The D-704 Buddy Pod was an aerial refueling pod used for many aircraft to refuel others in addition to the purpose built tankers of today. The military still uses an updated version of this pod to provide in-flight refueling. It contains approximately 300 gallons of fuel. Scale Aircraft Conversions has produced one in 1/32 scale for use with the kits listed above.

This is Gary Wetzel’s second title for Osprey Publishing, a follow-up to his first, Combat Aircraft 98 - A-10 Thunderbolt II Units of Operation Enduring Freedom 2002-2007, published in 2013. Through first-hand accounts, Gary Wetzel brings the combat record of the A-10 Thunderbolt II to life. Gary Wetzel weaves in the development of the A-10A+ and A-10C through the viewpoint of the aircraft crews, units, and the ground forces they supported. In addition to the cover art and 24 color side-views by Jim Laurier, 72 color photos are included providing ample reference to Gary Wetzel’s tale.

Thanks to Airfix for providing an excellent “blast from the past” for IPMS USA to review, and to IPMS leadership for providing it to me to review.

This kit first saw the light of day back in 1961; I remember seeing the advertisements in “Flying Review International”… Yes, that pretty well dates me as a ‘60’s child. So, now that you know the heritage, what can you learn from this review?

This kit is old technology. OK… The fit is not exemplary; in particular, the nacelles for inboard engines do not fit up to the wing. Same for just about all the clear parts; there were plenty of issues with the fit of them. But it’s a 1/72 Halifax BIII.

The rivets are not huge, but they are all over the model. If you want to remove them, be prepared to spend a lot of time sanding, etc., etc. It’s how things used to be. Bring wet/dry and get busy.

If you were a British student pilot during the late 1930’s through the end of WW II, you, most likely, spent many hours in the de Havilland D.H. 82 Tiger Moth. It was the basic training aircraft for the RAF, RN, as well as the air forces of all the British Commonwealth nations. USAAF fighter pilots in England flew 11 of them as squadron “hacks” – utility planes – until the war ended. Evidently it was not that easy to fly and demanded close attention during acrobatic maneuvers to prevent a stall and possible spin. As such, however, it was deemed suitable for future fighter pilots. Though long retired from military use, over 200 are still flying today with warbird groups and other enthusiasts. This “Warpaint Series” book by Adrian M. Balch covers these stories and much more.

Mushroom Model Publication has released the second volume of the Finnish Fighter Color series. You can find a review of Volume 1 here on the reviews site.

This book, as Volume 1, is structured by aircraft type. Each aircraft type has two chapters. The first one is devoted to the historical introduction on each type including how it was procured and how it did perform in Finnish service. In many cases there are plenty of historical details on different missions including date, location, number of airplanes involved and mission kills/losses. There are no first-hand narratives of pilots involved in the action, so I suppose the information is coming from squadron records.