January 2005 FineScale ~ What did you think?

If you want to see some real life WWII uniforms and equipment, check with the WWII re-enactment groups. Today they are commerating the Battle of the Bulge at Fort Indiantown Gap, PA (just ten miles east of Harrisburg,PA). They have been doing it for years because the terrain and weather (cold!! and snowny) are like the Arderannes (I think I spelled it right). I know, because as Chief of Operations for the post sometime ago, I set it for them to use the land. My dad even came to visit from Oklahoma once to see it. He was in the 394th Infantry regt, 99th Div and saw it all first hand. i

The topic on the night stuka was great but it needed more detail and an actual article for it would have made it a lot better .

For the intended topic:
I enjoyed the article for the kit plan of attack. I always seem to make projects drag out for a lot longer than I would like them to and I hope I can use some of the tips to speed up constuction times.

As for the hot topic:
While the German armor and aircraft are very interesting, what about Russian armor and aircraft? The Russians seem to have had a bit of both sides, interchangability, production ease, and uniqueness. You don't see many three turreted German tanks, do you? And I'm sure all the T-34's needed to steal parts from each other.

Great Article, loved the stuka,but also the modeling plan, sometimes i just open a box and go with it. German armor is very interesting as they had some awesome machines i.e. Leopald, Tigers, sig 33, and so on, they have great detail, but lets not forget the dragon wagon, pershings and the sherman. The sheman is interesing because there were so many different variants, the rocket launcher (calliope i believe) sherman crab, bridge layers, anti-aircraft, and others, i love seeing them and the people who take the time to scratch build what you cant buy. Great work keep it up

The article about Battle of the Bulge is very good, I'm looking for more info on Pacific WWII stuff as I'm trying out an LCVP and a Buffalo to see if I can build a small diorama, any suggestions

I enjoy every article. Even though I don't build very many, I really enjoy the dioramas with WWII ships. It's a great subject that does not get a lot of press. There are a lot more interesting subjects with the German equipment, that is why FSM focuses more on them. I'm pretty sure the Germans did not "invent" specific tanks to murder YOUR Grandfather, (thank him for his service against the Nazis), their leader was insane and lured them into a disasterous dilema. FSM keep up the fantastic work!!!!
I hope there are more 1/72 scale armor kits coming out, different subjects wold be great!

I liked this issue and it was toss up between the German armour diorama and the poll winner. In the end I went for the Marauder because I am more of a plane guy than armour but I do build both.

I think a good portion of it depends on what the authors submit to the magazine as well. German subject matter is popular because of the wide variety of types, and camo, that were utilized. Asthetically, much of the Allied stuff was bland, Olive Drab or Natural Metal are your basic choices with a few notable exceptions.

I know that as a writer and a modeler, when I do a project with an article in mind, I try to do something that's unique, to set it apart from all the other 'Tiger', Panther, or Bf-109 build articles that everyone else is doing. I'm not saying that building any of the common subjects is a bad thing, because I learn something new from every article I read, regardless of the model being written about. I just like to build stuff that's different from all the rest...but I have my share of 109s, Mustangs, Tigers and Panthers like everyone else...but I usually don't write about them, because everyone is tired of them.

It's safe to conclude that a high percentage of folks are building 'common' subjects, 109s, 190s, Tigers, Panthers, that the percentage of folks who write an article about these subjects will also be higher.

I imagine that its also tough to decide what type of articles to run. Sometimes folks provide a basic build article of an esoteric subject, or a really detailed article of a common subject. Which would be more popular? That depends on who's reading the article...newer modelers might like a detailed P-51 article, whereas others might think, 'been there, done that', and lean towards a basic article on the Republic XP-72 for example. The real gems come when someone writes a really detailed story on a subject that we know little about, but can achieve with a small amount of work.

So next time you decide to write an article about a model, pick something less popular than a P-51 or Bf-109. I'm willing to bet we all have that 'weird' model kit in our closet that we really want to build. As for me, it's a 1/32 scale Bristol Beaufighter in USAAF markings. Pretty airplane, nice colors, and something we don't see too often. Not overly weird, but it's not a Mustang or Tiger tank.

Be creative!!

Jeff

I think the magazine has a duty to respond to the majority of the customer base. If German armor is popular, then it's going to get more press, bottom line. If the companies like Dragon are releasing German armor kits with interesting features FSM has an obligation to pursue and feature those releases. Each of us has our favorite subjects. Other publications focus on just cars or ships or trains. FSM does a good job trying to include the full spectrum of subjects in the magazine. Some are just more popular than others and they get the features. Just good business ,right?

Steve

I too have been dismayed at times at the seeming glorification of the most heinous war machine in recent history, the despicable Third Reich. I have to admit that they designed and built many, many interesting and varied war machines. During that time the Allies built just plain Shermans, Mustangs, Spitfires, B17s, Jeeps, etc. And we built lots and lots of them, with field interchangable parts. When the Nazis ran of of replacement parts and without interchangeability, they ground to a halt. When one of our C-47s damaged a wing, we bolted on a C-46 wing and carried on with a C46.5! Fortunately for the free world the Axis zeal for variety also contributed to their doom.

I guess I am a minoriity here. I subscribe to Fine Scale Modeler because I build models. I subscribe to World War 2 and Military History magazines because I want to read about History. I also buy specialized books on both subjects. I'm sure the article was well written, but I didn't bother with it. You can't even cover the basics of it in an article that short. I would prefer you give references to read, and stuff your magazine with models, models models !!! I have had subscriptions to all three of the aforementioned magazines for over 20 years.

Enjoyed all of the articles especially those that show step by step photos and
explanations. I have always learned something new with each issue of your
magazine. Keep it up, it aint broke.

