I’ll be honest, I never expected a Great War balloon kit and boy was I surprised to see this kit up for review. The kit consists of a small sprue of polystyrene parts, a left and right balloon halve (polystyrene), a sheet of photoetch balloon basket lines and a decal sheet. Oh, the best part for those of you how enjoy making dioramas, the kit includes a set of 40 each 3D printed figures in various poses. Wow! You will probably need to take advantage included polystyrene model stand.

Construction is very straight-forward beginning with the two balloon halves. I found the molding very well done and the fit was very good as well. The plastic of the two balloon halves is quite thick, but I think that helps in the grand scheme of things. Even with the great fit, it will be necessary to a little work seam joint. A little extra attention will be necessary at both ends of the balloon where there appears to be extra panels to strengthen the fabric panel seams.

Detail and Wonder has issued a replacement and highly detailed landing gear set for Tamiya’s 1/48^th F-14A. The set includes a complete set of wheels, both main and nose along with separate hubs. a bag of metal supports and three 3D Printed landing gear- left, right and nose gear.

From the About the Author section,

Ian Baxter is a military historian who specializes in German twentieth-century military history. He has written more than fifty books. He has also reviewed numerous military studies for publication, supplied thousands of photographs and important documents to various publishers and film production companies worldwide, and lectures to various schools, colleges and universities throughout the United Kingdom and Southern Ireland.

In short, Ian Baxter is a respected historian and an author I actively seek out for his insight and amazing photographs for World War II. This book continues its amazing legacy, does not disappoint, and is worth the price for the photographs alone.