Frank Landrus
Reviews By Author
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Cross & Cockade International Autumn 2019 Volume 50/3Published:
The latest journal of Cross & Cockade International - Autumn 2019, features a front cover painting by W.E. Johns of a RNAS Bristol Scout D. W.E. Johns also contributes the back cover painting of a Bristol M1C flying high over the checkered landscape. Cross & Cockade International is a non-profit UK based group known as the First World War Aviation Historical Society that publishes their journal four times a year. They also provide a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publish WWI themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS USA. This Journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front. Norman L.R. Franks kicks off this issue with a nice 4-page highlight of Captain Arthur Treloar Whealy. Included are… more |
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Building the Wingnut Wings Hanover Cl. IIPublished:
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 Halberstadt Cl. II will be the next release in this series). The 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 2012 (Sold Out on January 19, 2016) with a Cl.II late version (kit 32024). Wingnut Wings released the early service version on September 10, 2019 (kit 32079… more |
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Scale Aviation Modeller International (SAMI)Published:
SAM Publications is an independent publisher based in Bedford UK. Established over 25 years ago, they have gone onto become a household name in the hobby sector. SAM Publications prides itself on producing quality publications, well researched and affordable to customers. SAM Publications is noted for their magazines, Scale Aviation Modeller International and Scale Military Modeler International magazines, as well as their series of monographs with Modellers Datafiles and Modellers Datafile – Scaled Down.. SAM has not stood still over the past 25 years and has adopted to the ever-changing publishing industry. Technology has played a big part in this and has only enhanced the quality of their publications by allowing them to reach out to authors and researchers all over the world. You… more |
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Albatros D.I – D.IIIPublished:
Author Dave Hooper is the founder of the IPMS Great War Special Interest Group and a long-standing contributor to aviation modelling journals. His comprehensive knowledge and attention to detail is well known. Warpaint's latest is their standard A4 format softbound publication that is 48 pages (excluding covers), including a 2 page 1/72 drawing centerfold on the Albatros D.I, D.II, and D.III. I counted 69 clear black and white photographs, 48 color pictures of The Vintage Aviator’s Albatros D.II replica, along with 26 of Jan Polc color side profiles and 2 color top views. Jan Polc also contributes the centerfold (two A4 pages) that features 12 line drawings, 2 scrap drawings, and cross section profiles, all in 1/72 scale. The front cover features a color side profile of… more |
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Armour Of The Eastern Front 1941-1945Published:
Guideline License Publications has unveiled a new series, Warpaint Armour. Instead of a monograph on a single aircraft, this series will contain a series of articles that focus on tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles that shaped pivotal moments in the history of modern warfare. Warpaint Armour will showcase articles by a team of experts utilizing the latest research. Each article features historical photographs along with color pics of museum displays or renovated AFVs from World War I to the current day. Each volume will feature eight focused articles and a modelling gallery, showcasing some of the finest models that have been seen in Miltary Modelcraft International over the last decade. Each article will also include specially commissioned color profiles in conjunction with… more |
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MiG Alley: The US Air Force in Korea, 1950–53Published:
Thomas McKelvey Cleaver served with the US Navy in Vietnam and has spent thirty years in Hollywood as a screen writer for television and the movie industry. Horror fans will know him as the author for the 1989 cult classic by producer Roger Corman of “The Terror Within” starring George Kennedy, Andrew Stevens, Starr Andreeff, and Terri Treas. Thomas McKelvey Cleaver has also been a published writer for forty years and is known for Fabled Fifteen: The Pacific War Saga of Carrier Air Group 15, The Bridgebusters: The True Story of the Catch-22 Bomb Group, Aces of the 78th Fighter Group (Aircraft of the Aces 115), F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat Aces of VF-2 (Aircraft of the Aces 125), and an ebook, Air Combat Annals. Thomas… more |
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Allosaurus ToothPublished:
Allosaurus is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the late Jurassic period. The name "Allosaurus" means "different lizard" alluding to its unique concave vertebrae (at the time of its discovery). It is derived from the Greek allos ("different, other") and sauros ("lizard / generic reptile"). The first fossil remains that could definitively be ascribed to this genus were described in 1877 by paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. As one of the first well-known theropod dinosaurs, it has long attracted attention outside of paleontological circles. Indeed, it has been a top feature in several films and documentaries about prehistoric life. Masterpiece Models released this 1/1 scale Allosaurus tooth and root in 2017. This replica… more |
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Douglas A-4 SkyhawkPublished:
Ian White was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1947 and educated at secondary schools in Rotherham and later in Ilford, Essex. He joined the Post Office Engineering Department in August 1963 as an apprentice and later served as a technician in the City of London. In 1973, on promotion to engineer, he was appointed to the Post Office’s Air Defense Group in London to provide landline and ground to air communications for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the UK, Germany and Cyprus. In April 1984 he joined the Company’s Defense Sales Organization as a Senior Systems Engineer and later as an engineering manager. The final three years were spent as a liaison officer within the defense and law enforcement community. Ian retired in May 2000, following which he attended Anglia Polytechnic… more |
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North American Aviation P-51B/C & F-6C MustangPublished:
This tome is the latest in the Yellow series of aircraft monographs. Originally in a smaller format, ~6.3” by 9.3”, the Yellow series seems to have migrated to the “Big Yellow” series in a new larger A4 (~8.25” x 11.625”) size. Lately, it seems that the “Big Yellow” series has become just the Yellow series, but has retained the larger A4 format. MMP was founded in 1996 by Roger Wallsgrove, to publish "Mushroom Model Magazine". This quarterly modeling magazine was developed from "Mushroom Monthly”, a club newsletter which ran from 1985 to 1995, achieving a worldwide reputation for quality articles, fearless and honest reviews, and a great sense of humor. From 1997 the magazine was produced in collaboration with Robert Peczkowski and Artur Juszczak (Stratus), which meant a big… more |
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PZL P.11cPublished:
This tome is the second in this new series, Single. This series format consists of a 4-view colour profile, scale plans, and photo details of a single variant; in this case the PZL P.11c. MMPBooks are distributed in North America by Casemate Publications. You won’t find an introduction or background summary, as this series dives straight into the drawings, illustrations, and photographs. Artur Juszczak has illustrated over forty books for MMP. Some of these titles include the following: Boulton Paul Defiant (MMP Yellow 6117); Hurricane Ace Josef František: The True Story (MMP Blue 9); Henschel Hs 123 (MMP Orange 8114); and Fighters over France and Low Countries (MMP Red 4). Dariusz Karnas is a skilled modeler and aviation historian. He lives in Przemysl, Poland. He has… more |