Tail code markings for the Imperial Japanese Navy in WWII are some of the more difficult things for a modeler to replicate accurately. Aviaeology has come to our rescue!

A few years back, I saw that Aviaeology had issued some WWII Japanese tail markings. I was excited at the prospect, but waited too long to order them, and missed out on the offering. They were sold out before I could see what they were like. Aviaeology has reissued their series of IJN Tail Code markings, and has made some improvements in the process. This review is for their RED and YELLOW 280mm markings, but they also sell markings in White and Black. The 280mm refers to the size of the tail markings on the actual aircraft – in this case the markings are scaled down to 1/48 and are about 6mm.

On July 21, 1969 the Apollo II astronauts landed on the moon fulfilling President Kennedy’s pledge to land a man on the moon before the decade was complete. Project Apollo was a massive federal program that sparked new technologies, new ideas, new rocket designs and engines that led to this event. Five more flights to the moon resulted in landings that furthered our understanding of that satellite and confirmed new theories on its origins. Apollo captured the imagination of that generation and ones that came after of what could happen when a nation set goals and achieved them.

This is my first go-around with Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeller. I’d heard of the magazine/publication, but never had the opportunity to look at one up close in my area of the country. I must say that the first thing that immediately caught my attention was that this is not a typical “magazine”, but more of a soft-cover book. The materials for the publication are very sturdy with the pages made of very heavy paper stock, pretty much guaranteeing that this will be around for years as a reference or inspirational item.