History

The book relates the part of the air war in Southeast Asia between the U.S. Army Air Forces and the Japanese fighter-interceptor squadrons. The author begins with an account of bomber development, with the emphasis on unescorted heavy bombers relying on heavy defensive armament and concentrated in close tactical formations. When the war began, it was discovered that this didn’t work too well against Luftwaffe fighters, and only slightly better against more lightly armed Japanese fighters. The Japanese Army, on the other hand, developed fighters whose prime attributes involved light weight and extreme maneuverability. This meant inadequate armament, and no protection for the pilot or vital aircraft systems. At least the Ki-43 had two .50 cal. guns, as opposed to the pair of .30 cal. guns on the earlier Ki-27.

As previous reviews have indicated, this bimonthly magazine continues to achieve its claim of “Showcasing the very best in scale aircraft modeling.” Actually, I think it might better be said that each issue “showcases the very best photography of scale aircraft models.” Whatever the claim, this publication provides eye candy for those in the hobby who can afford the price of admission. At $14.95 a copy, it should be a cut above the rest of the crowd…and, by most measures, it is. The photography is nothing short of spectacular, the layout is professionally handled, and, in contrast to previous issues, #41 is printed on a slightly thinner, glossy paper that greatly enhances the sharpness of the 185 photos used to illustrate the six model building features (and the remainder of photos that illustrate the product reviews). In common with previous issues, #41 offers a variety of subjects that should satisfy the tastes of many model builders. In this issue, articles cover building:

Model-Master’s line of aftermarket detail parts now includes a 1/48 scale turned brass pitot tube designed to enhance any 1/48 Hawker Hunter (currently, that means an Academy or recently released Italeri kit). It is one of those small items that will dramatically improve the appearance of the finished model, something that becomes quite obvious when the metal part is compared to the injection molded kit part. Placing it next to the kit part clearly illustrates how much the injection molded plastic part is bulked up for manufacturing…resulting in something that is thicker than it should be. The photo below of the nicely tapered Master-Model metal part next to the kit part on the sprue demonstrates how much thicker (and shorter) the kit part really is.