Military Model Scene

Title: Ground Forces in the Korean War 1950-53 (2)
Author: Robert C. Mackowiak
Publisher: Osprey
ISBN: 978-1-4728-6264-8

The US Army and US Marine Corps, Number 561 in the Men-at-Arms series from Osprey. A 48-page soft-cover book, with artwork by Johnny Shumate.
I often think that the subject of the Korean war is overlooked, so I was pleased to see this addition to the Men-at-Arms books. It starts by looking at the basic uniforms worn by US troops in both the US Army and the Marine Corps. Starting with the Herringbone Twill jacket & trousers, coveralls, shirts, caps and boots. Many of them were leftovers from WW2, but that did change as the war lasted longer than anticipated at the beginning. Colours varied and this is illustrated with colour photos of surviving examples. It goes on to deal with winter clothing, so necessary in Korea. Then it gets to the detail of field gear and equipment, such as webbing, helmets, flak vests and gear especially for the Marines. Within this section there is a block of 8-pages of artwork, with 3 different figures/uniforms per page and these are beautifully detailed. The detailed descriptions for each one are given at the back of the book. The two final sections look at special uniforms, such as tankers, and then insignia worn by the troops.
This is a useful reference on Korean war era US uniforms and equipment, and the colour artwork is as good as we have come to expect from Osprey and will be of interest to historians of the period, along with reenactors and figure modellers in particular. I always like the books in this series, and this one doesn't disappoint.
Thanks to Osprey for the review copy.

Robin