Hub Plott
Reviews By Author
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RAF Instrument Dial Decals and WW2 Allied Cockpit Placard DecalsPublished:
The two decal sets are in clear register, well printed and of great use to the aircraft modeler. Those that scratch build their own instrument panels will find these immensely useful. As one who builds a lot of resin kits I can see these being of great benefit there as well. They also will enhance a kit instrument panel going over the raised detail. Lastly, the gauge decals also include a small rectangle of clear, thin plastic so those with a punch and die set can make their own glass covers for the instruments. For the instrument set (AS48RAF) we are given 32 different instruments. The placard (AS48PLA) set gives us various styles in five different categories; General warnings, Notices, Dataplates, Specific warnings and Labels. The only complaint with the instrument dial set is… more |
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RMS Titanic Owner’s Workshop ManualPublished:
The story of Titanic is well known. Most are familiar with how the world’s most luxurious passenger liner struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank taking over 1500 of her passengers and crew with her to the bottom of the Atlantic. Less has been detailed about how she was built, fitted out and operated! Haynes is a company well known the world over for their quality and in-depth automotive repair manuals. Lately; they have branched out to include manuals on the Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster. Now they turn their attention to Titanic! The book begins with a brief history of the ship, her maiden voyage and the tragedy that befell her. Included herein are many well known pictures of the ship and her passengers.… more |
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I-400: Japan’s Secret Aircraft Carrying Strike SubmarinePublished:
I missed out on this book when it was originally published as a hardback a few years ago. Fortunately it has been re-issued as a softbound book. The book is the definitive volume on this submarine. It was the largest submarine to serve in WWII at over 400 feet long with a crew of almost 200 and weighing over 5200 tons. The first chapter gives us an overview of the Japanese submarine service in WWII. Chapter two covers the specifics of the I-400 class, with chapter three giving us the details and specifications on the aircraft the sub was designed to carry, the Aichi M6A “Seiran” attack-bomber. This chapter includes detailed drawings and pilot memories. Chapter four covers the proposed mission to bomb the Panama Canal. Including those officers involved in developing the… more |
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RMS Titanic: A Modelmaker's ManualPublished:
Titanic, no other ship’s name can conjure up so many images in one’s mind. The ship was the epitome of luxury, affluence and status. The tragedy of the loss of over 1500 souls; the love of Ida and Isador Straus, who would not be separated and chose to go down with the ship together rather than one should live apart from the other; or of the ships remains broken and battered on the ocean floor. The world’s most famous ship is also one of the most modeled ocean going vessels of all time. This book covers one man’s journey building a scratch built 1/48 scale 18 foot long model of RMS Titanic. The book opens with a brief history of the loss of the ship and a discussion of builder’s models of the Titanic and her sister’s … more |
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SAAB J21/J21RPublished:
This book tells the story of the first fighter aircraft from Sweden’s SAAB. The unconventional, pusher propeller, twin boomed SAAB J-21 and its jet powered development, the J-21R As one who has a fondness for unusual aircraft I am really grateful to finally have a book that covers this aircraft. The book begins with the development of the aircraft and its related systems. Of special importance was the development of an ejection seat so that the pilot could exit and clear the pusher propeller in an emergency. This is followed by operational histories of its use with the various squadrons. The coverage of the propeller driven J-21 concludes with 25 pages of color photos of the two surviving J-21s presented in a “walk-around” style. In addition to many fine exterior shots, there… more |
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Model Art Modeling Magazine, #806, October 2010Published:
Model Art is a well known Japanese model magazine. It is famous for high quality builds and photographs that fully live up to the publication’s name. This issue covers Grand Prix cars from the 1970’s and 1990’s as well as all aircraft of the Japanese Blue Impulse team. Other articles cover the Zvezda 1/48 Bf-109F2; 1/35 JGSDF Type 96 WAPC; 1/48 WWII Japanese Type 94 6-wheel truck; 1/700 USS Independence LCS-2; 1/24 Mazda AZ-1, and a 1985 Mazda RX-7 in 1/24 scale. The first 40 pages give extensive photographic coverage to Lotus 79 from the 1979 French Grand Prix and the Williams FW14B from the Hungarian Grand Prix 1992. This section has a multitude of photos showing the completed models as well as detail shots of the real cars and photos of the model during construction. … more |
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BAC TSR.2-Lost Tomorrows of an EaglePublished:
This book is not so much a “what-if”, but more of a "what might have been" story. Everything is based on surviving tech orders, ads, and other papers that show what the RAF wanted to use the TSR.2 for, as well as the schemes it would have worn and weapons that would have been carried. Like its Canadian cousin the Avro Arrow, it has become the stuff of myth and legend. The book is profusely illustrated with artwork, showing various markings and paint jobs that will give the modeler looking for something other than the prototype’s white paint scheme a lot to ponder. Like wise, the various weapons load outs will spark the modeler’s imagination. I found this to be a well-researched and laid out book. The author has done his best to cover all possibilities of the what, where… more |
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Exercises in Imagination & ScratchbuildingPublished:
Let’s take a journey, a journey into the mind of a scratchbuilder. Not just any scratchbuilder, not one who takes an actual object that existed and builds a replica from scratch. But one who gives three dimensional shape and form to an idea in a novel or a picture in his head. Author Andy Pearson is just such a modeler. He is regularly featured in Sci-Fi and Fantasy Modeller magazine. In this book’s eleven chapters; Andy will show you how to take an image in your mind or a book and give it form and substance. Each chapter is a walk through the building of project. From futuristic construction equipment, cybernetic whale, a cross sectional far away planet’s seascape, space ships and much more, Andy takes you on the journey from idea to model. This book is a must have for… more |
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Air Battles: Bf-109TPublished:
This book covers the navalized Bf-109 variant; the Bf-109T or “Toni” as it was called by her pilots. There are three main chapters which cover everything from design through its combat history. There are not many books covering the 109T (long out of print ‘Sea Eagles’ is the only one that comes to mind) so this is a most welcome addition. The need for the Bf-109T was linked hand in hand with the building of Nazi Germany’s only aircraft carrier; the “Graf Zeppelin”! This ship had many trials and tribulations during its build and these only further muddied the 109T’s development. With the building of an aircraft carrier came the need for naval aircraft for her to carry. A navalized Stuka with folding wings was developed as was the Bf-109T for the fighter wing. The 109T was… more |
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Hurricane Ace: Josef Frantisek, The True StoryPublished:
This is another fine book in the MMP Blue series. It covers the life of Battle of Britain ace Josef Frantisek from his birth in Czechoslovakia and his time in the Czech Air Force through his service in a Polish Squadron in the RAF up till his untimely death on a routine mission. The book begins with what little is known of Frantisek’s early life and his induction into the Czech Air Force. This section also contains a number of good photographs of the various aircraft used by the Czech Air Force during his service until the surrender to German forces in March of 1939. The next chapters covers his escape to Poland and eventual travel to France with other Czech and Polish pilots where he planned to continue the fight against the Nazis. He remained in the Polish Air Force… more |