The A-26 was a late arrival to World War II but it was the epitome of the medium attack bomber. Designed to replace both the B-26 and the A-20 Havoc, the A-26 was faster and more robust than either design. With crew of two or three (depending on which version) the Invader was a single pilot aircraft that carried fewer crew members into battle with a bigger bomb load. The A-26 would soldier-on through to the Vietnam conflict, quite an accomplishment for a twin-engine medium bomber.

This book is typical of this series of books; a soft bound book contains 96 pages filled with b/w and color photos. Included in the center section are 30 color profiles that will provide plenty of inspiration and information for the modeler. The text is informative and interesting; both easy to read and quite informative. I thoroughly enjoyed the first-hand accounts of the pilots and ground crew.

(Editor’s note: The reviewed publication, published in 2008, has been superseded by “Frequently Asked Questions about Techniques used for Painting Aircraft”. Published in 2010 under the same ISBN Number 978-84-96658-18-9. Despite the slight change in title there is little or no difference according to Casemate.)

Continuing with the now familiar and highly respected F.A.Q series of how-to modeling books from Andrea Press, comes JM. Villalba’s “Frequently Asked Questions about Techniques Used for Constructing & Painting Aircraft”. The 159 page book comes to us in a perfect-bound soft cover, printed in full color (except for the chapter cover pages) in an 11 3/4” x 8 1/4” format.

Helicopter gunships evolved from the need to provide close quarters combat for the Army. While we think this is a natural thing, the earliest attempts to arm helicopters were frowned upon. It wasn’t until the French started to put guns on some of their aircraft that the US Army took notice. What followed was nothing short of phenomenal culminating with the first purpose built armed helicopter then onto a battlefield essential tool.

Mention “hack” in today’s society and most people think of something to do with computers. Mention the same word to aircraft modelers and we think of utility aircraft such as Norsemans, Bobcats, Piper Cubs, etc.

”Hacks” is the story of those aircraft used by the Bases and Groups of the Eight Air Force in England during WWII. The book has a soft cover with the complete text in English and consists of 132 pages, 267 photos and 195 color profiles. Besides the more common utility type of aircraft, hacks included War Weary Thunderbolts and Mustangs, Bostons and Forts and many other types. These are details with at least one picture, a profile and a little bit of data.

The book starts out with a numerical listing of the USAAF stations in the United Kingdom between 1942 and 1945. There are 360 bases listed.

Osprey Publishing’s latest monograph (Book # 31 in their Duel series) focuses on the largest World War I battleships, the Dreadnoughts, and the epic 1916 clash between the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Kaiser's High Seas Fleet. Author Stille (CDR USN ret.), makes the technical material understandable to the layman, and is ably assisted by the illustrators, whose drawings and maps clarify the ships’ layouts and the battle tactics. I read the chapters in order, and found them well organized, with the climactic Battle of Jutland saved for last. The reader, depending on his previous knowledge of the subject, may choose any particular chapter of interest. The book is an excellent starting point for naval history buffs, war gamers and ship modelers. I selected the book to learn more about World War I naval history, and for info on building a dreadnought ship model in the future.