I have long respected WWI era plane modelers. I respect 1/72 WWI era plane modelers even more. And now, I question my sanity after tackling this one. This is not a kit for a novice or even an uninterested intermediate modeler. With the right skill set and some other kits under your belt, and you want an Ansaldo S.V.A. 10, then this is your kit.

The Italian Ansaldo S.V.A. (Savoia-Verduzio-Ansaldo) was an interesting late WWI aircraft. Originally designed as a fighter, the S.V.A. 5 was determined to be inadequate for the role. However, its impressive speed, range and operational ceiling made it an excellent reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber. The S.V.A. 9 and 10 were essentially the same aircraft, with the former primarily an unarmed training aircraft, with its cockpit configured accordingly. The S.V.A. 10 was developed as a reconnaissance and light bomber aircraft that found success during the later stages of WWI and a successful export model in the post-war world.

In the Box

The kit is a typical top opening box with 11 gray sprues, 1 clear parts sprue, 1 photo-etched (PE) sheet, and 1 die-cut masking sheet for the clear parts. Academy takes advantage of slide-molding to add more detail in raised rivet and recessed panel lines and the results are impressive. Also of note, sprue B & D comes from the AH-1Z Viper kit (Kit No: 12127) since in real life both helicopters use the same parts. For a list of unused parts, see page 14 in the bottom right of the instructions.

The box art is beautiful. For modelers who are wavering on owning this kit, it will help push them over the edge to build this Venom or add it to the collection.

The following is taken directly from the publication:

The REFERENCES series books are a compilation of photographs, illustrations and drawings already published in other KAGERO PUBLISHING series as well as content that have not been released there yet due to lack of space. The REFERENCES will also feature previously unedited material.

What You Get

An 8.5 x 11.5 soft-bound book.

A small set of decals for Bf 110 C-1, L1 + IH in 1/72 and 1/48 scale.

The book has a glossy heavy card-stock cover enclosing 26 pages of heavyweight paper. All photos are black and white. Text/captions are in the original Polish with English translations underneath.

The first 12 pages contain 13 photos of Bf 110 C variants C-1, C-2, C-4, and C-7.

Background

The following is taken directly from the publication.

The REFERENCES series books are a compilation of photographs, illustrations and drawings already published in other KAGERO PUBLISHING series as well as content that have not been released there yet due to lack of space. The REFERENCES will also feature previously unedited material.

What You Get

An 8.5 x 11.5 soft-bound book.

A small set of decals for Ju-87D-1 T6+BC in 1/72 and 1/48 scale.

The book has a heavy glossy card-stock cover enclosing 30 pages of heavyweight paper. All photos are black and white. Text/captions are in the original Polish with English translations underneath.

The first 11 pages contain 18 photos of Ju-87D variants D-1, D-3, and D-5 as well as detail views of the cockpit, under-wing drop tank mounting, drop tank, and gun pod.

The latest journal of Cross & Cockade International — Winter 2019, features photographs of Sopwith Pups on the front cover, rear cover, and rear inside cover. These pictures all support the John Grech article on 2^nd Lt. Patrick Alva O’Brien. The front cover photograph is of POW Lt. S.S. Hume behind a downed Sopwith Pup, A7340, of 66 Squadron that was lost in action on May 27, 1917.

Cross & Cockade International is a non-profit UK-based group known as the First World War Aviation Historical Society that publishes their journal four times a year. They also provide a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publish WWI-themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS USA. This journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front.