The Me-262 requires little if any introduction, however reference material for it is always sought after. This book is intended to cover all the marks and variants of the single seat “A” series, including some obscure prototypes.

The book is very logically broken down in a section that describes the technical characteristics of the airplane, the production blocks, and several tables with details covering prototypes from Werk Numbers, to Me-262 aces.

The next section has period B&W pictures and 1/72nd scale drawings of all the different variants of the A series, including details on their armament, if applicable.

After that there are no less than 58 color profiles, including a few top/bottom views of the Me-262 in the fighter and bomber configuration, plus color profiles of captured examples and post-war examples in Czech service.

This is a large, beautiful coffee table style photo-essay book. As the son of a D-Day veteran I was most anxious to read this book. 450 of the photos included are from the combat in Northern France. Some will seem familiar to the reader but many have never before been published. I especially like how in many cases the author has shown the original WWII photo and then beside or below that he has placed a modern photo of the same place taken at the same spot.

The book is divided into eight chapters! The are: The Buildup, From the Air, From the Sea, On the Beached, Point du Hoc, La Fiere, Graignes and Aftermath. Each is filled with photos that show everything from the men, equipment and geography to the carnage of battle.

The Special Hobby IL-10 is one of those relatively obscure kits that one would never think you’d find many after marked parts for. While the kit has its own particular set of build issues, it does come with a fairly complete package of resin detail parts. The level of detail on those parts varies widely, and the oil radiator is a prime candidate for substitution with something better.

As with everything that I’ve received from Quickboost, their replacement IL-10 oil radiator is highly detailed and crisply molded with no flash or surface imperfections anywhere to be found. The screen mesh that makes up most of the surface of the radiator is nicely represented; it’s a far cry better than the smooth surface of the kit’s resin radiator part. The radiator can be prominently seen on the aircraft‘s belly, so this new part enhances the realism factor considerably.