Hub Plott
Reviews By Author
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GRUNTS: Inside the American Combat Experience WWII through IraqPublished:
This thick book gives one a close up look at the life of the fighting infantryman! Each of the 10 chapters covers a specific battle and the experiences of those who fought there. From the Pacific theatre to the European, from Vietnam to Iraq, you are there on the beaches, in the foxholes, the rice paddies and through the streets of Fallujah. This book gives you a very good sense of the up close and personal war that is fought by each and every combat infantryman be they Marine or US Army. Harrowing accounts of night fighting and Banzai charges, fighting the elements and the Germans at the Bulge in this book you are there. Each chapter puts you in the heart of the action and gives you as close as any book can a sense of what it was like to be there. In addition to the… more |
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AVIONS - Le Grand Guide du Maquettisme (Guide to Model Aircraft Building Techniques)Published:
This large book (8 ¼ inches x 12 inches) was originally titled Aviation Modeling Techniques: The Greatest Guide when first published by Euromodelismo.. The book is profusely illustrated with almost 1000 color photos. The book is entirely in French. Each chapter covers the complete building process of one aircraft model. These chapters cover aircraft from WWI up to modern day. Each chapter features a step by step guide to the building process. From detailing, assembly, painting and decaling each step is thoroughly discussed. Typing some of the captions into Google translation yielded some interesting and helpful information. Some of my favorite chapters include one showing the build of a Ki-43 and another on the F4D. Beginning on page 160 is a Gallery of… more |
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Soviet and Russian Testbed AircraftPublished:
This is a very large book covering Soviet and Russian test and research aircraft from the late 1930s to modern times. The book contains eight separate chapters of varying lengths devoted to specific areas of research and testing. The Russians and Soviets have developed many interesting designs over the years and this book gives us a look at some of the most unusual.
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Classic Warbirds "The ANZACs"Published:
This book is a revised and expanded edition of an original book on ANZAC Spitfire pilots that is now out of print. This book gives accounts of the service of ten pilots, seven from New Zealand and three from Australia who served in the China-Burma-India theatre, Europe and the Middle East while flying Hurricanes and Spitfires. The stories within are based on actual accounts of these pilots sourced through memoirs and/or personal interviews. The pilot’s opinions are frank and uncensored and make for a fascinating read. There is a good teaser from the authors about Squadron Leader Jeff West’s further knowledge of the loss of Douglas Bader. Sadly he passed away before the follow-up interview could be conducted. A real treat here for the modeler is the profile and three… more |
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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 |