History

The book deals with the Japanese attacks on various bases and towns in Northern Australia during World War II. After the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Japanese had apparently decided not to try to invade Northern Australia, as they were having too hard a time in the islands to the north. They did carry out a series of air attacks against Australian targets through 1944, using Navy and Army aircraft in substantial numbers. The book details every attack, telling what aircraft and people were involved, the effect of the raids, and the losses and casualties. The Allied side is also discussed in detail, showing the effect radar had on interception, and the limited success of the Allied Spitfires and P-40’s against the Japanese Nell, Betty, and Helen bombers, and also against their Mavis and Emily flying boats.

The Publication

This publication is a follow up from the author’s Guide #6, Building the Williams Bros. Curtiss C-46A Commando in 1/72 Scale. To get the complete information, it will be necessary to obtain a copy of both publications.

This publication gives a brief statement on the development of the C-46A, and the fact that the Williams Bros. kit is the only one available in 1/72 scale, that is, if you can find one. The author has collected a large selection of period photos of the C-46A in production and in service with the U.S.A.A.A.F. Although the photos are all in black and white, and there is no color information presented, the photos provide enough information for you to build any number of models of the C-46A. These are only in USAAF markings. There is no information on the C-46A in foreign or civilian service. There is no coverage of later models.

The McDonnell/Douglas F-4 Phantom is arguably one of the best all time fighter aircraft ever made. Developed for the US Navy as a long-range all-weather fighter aircraft the Phantom saw a large number of variants for the Navy, Air Force and a host of foreign users. This book tells that story in a concise, well written and interesting manner.

Written by British author Martin B. Bowman the book The Phantom F-4 is a soft bound volume that contains 144 pages in four chapters in addition to acknowledgement and introduction sections. There are 120 black and white photos throughout. Brought to us here on this side of the Atlantic by Casemate Publishers the color cover, by Dominic Allen features two German Phantoms, two Marine birds and two in flight photos.

Background and History

Thanks to Wikipedia

The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin engine, variable-sweep multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom, and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (interdiction/strike) fighter-bomber, the suppression of enemy defenses, Tornado ECR (electronic/combat/reconnaissance) and the Tornado ADV (air defense variant) interceptor aircraft.

Platz Hobby produces a number of kits in 1/144 scale (currently 334 to be exact), and I was fortunate enough to receive this two-plane kit for review. In addition to the parts for two aircraft there are markings for three different planes included. Construction was quick, and the detail is very good for this scale. Modelers familiar with working with small parts should not have issues building this release, and I would highly recommend it.

There have been many releases of the F6F in its variants over the years, so I probably do not need to mention much more on the history of a plane that had over 10,000 copies released during WWII. The three goals of the Hellcat were that it had to be better than the planes it would face, that it could be built quickly in large numbers, and that it could be easily mastered by the pilots. Grumman answered the call with what was likely the definitive U.S. Navy carrier-borne fighter of the war.