Editor's note:This publication appears to be superseded by "Hawker Hurricane from 1937 to 1950" with same ISBN Number.

The Planes and Pilots book series published by Casemate on the British design and built Hawker Hurricane is number fourteen of the group. This eighty-three page book covers a decade of time, and Mr. Brefford’s attempt to cover reference material to attract both the historian and modeler is well done. He tells how Sir Sydney Camm was appointed Chief Engineer at Hawker and how the Hurricane aircraft became the direct decedent of the Hawker Fury. In just a few beginning pages are details covering the aircraft from design, prototype and beginning operational service status.

The Aircraft

The A6M2 Zero-sen was the best carrier-based fighter in the world from 1940 to 1942, when more powerful Allied aircraft came on the scene. Fairly fast, very maneuverable, capable of a good rate of climb, it was dominant in the Pacific at the beginning of World War II. One of the markings for the Minicraft A6M2 is from the Soryu at Pearl Harbor, the other is for the “Akutan Zero” which crash landed almost intact in the Aleutians, and was flown by the US Navy for evaluation.

The Kit

Two sprues of light gray plastic and a clear canopy. The wing and horizontal stabilizer are each one piece, with 2 fuselage halves, and a separate cowling. The landing gear is one-piece, with the wheels and gear legs molded onto the doors. A separate set of doors for “gear up” are provided, along with a bladeless prop hub. The prop is one piece, and the tail wheel assembly is all one part. There’s a one-piece fuel tank provided.

Background

The Sturmgeschutz III (Stug III) assault gun was the most produced armored vehicle by Germany in WWII. It was built on the Panzer III chassis, initially to provide infantry support but continually modified and improved growing into a very effective tank destroyer.

The Stug III F/8 was produced Sept. - Dec. 1942 with 250 being built. It introduced an improved hull similar to the Panzer III Ausf. J/L with additional armor of 30mm thickness bolted on to speed up production. It mounted the 7.5cm Stuk 40 L/48 gun that would become the standard gun carried throughout the G series.

Kit

This is one of Dragon’s “Smart Kits”. It contains over 800 light grey parts, photo etch, metal wire, and the Magic Track type individual track links. Many of the parts are slide molded and over all detail and appearance are excellent!