Model Art

Panzer Graph 18 – Winter 2010

Reviewed By  Ken McDevitt, IPMS# 46356

MSRP: $22.36 US dollars (1,990 yen) Website: www.modelart.jp Imported by Dragon USA: www.dragonmodelsusa.com Overview: I’m following a long line of excellent reviewers (and I hope I can join their ranks) who have written about the Panzer Graph magazine and I agree with their assessments about the glossy paper quality and the superb photography and color rendition in this publication by Model Art. This quarter’s feature is a Tasca 1/24 German Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F along with 6 other articles. Most follow a format that shows the kit parts detail and build sequence along with painting and weathering techniques. Also included are in the field full pictures and numerous close ups. These field pictures and close ups are excellent resources to be used to match painting, weathering and other details on your model. Even though this magazine is in Japanese, you should be able to follow the steps and figure out the techniques based on the pictures. You can expect to find the usual advertisements (small companies and the major kit manufacturers), new kit announcements, modeling techniques, after market parts, decals, tools and supplies. A few stories and even a cartoon are in this issue. The story and cartoon were beyond me to comprehend but I think I came close. The size is 11.62" by 8.25" (That’s 29.53cm by 20.95cm for you metric types). There are 128 pages between the covers. 75% of the pages are in color and 25% are in black and white. Another interesting statistic is that a whopping 73% of the pages are relevant content for modelers. I don’t believe that many publications can come close to that 73% content number. The remainder of the pages are ads, cartoons etc. The details: Here I’ll be describing and breaking down the content for each article that appears in this issue. My intent is to give you, oh! Honorable reader, an understanding of the fine work and professionalism that went into each article. My focus will be on the feature article. Tasca 1/24 German Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F (22 pages) This starts off with pictures of the "bare" finished model with another of a painted model that is completely un-weathered. Then photos of the kit parts are shown with unique features pointed out. Following a brief description and history page are field photos in B&W. Then comes 4 stunning pages of 57 photos taken in a museum. Interior and exterior close ups show the effects of wear and damage. These are excellent as construction, painting and weathering references. In the next 5 pages are photos of the construction process by parts and sub-assemblies. This model has a lot of interior detail. 3 pages show the painting of subassemblies. Most of these are for the interior sections and then the interiors are masked for the external painting. Finally, the completed and un-weathered model is shown in the last 4 pages. Full body photos showing the outside and bottom sections are shown. There are 18 close ups that show sectional details of the outside and included are some "down the hatch" photos. 1/35 Jagdpanzer IV L/70(V) – Cyber-Hobby In addition to similar sections of the Tasca article, there are 4 pages of weathering and diorama photos with 30 photos showing techniques and various full and close ups of the finished results. The remaining articles are: 1/35 Flakpanzer T-34 – AFV Club. 1/35 Russian Heavy Self-PropelledGun JSU-152 – Tamiya. This is also set in a diorama. 1/35 Citroën Traction 11CV Staff Car – Tamiya – Only 3 pages without the parts, build or field photos. Set in a diorama with lots of very realistic bullet holes. 1/35 German Kübelwagen Type 82 "Ramcke Parachute Brigade" – Tamiya. This focuses on the 5 finished figures in a diorama and shown separately along with figure painting techniques. And if the above was not enough there is a 3 page article on the 1/32 Tamiya Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IXc showing final full and close up photos in glorious color. The last article is 9 pages of photography methods associated with a Letter from Home StugAbt226 "Operation Barbarossa" 1941 diorama. I highly recommend this publication even if you can not read Japanese. The production quality, organization and depth of detail in the articles are superior to anything I have seen on the market. This will remain on my shelf and I already know where I will be using some of the photos and techniques for my next build. Thanks to IPMS USA, Model Art and the editors of PanzerGraph for the privilege of doing this review.