Britain At War 06/2013

THEY received the call they had expected, and duly registered. They were conscripts, men called forward to fight for their country. Those passed fit were seen by a recruiting officer, marked down for army, navy or air force and went home to await their instructions. This was December 1943 and, just before Christmas, they received the expected OHMS buff envelopes. To their astonishment they were ordered not to the fighting front, but to the coal front - for these men were part of the first batch of the so-called "Bevin Boys", who, 20,000 in total, were conscripted to work down the mines as their contribution to the national war effort. The coal mining industry had seen a rise in demand with the outbreak of war, but with the fall of France and the entry of Italy into the war on the side of the Germans, these two export markets were closed virtually overnight. Almost 100 pits had to cease production. Mining was not even seen as a reserved occupation as there were so many unemployed miners.

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Scale Military Modeller International 06/2013

This 'Orange Box' kit from Cyber-Hobby includes both an Artilleriewagen and set of Dragon 'Waffen Tank Crew' for good measure. The Artilleriewagen is not a very complex kit, but nevertheless some care was needed during the build. As usual we begin with the undercarriage construction, and in this case it was rather an easy task, as not much would be seen on the finished model! More challenging was the hull. First you need to to locate all the bort and locating holes and then open them. I must say that instructions are quite clear in providing additional help which makes this easier, but still care is still needed. With all ports and holes open we move onto building the hull proper. unfortunately Cyber-Hobby provides no help in the form of bulkhead or support beams, so you have to apply glue to all the elements and then place them almost at the same time. Most important - before the glue sets, make sure that all parts are square.

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Scale Aviation Modeller 06/2013

On completing the F4U-1D Corsair and Moto Tug, it was a natural progression to form a diorama of a carrier deck scene. I was delighted to find that Tamiya are producing a US Navy pilot set in their Military Miniatures 1/48 series. The box art is in colour, well drawn and makes for a good reference guide. The kit is supplied with two sprues. One contains the Moto-Tug, driver figure and a seated pilot. The remaining sprue contains five pilot figures and two deck crew. Each sprue is clear plastic wrapped. The figures matched the box art exactly. The instruction sheet is clear and easy to follow with Tamiya paint colour references. The Moto Tug was included with the Corsair kit and its construction is described as part of that diorama. Therefore this section deals with just the figures, and the Moto Tug was relegated to the spares box.

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Model Aircraft 06/2013

The Japan Air Self-Defence Force or J ASDF is the aviation branch of the Japanese Defence Forces and is responsible for the protection of Japanese airspace and other aerospace operations. The J ASDF carries out regular Combat Air Patrols around Japan, whilst also maintaining an extensive network of ground and air early warning radar systems. The JASDF also has its own aerobatic team, known as the 'Blue Impulse'. In recent times the JASDF has been involved in humanitarian and UN peacekeeping operations and operates 805 aircraft, 424 of which are classed as fighters. Before the formation of the JASDF after World War ll? Japan did not have a separate air force, as aviation operations were carried out by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, and the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service.

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