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Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
Company
Albatros Productions, Ltd.
MSRP
$15.00

Windsock World War Centenary Autumn 2014 is the third issue of Volume 30. Albatros Productions bills it as their “packed Autumn edition” because it provides readers with a great variety of top-notch modeling know-how and unique reference material. Packed is not a boast; this issue delivers a wealth of WWI aircraft modeling information along with historical and technical references.

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
Company
Academy Models
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$24.00

Many moons ago, long before Roden or Wingnuts, Hobbycraft made the first generally available, inexpensive plastic kit of a World War 1 aircraft in 1/32 scale. As an avid large scale aircraft enthusiast, I was thrilled to see the Sopwith Camel model hit the shelves and was delighted by the Nieuport 17 and Spad XIII that followed. Unfortunately, they didn’t pursue this line very far, ultimately releasing a Fokker Triplane that proved virtually unbuildable. Since then, of course, other companies have jumped on this bandwagon and done very well, although the prices asked have more often than not deterred me from adding their offerings to my collection.

Review Author
John King
Published on
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$9.00

The 737 really needs no introduction, and the modeling community is blessed with everything from the 737-200 all the way up to the 737-800. Both Minicraft and Daco offer 737-300 and 737-400 kits. Daco also offers a 737-500. Brengun has released this little resin detail set primarily for the Minicraft 737-300. The detail set includes new, crisper wheels/tires, landing gear doors, and a plethora of antennas. The molding is very fine.

The wheels and tires look very similar to the Minicraft parts, but they have a slightly finer edge between the wheel and tire, which makes painting much easier. The landing gear doors are very fine and thin. Take special care removing them from their pure stubs; I was trying to be careful and still broke one of the main landing gear doors. The set of antennas includes more antennas than you would use on a single 737. Take a close look at your references before choosing which antennas to use.

Book Author(s)
Andrew Thomas; Illustrator: Chris Thomas
Review Author
Paul Mahoney
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$22.95

Osprey has produced so many different “Aces” titles at this point, that the remaining subjects are becoming very narrow indeed. This new volume, as the title says, covers Spitfire Aces of Northwest Europe during 1944-45, and even more specifically the Spitfires covered are limited to Marks V, VII, IX, and XVI (all Merlin-engined).

Review Author
Dave Koukol
Camden Koukol
Published on
Company
Hasegawa
Scale
1/700
MSRP
$19.00

Background

Characterized as the longest naval battle in history by British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, The Battle of the Atlantic was conducted from the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939 through the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. Crucial to the survival of Great Britain was the island nation’s ability to receive military and general material aid from North America via the sea lanes of the Atlantic Ocean. To disrupt and ultimately destroy this sea bridge, the German navy engaged in a ruthless and relentless campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare against merchant and military shipping carrying aid to the British Isles. Two of the most effective and prominent German unterseeboot (U-Boat) designs of the period were the Type VIIC and Type IXC boats, both providing extremely lethal and efficient fighting platforms for many of Nazi Germany’s celebrated “U-Boat Aces.”