Second Volume in Ian Toll's Pacific War Trilogy

Another excellent read in the Pacific War Trilogy.  Toll describes the actions of the US and Japanese commands from Guadalcanal to the Marianas Islands.  At 500 pages, he covers a lot of ground, well mostly sea, without skipping much detail.  He also includes extensive coverage of the Japanese Homefront and politics which is critical in understanding the Japanese way of war. Though by 1944 there is little the Japanese commanders can do to stave off the impending catastrophe.  Pushed by ideology, unable to escape by political means, and limited by a collapsing industry and economy, the Japanese struggle on. 

Toll also writes about the American service rivalry (MacArthur vs. Nimitz), the two-prong strategy and Admiral King's pushing for Central Pacific thrust.  Working for 33 years for the Navy, I particularly enjoyed Toll's inclusion of the intra-service rivalry between black shoes (ship drivers) and brown shoes (aviators) and how they fought (personal rivalry to constructive arguments)  to shape the carrier war doctrine.   This rivalry still exists today in the Navy.

Alien Extermination

 The ship's damage control party was armed as they advanced into the caustic fog left by the invading alien creatures . . . 

Book Recommendations on WWII Pacific Campaign

H.P. Willmott's "Empires in Balance" (1982) is an excellent book, easy to read and includes detail of both the early war Allied and Japanese strategies and operational moves.  It focuses on pre-war Japan, conflict with China, political strategies vis a vis the West, and a quick study on resources of the Japanese Empire.  It begins military operation in detail starting from the 7/8 December Japanese strikes, campaigns in Indonesia and Philippines and continues to April 1942.  Pretty much a season of disaster for Allied forces.

Empires in the Balance

The other recommendation is Ian W. Toll's "Pacific Crucible" (2011).  A very engrossing read, the author keeps the reader in the story.  This is book 1 in his Pacific War trilogy but each volume can stand by itself.  Similar in scope to "Empires in Balance", the volume does provide more focus on Japanese politics, inter-service rivalry, and social contexts leading up and during WWII by using numerous Japanese sources, a rare thing in western writings.  Unlike Willmott's book, "Pacific Crucible"  takes the reader through the early US strikes and the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway.  For me at least, the volume also provided new perspectives on Admiral King, the powerful figure at the head of the US wartime navy. 

Pacific Crucible

BattleBus 2020

 Let's go kiddo's.  Getting to School in the Zombie Apocalypse.  

Here we are now going to the South side
I pick up my friends and we hope we won't die
Ride at night, ride through Heaven and Hell 

 and here are some in-progress.  Bus is large and heavy (solid resin) so I worked on using a lazy susan thingy.

Base coat,

Metal coat,

Detailing,

Drive Carefully During the Zombie Apocalypse

 More wrecked vehicles from Antenocitis Workshop.  

Keep your eyes on the road and not the zombies strolling on the sidewalks . . . 

And always wear your seat belt . . . 

Be cautious of locals offering to help and remember your cardio . . .

Rusty Burned Out Vehicles

 Ready for the Zombie Apocalype.  Minis are 28mm sized from Antenocitis Workshop.  The rust was accomplished with weathering powders.  Only paint used was black prime and blue on truck.

I did snap some pictures of the work in progress also.  Took a picture after adding each layer of "rust."  You can see the powder used in each photo. 

Grimy black was applied to the dark windows and along the surfaces around the windows to show soot.

Circa 1812 French Infantry in Greatcoats

 French Infantry unit decked out in greatcoats.