A recent build of an old shelf queen, I present you with the Sd.Kfz 124 Wespe. The kit if from Tamiya with a few additions: an Eduard set, Modelkasten tracks, RB metal barrel and some TLC.
Author Archives: JV Roy
Getting back on track
Today is a big day, because I formally return to modelling after a quick pause to upgrade my office/bench/man cave/working area. And I finally get back to this blog of mine, with the intention of changing its mission from some vague military study repository to a modelling blog. I don’t really have the time for the former, but I fully intend on spending some time on the later.
Allied-Axis #31
I’ve recently reviewed Ampersand latest Allied-Axis offering on Track-Link.
Again, a great reference. This time the biggest part of the book deals with a little-known WWII theater: Finland. A great many excellent-quality pictures of German armor deployed in that remote region. Highly recommended.
Reading Material – December
Three new French publications have found their way to my desk recently. First, the always excellent Défense & Sécurité Internationale, #108, from the Areion group. This magazine is a serious, well-made and highly professionnal package. It is mostly made by defence specialists for defence specialists, and deals with a wide array of topics. It includes a defense monitoring section as well as articles on currently hot topics. This month, the cover article deals with the infamous F-35 Ligthning II program. It echoes a number of articles DSI have published over the years on the same subject. I shall get back to the F-35 program from a Canadian perspective later on. You also get the third installement of a series on the M1 Abrams.
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Grenadiers: The Story of Waffen SS General Kurt “Panzer” Meyer
Here’s a quick reading suggestion. This is a random pick from my bookshelves: I though it would be cool to just pick a book and write a little something about it in a short recommendation.
And so I stumbled on Meyer’s book. Not an easy book to read and, frankly, not particularly well written. But fascinating, yes, on many counts.
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Notable Flickr Account – Massimo Foti
My God, time flies! I’ve been particularly busy lately and clearly failed at keeping the right pace for TOM, but I have numerous ideas of subjects I want to tackle here, including the movie FURY which I’ve seen two weeks ago so let’s try to rectify this.
To get things going smoothly, I want to present yet another interesting Flickr account. This time it’s from a hobbyist photographer and military history enthusiast who went through many military museums across Europe and photographed many great pieces.
Notable Flickr Account – PzBrig 15
Flickr being the extraordinary reference tool that it is, I thought it’d be great to present some of the best accounts there and folks behind them.
For September, we’re starting off big with an exceptionally huge and diverse account: PzBrig15.
The Big Macks
Ampersand does it again with a title on BIG World War Two trucks from the US. Another excellent visual reference.
Excellent photographic study of the subject. Clear, high-quality, extensively-captioned large-format pictures. Affordable price. Some variants less covered than others. Highly recommended.
Read the full review on Track-Link!
Defense Implications of Scotland’s Possible Independence
One major aspect of Scotland’s eventual accession to independence is the implication for both its defense and that of the remaining parts of the United Kingdom. The later’s massively integrated military organization would no doubt go through some severe reconfiguration. But how would it affect both nations? Would it be a good or a bad thing? For someone living in Québec, this is an interesting topic since pretty much the exact same questions would arise here too should La Belle Province ever get back to its now twice repealed independence fever.
Generally, people defending the YES option appear to be sugar-coating their forecasts. Conversely, people for the NO team do the exact opposite and tend to form a rather bleak picture of the future. Nothing new here. But what are the defense topics currently at stake?
French publication Défense et Sécurité Internationale #105 has an article from defense specialist Romain Mielcarek who wrote a quick and dirty overview of some of the hot topics. Here’s a quick rundown of a couple of aspects of Scotland and United Kingdom’s defense that would be affected by Scotland’s independence.
Allied-Axis books
Allied-Axis #30, Page 24.
Do you know the Allied-Axis series from Ampersand publication?
Although I’ve often seen these books in the past at the modelling club, I only had the chance to obtain one (#30) recently, and I must say this is gold for modelers. Pictures are stunning and captions are full of detailed information.
The Sherman dozer is a stunning machine (Company of Heroes anyone?). I am not aware of any kit to build one, but surely there must exist conversions.
For a detailed appraisal of the book, head over to Track-Link.
The Other Means 