacceptably costly. Now we know that the performance of the Abrams was indispensable in the rapid U.N. coalition advance against the Iraqis. The M1A1 version of America's most important tank features an M256 120 mm smooth-bore cannon, an improved rear turret bustle rack, larger turret side stowage bins, a new-style crosswind sensor, revised headlights and guards, a new gunner's sight housing, and omission of the track ring guard on the drive sprockets. All these changes are reflected in Minicraft's excellent kit. Molding quality is above average and assembly is nearly trouble free. There are a few sinkholes to be filled and minor flash on the vinyl tracks is difficult to remove.

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Military Modelling 01 2004

The difficulties the US Army experienced in the hedgerow country of Normandy in June 1944 are well known. The dense hedgerows, known locally as bocage, formed a natural defensive perimeter around most farm fields. The German forces skilfully exploited these terrain features to create an effective defensive barrier. What is less often appreciated is that the Wehrmacht suffered from the same difficulties when they attempted local offensive operations. In the pre-dawn hours of 11th July 1944, Panzer Lehr Division attempted a two-pronged attack using two kampfgruppe along the boundarv line of the 9th and 30th Infantry Divisions, towards St. Jean-de-Daye. To speed the attack, many of the German panzer grenadiers rode the panzers into action. Although the attack succeeded in making two small penetrations around Le Desert and Pont Hebert, by early morning the attack had been stopped and Panzer Lehr forced to withdraw by the combined action of infantry and tank destroyers. One kampfgruppe started with 244 panzer grenadiers and a company of 10 tanks, but returned to German lines with only 23 men. The US Army estimated that Panzer Lehr had lost 30 tanks in the attack, including over a dozen Panthers.

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