Although I must admit that my all-time favorite aircraft will always be the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, right next to it in second place is the legendary Messerschmitt 262 Stormbird (also known as the Schwalbe {Swallow}). In my stash of unbuilt kits are several boxes containing various versions of the plane, and yes, there may a double or two present. I have seen and photographed the Me 262 that is kept at the Smithsonian Air and Space museum on more than one occasion, and have several books in my personal library on this legendary fighter. Anyway, I normally start my reviews talking about the history of the item I am assessing, but thought that I would instead talk about my interest in the topic before delving into the contents of this book.

This is the first of a three-volume set being published by Kecam. This first volume covers Japanese aircraft operated by Japan’s allies during World War 2, as well as those captured by opposing forces (other than the US, UK, and Commonwealth countries), and those pressed into service by various countries in the immediate post-war period.

The book is in a softcover format, with thick stock covers and pages finished in a high-quality satin finish. Black and white photos, as well as extremely well-done color profiles, appear on almost every one of the 128 pages. There are even a few rare color photos in some sections.

The authors dive right in to the topic, with the inside front cover having a table of all Japanese aircraft operated by the subject countries. Aircraft purchased, seized, or otherwise obtained by various Chinese forces, Thailand, Kwangsi, Manchuria, Korea (North and South), Nanking, Indonesia, the Soviet Union, and France are all listed.

This year is the 30th anniversary of the Falklands/Malvinas War or the South Atlantic conflict, as it has been known. As such, different plastic model kit sets and publications are been released and The Falklands 1982, Ground Operations in the South Atlantic is among them.

The Falkland conflict included combat in the air, sea and ground. This book concentrates on the ground combat. It is impossible not to refer to the other arms in any conflict, but as the author clearly states a few times during the book, the content is devoted to the ground operations.

The book covers the operations in a chronological order, starting with the events of South Georgia in March, 1982, before moving into the Falklands itself, with the Argentine landings in April, the British landings in May, and the subsequent ground campaign in June, 1982.

If you are familiar with Air Modeller, then you have a set of expectations regarding the content. You know that the images are stunning, the layout of the content is excellent, and that the coverage of the “build” projects (usually six aircraft models in various scales featuring kits from different manufacturers) is consistent from issue to issue.

In this issue you will be treated to some excellent images of projects featuring:

This book from the series Aircraft of the Aces covers the exploits of Defiant, Blenheim, and Havocs in the RAF (with only one exception of the USAAF). It follows the chronological order of the type’s services in the RAF.

First, the book covers the day fighter role of the Defiant over Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain, when it was quickly realized the airplane needed to be flying only against unescorted bombers and therefore converted to night fighter duties. Interestingly enough Defiants and Blenheims could hold their own their own against Bf-109s, but only if flown by well-trained pilots and if the whole flight would utilize proper tactics to coordinate protection for each other.