The Gladius by M. C. Bishop is his first book for Osprey Publishing and probably not his last (indeed his next book on the Roman heavy javelin is due to be released in May 2017). Mike has been writing since 1983 primarily on archaeology. As part of his interest in archaeology, he has become a prolific artist in black and white illustrations, some of which are found in this book. Many of his works are available or referenced on his web site, www.mcbishop.co.uk. He spends his free time doing freelance work in publishing (editing, typesetting, proofreading, etc.) and runs a considerable number of websites primarily devoted to the Roman military. Interestingly, in additions to being a model builder (Airfix), Mike Bishop has been flying in gliders since 2004.

This is a white metal landing gear set is to for the Eduard 1/72 Fw-190 series of aircraft.

The white metal parts are outstanding and are a great replacement for the already well-detailed kit parts. The parts include the main two struts and support struts plus the rear wheel assembly.

The parts are well cast. One part was slightly bent, probably due to shipping and was easily bent back. The parts were a perfect fit to the existing mount and were a dream to assemble.

I highly recommend these parts are a great addition to an already extremely well detailed kit.

Thanks go to Scale Aircraft Conversions for providing this set to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them.

If you are looking to add a figure to your latest WWII fighter plane serving in the European theater, you may want to investigate the latest offering from the Aires Aerobonus line. The figure is posed climbing out of the cockpit of your plane of choice, with a thumb up to indicate a successful mission. With a little care in removing the parts from the pour plug, and some painting, this figure is an easy addition for most modelers to place in the plane of their creation.