A series of books from Kagero that is new to me is the TOP COLOR Series. This issue focuses on the Bf-109 in Combat.

The book comes in a protective sleeve to keep the package safe. This is important because this 8 x 11 book contains 11 full color profiles of various versions of the Messerschmitt. Many of the profiles have four view profiles, but even those that aren’t are quite colorful. There are nine Emils, one Dora and one Friedrich. So, this book focuses on the early versions of the 109. It’s interesting to see the evolution of the markings and camouflage from the Spanish Civil War to the Battle of Britain. My two favorite ones are the desert camouflaged one with different color wings and a Jabo.

Each aircraft is captioned in English and Polish. There is a lot of cool information in there.

This is one of the rare Pacific Profiles books not written by Michael John Claringbould, although it is illustrated by him. Author Kevin Gogler is a son of a WWII Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Beaufort pilot, and this book is obviously a testament to his father and his fellow RAAF personnel who flew, and were associated, with the Beauforts and Beaufighters in the Pacific War.

From the Introduction:

“Amidst the enormous numbers of American aircraft that fought in the Pacific War, it is often forgotten that two British-designed types served operationally with the RAAF in large numbers. A combined total of some 1,280 Beauforts and Beaufighters were delivered to the RAAF and served with fifteen wartime squadrons plus a variety of training and support units.

From the publisher’s website:

REFERENCES – a new series of A-4 size volumes. Each consists of 16–24 pages and includes selected archive photos, color painting schemes or 3D renders. Some books would contain scale drawings, too. One can find high-quality decal sheets in 1/48th and 1/72nd scales of one specific painting scheme. If the illustration differs in details from the decal, we will present photos which were used to develop sheets. Series for modelers as a supplement to other publications or compilation of already published materials.

Krzysztof Dabrowski from Poland has a lifelong interest in the subject of military aviation, and has written dozens of articles on a variety of related subjects for printed magazines and the ACIG.org/ACIG.info, AeroHisto and The Boresight websites. His particular area of interest is the air warfare during the Cold War, the aircraft involved, and the experiences of their crews. This is his first instalment for Helion and he is working on a second title (Dropping the Big Ones: Live Testing of Soviet Nuclear Bombs, 1949-1962) for release in 2021.

This kit was a ‘Limited Edition’ kit, released at the 2025 IPMS/USA National Convention in Hampton Roads, Virginia. It was quickly sold out on both Eduard ‘s online store and at the 2025 Convention. The instruction booklet contains 23 pages, including some color guides for the weapons, masks and overall aircraft decal markings.

I was initially impressed with several aspects of this Eduard repackaging of the Kinetic F/A-18C, including the surface details (including recessed panel engraving), the placement of panels along the surfaces, the wing fold details, the beautiful box art, and especially the kit decals. As I began to dry fit the various subsections, the novelty wore off. From what I expected to be a beautiful kit, I quickly realized I had purchased a total rehash of the original Kinetic kit, along with what I consider to be numerous major fit and finish issues.