The Junkers JU-52/3m was to the Luftwaffe what the Douglas C-47 was to the American military during World War II. Stemming from Junkers’ World War I all-metal designs, the JU-52 first appeared in 1931 as a large, single engine transport, the last of which was produced during 1935. Only a few were built, but the trimotor JU-52/3m first flew in 1932, and it was an immediate success, being sold to Bolivia and Colombia as well as other European governments. Lufthansa began operating the type in 1932. Powered by a variety of engines, including a Diesel, the type quickly became a standard airliner during the middle thirties, and when the clandestine Luftwaffe was created after Hitler’s rise to power, the JU-52 was adapted as a bomber, seeing service in Germany and during the Spanish Civil War. It was World War II, however, that proved the versatility and usefulness of the type, and it was said that it was used for every military role possible except as a fighter.

This little paperback is intended to provide modelers with examples of the various colors that are normally used in plastic modeling. It is organized according to nationality and service, beginning with primary colors, fluorescent colors, and a list of Mr. Color shades. The nationality colors lists begin, naturally, with Japanese Army and Navy, followed by Luftwaffe, RAF, US, US Contemporary, Israel , Japanese SDF, Car Model Colors, WWII German AFV’s, NATO German AFV’s, Allied AFV’s, IJA AFV’s, JGSDF AFV’s, Ship Colors, and Rail Colors. Some colors have FS numbers, and the Luftwaffe RLM numbers are provided. Also included are several shades of silver, and at the extreme back, there are some colors listed that are probably commercially available model paints.

Having no knowledge of this series of MiniArt kits, I was expecting about 5 pieces of resin to clean up, prep, slap together quickly, paint and weather. Wrong! One finds upon opening the box 464 grey plastic pieces on 48 sprues. However, there are only 3 different sprues, each repeated 16 times. Instructions are line illustrations on two double-sided 8x11 sheets, and are pretty straightforward – more on this later. When the dust has settled, you will not only have a brilliant diorama accessory but also a number of extra parts left over which will be extremely useful for the diorama hound.

Several weeks ago, I attended a change of command ceremony for a unit of the United States Army Special Forces at Ft. Bragg. My mind was still full of memories of Ft. Bragg and the visit to the Airborne & Special Operations Museum when this book became available for review. I jumped at the chance to do the review. Thank you SAM Publications for providing the review sample.

The Bell “Hueys” have been a workhorse of rotary wing groups in many air forces for decades. The UN-1N/Bell 212 is the twin engine of the ‘Huey’-family, sporting an enlarged fuselage.

This kit is a re-issue of the venerable “Twin Huey” from Italeri. The kit comes in two sprues (molded in medium gray plastic) plus a third sprue of clear parts. There is no flash and no ejector pin is located in any visible area. (Good engineering there!) The sprues include 7.62 mm machine guns. Decals look very nice, although the green on the Italian national markings seems to be a little bit out of register.