History

The Fiat G.50 came about as a result of the Italian Air force’s need to replace the biplane fighters that had served them well during the nineteen thirties. The Fiat CR.42 biplane had been an especially successful fighter, and in fact continued in use through most of World War II, but a higher performing monoplane was needed, and Fiat started work on a prototype in 1936 and flew the first prototype in 1937. Although the aircraft had excellent flying qualities, its bulky Fiat A74 RC38 radial engine produced only 840 hp., resulting in disappointing performance, and the twin 12.7 mm. Breda SAFAT machine guns were thought to be inadequate. In fact, the Air Force considered the Macchi C.200 radial engine fighter to be superior in most respects, but both aircraft were put into production, with most pilots preferring the Macchi.

Eduard has released a limited edition of their great Mig-21 kit. This time the bis version used by other countries with marking for seven different air forces that used the aircraft.

In the box is:

• 8 x light grey sprues
• 1 clear sprue
• 1 large decal sheet
• 1 mask sheet
• 3 x photoetch detail set
• 13 resin parts
• 1 instruction booklet

While you get 8 sprues, you also get plenty of unused (spare) parts. All the sprues are extremely well molded with very little flash and great detail. The decals allow you to finish the aircraft in 7 different versions and are printed by Cartograf.

This series by Pen & Sword features photographs from each year of the Second World War. This first volume includes photographs and illustrations of the first year, 1939 to 1940, and covers the contributing factors that led to the outbreak of hostilities. The book includes 750 images and photographs in a picture strip or collage style. It’s a quick, convenient, visual history of the first year of World War II. The text is in sidebars or captions for the photos and is easy to read. The text and photos are in chronological order as events unfolded

The book is packed with photos on each page like a collage, and includes captions describing the events and people in the photographs. Maps and illustrations of military movements, reproductions of posters, newspapers, and other historical documents are also included. The images are mostly black and white, but there is a 32-page section of color photos and images in the center of the book.