The Aero Vodochody L-29 was a Soviet and Warsaw Pact primary jet trainer developed and manufactured in Czechoslovakia. The design won a Warsaw Pact competition beating the Yakovlev Yak-30 entry and the Polish PZL TS-11 Iskra. The L-29 competition represented a clean-sheet approach and gave the Eastern bloc its first jet trainer not derived from a fighter. Rugged and reliable the L-29 has since been surpassed by the Aero L-39 and other aircraft, but it continues the soldier on in the air forces of former Soviet client states or break-away republics. Georgia is a notable example, since it has an aircraft manufacturing infrastructure in Tbilisi, and its L-29s are in a state of excellent repair.

Specialty Press and Crecy Publications bring us an outstanding study of the Ju-88 airplane. The book has a total of 15 chapters, which covers the historical backdrop under which the Ju-88 was developed, includes very detailed analysis on other prototypes and German bombers, even allied bombers in a similar class and then it delves into the evolution of the Ju-88 from the A-1 model, to the late war models and the long range maritime fighter patrol.

The chapters are

This datafile, written by the great J. M. Bruce was originally published in 2000. It has long been sold out and has now been reprinted in limited quantities. This is great news for aviation enthusiasts who missed the book the first time and also to modelers who are the proud owners of recent kits from Roden and from Wingnut Wings.

This datafile is larger than most at 42 pages and the pages are full of great photos, a detailed discussion of the Felixstowe aircraft and detail photos of such areas as the cockpit, construction, armament etc. An excellent feature of the book is a discussion of Camouflage and Markings written by Ray Rimell which covers some of the great dazzle schemes applied to the Felixstowe. Profiles of these schemes are contained on the rear cover. As usual with the datafile series, detailed 1/48 and 1/72 scale multi-view drawings are included. These also contain information of the beaching trolley.

History

First flown in 1935 and making its combat debut in 1936, the Ju 87 was used until the end of the war, first as a dive bomber (Until the Luftwaffe lost air superiority and it became easy pickings for allied fighters), then as a tank buster, and finally as a night attack/harassment aircraft. Arguably its biggest contribution was the fact that it became the propaganda symbol of German air power and the Blitzkrieg victories of 1939–1942. Roughly 6500 Ju 87s of all types were built from 1936-1944.

The Kit

Upon opening the box you will find an 8 page color instruction booklet, 2 sprues of injected plastic molded in grey, a VERY small photo etch fret, 2 separately bagged canopies and a very nice decal sheet. The plastic is very clean and crisply molded… but panel lines?? They are really finely done but at this scale I’m not sure they are necessary. The P/E fret is…well….small and had me wondering if my eyes were going to handle this well!

The Focke-Achgelis Fa330 was was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a gyroglider or rotor kite. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II to allow a lookout to see farther. Despite its advantages, the use of the FA 330 only resulted in a single sinking when U-177 used one to spot, intercept, and sink the Greek steamer Efthalia Mari on 6 August 1943.

The Allies came into possession of an FA 330 in May 1944 when they captured the submarine U-852 intact. After the war, the British government did successful experiments towing FA 330s behind ships and jeeps, but the development of the helicopter quickly occupied the attention of the military.

Fly models recently came out with two new kits in 1/32 scale, the Arado 234 Blitz jet bomber, and the Fa330 gyroglider. I am a big fan of odd and interesting German World War II aircraft and did not have one of their rotary wing craft in my collection. I couldn’t pass up the chance to give this kit a shot.