Written by Donald Nijboer and illustrated by Jim Laurier and Gareth Hector, Spitfire V vs C.202 Folgore: Malta 1942 from Osprey Publishing covers what is generally considered to be the best fighters for their respective air forces: the Spitfire Mk. V and the C.202 Folgore. This 60^th book in the Duel series provides extensive accounts of the clash between these two classic World War II aircraft in the skies above Malta in 1942

Tracing the lineage of both aircraft back to the Schneider Trophy S 6B and MC 72, the book lays out the technical issues that went on to make the Spitfire Mk V and the C.202 such outstanding fighter aircraft. Moving forward to the war years, the author sets the stage for the massive dual that saw these two aircraft meet over Malta. To quote the author, “The history of these two fighters will forever be linked with the savage air battles that took place over the skies of Malta in 1942.”

This is another of the marvelous Eduard 1/144 kits. Previously I’ve done the Spitfire IX, both c and e wings, the MiG-21s (all three) and the Ju-52 military. All have been nicely crafted, with good fit and interesting markings. This one is no exception.

The Aircraft

By early 1943 the Luftwaffe no longer held air superiority over the Soviet Union, at least not sufficient superiority to prevent Russian fighters from interfering with dive-bomber operations. The Stuka Geschwaders lost eight of their Knight’s Cross Holders during the battles around Kursk. The Stukas were generally replaced by FW-190s and Bf-109s in the ground attack role.

The RLM (German Air Ministry) was also worried about the vast numbers of enemy tanks on the Eastern Front, and wanted an effective way to stop armored offensives. The Henschel Hs-129 was a potent anti-tank weapon, but its twin-engine design and large fuel tanks reduced its’ ability to survive ground fire.

Windsock Worldwide, which has taken on the name of Windsock World War Centenary, continues to produce one of the finest resources for all who are interested in modeling WWI aircraft. With the centennial of World War One upon us, there has been an uptick in scale modeling of Great War subjects, both in armor and especially in aircraft. As someone who has focused the majority of my modeling career on World War One biplanes, it is heartening to see the revival that is going on in this field of model building. A lot of this has to do with the emergence and success of Wingnut Wings. This has not been lost on the Windsock publications, as they give ample coverage to all news related to Wingnut Wings, and reviews of their latest kitsets.

Airfix’s 1/72 Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.3 represents an important version of this aircraft, as recounted on the side of the box: “Developed in the 1960s as the first truly successful V/STOL combat aircraft, the Hawker Siddeley Harrier proved a revelation upon entering service in its earliest from, the GR.1. However, some improvements could be made and this came in the GR.3, which featured better sensor in the nose and tail, as well as a more powerful version of the Rolls Royce Pegasus engine. The GR.3 was the first of the Harrier variants to see combat, joining Operation Corporate, the re-taking of the Falkland Islands, engaging Argentinian Forces in ground attack missions. Replaced by the GR.5 Harrier II, the GR.3 proved itself to be a capable and successful aircraft.”

MRC-Academy's latest release from Gallery Models is the 1/48 scale HH-34J USAF Combat Rescue version of the H-34. Previous versions have included the USMC H-34 Chocktaw and the H-34 US Navy Rescue. This is the unarmed recue version and comes with markings for a USAF version as well as German SAR version. Both markings are primarily silver. The kit is primarily styrene but there are two nice photoetch frets for screens and smaller parts.

The build starts with the interior and the interior is complete and full length. Starting from the front, there is a full front engine compartment, a well done cockpit and full crew area. Behind this is the tail of the helicopter and it is ribbed and has its bulkheads. The engine is 40 parts alone and looks great when done. Watch alignment on this carefully- the engine exhaust protrudes through the side and if alignment is off a little, it will not line up with the doors.