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Editions de Barbotin |
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Minitracks No 1 (New Series) Small Scale Military Modeling - Bilingual Edition |
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Reviewed By Jim Pearsall, #2209 |
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Subscription (postage included): 1 year (4 issues) €51,50 Euro Sale By Issue €10,95 Euro + €3 Euro (postage) Editions du Barbotin 25, rue des Jardins 91160 BALLANVILLIERS FRANCE Magazine with stiff paper cover, 70 pages. French/English text The magazine MiniTracks is dedicated to the “Braille scale” armor modeler. This is their 15th issue, which means they are either doing OK or have very deep pocketed financial backing. I hope it’s the former. They’re starting over with their issue numbers. This is issue #1 of the new version. They have changed the content of their articles, the format, even the way the magazine is physically put together. The magazine has gotten physically better. The printing is on a heavier, slicker paper, and instead of stapled, the binding is glued. The IPMS Journal is stapled, National Geographic is glued. Also, they seem to have found a printer who can handle photographs much better. The photographs are faithfully reproduced, large enough to see most detail, and plentiful. Text is French in the left column, English in the right column. There are occasional word usages which show that the translator is not a native English speaker, but the text does follow the pictures, and my limited French doesn’t allow me to criticize this area. The Content: This issue has 13 articles. 6 of these are pretty much the standard “build and look” kit reviews, with dioramas of each of the finished models. There is an historical article, complete with photos, Order of Battle and 3 color profile/marking drawings for the SdKfz 234 Puma armored car. Following is a review and comparison of the new Italeri, Roden and Hasegawa kits of the 234/2 in 1/72 scale. The article also touches on the fact that Airfix and Matchbox also kitted the 234, albeit in 1/76 instead of 1/72. The reviews are not puff pieces, with kudos and brickbats applied to all 3 kits, about equally. And there’s a diorama including all 3 finished SdKfz.234s. Following these 2 articles is a build/diorama of the Matchbox 1/76 Puma. |
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| There is a “how to” article on doing those painted-on ads from French villages, just like in “Saving Private Ryan”. Anyone for a “Red Man” barn? Or how about “See Rock City”? |
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There’s Part 1 of an article on the history of Airfix HO/OO armor kits.
The first Airfix armor kits were introduced in 1961. Ah, the memories
of my misspent youth. There’s a photo essay on disabled/abandoned armor still sitting out there rusting in Chad. Anybody remember that there was a war between Chad and Libya? An ongoing border clash between Sudanese rebels in Chad/Darfur and the Sudanese? Some French equipment, but mostly Former Soviet. |
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There is a picture story on a meeting called “Tanks in Town 2005”. While space is limited in any publication, it would have been very interesting to know what country this was in (France, Britain?) if not what city/town. This is a get-together of those who do 1:1 scale armor. There were Shermans, M-5s, M-18 Hellcats, halftracks and other WW2 vehicles. The text indicates that some ran a course through the nearby woods, and the mud pattern would be VERY useful to modelers. |
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There’s a page of book reviews, and an interesting pictorial listing of the newly announced kits. Because of the necessity for multiple languages, there is a number with the picture. The border indicates whether the kit is resin, injected, metal, photo etch, stone(?) |
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The Bottom Line: Recommended. Small scale armor is underrepresented, and the new format gives the modeler more of what is needed in the way of information. The How-to article is quite good, and the “theme” of the SdKfz 234 Puma is a great idea, coupling the history and the model in one issue. If you build “Braille scale” and you have issues of AFV G2 on your bookshelf, this , could be a good addition to your library. Or if you don’t have AFV G2s this could fill quite a few gaps. My thanks to MiniTracks for this copy. Also, if you subscribe now, they’ll send you a free decal sheet in 1/72-1/87! From experience, the white decals are almost impossible to make. So it’s a decent deal. |
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