What's a decent diorama builder to do if you want to pose your plane with a boarding ladder? Plusmodel to the rescue! They have recently released a series of 1/48th scale boarding ladders for several planes. This one if for a F-105F/G (the two seat version) and could be used with either the Hobbyboss or Revell kits and it is INJECTION MOLDED!!!!!

Recently Academy has jumped on the bandwagon of World War 1 related items by re-releasing a couple of their older 1/32^nd scale aircraft. This one is the ubiquitous Nieuport 17. This new commemorative edition features new decals for three aircraft, a little string for rigging, and a small photoetch sheet for details.

Having built this model a number of times over the years, I still consider it one of the best offerings Academy has ever done of a WW1 aircraft. It captures the lines of this scrappy little fighter quite well. The only notable exception is the upper wing gun, which doesn’t to my eye come close to representing a Lewis gun, or any other aircraft gun of the period, for that matter.

The latest journal of Cross & Cockade International is Autumn 2014. It is the third of four journals that make up Volume 45. C&C I is the quarterly publication of a non-profit UK based organization known as The First World War Aviation Historical Society. This organization has been publishing these journals since 1970 with the objective of furthering the study of First World War Aviation History. This journal continues the organization’s mission by providing a wealth of information on varied WWI aviation subjects…this time venturing into the realm of WWI Italian aviation before covering a substantial number of more typical Allied and Axis subjects. The cover of this journal features a painting by Ken Farmer of a pair of First Section AnsaldoSVAson patrol. It serves as a precursor to the lead six-page article about the missions flown by the Ansaldo First Section.

The F-14A fighter was designed because of the failure of the F-111B and the lack of its fighter capabilities, weight, and rear visibility. It was a fourth generation, supersonic, two seat, twin engine, variable- sweep wing aircraft. It was designed using the lessons learned about fighting Migs during the Vietnam War. They took the TF30 engines, AWG-9 radar and the AIM-54 missile system from the F-111B and designed a more capable fighter aircraft. It first flew in 1970 aboard the USS Enterprise.

This kit is put out by Round 2 which is re-releasing older kits from Polar Lights, MPC and, AMT. It makes me really happy to know that I’ll be able to find some of the older kits from my childhood at more reasonable prices than the originals that are found on Ebay. Thanks for all your efforts Round 2, they are appreciated. One thing to remember about these older kits is that the molds are older and there can be a lot of flash to scrape off of the parts.

Since I spent a lot of time in Air Force radio, some time in AF intelligence, and being generally interested in communications (I have an extra-class Amateur Radio license) this book was right down my alley. Additionally, being interested in post WW2 British aircraft is also a plus with this book.

The theme here is airborne ELINT, electronic intelligence. You can learn a lot by listening to what the other guy is saying on the radio when the fighters are up and practicing interceptions or tactical support. And that’s where the British started after World War 2. When you’re flying at 20,000 feet you can hear a lot more UHF and VHF signals because these frequencies are line-of-sight communications. The higher you are, the further you can see and hear.

Up until about 1949, RAF ELINT consisted of listening to the radio communications. Everything else was considered as “noise”.