Guideline Publications- Military Modelcraft International- December 2024

 The December issue of MMI brings the reader a broad spectrum of articles from WWII through Vietnam and the Cold War to the modern day conflict in Ukraine. The focus of editor David Grummitt's Forum is all about the expansive coverage of shows- specifically Scale Model Challenge in Veldhoven. Upcoming shows in Telford and a combined London Plastic Modeling/Toy Soldier show that is planned for this coming weekend promise more exciting show coverage in future issues. While the magazine still spreads over 100 pages, a noticeable absence (at least to me) is the At the Bench profile showcasing a specific modeler- hopefully that feature will be back soon as it is one of my favorites. Let's dive into the issue....

News at the Front provides sneak peeks at model product releases from Osiris Models, Value Gear, Alpine Miniatures, Mussini Models, HD Models, Special Hobby, DEF Model, Tyrell Models, and Masterbox. We get the usual three pages of Quartermaster's Stores as well.

On the Bench features US Associate Editor Rob Riviezzo's pre-painted build of the Gecko Models 1/16 Universal Carrier Mk. II. Rob promises the painting and weathering stages in a subsequent issue of MMI...

Stefan Szymanski is up next with his build of Trumpeter's 1/72 Soviet 2K11A 'Krug-A' SA-4 Ganef. "Cold War Hunter" features a scratchbuilt base and figures from Alexminiatures.

"Front Disco: Part 1" features Łukasz Orczyc-Musiałek's build of the Tamiya Jagdpanzer IV. Łukasz placed his piece on a base representing a rail yard alongside a Tamiya Kubelwagen which will feature in next month's part 2 of the series.

December's Armour in Profile by MP Robinson titled "Up-Gunning the Sherman" focuses on just that- the changes in armament for the iconic M4 throughout its extensive service history. 

The Border Model 1/35 Panzerbefehlswagen III Ausf. K features next in Ramón Segarra Guerrero's "Command Panzer".

Chris Johnson scratchbuilds a Canadian Wolf I Armoured Car in "Northern Predator". The article goes into extensive detail on his process and includes some excellent 1/35 scale line drawings and reference photos.

"Kozak-2" highlights Peter Hanno's build of the new ICM kit and features some impressive paint work on the complex digital camouflage scheme.

José Luis Lopez is up next with the cover story- his "Good Morning Vietnam" article shows off his impressive olive drab work on Takom's M48A3. His article features a thorough SBS guide to his work on the model.

The magazine wraps up with an extensive spread of show photos from the recent October Scale Model Challenge show in the Netherlands. Following this are four book reviews in Words and Pictures and covers reviews of books from Plastic Invasion, Panzer Tracts, and Osprey Publishing.

Conclusion

I can't think of a better way to end the year than with what this issue features- some great builds, previews, and reference articles make for some excellent reading. To subscribe to the magazine,  as always, here is a link to the Guideline Publications website www.guidelinepublications.co.uk and US customers can subscribe to MMI and pay in US dollars at www.guidelinepublicationsusa.com .

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Thanks goes out to Guideline Publications for this review sample.

Reviewed by Michael Reeves, AMPS Albany

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