Thanks to Gary Newman of Squadron/Signal Publications and to IPMS/USA for giving me the opportunity to review this delightful overview of one of the standard airliners flying today. The book is written by Robert W. Tidwell and is lavishly illustrated with wonderful examples of 737s around the world. Each page has one or more color photos, superb Don Greer renderings, line drawings by Melinda Turnage, or aircraft version specs. I reviewed the softcover edition. The photography is excellent throughout and they are all color. The “At the Gate” series concentrates on commercial or private aircraft and is similar to the “Walk Around” series, also by Squadron/Signal.

This is Zoukei-mura’s third publication for their SWS model kit range, this one concerning their excellent 1/32 A-1H model. As I write, I can’t recall any other similar publication from a kit manufacturer to complement their kits. The book is broken down into 4 chapters, with a foreword and an afterword section. The photos are some of the best I have ever seen in any publication and I am going to say I've never seen them displayed in any other book. Their quality and crispness is by far a step above many other publications.

The text is 50-50 Japanese and English. At first it was a little hard to read but, after a few minutes there was no problem.

Also included is a very nice decal sheet with data and stencils (only in the first edition for this book).

The Forward

The Forward section deals with the company’s concept to come up with a "Dream Wing" for their "Super Wing Series."

History

The Sukhoi Su-30 Flanker-C is a two-seat, twin-engine, multi-role fighter for all-weather, air-to-air, and air-to-surface deep interdiction missions, developed by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. The Su-30 started out as an internal development project in the Sukhoi Su-27 family. The design plan was revamped and the name was made official by the Russian Defense Ministry in 1996.

While the original Su-27 had good range, it still did not have sufficient range for the Soviet Air Defense Forces, which needed to cover the vast expanse of the Soviet Union. The development began in 1986 on the Su-27PU, an improved-capability variant of the Su-27 capable of serving as a long-range interceptor or airborne command post. The two-seat Su-27UB combat trainer was selected as the basis for the Su-27PU, because it had the performance of a single-seat Su-27 and long-range missions require two crew members.