Reviews of books or magazines relating to scale modeling.

Book Author(s)
Thomas Anderson
Review Author
Orlando Reyes
Published on
December 3, 2023
Company
Peko Publishing
MSRP
$54.95

The book covers the history of the unit from its creation through the end of the war, and is divided into an Introduction and six sections, as well as a glossary of terms on page 2. The book refers to the unit designed first as StuGA.Abt.203 and later named StuGBrig.203. Book information was gathered from Russian archives as well as those located in Freiburg, Alexandria and Podolsk. The first chapter deals with the establishment of the unit and how they were trained. The second chapter deals with their transfer to the east. Many of the pictures in this chapter deal with the type of equipment used by the unit. These included both AFV's as well as soft skinned vehicles.

Book Author(s)
Henri-Paul Enjames
Review Author
Orlando Reyes
Published on
December 3, 2023
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$69.95

As the book title states this book is directed to the collector of U.S. Army Service Forces gear, focusing on the European Theater of Operations (ETO). The book is volume #2 of the series.

You will find everything that was used by the Gi's while in Europe! The book is divided into 24 sections with an Abbreviations section, as well as an Index.

Book Author(s)
Aniruth Rao
Review Author
Orlando Reyes
Published on
December 3, 2023
Company
Kagero Publishing
MSRP
$21.95

This is #131 of the Top Drawings series describing the G.55. The book consists of a total of 16 plan views and 5 profiles of the aircraft. The book is written in English and Polish. The first page of the book has a small history of the aircraft in both languages. You will find a single page drawing for a 1/32 scale aircraft, 3 for 1/72 scale, and 11 for 1/48 scale. There are two drawings in which 1/48 and 1/24 are combined and one in which 1/72 and 1/48 are combined as well. The large 1/32 scale drawing is a single sheet added to the book. This drawing is provided in a two-sided single page. The backside of the drawing has profiles of the aircraft for the single seat fighter as well as the trainer version.

Book Author(s)
Salvador Mafe Huertes
Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
December 3, 2023
Company
Kagero Publishing
MSRP
$37.00

This is the 87th book in the Kagero Monographs series covering aircraft in details photos and diagrams. This book covers the Eurofighter Typhoon. The book provides great detail drawings of the Typhoon, mainly from the Spanish Air Force with some coverage of the aircraft in sue with the Royal Air Force and the German Airforce.

I found the drawings in this book to be fascinating and very detailed, ideal for any modeler as reference materials. The photographs are extremely good and many I have never seen and provide great details for super detailing any scale model of the aircraft. The very details Spanish Air force chapter is extremely interesting. I would like to have seen more coverage of RAF use of the aircraft and squadron’s.

Along with the many photos there are outline drawings, schematics, and very nice profile drawings.

I recommend this book to everyone with an interest in the armor and a must for modelers.

Book Author(s)
Dennis Oliver
Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
December 3, 2023
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$29.95

This is no 38 in the Tank Craft series which details tanks and also covers model kits and accessories to build the tanks covered in the book. This book covers the Panther German Army Tank on the Italian Front 1944 to 1945. The Panzerkampfwagen V Panther was a great tank and was better that most allied. It was very successful on most fronts except Italy where the terrain was a hindrance to the performance of this tank.

I found this book contains so much detailed information and pictures of the Panther and its variants. The Profile pictures are a particular favorite and has given me a few great ideas of the color schemes for when I build my many Kits.

The chapter on the different model builds and kits are of great interest and will provide a good resource when modeling this tank.

Book Author(s)
Christopher Buckley
Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
December 3, 2023
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$24.95

This is the 1st volume of a new Key Book Historic Commercial Aircraft Series – Soviet-Era Airliners, The Final Three Decades. This book covers the history of the demise of the great soviet airliner fleet from 1991 to today. The Soviet designed and manufactured Airlines have always been fascinating with me as I watch the changes and downfall happen during this period while working in the airline industry. The chapters are fascination and give way more details that I expected in such an apparently small book.

The chapters most aspects of the decline and changes in the Soviet Airlines and its way through the historic changes happening in the Soviet world. This book does excellent work showing the main airlines world-wide using these aircraft. It goes on to explain the aircraft they used and what western aircraft were used to replace them in many cases.

All the photographs are some of the best I have seen and are great reference material.

Book Author(s)
Tom Womack
Review Author
Jim Maas
Published on
December 3, 2023
Company
McFarland Books
MSRP
$39.95

Eighty-some years after the fact, we are still learning about the Second World War, in all its global aspects. One neglected area, handsomely remedied in English by this book, is the role to the Netherlands East Indies Naval Air Service during the Japanese onslaught into the area we now call Indonesia. This book is doubtless the ultimate study on the subject, at least in English. And what a far-flung topic it is; the numerous islands of the Netherlands East Indies covered an area wider than the Continental U.S. and nearly as deep.

Book Author(s)
Adrian M. Balch
Review Author
Paul Mahoney
Published on
December 2, 2023
Company
Guideline Publications
MSRP
$26.00

This series has been around for many years, and they still continue to come out with new volumes, sometimes of little-covered subjects such as this one.

This is a softcover publication, with 44 pages in a nice, high-quality semi-gloss finish and a stiff outer cover. Publishing quality is first-rate, as is the content itself.

Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
November 29, 2023
Company
David Doyle Books
MSRP
$18.50

David Doyle is well known to historians and modelers alike, with over 200 books to his credit. His Legends of Warfare series covers many of the important machines used in warfare. This latest volume is for the Grumman F8F Bearcat. The F8F was the last and ultimate of the Grumman propeller driven fighters. Too late for combat in WWII and with the dawn and superiority in speed of the jet, the Bearcat order was cut down considerably. The only combat was while serving with the French in Indochina. Like its contemporaries, the Sea Fury, and the La-9/11, the F8F was fast and maneuverable. And like the sea Fury it survived because of that speed and maneuverability making it a favorite on the air show circuit and air racing.

The book is broken down into an introduction and two chapters. Chapter one covers the F8F-1 and Chapter two covers the F8F-2.

Book Author(s)
Matthew Willis
Review Author
Andrew Manriquez
Published on
November 29, 2023
Company
Key Publishing Ltd
MSRP
$34.95

In 1940, the British Air Commission (BAC) approached U.S. aircraft manufacturers about purchasing aircraft, particularly fighters. Curtiss presented their model 81 and planned P-46 which the BAC later ordered 480 model 81s and 960 P-46s. Lockheed presented their YP-38 prototype. North American Aviation (NAA), who as of yet had little experience with fighters, drew up a proposal for a fighter that they insisted was to be at least as good as the P-46. The BAC required assurance for NAA’s claims and that each aircraft be less than $40,000 each. Eventually the BAC ordered 400 of NAA’s fighters, even before a design was presented. The company's lead structures engineer recalled that Edgar Schmued had given the subject of a single seat fighter a great deal of thought in the previous years, called the P-51. NAA’s design team and Schmued were determined that the aircraft would be cutting edge. By the end of 1940, the first prototype, called NA-73X or XP-51, was ready for flight.