This is the first of a three-volume set being published by Kecam. This first volume covers Japanese aircraft operated by Japan’s allies during World War 2, as well as those captured by opposing forces (other than the US, UK, and Commonwealth countries), and those pressed into service by various countries in the immediate post-war period.

The book is in a softcover format, with thick stock covers and pages finished in a high-quality satin finish. Black and white photos, as well as extremely well-done color profiles, appear on almost every one of the 128 pages. There are even a few rare color photos in some sections.

The authors dive right in to the topic, with the inside front cover having a table of all Japanese aircraft operated by the subject countries. Aircraft purchased, seized, or otherwise obtained by various Chinese forces, Thailand, Kwangsi, Manchuria, Korea (North and South), Nanking, Indonesia, the Soviet Union, and France are all listed.

Scale Aircraft Conversions continues to crank out metal landing gear for a lot of recent kits. One of their latest offerings is this set for the impressive 1/48 Zvezda Bf-109F kit. The SAC set contains both main gear with separate oleo scissors, and also a new tailwheel. The tailwheel appears to be slightly smaller in diameter than the kit part; otherwise, there doesn’t appear to be any difference.

At the outset of the First World War, motorized weaponry was still in its infancy. The machines of today’s modern military had not yet been invented: the tank, the armored personnel carrier, self propelled field artillery. Among the very first Allied armored cars, the very best were built atop chassis produced by Rolls-Royce, with the very first Rolls-Royce armored car being a privately owned vehicle fitted with a machine-gun and limited sections of armored plating. It was pressed into service by the Royal Naval Air Service in Flanders, 1914. By 1915, approximately 100 Rolls-Royce chassis had been acquired by the British Army, eventually finding themselves sent to units scattered across the globe: India, the Middle East, Europe, and South Africa. Post WW1, they were to be found from Ireland to Shanghai, making a final if brief appearance in the initial days of the Second World War. The Roll-Royce armored car’s most famous proponent was T.E.