A pleasant memory for me. Military Aircraft of the 1950s is a combination/reprint of four Ian Allan books released during the Cold War. I had the Jane’s equivalent growing up. A hardbound book with 306 pages of data, each page with multiple photographs of iconic military aircraft.

The first section covers British Military aircraft (including helicopters), the next section covers U.S. and Canadian fixed-wing aircraft. The next section covers “Continental” (European) aircraft. and the last section is dedicated to helicopters, which is interesting as the first two sections also have helicopters in them.

The biggest benefit for a modeler is the three-view drawings of each plane. These photographs provided an additional source of data on wing and engine placement (and landing gear for fixed gear aircraft).

While black and white photos are not overly useful as a paint guide, markings on the aircraft can be used for decal placement

Kagero has started a new series known as “References for Modelers”. This issue is devoted to the Vought F4U Corsair.

I should clarify the book is devoted to the earlier marks of the Corsair, i.e. all the “dash one” versions, including F4U-1, F4U-1A, F4U-1C, F4U-1D, FG-1D and F4U-1P.

The references include a few period pictures (black and white) plus line drawings in 1/48 scale showing mainly side views, with a few front/back or top views. There is also a series of line drawing in 1/72 which show the evolution across the marks and highlights the differences between each one of them -sort of a ‘cheat sheet’ on how to tell them apart.

There are also a dozen color profiles, mostly in US Navy service plus the booklet includes a small decal sheet (in 1/48 and 1/72) for a Corsair Mk.II coded P54 in Extra Dark Sea Grey/Dark Slate Grey and Sky underside.

Atlantis has made a name for itself reboxing vintage kits. The Neptune is typical of these older molds. There is flash due to the age and mold features that were standards of this era. According to Scalemates.com, the model was originally manufactured in 1955. Atlantis has cleaned up the mold and, given its age, it is pretty good. The kit is molded in dark blue plastic and there are 57 parts, including one frame of clear parts. Thankfully, there are fresh decals along with vintage instructions.

Syhart Decal has provided IPMS/USA reviewer corps with a wonderful decal set for the F-16AM Falcon, tail number E-006, with acolor scheme for the Royal Danish Air Force in “Dannebrog 50 Years F-16” special paint scheme in 1/72nd scale. Looking online for E-006, this F-16 variant will be an F-16A Block 20 MLU.

In the Package

There are three decal sheets provided with all the colorful anniversary colors on the two larger sheets. The third sheet is smaller and has the stencils. Markings represent how the F-16AM Falcon flew in 2024 at air shows.

A bonus is the addition of 3-D printed parts for the forward wing probes and ventral antenna under the engine intake for increased accuracy in the build.

The information sheets show all sides of the airplane. Because of the large swaths of decals, a color-coded placement guide is a nice tutorial to locate them. Exterior paint information is also provided in FS color codes and color descriptions.

Syhart Decal has provided IPMS/USA reviewer corps with a wonderful decal set for the Belgian Air Force of their F-16AM Falcon for tail number FA-87 with color scheme from the 2011 & 2012 Tigermeet in 1/72^nd scale. Looking online for FA-87, this F-16 variant will be an F-16A Block 20 MLU.

In the Package

There are three decal sheets provided with all the colorful tiger stripes on the two larger sheets. The third sheet is smaller and has all the stencils. However, the modeler will have to decide what year (2011 or 2012) to display since there are only enough decals for one jet and the only difference will be the tail markings.

A unique bonus to this decal set are the cockpit decals for the glare shield tiger striped scarf and false tiger skin covering over the ejection seat.