AIRfile Publication’s Operation Overlord, Volume 2 presents a wealth of illustrated aircraft profiles featuring various 8th and 9th Air Forces assets. The volume covers how they appeared in the lead-up, action, and aftermath of D-Day, along with a general overview of the distinctive markings (or more colloquially the "invasion stripes”) found on the various aircraft in-theater.

As a member of the IPMS/USA Review Corps, I have had the wonderful opportunity to review a few items now from the Polish company Master Model. The topic for this review is a new set designed to upgrade your 1/48 scale Komet. Unlike most of the sets that I have reviewed, there is no recommended kit to use these new parts on, so I chose a Dragon release that was sitting in my stash. As with any of the other releases that I have come in contact with, these parts will greatly improve the look of your Komet.

History

Chocks act as a safety device when placed under the wheels of a parked aircraft. This prevents the aircraft from rolling, especially when unattended or during an engine run-up.

Items in the Box

The units were resin cast material – white in color. One-page plans, good format.

Construction

The assembly is very basic. The cord or rope supplied looked large to me, so I used a thinner cord. (Thread: standard brown).

Finish and Detail

Used Floquil reefer yellow. I used black striping on one set of chocks. On the remaining two sets of chocks, I used the decals supplied on the instruction sheet.

Conclusion

With a slight modification, the units went together well. These units can be assembled by any inexperienced modeler. I wish to thank Profimodeller and IPMS for allowing me to review this kit.

If you are looking for a head-scratching challenge…this is the kit for you. Cyber Hobby’s new 1/72 scale kit of the Aichi D3A1 Type 99 Val is guaranteed to provide you with hours and hours of the same kind of entertainment you anticipate when buying a die-cut puzzle...but, this one carries a MSRP of $41.75.

The colorful box top painting shows a pair of wartime Vals about to deliver their payload, and the many state-of-the-art CAD illustrations and profiles on the other box panels suggest this is the best kit to reproduce the aircraft in miniature. I had hoped I would get to review this one and soon learned why my mother often said, “Be careful what you wish for.” A good-looking model is certainly possible, but only if you have reference material to consult, and begin the project with the knowledge that the guys at Cyber Hobby may have thought they were working for a puzzle company.

AIRfile’s Operation Overlord provides a detailed description of the “Distinctive Markings” carried by Allied aircraft in Northwestern Europe. Volume One is dedicated to RAF and Commonwealth aircraft, with USAAF machines to be covered in a later volume.

The production and research quality of this book is first-rate. Stiff card covers enclose over 70 glossy pages printed on thick stock. Full-color profiles are present on almost every page.

The first section of this book covers those “Distinctive Markings” carried by RAF aircraft during the portion of the War prior to the invasion of Europe. The specific markings carried by British aircraft are described and illustrated. General RAF markings practice (such as the ½-black undersides used for recognition from the ground) is covered. Also, of particular interest, markings relating to specific aircraft such as the Typhoon and Mustang are shown.