Paul Mahoney
Reviews By Author
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Spitfire Aces of Northwest Europe 1944-45Published:
Osprey has produced so many different “Aces” titles at this point, that the remaining subjects are becoming very narrow indeed. This new volume, as the title says, covers Spitfire Aces of Northwest Europe during 1944-45, and even more specifically the Spitfires covered are limited to Marks V, VII, IX, and XVI (all Merlin-engined). Despite the narrow subject, the book essentially follows the same format anyone familiar with this series will recognize. The author plows right in with description of the first Spitfire combat of 1944 that resulted in the pilot becoming an ace. The book continues chronologically, with six chapters ranging from “Early Encounters”, through “Normandy” and culminating in “Surrender.” The author does a great job of narrating the ‘big picture’ history, and… more |
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HindenburgPublished:
Without a long history lesson, I will say the Hindenburg has to be one of, if not THE, most famous of all the zeppelins that provided luxury air travel in the 1930s. Designed and built by the Zeppelin Company, LZ129 “Hindenburg” transported affluent passengers across the Atlantic on numerous trips in 1936, flying between Germany and Brazil, and between Germany and New York, all without incident. On the inaugural 1937 voyage to North America, upon arriving on May 6th in New York (well, actually New Jersey), Hindenburg burst into flames and went down in history. While not the absolute end to zeppelin passenger travel, this marked the beginning of the end for this chapter in aviation history. In 1975, Universal Pictures released “The Hindenburg”, a movie telling the story of that last… more |
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Finnish Fighter Colours 1939-1945, Vol. 1Published:
Here is the newest book in MMP’s “White Series”: Finnish Fighter Colours 1939-1945, Volume One. The author, Kari Stenman, is a name long associated with publications on the Finnish Air Force. Just scanning through my library, I see him as the author of several Osprey “Aircraft of the Aces” books, as well as a Squadron/Signal book. In fact, in the acknowledgements section of this book he mentions research assistance he has received over the last forty-five years! This book is clearly written by a dedicated expert in the field. The book itself is hardbound, with a nice glossy cover and the 200+ pages within are produced on high-quality stock with a matt finish. Photos, mostly black and white, are on virtually every page. Most are at least ¼ page in size. Numerous,… more |
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Henschel Hs 123Published:
MMP’s latest volume in their “Orange Series” covers the Henschel Hs 123. The book is published on high quality smooth paper, in-between glossy stiff stock covers. On first inspection this appears to be of the same high production quality I have found in all other MMP productions. Lots of clear photos and nicely-done color plates appear throughout the book. In a similar manner to other titles in this series, this book starts with several chapters covering the design and development of the Hs 123 (about 30 pages in ll). Throughout each of the chapters in this section there are numerous 1/72nd scale drawings depicting either the entire aircraft, or a particular feature thereof. This is followed by a chapter titled “Technical Description.” Here, as one might expect, the… more |
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2015 Ford Mustang GT SnapTitePublished:
I usually write about various aircraft-related items, but when I saw this Revell 2015 SnapTite Mustang I thought my son could pitch in and help with a review. He is almost nine, is an IPMS Junior member, and has several models under his belt. William primarily builds aircraft—like his dad—but the Mustang is one of his favorite cars. While most of his builds have been glued together and painted, he is still right in the target audience for this SnapTite kit. From Revell’s Press Release
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Aces High Magazine, Issue #1Published:
The name AK Interactive is probably familiar to many of us as a provider of some very useful weathering products. Although their weathering products work with any model, AK has primarily marketed its products to armor modelers. Recently, however, they have started producing some aircraft-specific products, such as the AK Air Series which currently has “Air Paint” sets (just Luftwaffe and RAF, but I believe more are in the pipeline) and “Air Weathering” sets (designed specifically to weather aircraft engines and landing gear). It looks to me like the “Aces High” magazine has been started to specifically showcase the usage of AK products on aircraft. A note on the cover states “Special Issue: 64 + 20 pages free”, so I suppose future issues will have 64 pages, as compared to this volume… more |
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N1K2-J Shiden-Kai Gun Barrels for Hasegawa KitsPublished:
Aires is constantly adding to the Quickboost line, and here is one of the latest. QB 48-602 are gun barrels designed to be used with Hasegawa’s 1/48 N1K2-J. As with other Quickboost products, these are meant to be drop-fit replacements for kit parts. The molding on this resin set was extremely crisp. In comparing these to the kit items they are designed to replace, I found a few key differences. First, and probably the main reason one would want this set, the tips of the QB set are open. Hasegawa’s barrels are sadly molded flush across, with no opening. While in general I am fine to create an opening with the tip of my Xacto and a small drill on ‘standard’ gun barrels, the flared muzzle on these makes that a bit more challenging of an undertaking. So I will happily be… more |
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Morane-Saulnier MS.406 AcesPublished:
Osprey Publishing has released another new title in the ever-expanding Aces series, Morane-Saulnier MS.406 Aces. As the title reveals, this time around the subject is the French Morane-Saulnier MS.406 and the aces who flew it. This book is slightly different than most others in the series, as it covers not only MS.406 aces of the French Air Force, but also those flying for the Finnish Air Force. Additionally, as several MS.406 pilots went on to become aces while flying different aircraft with the RAF or the Russian Air Force, this area is also touched upon. As the French involvement in WW2 was comparatively short, the number of pilots who became aces while flying the MS.406 exclusively is a small one. Offsetting this to some degree was the French method of assigning a… more |
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Yankee Merlin Roars! (Part 3)Published:
This is one of four P-51 decal sheets produced by a new decal maker, A.M.D.G. Decals. A.M.D.G. seems to be one of those companies “by and for” modelers. If you have a look at the company website, you will find their philosophy on the “About Us” page. They seem to have a very enthusiastic and passionate approach to this, and this decal sheet does a great job of demonstrating it! This sheet has complete markings (including four sets of national insignia and propeller data stencils) for all of the aircraft depicted. There are three UK-based subjects and one based in China. The amount of research done for these four schemes is readily apparent after reading the instructions. Markings provided are for the following Mustangs:
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Ki-45 Nick Exhausts and Ki-45 (Kai Tei) Gun BarrelsPublished:
Quickboost recently added 2 new sets in their line-up specifically for the Hasegawa 1/48 Ki-45 “Nick”. These are recommended for Hasegawa’s kits, but might also work with the old Nichimo one. As with other Quickboost products, these are meant to be drop-fit replacements for kit parts. The molding on both of these resin sets was extremely crisp. QB 48-571 contains two different styles of exhaust pipes, and is designed to fit any of the Hasegawa Ki-45 releases. In addition to removing the parts from the pour stubs, the multi-port exhaust pipes have some very thin flash that will need to be dealt with. Otherwise, I saw no mold lines or imperfections on these parts. Although Hasegawa’s parts are actually quite nice, these replacements are just that much sharper in terms of… more |