Roger Rasor
Reviews By Author
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Cross & Cockade International, Spring 2014 - Vol. 45/1Published:
Cross & Cockade International is the quarterly publication of a non-profit organization known as The First World War Aviation Historical Society. The UK based organization has been publishing these journals since 1970 with the objective of furthering the study of First World War Aviation History. The first journal of 2014; Volume 45/1 (Spring 2014) features a beautiful cover painting by David Ellwood of a Phoenix P.5 Cork flying boat “Rattling the Rivets of a German U boat. The Phoenix P.5 Cork is the subject of a 19-page feature article that kicks things off, but this quarterly journal, much like all C&CI journals, also covers a variety of other well-researched WWI subjects in a highly professional manner. Following an Editorial page, the contents includes: … more |
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Hurricane Mk. I Control SurfacesPublished:
Aires offers model builders a way to add some extra detail to their 1/72 Hurricane Mk.I by posing the horizontal tail surfaces is a natural deflected position. This aftermarket set (#72310) provides four resin parts that replace the two kit parts (shown in the photo below). By providing separate elevators and stabilizers, Aires permits the builder to position the movable control surfaces at any angle...often slightly drooping when the pilot leaves the control column pushed a bit forward as he exits the aircraft on the ground (which means the modeler should also position the control column slightly forward). As a bonus, the Aires parts are more accurate in shape than the kit parts and provide better detail. The parts are cast in typical Aires/Quickboost gray resin on a single… more |
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T-33 JASDF Hamamatsu ABPublished:
Platz Hobby’s latest boxing of their very nice 1/72 scale Lockheed T-bird kit provides an impressive array of decals to finishing the model as one of six different Japanese Air Self Defense Force T-33s based at Hamamatsu airbase. The license-built T-33s, along with AT-6 Texans and T-34 Mentors, formed the backbone of the JASDF’s training command at this historic air training base. Sixty-eight T-birds were in service at Hamamatsu in the mid-1950s, and they were among some of the most colorful T-birds to be found anywhere at the time. One of the original releases of this kit was reviewed on this site two years ago, and the reviewer’s comments correctly describe it as superior to the aging 1/72 scale Heller and Hasegawa kits that most of us are familiar with. In recent years Sword… more |
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Republic P-47D “Malcolm Hood Thunderbolts”Published:
LPS Hobby is a Brazilian that recently added three more Republic P-47D decal sets to their 1:72 scale line. This set, # LPM72-16, provides markings for three P-47D Razorback Thunderbolts that sported Malcolm hoods late in WWII. The set includes two small decal sheets that provide all of the unique markings for the three aircraft and enough national insignias and stencil data to do two of the three (National markings from kit decals will be needed to do the third one). As the photos below illustrate, the decals are nicely printed in vivid, opaque colors by Microscale and everything is well registered. They are printed on thin film like other Microscale decals, and should respond well to mild setting solutions such as Mr. Mark Softer. It is recommend that the decals be applied by… more |
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Naval T-Birds DecalsPublished:
A recent addition to Iliad Design’s line of 1:72 scale decal sets is one covering a variety of US Navy and Marine Corps Lockheed T-Birds. Markings are provided for five aircraft. This set actually includes scaled down versions of the four subjects found on Iliad’s 1:48 scale Naval T-Birds set with a fifth one added. In his review of Iliad’s 1:48 scale set, Charles Landrum commented that Iliad earned his respect for releasing decal sets for subjects off the beaten path…in that case, for Navy and Marine T-Birds when only one kit exists in that scale to build a T-33. By releasing a 1:72 scale version of that set, Iliad provides modelers with decals that offer these unique markings for a number of kit options…the older Heller and Hasegawa ones or the more recent Sword and Platz… more |
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Junkers Ju 87 StukaPublished:
Junkers Ju 87 Stuka is number 15 in Osprey’s Air Vanguard series. What this book is not is a technical reference manual for model builders, with an abundance of drawings, walkaround photographs and full-color profiles. Rather, it is a general overview of the Stuka with a reasonable amount of period photos, artwork and a few color profiles that add to the story of how the aircraft came about and its roll as the Luftwaffe’s primary operational dive bomber. It should be of interest to those who don’t know a great deal about the aircraft or would like to have a quick study of the subject in a single publication. But, modeler builders who already have a number of good Stuka reference books in their library may not find this book a necessary acquisition. Author Guardia begins… more |
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HANDLEY PAGE V/1500: Centenary Datafile 164Published:
All jokes aside, the Handley Page V/1500 was proof that in some situations size does matter. At the time when military aviation was still somewhat in its adolescence, the controversial idea of dropping a significant bomb load on an enemy target 500 miles away (and flying over a substantial body of water in the process) meant finding an appropriately large and powerful aerial vehicle to carry out the mission. The Germans had used huge zeppelins to bomb London, but some in Britain believed it a better strategy to use an aeroplane to return the favor. Thus was born a scheme to build a ‘Super’ bomber…actually a ‘Super’ Handley Page bomber, capable of carrying up to 30 250-lb. bombs. Centenary Datafile 164 tells the story of how the enormous four-engined Handley Page V/1500 bomber… more |
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Lockheed F-94B StarfirePublished:
When the fledgling United States Air Force sought a jet-powered interceptor to replace the piston-powered P-61 Black Widow and P-82 Twin Mustang, they selected the Curtiss-Wright XF-82 Blackhawk. When the prototype didn't live up to expectations, the USAF turned to the one company that had an effective jet-powered fighter in service - Lockheed. As with the piston-powered interceptors, the new turbine-powered machines would have to have a two-man crew… one to fly the aircraft, the other to operate the intercept radar. Having developed the successful T-33A, a two-seat trainer variant of the F-80 Shooting Star, Lockheed was given the green light to create an interceptor out of the T-33A in an accelerated development program. Lockheed stretched the airframe enough to accommodate… more |
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Windsock World War Centenary Vol.30, No.2Published:
Windsock WWC Summer 2014 is the second issue of Volume 30…and/or the second edition of the first centenary year of Albatros’ rebranded publication. It provides readers with a substantial amount of WWI aircraft modeling information and both historical and technical reference. An extended FRONT LINE NEWS section leads into the regular columns: OUR READERS GALLERY (Featuring two very well-built Nieuports) and LOGBOOK ENTRIES (Reviewing 4 new titles) before getting into the meat of this issue. What follows is a 3+ page article (complimented by multiple color photos) about an impressive large scale radio-controlled Avro 504K powered by a fully operational 1:4 scale Bentley rotary engine that makes this unique combination fly as well as it looks! In the editor's third ‘Coloured… more |
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The Spanish Civil War 1936–39 (1)Published:
Number 495 in Osprey’s Men-at-Arms series provides a concise, yet reasonably comprehensive description of the Spanish Civil War…explaining its causes, listing a chronology of events and describing those who fought on the side of the Nationalists. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 (1) Nationalist Forces delivers a lot of information about a significant event in the history of 20th Century warfare within its modest 48-pages. The Spanish Civil war was sparked by a military uprising in July 1936, following years of turmoil within a heavily Catholic country struggling with social reforms and the demands of an impoverished populous. In the author’s introduction, he describes the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39, as the major international event of the 1930s and the curtain-… more |