This book is 349 pages long with 84 color photos and dozens of B&W photos. It has information on over 4000 aircraft in around 700 locations throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. Whether it be in a museum, private collection, military gate guard, junkyard or even backyard, you will find information on the preserved aircraft, wrecks, cockpits, and major sections. The book is broken down into 10 major sections. After the preface and acknowledgments there is a use guide and then sections by geographical background. These geographical sections are broken down to England, Scotland, Wales, Channel Islands, Northern Ireland, and Ireland. Each of these sections are then separated out in alphabetical order by County and City/town. All known existing aircraft or substantial remains are listed with specific locations and whether or not they are accessible to the public. The two color photo sections cover 50 pages total.

This English language book, Messerschmitt Me 309 Development & Politics, is authored by Dan Sharp and Calum E. Douglas and was published on July 3, 2024.

Valiant Wings has just released the 24^th volume in it’s Airframe and Miniature series, dedicated to the Junkers Ju88C through T models. This follows on the heels of volume 23 which covered the Ju88A through B series.

The book consists of 256 pages, including over 200 photos (of operational as well as museum aircraft), scale line drawings, color profiles, several model builds, a set of 1/48 plans and more. The contents are printed on high-quality, semi-gloss pages, with heavier stock covers. This book follows a similar format to others in the series.

The first 25 or so pages, titled “preface” (one of the more in-depth prefaces I have seen!) pick up where the previous volume ended, and dive into an historical overview starting with the Ju88C. This overview continues through later models and into post-war usage as well as captured airframes.

When I saw this kit on the review list, I decided to build it as a preview of the “Dual Combo” of single seat MiGs by Eduard I have in my stash. All I can say is I can’t wait to start them now! This issue from Platz provides parts for one two-seat MiG 15 UTI version of this famous little fighter. Included are markings for the Finnish AF as advertised on the box but also two Polish AF examples. The parts are typical Eduard with excellent surface detail perfectly delicate for this scale. Colors are given for Mr. Color, Aqueous and Tamiya paint lines. A masking set is also included for canopies, back seat blast shield and windows under the fuselage. The decals are printed by Rocketeer Decal and are up to the standard of the rest of the kit.

Eduard has provided IPMS/USA reviewer corps with a 1/72^nd scale Limited Edition P-51D Mustang “Aces of the Eighth” Dual Combo kit. In WWII, The Eighth Air Force (aka: Mighty Eighth) earned a reputation as a great warfighting organization. From May 1942 to July 1945, they flew over Nazi-occupied Europe and complied an impressive war record which included 566 Aces (261 fighter pilots with 31 having 15 or more victories and 305 enlisted gunners).

This kit has markings for twelve (12) P-51D Mustang Aces for you to choose from. The hardest part may be choosing which two (2) you will want to build.

In the Box

There are two (2) complete kits in this boxing and it is encased in a beautifully illustrated top open box. The tooling is brand new for this scale and created in 2024.