Windsock Worldwide is considered to be the “gold standard” by many historians and modelers when the subject matter is World War I aviation, and this issue will not disappoint. This issue is designated by Albatros Productions as a “Special Collector’s Edition.” That designation is well deserved. This issue was expanded to 40 pages. The flyer inserted into this issue best summarizes the contents and reads, “Apart from the World exclusive reviews of the early and late version RAF Fe-2bs and Rumpler C.IVS, there is an extended, highly-detailed, 14 page build log of the early Fe-2b by editor Ray Rimell. This heavily-illustrated stage-by-stage guide also includes contemporary diagrams from the original Parts Schedule to aid modellers seeking extra documentation.

Monday, April 15th, 1912 – While on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, New York, the White Star ocean liner RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean as a result of striking an iceberg. The tragedy resulted in the loss of 1,517 lives and forever impacted the Ocean liner industry. Billed as the largest passenger ship in the world [at the time], the Olympic-class Titanic was referred to as “unsinkable” due to its compartmented sections and watertight doors. Design flaws, however, rendered these features useless. During the night of April 14th, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg along her starboard side, causing the rivets which held her steel hull plates to break. This opened the hull along multiple compartments, something the designers had not foreseen.

“Die Erzählung des Schwarzen Ritters” is the story of a German Oberleutnant during World War II. It is, however, a fictional story that was the basis for a comic book series alternatively known as The Story of the Black Knights. For a more in-depth background, and a look at the first release in the Black Knights series, check out a previous review.

What more can be said about America’s all time greatest fighter aircraft, the North American P-51 Mustang? While pondering this thought as a modeler, I realize we have a lot of unanswered questions. As a P-51 crew chief, I am always asked off the wall questions from the P-51 enthusiasts and fellow modelers alike. Lastly, as an A&P mechanic and P-51 restoration guy, I had a few unanswered questions myself.

The Aircraft

The X-15 was the first aircraft to “officially” make a space flight. The US considers any flight that reaches an altitude of 50 miles to be a space flight, and 8 pilots met this criterion. The FAI requires 100 km (62 miles) altitude for a space flight, and two flights, both with Joe Walker as pilot, achieved this height. The X-15 also holds the record for fastest manned aircraft, at 4092 mph.

With all the publicity surrounding the X-15 program, I was surprised that there were only three built, and you can build two of them, 56-6670 and 56-6671. The third, 56-6672 could be built from the parts supplied, but you’d need serial number decals.

The Kit

This is one of Dragon’s 1+1 kits, and it comes with enough parts and decals to build two complete X-15s. You also get the wheeled dolly that was put under the landing skids to allow the X-15 to be moved after landing.