Wayne Mutza has written his second book on American Fire Apparatus aimed at the scale modeler. This volume covers Aerial Equipment and, from Don Greer’s paintings on the front and back covers to the more than 300 color and black and white images inside, it is a feast for the eye.

The introduction explains that by the late 1800s the increase in multi-story buildings brought on the organization of the first Hook and Ladder Companies. They arrived at the blaze carrying multiple ladders and pike poles, or “hooks”, for pulling down walls and ceilings. American LaFrance purchased the patent for a wagon-mounted ladder raised by a worm gear and fitted with a tiller seat from Daniel D. Hayes of the San Francisco Fire Department. The Hayes Aerial went into production in 1881.

The Author

This book is the English translation from the French by Jennifer Meyniel and the author. I have to say that it is a very good translation, as the text is very readable. I finished this book in one evening, during the commercial breaks in a couple of favorite Tuesday evening TV shows.

Mr. Carbonel has taken the time and trouble to track down many of the players in the Matchbox plastic model division, done interviews and has done pretty extensive research on this subject. I had never heard of him, but apparently he is a respected author and aviation authority in France.

The Book

There are four sections:

1. 1973 – The Range
2. The AMT-Matchbox Era
3. The Twilight Period
4. Under German Control

Each section is divided into chapters covering one year, although some years are skipped late in the book, as not much happened after 1997.

The August offering from Model Art Modeling Magazine starts off with 44 pages of photos and text (in Japanese, with an occasional English subtitle) dedicated to the F6F Hellcat, with reviews of Eduard, Hobby Boss, and Monogram kits, among others, from 1/144th scale up to 1/48th. A wealth of close-up photos showing trouble spots and finished kits is available for aficionados of this aircraft.

Next comes 5 pages of information about Japanese Navy destroyers, illustrating differences from 1933 through 1945 with photos of 1/700 kits for illustration. This is followed by several pages of walk-around detail shots of a JASDF H-21, very useful for modelers of this subject. This appears to be a monthly feature, the H-21 being August.

Among the companies offering ways to weather and complement the realism of your scale models a new competitor has emerged. The company ModelMaker Z is now offering Pigment Powders. A selection of 17 unique colors with descriptive names such as Dark Russian Dirt, South East Asian Mud, Old Rust, Medium Rust, and Panzer Gray Fading are available. The ultra-fine pigment powders are packaged in clear half-ounce bottles with screw-on lids. Powder Pigments likes to say the bottles are transparent because “Quality and Value are Clear”. Each 1/2-oz. bottle retails for $5.00 and is available from your local Hobby Shop as well as direct from the ModelMaker Z web site.

Alpha Precision Abrasives is a manufacturer of industrial abrasives. It also has selection of abrasive tools for the hobbyist. Master Detail is packaging a selection of Alpha Precision Abrasives products into an introductory package. The package includes

• 1/8-inch Sanding Files (100/180; 120/240 and 240/320 grit)
• 3 Plastic Sanding Needles (150, 240 and 320 grit)
• Micro Finish Cloth Abrasive Sheet (3200, 3600, 4000, 6000, 8000 and 12,000)
• Abrasive Cleaning Disk

The sanding files are really nice. They bend enough as to follow curved parts without damaging or deforming them, while still have enough ‘hardness’ as to get the sanding job done. You can clean them and re-use them several times (see below). They are color coded in each side for a different grid, however the 100/180 are both white, making difficult to know which grit is the one being used.