Reviews of books or magazines relating to scale modeling.

Book Author(s)
Peter Ingman and Michael Claringbould
Review Author
Michael Furry
Published on
Company
Avonmore Books
MSRP
$40.00

The title says it all. This book is a comprehensive look at air campaign over Guadalcanal from November to December 1942. The text is organized into eleven chapters, conclusion three appendices, sources/acknowledgements and an index of names, ships, and military units.

Book Author(s)
Adrian M. Balch
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Guideline Publications
MSRP
$47.00

Guideline Publications is the UK's leading publisher of modeling and hobby-related magazines. With a world-class portfolio of titles and an international Social Media presence, Guideline Publications has a dedicated readership that is constantly expanding into new areas. This English language book, Warpaint 151 Hawker Siddeley HS748 & Andover, is authored by Adrian Balch with scale drawings by Sam Pearson. The latest Guideline’s Warpaint series, 151, was published in 2025. A digital edition will soon be available. News on Guidelines’ publications can be found on Facebook.

Book Author(s)
Author: The Spy Museum, Illustrators: Myriam Bell Design
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$19.95

The first paragraph in the Introduction sums up the book well,

Barry Faulkner was an artist from New Hampshire whose best-known paintings are two prominent murals in Washington, DC, in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom in the National Archives. Few people have any idea that Faulkner was also a co-founder of the American Camouflage Corps, an alliance of artists and architects in World War I who served as camouflage experts (referred to then as camoufleurs) with the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in France. Years later he remembered that, during the war, French soldiers said that camouflage was the only French word that American soldiers could pronounce correctly.

Book Author(s)
Ingo Bauernfeind
Review Author
Chris Surber
Published on
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$39.95

After reading a well-worn copy of Thomas Gallagher’s book The X-Craft Raid, I have been fascinated by mini-subs and the missions they completed or attempted during the Second World War. Three X-craft were to sink the Tirpitz at her berth in Norway, and the mission was moderately successful in that they were able to damage the German battleship in such a way she was out of action until spring of 1944. I learned that many countries produced midget submarines during the war, and Mr. Bauernfeind’s book, Midget Submarines 1939–45 covers these craft comprehensively. Molch, Biber, Seehund (Germany), Kaiten, Ha Series, Kairyu (Japan), Type Ca, Type CC (Italy), X-Craft, XE-Craft, and Welman (United Kingdom); these and more are midget submarines examined in this new Casemate publication.

Book Author(s)
Hélio Higuchi and Antonio Luis Sapienza Fracchia
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

Helion is a UK-based company that produces books on many aspects of Military History from the Late Medieval period through to the present day. Helion was established in 1996 by University of Warwick graduate Duncan Rogers. Since then, they have published over 1,200 books, with 100 or more new titles coming out every year, for readers around the world.

Hélio Higuchi hails from São Paulo, Brazil, where he was born in 1953. A hotel manager, he has degrees in Architecture and Urban Design and Marketing. A researcher of Latin American military subjects, he is a regular contributor to Brazilian periodicals Asas, Flap and Tecnologia e Defesa. He is the author of A Serviço do Generalíssimo – Os Pilotos Brasileiros na República Dominicana (In the Service of the Generalissimo – Brazilian Pilots in the Dominican Republic, 2014) and Cuban MiGs: The Defenders of Castro’s Air Force (Harpia Publishing, 2023).

Book Author(s)
Ian Baxter
Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$24.95

This volume is part of the Images of War series, which I have found to be indispensable as reference material. The book provides in-depth coverage of the numerous German military self-propelled anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns used during World War II. These weapons played a crucial role in Germany's arsenal throughout the conflict.

The publication features over 200 wartime photographs, offering both modelers and historians a wealth of visually engaging material. The book traces the evolution of these weapons during World War II, including an extensive look at tank destroyers and the Marder series in the anti-tank role. For anti-aircraft operations, the book explores a variety of unique platforms and weapon systems such as the Wirbelwind.

Book Author(s)
Mikhailo Zhirokhov
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

From the first paragraph,

The Russian-Ukrainian War that began in the spring of 2014 with the annexation of Crimea, turned into a full-scale invasion by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (VRSF) on 24 February 2022. One of the areas of attack was the northern-eastern part of Ukraine, primarily Chernihiv Oblast, which the Russian generals saw as an easy target and one of the springboards for capturing the country’s capital, Kyiv. However, in the end, for more than a month, the Russians failed to realize their plans.

Book Author(s)
William Wolf
Review Author
James Kelley
Published on
Company
Pen and Sword Books Ltd
MSRP
$49.95

William Wolf’s “Skyhookers” is a deeply researched, richly illustrated exploration of one of aviation history’s most ambitious and unusual experiments: launching and recovering fixed‑wing aircraft from giant airships. The book blends technical detail, historical narrative, and rare imagery to tell the story of how the U.S. Navy attempted to fuse lighter‑than‑air craft with early fighter technology.

Book Author(s)
various authors contributed
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
The Great War Aviation Society
MSRP
$114.00

The non-profit UK-based group known as the Great War Aviation Society publishes their journal, Cross & Cockade International, four times a year. Issues are available in English as printed [Softbound, A4 (8.27” x 11.69”), 80 pages plus centerfold] as well as digital copies (or both). A new magazine, Contact!, is now available in both print and digital download. The Society also provides a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publishes WWI-themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS-USA. This Journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front. The Great War Aviation Society also hosts a lecture series available through Zoom. If interested, you will need to register early as the call is limited in attendance.