Paul Mahoney
Reviews By Author
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Italian Machine Gun Breda SAFAT 12.7mm BarrelsPublished:
This little set is designed as a drop-fit to replace the plastic machine gun barrels on any Italian 1/48 scale aircraft kit that was armed with the Breda 12.7mm machine guns. Master Model provides a pair of gun barrels, each comprised of 2 pieces: a perforated jacket and the gun barrel itself. The brass is extremely cleanly cast, with full perforations in the jackets and a nice open muzzle on the barrels themselves. No cleanup of these parts will be required. The brief instructions show the barrels are to be inserted into the jackets, then placed onto the model in the appropriate location. I ran into a small snag when I attempted to assemble these, as the nub at the rear of the barrel would not fit into the jacket, nor would the muzzle-side. I trimmed off the rear of the… more |
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Modelling Luftwaffe Jets and Wonder WeaponsPublished:
This is the newest title in Osprey Publishing’s Modelling Masterclass series. Written primarily by Brett Green (author of several other Osprey books and webmaster of the Hyperscale website), this book covers several model builds of Luftwaffe jets, as well as some historical information. The book itself is in a very sturdy format. The covers are thick, glossy, and hard, and they enclose over 180 pages of text and photos. The pages are spiral bound, so this book lies completely flat when opened to any page – a very nice feature if you are using this reference at the model desk. All the pages are of medium-weight paper, and in a satin finish. All the model photos are in full color, and there are also many black and white photos in the historical sections. There are… more |
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Nakajima Ki-43 Decals Part 1Published:
This is one of two new sheets Lifelike Decals has released covering the Nakajima Ki-43. A quick check of Lifelike’s website reveals that this latest addition to their line is only available in 1/48 scale at the moment. The website is definitely worth a visit, as they not only list their products, but from time to time also give updates and corrections to existing decal sets. The instructions consist of two sheets of paper (approx. 8 1/2” x 11”), each printed on one side and folded together, resulting in a small booklet. One sheet is printed in full color and provides profiles of the aircraft, while the second features in-depth text describing each subject. Clearly, a lot of time and effort has gone into the research on this sheet. 13 different reference books (or websites) are… more |
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Profile Hangar No.1: American Indian Artwork & P-47s Over the PacificPublished:
This is the first in a new series of books by Landscape Publications. The series is built around highly-detailed profiles, with supporting text and photos. This particular volume is broken down into two sections: Insignia & Nose Art (featuring American Indian artwork & emblems), and Hangar Special (featuring P-47s of the 19th Fighter Squadron on Saipan). This publication seems to fall somewhere between a book and an extremely high-quality magazine. I say this because the subjects in the two sections are completely different, and are presented as though they are separate articles in a magazine. The unifying feature is the profile artwork (hence the title). I assume future volumes will have a similar format, and it is possible they will each have the same two sections.… more |
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Heinkel He-111 Walk AroundPublished:
One of the newest titles in Squadron’s Walk Around series is the Heinkel He-111. As with other titles in this series, this softcover book is in a “landscape” format and features loads of detail photos of all aspects of the He-111. Similar to other books in this series, there is a one-page introduction covering a brief history of the aircraft, and a short discussion of the few remaining airframes. This is followed by about 88 pages of detail photos and accompanying descriptive text. All the photos are very crisp and clear, covering about ¼ of a page each. Most of these are photos of museum aircraft, but there are several WW2-era photos that show some clear details. The bulk of museum aircraft photos are of a He-111P-2 in the Gardermoen Museum in Oslo, which has… more |
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Air National Guard Mustang DecalsPublished:
Iliad Design is a Canadian company producing books, color charts, and decals specifically geared to the modeler. Their latest release is this decal set in 1/48 scale. Post-war Air National Guard P-51Ds from the following four units are covered:
All the specific markings for each aircraft are provided, but only one set of national insignia is given. As the post-war Stars’n’Bars are easily obtainable, I am happy to see the space devoted to covering as many unique subjects as possible. The decal quality is extremely high. They look as though they might have been produced by MicroScale.… more |
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Operation Overlord, June-September 1944, Volume 1Published:
AIRfile’s Operation Overlord provides a detailed description of the “Distinctive Markings” carried by Allied aircraft in Northwestern Europe. Volume One is dedicated to RAF and Commonwealth aircraft, with USAAF machines to be covered in a later volume. The production and research quality of this book is first-rate. Stiff card covers enclose over 70 glossy pages printed on thick stock. Full-color profiles are present on almost every page. The first section of this book covers those “Distinctive Markings” carried by RAF aircraft during the portion of the War prior to the invasion of Europe. The specific markings carried by British aircraft are described and illustrated. General RAF markings practice (such as the ½-black undersides used for recognition from the… more |
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Consolidated PB2Y CoronadoPublished:
This is the first Ginter book I have had the pleasure of reading or reviewing. It is in the standard format of a softback book with card covers and is approx. 8 ½” x 11” in size. The text and photos are all printed on glossy, high quality paper. There is a detailed history of the development of the PB2Y, followed by an in-depth operational history. This operational history includes details of many combat missions. High quality black and white photos are present on every page. There are also drawings and pages reproduced from technical manuals. After the technical development section, the operational history is broken down into sections on the US Navy, the Naval Transport Service, service as an “Admiral’s Barge,” and the RAF. There are even a few pages dedicated to the… more |
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Sky Tiger - The Story of Sailor MalanPublished:
This book is, as the title implies, the story of Adolph “Sailor” Malan. From the imprint information, this appears to have originally been released in 1980, but this particular edition was published in 2011. While this is not a research/reference type of book per se, it is a good read for anyone interested in one of the RAF’s premier pilots during WW2. It is nice to take a break from the mechanics of line drawings, measurements, paint schemes, and the like, and delve into some of the human personalities involved in the conflict from which many of us model machines. This book very briefly covers Malan’s time growing up in South Africa, and his time as a naval cadet and subsequent 8 years at sea. (This would be the source of the “Sailor” moniker). It then quickly moves into… more |
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RCAF Beaufighter Decals – Canadians in Costal Command #1Published:
This Beaufighter decal set is one of the latest from Canadian-based Aviaeology – SkyGrid Studio’s line of model-related products. Upon first opening up the standard ziplock plastic bag that holds the decals and instructions, I was immediately impressed with the quality of the decals. There are 4 sheets included in this set, covering 4 aircraft (3 of which have multiple variations). In addition to the individual aircraft markings, a full set of national markings and stencil data is provided for one aircraft. These decals look first-rate, with little to no carrier film except where absolutely necessary. The decals themselves have a glossy finish and appear quite thin, but with good color density. Even more impressive is the instruction sheet itself. Aviaeology has… more |