Eagle Editions has been known for their Luftwaffe research for as long as I can remember. With the death of founder Jerry Crandall, it's nice to see that Judy Crandall, his wife, along with Mark Proulx are continuing his legacy with Eagle Editions.

If you are familiar with the Wings of the Black Cross series, this book is similar to the entire series. Focusing on German aircraft, primarily on the Jagdwaffe, however, it does include other aircraft. The 8.5 x 11 laminated cover book is printed on 36 pages on high quality gloss paper. There are 64 high quality photographs included in the book.

Included in the book are Bf-109, Bf-110, FW-190, Me-262, Stukas, and He-177, as well as many more. The periods covered go all the way from the birth of the Luftwaffe to the end of the war. Of particular interest to me were the photos of Adolf Galland’s early 109E-4 “Double Chevron Bar” and JV-44 Me 262, both of which are shown in the color profiles.

Valiant Wings Publishing continues to expand its “Airframe and Miniature” series. This installment, number 25 in the series, is devoted to the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. The book is divided into the following sections:

Airframe Chapters

1. Evolution – Prototypes to P-47C
2. Main Production – P-47D to M
3. The Long Range Thunderbolt – P-47N
4. Camouflage and Marking and Colour Profiles

Miniature Chapters

5. P-47 Thunderbolt Kits
6. Building a selection
7. Building a collection
8. In detail: The P-47 Thunderbolts

Appendixes

Tamiya kits are known for their ease of building and detail. There are some tradeoffs that come with that philosophy, particularly with engine screens and other small metal parts on the real vehicle. While the base Tamiya kit is great out of the box, there is always room for more detail, and this Hauler kit does not disappoint.

This PE set fills that void and takes the Tamiya 1/48 M5A1 Stuart (Kit No. 32606) to the next level. This set includes two PE frets (A (1 ⁵/₈” x 2 ¼”) containing the M1919 MG mount, ammo can, periscope cages, spare track hangers, light guards, grab handles, etc.; and B (1 ³/₁₆” x 1 ⁵/₁₆”) containing the four engine screens and tool tie downs, and a resin sprue with onboard tools and M2 HMG.