Reviews of products for scale aircraft models.

Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
David Doyle Books
MSRP
$19.00

This book provides detail photographs of the C-130 cargo workhorse and its variants.

The C-130 was the product of the US Air forces 1951 requirement for a tactical airlift aircraft capable of carrying 25,000 pounds of cargo for 1,100 miles. The winning proposal was that of Lockheed Martin that built the prototype YC-130A to start the long and impressive career of the Hercules!

I found the photos and information in this book to be fascinating and many of the photos are ones not available anywhere else. All major variations are covered in the photos and you see a lot of in-action shots.

These photos can be indispensable for any modeler building iconic aircraft. Each photo has a great description of what is in the picture, where, and when.

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
Aerobonus
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$9.00

Aires Aero-Bonus has done an excellent job with this kit. The figure consists of a head, two arms, and a body. The figure is easy to remove from the resin runner. A small saw will make that task fair easy. Some small amount of sanding will be necessary in order to attach the arms to the body. Figure painters have taught me to drill a hole in the heel of a boot and to insert a wire in order to hold the figure steady while painting. In this case, I was unable to place the hole in a boot heel. Instead I drilled the hole downward through the point at which the head will be attached to the body. With some careful sanding, the lower arms fit nicely onto the upper arm, which is molded onto the body. It is a simple chore to remove the small seams, if any appear at all, and with the arms in place the figure is ready to paint.

Book Author(s)
Darius Karnas and Artur Juszczak
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$11.99

MMP continues its “Single” series of books with no. 18, the Lockheed P-38G-15-LO Lightning. As you can see by the title, this is a very specific version of this plane and this book only covers that variant. There is no coverage of the H or J version of the P-38, just the one listed. This is also one of the versions covered in the new Tamiya 1/48th P-38.

Let’s look in the book- it is only contains 24 pages but they are packed with scale line drawings in 1/72nd scale with plan views and cross sections for the main fuselage as well as the tail booms. This is followed by operations photos in several WWII theaters of operation. There are detail drawings of the cockpit bays, landing gear, boarding ladder and engines. Exploded views of most parts are included so the reader can see how things go together. There are plenty of details so that a scratch builder or detailer has plenty to work with for landing gear and cockpit.

Book Author(s)
Carl-Fredrik Geust
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$52.00

MMP was founded in 1996 by Roger Wallsgrove, to publish "Mushroom Model Magazine". This quarterly modelling magazine was developed from "Mushroom Monthly”, a club newsletter which ran from 1985 to 1995, achieving a world-wide reputation for quality articles, fearless and honest reviews, and a great sense of humor. From 1997 the magazine was produced in collaboration with Robert Peczkowski and Artur Juszczak (Stratus), which meant a big leap in print quality and design. MMP expanded into book publication in 1999, and since then they have built up a list of books on aircraft and aviation, naval, military vehicles, and military history. MMP Books are distributed in North America by Casemate Publications.

Book Author(s)
Bartłomiej Belcarz, Tomasz J. Kopański
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$35.00

MMP was founded in 1996 by Roger Wallsgrove, to publish "Mushroom Model Magazine". This quarterly modelling magazine was developed from "Mushroom Monthly”, a club newsletter which ran from 1985 to 1995, achieving a world-wide reputation for quality articles, fearless and honest reviews, and a great sense of humor. From 1997 the magazine was produced in collaboration with Robert Peczkowski and Artur Juszczak (Stratus), which meant a big leap in print quality and design. MMP expanded into book publication in 1999, and since then they have built up a list of books on aircraft and aviation, naval, military vehicles, and military history. MMP Books are distributed in North America by Casemate Publications.

Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
Company
Italeri
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$33.99

History

The Lockheed T-33A, a two seat variant of the original Lockheed P/F-80 “Shooting Star” is perhaps one of the best known non-combat aircraft used by the U.S. Air Forces, along with the Navy, Marine Corps, and many foreign air forces. First developed in 1947, the prototype was a converted F-80C fighter with a two seat cockpit and deleted armament. First designated TF-80C, production began in 1949, and the type remained in production until 1959. Navy versions were called TV-2, and later T-33B. Nearly 6,000 were produced, and the type was also used by many foreign air forces, and was also built under license in Canada and Japan. They have since been replaced by the Northrop T-38 series, but many civilian licensed T-33’s are flown by wealthy warbird enthusiasts, and they are occasionally to be seen at civilian fly-ins throughout the country. In addition, many T-33’s were assigned to Air National Guard units in the U.S.

Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
Company
Italeri
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$26.99

History

The Fiat CR-42 was a development of the CR-32 biplane fighter designed by the noted Italian designer Celistino Rosatelli. It first appeared in 1938, and featured an 846 hp. Fiat A.74 radial engine and a “warren truss” wing strut arrangement instead of the usual biplane arrangement. The plane was all metal with mostly fabric covering, and was armed with two 12.7 mm Breda SAFAT machine guns firing through the propeller arc. The idea was to produce a fast, light, highly maneuverable fighter that coupe compete with the monoplane fighters then being produced by other European countries. It was better than nearly all of the biplanes then in service, but of course was outclassed by the more modern monoplane fighters then being introduced.

Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
Company
Casemate UK
MSRP
$24.95

This book is from the Men, Battles, and Weapons series. It has 10 chapters after a timeline and introduction. The book is profusely illustrated including a few rare color photos.

Chapter one covers the Polish Campaign and the Phony war as well as early success by Galland and Pingle. Chapter two covers the war in the west. Chapter three by far the book’s largest at 21 pages covers the war over England in 1940. Chapter 4 is the lead up to Barbarossa. Chapter 5 covers the Barbarossa campaign and the 5046 claimed Luftwaffe victories between 6/22 and 9/30/1941. Chapter 6 covers the 1941 battles in Africa. Chapter 7 returns us to over the English Channel in 1941 with the last 3 chapters covering the Eastern front, over the West and the Mediterranean respectively. The book concludes with an afterward where there is discussion of the concentration on victories, promotions and honors, then the usual glossary, bibliography and index.

Book Author(s)
Robert Pied, Nicolas Deboeck
Review Author
Damon Blair
Published on
Company
HMH Publications
MSRP
$39.00

The first flight of the famous C-130 “Hercules” turboprop aircraft was on August 23, 1954, with the first production C-130 making its maiden flight on April 7, 1955. The aircraft has been in continuous production since, with over 2500 manufactured to date.

Written by Robert Pied and Nicolas Deboeck, this incredible book is an invaluable resource for modelers. Its 196 pages with over 550 photos show the C-130 in incredible detail. Photos of the interiors of the wheel wells, many open panels, and interior photos that show parts of the “Herk” that, until now, mostly maintainers saw. I was a maintainer (also known as a “Crew Chief”) who worked on C-130 “Herks” for over 25 years, and this book brought back many memories.

Book Author(s)
Robert Pied, Nicolas Deboeck
Review Author
Michael Novosad
Published on
Company
HMH Publications
MSRP
$31.00

Aircraft History - from Wikipedia

The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multi-role, single engine fourth generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air). The Mirage 2000 evolved into a multi-role aircraft with several variants developed, with sales to a number of nations. It was later developed into the Mirage 2000N and 2000D strike variants, the improved Mirage 2000-5 and several export variants. Over 600 aircraft were built and it has been in service with nine nations.

Contents

This publication is a close-up pictorial essay of the Dassault Mirage 2000 in service with the Armée de L'Air and many other air forces. Includes details of all versions, from the 2000 B/C to 2000-5 and 2000-9.