Military Illustrated Modeller Issue 006

Schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 654 were the first operational unit to be issued with the Jagdpanther in May 1944. Following training in France, the second and third companies went into action in Normandy in July. The combination of the Panther's proven chassis; good armour protection and the awesome 88mm 171 armament should have ensured that this new tank destroyer was an immediate success. The reality was very different with the overburdened steering gears and final drives failing with alarming regularity. The maintenance troops worked round the clock to keep their Jagdpanthers operational. In addition to mechanical issues, the Normandy bocage with its narrow lanes and impenetrable hedges severely restricted the effectiveness of the Jagdpanther. Combat reports suggest that targets were often observed but not engaged, as the crews were unable to turn their vehicles in the narrow French lanes.

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Military Illustrated Modeller Issue 005

Hawker's Seahawk was the Royal Navy's first successful single seat jet fighter, replacing the unsatisfactory Supermarine Attacker. It showed itself to be a good ground attack aircraft and participated in the 1956 Suez Crisis. The only 1:72 scale HobbyBoss aircraft kits that I have had anything to do with up until now are those quick-build WWII single engine fighters. They are a bit 'hit and miss', quality wise, like the Mk.VB Spitfire with a canopy about 3mm wider than the fuselage and no gear doors. Some others were pretty good but still basic, usually lacking in cockpit and wheel well detail. I had read somewhere that this Seahawk kit was a quantum leap so when it turned up in my local I shelled out the readies. The price seemed very good if the quality was reasonable, but I was not expecting what I got. My favourite plastic manufacturer is MPM/Special Hobby. They have released several versions of the Seahawk in 1:72 scale, along with Airfix many years ago. The MPM effort is all plastic but can still be built up into a good model while the Special Hobby kit has an excellent resin/PE cockpit and a host of under-wing stores. No need to mention the Airfix kit here.

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Military Illustrated Modeller Issue 004

The Panzer IV was the Second World War's most widely manufactured and deployed tank and served on practically every front, from the Atlantic coast to the outskirts of Moscow, from its deployment to the very end of the conflict. It went through many changes; hull, weaponry, fixtures and fittings all evolved to try to meet the requirements of manufacture and deployment. The hull and running gear also served in various configurations as the basis for many specialised vehicles such as the Wirbelwind, Ostwind and Möbelwagen anti-aircraft tanks, the Nashorn tank-destroyer, Hummel and Brummbär howitzers and the StuGIV assault gun and others. It's a fascinating design and there have been many kits made of the type. Arguably the best 1:35 kits on current release are the new-generation productions by Dragon which feature some amazingly refined mouldings and authentic surface detail. You can see the recent PzlV auf.D up-gunned in the next AFV issue of MiM and we will be building the new Wirbelwind for a feature.

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Military In Scale 04/2011

Whenever the subject of my job comes up, I always seem to find myself explaining that not all models that I build are 'Airfix' kits; in much the same way that every pen is a 'Bic' and every vacuum a 'Hoover', most people know of plastic model kits only by the name 'Airfix'. Over the years I've followed their progress, their ups and downs and their recent rebirth with some interest and have been saddened and delighted by the twists and turns in their story, in equal measure. Thank goodness then that over the last couple of years, the story has had more ups than downs! This issue sees me building the latest kit to be released by this famous company. Airfix have made no secret of their desire to be 'the' company that everyone associates with the creation of Spitfire kits and so the release of a new model in 1/48 came as no surprise - indeed, it would perhaps have been more surprising if one hadn't appeared! How great then that the kit in question, a clipped-wing Mk.XII, is so nice and so much fun to build?!

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