John Ratzenberger
Reviews By Author
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Westland Lysander Mk.IIPublished:
Allow me to start by thanking Pavla Models for their most generous contribution of numerous models for review by IPMS/USA. BackgroundThe "Lizzie" is one of my favorite aircraft for some quirky reason, and one on a very short list of those I wish I had the opportunity to fly myself. There were three versions - unsurprisingly the Mk.I, II, and III. There were a 189 Mk.I, 517 Mk.II, and 964 Mk.III, including license built. The Mk.I and Mk.III pretty much look alike - the Mk.II is recognizable by the smooth, slightly tapered engine cowl. As the Mk.I were quickly shunted off to the Middle East, the Mk.II is most prevalent in the early war years in Europe. There are numerous Lysander kits in 1/72, a few in 1/48, and even one in 1/32. Many have some issue or another… more |
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Gloster G.40 Pioneer by Pavla ModelsPublished:
Allow me to start by thanking Pavla Models for their most generous contribution of numerous models for review by IPMS/USA. BackgroundThe Gloster G.40 Pioneer was the first British jet -- it is also known as the Gloster Whittle or the Gloster E.28/39. There were two aircraft built but the second crashed so this one, W4041/G, did all the testing from its first flight on 15 May 1941 until it was put on display in the London Science Museum in 1946. I asked for this not because I am particularly interested in the aircraft but because I had just done the FROG version for the Classic British Kits SIG display at Scale Model World (Telford) in 2009. That kit is so bad that I felt I should have a better representation on my shelf. For those of you not familiar with the… more |
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Boeing B-17 Fortress in RAF Coastal Command ServicePublished:
Update 21 July 2011 I have just been advised by the author, Robert M Stitt, that he has prepared a 34-page additions and amendments document for this book. It is available from the Mushroom Books website; here is the link to the product page which has a download link on it: http://www.mmpbooks.biz/ksiazki/123/#765 Lots of valuable information -- the author and Mushroom are to be congratulated for this all-too-rare effort. John Ratzenberger This is Mushroom's 100th book, and a grand one it is!! It's 248 pages in their fairly new A-4 format and although still a soft-cover, it includes a dust jacket with ads for about 18 forth-… more |