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SyAAF Gloster Meteor F.8 Airfix 1/48 IsraDecal this morning's decision to take part in this promising GB! That is one of the candidates, I think a good and not too common one! hope you like it! Do you think I need any other aftermarket? Wheels? Cockpit/ MB Mk.II seat? state of today....absolutely untouched cheers, Werner

MiG-23 Flogger In the Middle East In service with Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Libya and Syria 1973-2018 ISBN : 9781912390328 Helion & Company via Casemate UK Designed from the same basic airframes, the Mig-23 and Mig-27 share a lot of parts, with a strong familial resemblance, and when the Mig-23BN ground-attack variant started to experience negative feedback for its performance, the further development was redesignated as the Mig-27, perhaps to eschew the reputation. The Mig-23 was originally to be a fighter interceptor, but during the development process the need for a fighter-bomber was identified, and the Ground-Attack variant of the Mig-23 was born as the B, or Flogger-F as NATO call them. The Mig-23BN was the half-way house between the 23 and 27, and was produced in large numbers in the 70s and 80s, with over 600 built in total. It was a modernised version of the B, equipped with the latest engines and hardware, plus newer navigation and attack systems to help it carry out its role, but it was still too much of a fighter for many. Due to its simpler operating systems the MiG-23 was a perfect replacement with many air arms in the Middle East. The book looks at aspects of operation of the Flogger by Middle Eastern Air Arms. Included is what they call an "authoritative account" are the aircrafts service in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Libya and Syria. The book looks at combat operations against the US Navy by Libya, use in the Iran/Iraq war, later the Gulf war; the use by Syria against Israel, and use in the ongoing Syrian civil war. This volume is A4 soft back in format and 72 pages. There are black and white photographs throughout with maps, and 8 pages of colour profiles. Many of the photos are previously unpublished and show not only camouflage patterns but unit insignia and aircraft markings. Conclusion This book should provide readers with a good look at the MiG-23 as used by these Middle Eastern Air Arms allied to the Soviets. Highly Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

I had earlier done a diorama of the Paras in Afghanistan (not posted) and wanted something of the opposite... The front view. The rear view. All the figures were posed and arms legs and sometimes hands glued into a positions that I thought were more normal. There are some glaring mistakes..... All comments gratefully received.

Quick question. Is there any evidence of 6 Sqn Tempests wearing that rather fetching post war "Desert Scheme"? Got a Matchbox one on the go that I'd like to do as 6 Sqn in the scheme but was hoping it was more whiffy than reality!

AFV Club IDF SHOT Centurion Mk5/1 1967 with a 105mm Gun (BUT! Guess Who? fitted the 20pdr instead) READ THE INSTRUCTIONS PROPERLY NEXT TIME - DUMMY! (Kit AF35159) The 'SPECIAL' parts comprise turned metal 20pdr & 105mm gun barrels ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS: AFV Club sets Mantlet cover 'A' AC35008 & Indy Track AF35102 I've had a load of the AFV Club Centurions for quite a while now and have wanted an excuse to get started. The Leicester Modellers Boxing Day Build Club this year has given me the opportunity to get this 2006 release started - a bit late! My choice of build for this time will be to use the upgraded 105mm gun barrel. I do have another of these and the 20pdr version will come later. The Horstmann suspension has an A & B set so watch how you fit them Also made a start on the lower hull which is extremely well molded and a great fit to the parts. Whilst not exactly on the rare list, with the advent of a host of new products being released, IDF Armour is starting to become more popular.

IDF TIRAN 5 MBT An Upgraded ex-Egyptian Army T-55 Standard OTB Kit from Tamiya supplimented with MasterClub Metal Track Paints by AMMO by Mig IDF set, AV Metalcote and MIG Powders Apologies for the figure but I'm still learning with those.

Middle East Diorama MiniArt 1:35 Having released the Middle Eastern house on its own, MiniArt have now given it a base and some additional buildings and re-released it as a diorama kit. Of course you could still use the house parts on your own base should you wish, as it’s always nice to have options. Contained within a deep, top opening box, with a picture of the completed model on the front, are eight sheets of grey vacformed styrene, six sprues of grey injected styrene and the vacformed base. The injected parts are crisply moulded with only a small the tiniest amount of flash which can be easily and quickly removed with a sharp knife. The vacformed parts are very well moulded, with good detail definition on the parts and the styrene is actually quite thick. There are still the unusual polyps over the surface of the vac parts which will need to be removed, but they don’t appear to be as numerous as in previous kits. The removal of these polyps can sometimes result in small holes in the surface that will need to be filled and sanded down. The instructions for the injected parts and their sub-assembly are very clear, and whilst the building parts are clear, plenty of test fitting will be required to get everything square. There is a lot more work required in building this kit than others I have reviewed, as there are in fact two parts to the main building, including separate floor sections, a separate face of another building, a wall and an archway connecting the wall to the secondary building. Each wall, floor and arch section is made up of inner and outer halves. As with other vacform kits, it’s not necessary to cut all the way through the styrene to remove the parts, just score with a sharp blade and snap apart. Care should be taken when scoring the corner parts of the buildings as these make up prominent joins and whilst it is a ruined building these corners are meant to be intact. Once the parts have been removed from the backing sheets they will require a good sanding on the mating surfaces, (I usually tape a sheet of emery cloth to a large board to ensure the mating surfaces stay as straight as possible), to ensure a tight join, care and patience prevail here as it will mean a lot less work with filling and sanding later on. Once all the vac parts have been prepared they can be glued together. With the sub assemblies constructed the two sections that make up the main house are joined then affixed to the base. This is then followed by the corner wall, secondary house front wall and the interconnecting archway. It is up to the modeller how they proceed with this but I generally build the buildings first, fill any gaps as required, give it a coat of primer before painting it in the basic colours. When this is done, then the injected parts can be built up, painted and attached to their relevant positions. The injected parts in this kit consist of several doors, window frames, shutters, gates plus a host of generic parts found in most, if not all of these diorama kits. The nature of these generic parts means that you are left with quite a few spares which can be used as debris for the completed diorama. Having made quite a few of these buildings I have found that the plastic is readily melted by liquid glue, which, whilst making gluing parts together easier, care must be taken to prevent glue getting over the surfaces of parts as it will show. Once construction is complete one can paint/weather to your hearts content, plus add any troops/vehicles as you desire. Conclusion This is another super diorama set from MiniArt and will build into a very attractive attractive model in its own right. Of course it could be used to depict all sorts of vignettes within the diorama, with interactions between vehicles and various personnel, no matter which nations forces you wish to model. Since the style of building hasn’t really changed over the years the kit could be easily used to show off vehicles from any era, be it WW1, Interwar, WW2 and post war, giving the modeller even more options. Very Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of