Loved seeing the Marauder. 3rd plane I built I still have the carcass with dreams of rebuilding.

Add my vote for the mag going monthly! For the most part the articles and phot spreads are what I want. I also agree with the concensus about WWII German armor and a/c swamping the market. A few authors of older (1960's) publications made claims of there being an abundance of books and models of WWII British and U.S. armor and a/c available. Unfortunately most are dated and lack the detail and accuracy of current issue product; and with the exception of many a/c, are hard to find. With armor it seems like for every new WWII Allied kit there have been 3 or 4 new WWII German kits issued (with the corresponding accessory/details kits). 'Nough said for now.

I found this issue pretty good, as it actually had a fair armor content. Whoops did I say fair? I meant to say a not non-existant.
I'm sorry, I just always want more, but it was a fairly good issue.

THANKS FINE SCALE MODELER STAFF!! I KNOW I'M NOT THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE BOX, BUT WITH YOUR HELP & GUIDANCE I'M COMING ALONG JUST FINE!! I'D BE HARD PRESSED TO SAY WHICH ARTICLES ARE THE BEST, ALL ARE GREAT, I JUST HAPPEN TO FOCUS UPON WW2 BIRDS MORE THAN OTHER SUBJECTS. AGAIN, MY THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK ON BEHALF OFUS MODELERS!!
CHEERS & MAY 2005 BE GREAT FOR ALL OF US!!

I am with armorguy. not much allied models ava. Still looking for model of
short barreled 155 mm howitzer sp gun.

I am armorguy. I dont think enough allied armor models are written obout .

Excellent magazine --- I look forward to receiving it. I read every article whether I have an interest in the subject , or not. I am a better modeler thanks to FSM. I do wish the modeling companies would produce more armor ( tanks ) in 1/25 scale which contains more detail and is easier to work with.

Regards Mike Giella

The issue was good overall. I liked the Battle of the Bulge article myself. I found it to be a nice, informative, short history.

Personally, as you can probably tell from my name, I'd like to see more armor in FSM. In many issues, there's maybe one article involving armor and all the rest are airplanes. This is nice for some, but not for me. Also, I prefer Allied armor. I'd like to see a variety though, maybe more from some of the other European countries and Russia. Some more modern stuff would be cool too like the Panzerhaubitze 2000 for example.

Thanks and good job on a nice magazine.

i really enjoyed the advertisements.

no really, I love the magazine as a whole and every article in it I do read, whether I'm interested or not. The point is I am learning something with every issue. I love this magazine and there is not one topic that I would pick over another.

well maybe the one........... J/K

keep up the good work and yeah, I would like to see FSM go monthly, too.
You have my support, even though 2 threads were deleted.

I truly enjoyed the Bulge retrospect and the Diorama was absolutely awesome. I would agree that we need more stories on Allied equipment but the dilemna is that manufacturers are making what we request and most of it seems to be the different variants of German halftracks or command battle tanks while we never see a 1/35 US heavy wrecker (at least not a Diamond Reo or one that is accurate) or Allied prime movers with arty. I hope that we do continue to see more realistic figures from both sides of the battle. The resin stuff from Verlinden and other manufacturers are the best even with the price. I really would like to see someone come up with an affordable US Halftrack series that is accurate and offers three or four variations. The old Tamiya stuff looks okay but the running gear is very outdated. I don't want an aftermarket kit only but an assortment of M2's and M3's, maybe one with the 75mm and another as a prime mover or ambulance. I hope the manufacturers are listening. Happy New Year!

Been real busy to get to forum site. I really learned a lot from the "Bulge" overview. Material such as this is great reference information. Like some I do think there may be a slight more German equipment reviewed than American (or Allies) equipment. But all in all, still a great issue & magazine. Thanks gang!

the german stuff is more intersting the the us armour manly due to the coverage there are more books on the german side than the us try look for british armour u will find not much on the subject and i am british my grandfather was in ww2 in italy and africa and he was not bothered about my collect of german armour try asking kids about ww2 couple of answers like who won and not intrested it is not covered in schools talk about a negative but ask about soaps and they go on for hours

Another good issue all round. The Nautilus article was excellent and has inspired me to get one but the Marauder, Stuka and the Bulge artciles were also very good.

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE REVIEW THAT NEW UNICRAFT MODELS 1/72 SPACESHIPONE? Anyway.....the January issue was very nice, I really enjoyed the article on the Night Attack Stuka (Funny camo.) and the Disney Nautilus(That was a good book, and a cool submarine!)

Keep up the already very good work!!!!!

Anthony Wan

In general all articles were OK. I preferred the historical one, the one on the Stuka and the SDKFZ 250.

I miss the "old kits" feature, it should be one in every Issue !!!

Personally I prefer WW2 german armor and aircraft, mainly because of the huge variety of variants (great for modellers, but inefficient for them... fortunately), cammo, and theatres of operation.
But I agree that FSM must try to cater with preferences for all the readers (or at least most of them).

A request: will FSM go monthly at any point in the future?

Keep with the great job you all do at FSM, and Happy New Year for all!

Yours,
Diego.

I like german armor, it is neat and stuff, but shermans can be interesting too. I think they should even it out how many kits of german and allied tanks and aiplanes etc. they do.
Thanks FSM! - Riley

QUOTE: Originally posted by dkmacin With all due respect to our Allied armor friends, I believe Axis armor more interesting my self. An Olive Drab Sherman is an Olive Drab Sherman. . .but German armor and all the antimagnetic paste, cammo, and just the look of "mean" to them. Ditto the aircraft. Don

Hi Don,

Maybe that's the crux of the issue right there. The German stuff looks more interesting and is more interesting to paint and build for a lot of folks.

I just wish that nearly every article and photo of an armor kit wasn't German.

Regards,