History

The Reggiane RE-2002 shows its ancestry, as its designers were obviously influenced by the Seversky P-35. The original RE-2000 was first flown in 1938, and since the plane had some problems, the majority of the RE-2000’s were exported to Sweden and Hungary. A few were used by the Italian Navy. Reggiane attempted to improve the design by installing a German DB-601A-1 liquid-cooled engine, resulting in the RE-2001. It was accepted by the Regia Aeronautica, but shortages of German engines, plus the fact that the same engine was used in the Macchi C.202 Folgore, restricted production to 252 aircraft. To keep the production lines going, Reggiane redesigned the plane for a third time, using a 1,175 hp Piaggio P.XIX fourteen-cylinder, intending the type mainly for the close support role. A bomb load of 1,433 pounds could be carried in a fuselage rack.

As mentioned in a previous review, Trumpeter’s new kit of the 1/32 A-4 Skyhawk is one of the better kits that Trumpeter has recently come out with, and what Quickboost did for the Air Scoops of Trumpeter’s A-4 kit is what Quickboost also did for the upgrade of the antennas for the A-4 kit.

Quickboost’s antennas kit consists of five different types of antennas in a light grey resin and can also easily be “picked” off of the sprue and sanded so as not to hurt the design of the part. The antennas are so precise and real looking that they do enhance the look of the model. However they are very, very fragile and should be glued to the kit as one of the last parts to assemble, especially if there will be a lot of handling before completion.

This book contains interviews with four prominent Luftwaffe fighter pilots who fought from the Spanish Civil War until the end of the war in Europe in 1945. They are candid about their combat experiences, dealing with the corrupt Nazi civil government and their dislike and contempt for RFM Goering and Hitler. It presents an interesting look into World war II as viewed from “the other side.”

Interview number one is with 197 victory ace Walter Krupinski. Serving mostly on the Eastern Front, his insight into combat in that arena is very interesting. Krupinski concluded his flying career with the West German Air Force after learning to fly jets in the US post-war.

After reviewing Lifelike #72-021 for Messerschmitt Bf-109s, I opened this set and found it difficult to resist working on a Tamiya 1/72 Fw-190A-3 that I had started dry fitting a few months ago. Lifelike’s set #72-022, much like the Bf-109 set, offers a number of appealing decal options that beg almost immediate attention.

Included on the two small sheets packaged in the zip-lock sleeve are markings for:

This book contains all a modeler would need to build and super detail a model of the Storch in any scale. The book also includes scale plans in 1/72, 1/48 and 1/35. These plans were first rate.

The first 62 pages cover the basics of each and every variant of the Storch. The next 30 pages cover each of the many non-German operators of the type, also including those captured examples that were operated by both the United Kingdom and the USA. Even Gen. Eisenhower had one for his personal use. The many color profiles of these non-German Storchs help provide many alternate paint schemes to the modeler. The next 10 or so pages cover the technical description and the camouflage and markings.

The final section includes many color photos of both aircraft preserved in museums and flying examples. The photos cover every angle and look into every nook and cranny on the aircraft and provided information on even the smallest details.