Osprey Publishing provides many different lines of aircraft information books for the enthusiast. These include the Aces series, the Elite series, the Dual series, and others. This latest series, Air Vanguard, seems to combine the best of the other series and really seems to be aimed at the modeler as well as the aviation enthusiast.

Good news – Hasegawa has re-issued its Skyraider kit, too long absent from the hobby store shelves. Their first boxing comes with decals for an aircraft of VA-65 from the USS Enterprise – featured on the box art – plus optional markings for the CAG aircraft of VA-165 aboard the USS Oriskany. You’ll see two models in an accompanying photo, but note there’s only one model in the box – I thought it’d be a nice comparison to show off the alternate decal markings provided in the kit by building a second A-1, pulled from my kit stash. There’s only one set of common markings in the kit (insignia, wing walks, instrument panel, etc.) so I used these items from the second kit’s sheet.

Comparing the sprues, the re-issue is identical to the first release I built when this nice kit first appeared on the market many years ago. The clear parts are packed in their own separate poly bag to prevent scratching them.

History

Numerous experienced Polish pilots served in England, and although they were not technically part of the RAF, they served in special units and distinguished themselves in combat. By the time that the Spitfire XVI was available, the war was nearly over, and although the type was not generally flown in combat (one Polish pilot flew Mk. XVI’s with No. 602 Sqdn.), numerous Polish units operated these aircraft in the immediate postwar years. With the disbanding of the Polish Air Force in Britain in 1946-1947, about 500 Poles joined the RAF and served with various units. The Spitfires were eventually scrapped, and of several that were given to the Polish government after the war for museum displays, none survived. The Communist Government wanted to de-emphasize the role of Poles in the RAF during the war, as there were also Poles flying with the Soviets.

Thank you to Bruce Herke of Osprey Publishing and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me the opportunity to review this in-depth and sobering history of the Army Air Corps’ operational role in the D-Day invasion. Author L. Douglas Keeney provides compelling descriptions of the challenges, dangers, and slim survival odds of European air operations.

This issue represents a milestone for SAM. This is the inaugural issue for Volume 35. Thirty five years of providing a high quality publication to the modeling community is a momentous event and SAM deserves a “Well Done” for that remarkable achievement.

Even if this issue were not the launch for Vol 35, it would have caught my attention immediately. There, on the cover, is one of my favorite modeling subjects. In any scale, the Ju-87 has always been an enjoyable project for me, and in 1/32nd, by Trumpeter, well, it just doesn’t get any better than that. In 9 pages of richly detailed text, Editor Jay Laverty shares the tools and techniques he used to produce an excellent model of the Ju-87B-2.