Illustrator and author, John Weal, has provided the third and final publication in the Ju-88 trilogy with the release of Ju-88 Kampfgeschwader on the Russian Front. Previously published are Mr. Weal’s books featuring the Ju-88 on the Western Front and on the North African/Mediterranean Front.

Mr. Weal is fluent in German and that ability adds significant color and detail to the text. Little details make the reading lively and interesting an added plus to the historical documentation that one normally finds in Osprey publications. For example, Mr. Weal describes a situation in which some squadron leaders are opening their flight orders and he describes the flight orders as being enclosed in a green envelope.

First, thanks to Pavla for first producing and then providing this kit to IPMS/USA for review; your excellent products continue to amaze me!

This is an extremely simple kit; yet it has complexity in the fact that it is a limited production item and therefore has ejection pin towers for cleanup. Fortunately these are all on the inside of the kit parts… it also has extremely small photoetch; be forewarned if you are an old guy like me. The overall presentation is excellent; I had little or no issues with getting things in place. The instructions are basic diagrams, showing where everything is supposed to go. I caused a minor problem in that the rear cockpit needed to be installed a bit higher than I installed it, as there are no locating pins or rails. The kit contains a runner of parts, one Photoetch fret, two excellent clear canopies, and a decal sheet with optional Luftwaffe and Soviet “captured aircraft” markings.

This is a very interesting publication. First of all, the title is misleading. This may be caused by the translation from the original Spanish and my lack of ability to do the same. If the word “Aircraft” is changed to “Aviation of the Japanese Imperial Navy” it would be more accurate.

Secondly this book is a continuation of Volume I. The interesting thing here is that the book apparently begins where the previous volume left off. By this I mean no preliminaries, such as a table of contents, publication data, or an index in the back. There is not even a prolog or introduction. It's like walking in when the movie is half over.

Quickboost now offers 1/32 scale builders a set of resin exhaust pipes for Hasegtawa’s Ki 44 Tojo kits. They are accurately sized, cast in Quickboost’s typical gray resin and feature remarkably thin sidewalls that capture the appearance of the Prototype’s exhausts quite nicely.

Unlike the kit parts that require modelers to glue together two halves to end up with a single hollow pipe, the Quickboost exhausts are already hollow and ready to use without any assembly. They are cast so they may be painted while still on the casting block. After removing them from the casting block, they will fit in place with absolutely no modification required. Just remember, because they are resin, they will need to be attached with super glue or an epoxy adhesive.

This set is recommended. My thanks to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for the review sample.

History

The Hawker MK1B Typhoon is a British made aircraft and one of the most formidable used in WWII. It was used as a bomber/interceptor and also as a ground support aircraft. Top speed of this aircraft was 417 mph. and it could climb to 20,000 ft. in 7.6 min.

The Kit

The kit is made up of injection molded gray plastic parts. The details were excellent with minimal flash and no defects.

In construction, I started with the cockpit, adding details and painting the interior portion. Prior to assembling the wing halves, the wheel well areas were painted. After assembling the fuselage and wing halves, I proceeded to put the completed fuselage, wing and tail surfaces together.