Frank Landrus
Reviews By Author
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F-111 Aardvark In ActionPublished:
David Doyle’s latest book continues to expand on Squadron Signal’s long standing In Action series that initiated back in 1971. This is a completely updated and expanded edition over Squadron’s earlier Aircraft In Action number 35, a 50-pager on the F-111 by Lou Drendel that was published in 1984. This 2019 release is a totally new book that can be considered complementary to the earlier In Action. This latest edition focuses on color photographs (although black and white pics are used where appropriate) in addition to the additional 30 gloss pages. After many years of being published in enthusiast publications focused on military vehicle restorations, David Doyle ‘graduated’ to full-fledged books in 2003. His first book was a hefty 512 page history of US military vehicles. He… more |
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Building the Wingnut Wings HalberstadtPublished:
Ray Rimell’s (Raymond Laurence Rimell) latest in the “Building the Wingnut Wings” series was originally intended to be a paired build with the Wingnut Wings Halberstadt Cl. II for a combined Albatros Special. The sheer volume of material saw that these two aircraft would be quickly separated (Building the Wingnut Wings Hannover Cl. II was the previous release in this series). The Halberstadt Cl.II was designed as a two-seat escort fighter to meet a 1917 requirement to protect reconnaissance aircraft. As the war progressed, the Cl.II saw an increasing role in ground attack. The first release by Wingnut Wings was in November 30, 2018, with a Cl.II Early version (kit 32049). Wingnut Wings released the Late service version (32062) on the same day. The bonus was a release… more |
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F-104G Luftwaffe & Bundesmarine Scale: QPublished:
BackgroundThis is AFV Club’s third release of a “Q”-Scale F-104 kit, with the first two releases covering the ROC Air Force and JASDF F-104J aircraft. All three were released in 2019. AFV Club, based in the Republic of China (Taiwan) began releasing kits in 1990 and is owned by Hobby Fan. Distribution in the United States is through Apex Global Inc., doing business as Merit International Ltd. The KitThe kit is molded in bright grey, white and clear styrene on four trees. I counted 41 parts, although not all parts are used as there are several options. These options include two different missile mounts and three options for landing gear. One landing gear option is gear up, another gear down, and then the one I chose where a square stub from the closed main… more |
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United States Navy Submarines 1900–2019Published:
Michael Green is a freelance writer, researcher, and photographer. He specializes in military subjects and has authored and coauthored over 100 non-fiction books, for both children and adults. His books have been translated into several languages. Mr. Green is an honorary lifetime member of the "Marine Corps Tanker Association," as well as the U.S. Army Brotherhood of Tankers. Michael Green lives in Dale City, California. Pen & Sword’s latest book in the Images of War series is a square back soft cover includes 234 gloss paper pages. I counted 130 black and white period photographs. There are 95 color photos, 8 black and white illustrations, and 17 color illustrations. Michael Green provides a great deal of coverage of the US Navy’s different submarine classes, from… more |
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Nieuport 1 – 27Published:
Based in Central Europe Kagero Publishing House is the biggest publisher and exporter of English-written publications about military history, release nearly 60 titles every year. Kagero was founded in 1995, and began by delivering military titles in Polish. Their success led Kagero to start releasing books in English in 1998. Authors from Poland, Canada, USA, Australia and Great Britain, who were invited to cooperation, gave a beginning to a new range of products, which have put them on a position of one of the most recognized publishers on the market. Kagero has released more than 550 publications. Kagero is managed by Damian Majsak and his wife Joanna. This tome is a new edition of Kagero’s Famous Airplanes 5001, a 58 page small smaller format book on Nieuport 1-27 that was… more |
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Nicaragua 1961-1990: Volume 2: Contra WarPublished:
David Francois, from France, earned his PhD in Contemporary History at the University of Burgundy and specialized in studying militant communism, its military history and relationship between politics and violence in contemporary history. In 2009, he co-authored the Guide des archives de l’Internationale communiste published by the French National Archives and the Maison des sciences de l’Homme in Dijon. He is regularly contributing articles for various French military history magazines and regular contributor to the French history website L’autre côté de la colline. Helion’s latest book in the Latin America @ War series is a square back soft cover includes 80 gloss paper pages. This tome is a follow-up to Latin America @ War Volume 9 that focused on the downfall of the Somoza… more |
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Swedish Submarine Class SjöormenPublished:
The first of the modern type of submarines for the Swedish navy was the Sjöormen class, designed in the early 1960s by Kockums, Malmo, and built by that company (three units) and Karlskronavarvet (two units). The class comprised the Sjöormen, Sjolejonet, Sjohunden, Sjobjornen and Sjohasten. With an Albacore type hull for speed and a twin-deck arrangement the class was extensively used in the relatively shallow Baltic where its excellent maneuverability and silent-running capabilities greatly aided the Swedish navy's anti-submarine warfare operations. The control surface and hydroplane arrangements were the same as those fitted to the latter Swedish submarine classes, and it was these together with the hull design that allowed the optimum maneuverability characteristics to be… more |
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Lebanese Civil War- Volume 1: Palestinian Diaspora, Syrian and Israeli Interventions, 1970-1978Published:
Tom Cooper is an Austrian aerial warfare analyst and historian. Following a career in the worldwide transportation business – during which he established a network of contacts in the Middle East and Africa – he moved into narrow-focus analysis and writing on small, little-known air forces and conflicts, about which he has collected extensive archives. That resulted in specialization in such Middle Eastern air forces as of those of Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, plus various African and Asian air forces. In addition to authoring and co-authoring about 50 books - including about three dozen titles for Helion’s @War series - and well over 1,000 articles, Cooper is a regular correspondent for multiple defense-related publications. Sergio Santana is a Brazilian working as a military… more |
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The Spatha: The Roman Long SwordPublished:
The Spatha by M. C. Bishop is his third book for Osprey Publishing and probably not his last. Mike has been writing since 1983 primarily on archaeology. As part of his interest in archaeology, he has become a prolific artist in black and white illustrations, some of which are found in this book. Many of his works are available or referenced on his web site. He spends his free time doing freelance work in publishing (editing, typesetting, proofreading, etc.) and runs a considerable number of websites primarily devoted to the Roman military. Interestingly, in additions to being a model builder (Airfix), Mike Bishop has been flying gliders since 2004. The cover painting by Peter Dennis is a clip of the painting that appears… more |
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Russian Battleships and Cruisers of the Russo-Japanese WarPublished:
Mark Lardas holds a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Michigan. Mark spent the next thirty years at the Johnson Space Center doing Space Shuttle structural analysis, and space navigation. An amateur historian and a long-time ship modeler, he has written extensively about modelling as well as naval, maritime, and military history. Mark has authored more than twenty-five books and has worked with Boy’s Life as the Hobby Master. Mark also worked with an English language publication from Hong Kong called English Street. Mark is currently working in League City, Texas. Paul Wright has painted ships of all kinds for most of his career, specializing in steel and steam warships from the late 19th century to the present day.… more |