For the fourth edition of Kagero's new magazine, Supermodel International, we return to armor. In line with those other armor presentations, the magazine contains four articles, each with superbly done and large photographs plus a description from the author on everything that was done to the model.

This includes things like modifications, aftermarket, how it was painted, how it was weathered and so on. They also include the bases on which the finished models are displayed. In short, everything that went into making the presentation you see on the pages. I cannot emphasize enough now nicely done and how large many of the photographs are as they really showcase the work that went into it.

I found something a bit different in this one in that there are builds that are not 1/35 scale. I was quite impressed with these entries and am glad to see them being offered as small scale modelers are a rather large segment of the modeling public.

The first article is one of these 1/72 kits and is the Hasegawa 1/72 SdKfz 234/3. Adam Juszczak has chosen to model his in front of some iron gates and a wall while the vehicle is in high vegetation. As you might expect, the modeler has included a considerable amount of aftermarket in terms of photo etch and other bits. What I found most useful to me was his explanation on building trees using a wire armature. This alone is worth the price of admission.

Next is the Mirage 1/72 M3 Lee as built by Radoslaw Rzeszotarski. This one is lighter on the aftermarket than the previous article, but includes a very nice display base that includes a meadow complete with a shepherd and his flock of sheep.

The third build is a bit unusual in that there is no aftermarket used. Robert Chmiel uses the stock Zvezda 1/35 KV-2 kit to portray his article which is basically on color mixing and weathering. I have to say that I was impressed with how nicely it turned out. He uses a simple base without a lot of other materials on it and it is quite effective. Just goes to show that you do not need aftermarket to produce a quality build.

Finall, using the new Tamiya 1/35 BT-7, Tomasz Kica returns to using aftermarket to finish his tank. The main feature of this article is a how to on soldering etched brass. For those with the equipment and the skills, this seems to be a much better way to affix p.e. to each other than using glues. Again, the article goes into detail on weathering as well as making the display base.

Four more great build articles that I know you will enjoy.

May 2013

Review book courtesy of the fine folks at Kagero. Visit them for more books.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and fairly quickly, please contact the editor or see other details in the Note to Contributors.