Paul Bradley
Reviews By Author
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Airspeed Oxford and Consul, Warpaint #136Published:
The Airspeed Company was set up by future novelist Neville Shute Norway in Portsmouth, Britain, in the mid-Thirties, building small passenger aircraft. During WWII, the RAF relied on the twin-engined Airspeed Oxford as a multi-purpose trainer for a wide variety of roles, including pilot and aircrew training, aerial photography, navigation, and even gunnery training when fitted with an Armstrong Whitworth turret. Derived from the earlier Airspeed Envoy, an early executive aircraft, the Oxford was, post-war, also developed into an effective small airliner, the Consul. Over 8,900 Oxfords and Consuls were built, a testimony to its effectiveness in all roles. The Oxford and Consul have now been made a subject of the long-running Warpaint series from Guideline Publications in Britain. … more |
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F/A-18C Quick Set 3D Acrylic Instrument PanelPublished:
Red Fox Studios are a new company to me. Based in Hungary, they are a producer of resin upgrades and decals, including a range of 3D instrument panel decals, of which this review item is one. Designed for the Kinetic 1/48 F/A-18C Hornet kit, this product has a plastic, non-flat surface with a 3D effect. It is best glued with cyanoacrylate, but PVA or other glues can also be used. The product can be washed with both oil-based and acrylic paints. It can also be minimally bent or sanded. Having started the kit, I first painted and decaled the pilot’s cockpit using the kit-provided decals. I used setting solution to help these settle over the kit’s nicely-moulded in detail. These looked OK and would have been perfectly suitable under a closed canopy. After removing… more |
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TOS Galileo Shuttle and Voyager Crew FiguresPublished:
Fans of the original Star Trek series will recall such classic episodes as The Galileo Seven, where one of the Enterprise’s shuttlecraft, the Galileo, and her (7) crew members are trapped on an alien planet and are being attacked by mysterious hairy beasts with weak pole-throwing abilities…. Anyways, while we have had model kits of the Galileo in the past in 1/35, this is the first time I recall seeing one in 1/72 scale. Cozmic Models are a small company in Britain producing science fiction-related items from some of your favourite shows and this kit is one of their range of Star Trek models in various scales. 3D printed resin is the media of choice and the hull is cast/drawn(?) in one hollow piece, with a total of 19 parts including two clear ‘Bussards’. Also in the solid… more |
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Beaufort Mk. IPublished:
The Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber was developed for the RAF in 1938 using the experience gained from the Blenheim light bomber. Seeing service from 1940 with RAF Coastal Command, the type saw action across the World’s oceans, but most notably in the Channel and Mediterranean, as a torpedo bomber, conventional bomber and mine layer, until replaced in frontline service by the derivative Beaufighter from 1942. At least 1,180 were built in the UK and Australia. This is the first time a conventional IM kit of the Beaufort has been produced in 1/48 and that it comes from the remarkably resilient Ukrainian ICM firm is especially noteworthy – that they can produce and distribute new kits when their country is under threat of destruction is quite amazing! The kit is contained… more |
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Bases of Bomber Command Then and NowPublished:
After the Battle were set up 50 years ago (in 1973) to publish magazines and books presenting the history of the world's conflicts through 'then and now' comparison photographs. Owner Winston Ramsey was a noted historian and his new approach to history presented a novel way at looking at the past. The magazine ran until 2020 when Mr. Ramsey retired and the company was bought by Pen and Sword Books, who announced that no new After the Battle magazines will be published. During WWII, Bomber Command and its bases were concentrated in a compact area of eastern England, such that bases’ landing patterns sometimes overlapped with neighbouring airfields. Some of the bases were long-standing homes to the RAF; others were wartime expediencies that, like the mayfly, were born and died… more |
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DH.82A Tiger Moth with BombsPublished:
Ukraine’s ICM has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and even now with Russia’s invasion threatening their country’s very existence, ICM are still able to produce and export fine model kits, such as this one. Their first boxing of this kit of the universally-known DH.82A Tiger Moth, released in 2021, features the standard RAF trainer version; this new boxing goes a slightly different direction, showcasing a rare combat version of the type. In 1940, the threat of invasion forced the British to improvise defensive systems, and this included developing and fitting small-bomb racks to around 300 of the Tiger Moths then in service with Elementary Flying Training Schools across Britain. Under the codename Operation Banquet, the idea was to have the experienced pilot… more |
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Images of War: The Malayan Emergency – The Crucial Years 1949-53Published:
From 1948 through the 1950s British and Commonwealth forces fought a ruthless communist insurgency on the Malay peninsula. Thanks to sound generalship and the dedication and resilience of the officers and men, the security forces eventually broke the terrorists' resolve. This book charts the service of one particular unit, the 1st Battalion, The Suffolk Regiment, throughout their tour of duty between 1949 to 1953, the most critical years in The Emergency. The book describes in text and photos how the Battalion – which was mostly made up of National Servicemen conscripts – was able to operate in the oppressive climate and jungle conditions of the Malay Peninsula. Its success was built on good leadership and those most elusive of factors, good morale and camaraderie. The… more |
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Fairey Swordfish: Fleet Air Arm Legends #2Published:
The Fairey Swordfish needs no introduction, it being one of those classics of aviation that find themselves famous for being available in the right place at the right time. This new book from Morton Books is the second in their Fleet Air Arm Legends series and is written by noted aviation historian Matthew Willis. Author Willis weaves a tight story of the need and development of the Swordfish in the early 1930’s, the entry into service and the emergency measures taken to ensure that this obsolescent aircraft was made available in the numbers needed by the FAA when it’s replacement – the Albacore – hit development issues. The story of the Swordfish’s wartime service is concise and well written and complemented by numerous well reproduced period photos. The Bismarck… more |
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Warpaint 133 C-47 Skytrain/Dakota in Worldwide Military ServicePublished:
Perhaps the most famous and most long-lived transport aeroplane in history, the DC-3 and its military versions including the C-47 Dakota are still in service around the World some 85 years after it’s first flight. There cannot have been many air forces around the world that have not operated the type and at one point or another still use them today. It is only fitting that the almost as famous and long-lived Warpaint series of books from Guideline Publications has now seen fit to include the type – the only mystery here is why it has taken so long! Author Adrian Balch has been a fixture of the British aviation scene for well over half a century himself and has amassed an unrivalled collection of aviation photos, some of which grace this volume. The book begins… more |
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RAF Cold War Jet Aircraft In Profile 2Published:
Here’s a really neat book for modelers. Illustrated and written by renowned profile artist Chris Sandham-Baily, aka Sandworm, RAF Cold War Jet Aircraft in Profile covers 14 different aircraft types designed and built by British companies and operated by the RAF between 1945 and 2010. The book features over 300 different colour profiles of the following types: Gloster Meteor, de Havilland Vampire, de Havilland Venom, English Electric Canberra, Supermarine Swift, Hawker Hunter, Vickers Valiant, Gloster Javelin, Handley Page Victor, Avro Vulcan, Blackburn Buccaneer, English Electric Lightning, Hawker Siddeley Harrier and SEPECAT Jaguar. Two types most notable by their absence are the McDonnell Douglas Phantom and the Panavia Tornado, both of whose omission is a major fault in my… more |