Cross & Cockade, International (CCI) is best known for its excellent assortment of books and publications covering “The Great War” in the air. The artwork in these publications is of the highest caliber and the writing is superb.

CCI also provides calendars and IPMS has just received the 2016 version of this annual calendar. Each page features artwork by a list of artists who produce inspiring views of a moment in time. Certainly, the artists should be identified, and WWI aficionados will most certainly recognize their names.

In alphabetical order:

Windsock World War Centenary Summer 2015 is the second edition of Volume 31. This edition’s cove story features the Sopwith Pup. The main feature is a detailed build log for the Wingnut Wings Sopwith Pup. Rob Partridge is the builder and his article provides detailed descriptions and images of how to go about assembling the WNW kit. If you’ve never built a WNW kit then the Pup is an excellent starting point, and this issue will come in very handy. Later in the publication one will find a page featuring three color illustrations of some Pups. Interesting markings, to say the least. A few pages following, a Pup Portfolio is presented containing a number of images of N6205, a Pup flown by Flt Com J.S.T. Fall, No. 3 Naval RNAS. The images were taken by James Fahey of this airworthy Pup.

Background

Developed from a prototype first flown in 1947, the Beriev Be-6, NATO code name “Madge”, was an amphibious, twin-engine, maritime patrol-aircraft. Its most prominent feature was the graceful gull wing design. Powered by two Shvetsov radials rated at 2,300 hp each, the Be-6 was capable of carrying a variety of weapons such as mines, depth charges, and torpedoes, in addition to its 5X23mm cannon armament in the tail, topside turret, and nose positions. The early version had a retractable radar pod behind the rear step. Later versions replaced the stinger guns with a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) boom. The Be-6 served with both the Soviet and Chinese navies. A few soldiered on into the 1970s before the type was finally retired from service.

Eduard has released a series of WWII-era seatbelts in the “Superfabric” series. This review covers the following item:

• Seatbelts Luftwaffe WWII bombers SUPERFABRIC, Catalogue No: 49085, MSRP: $7.95

The Superfabric seatbelts are made of some sort of “rubber-like” material. They have volume -i.e, they are not flat like decals- and they have a little bit of texture like if it they were made of ‘fabric’ (pun intended).

From what I read in the Eduard website you can either apply the seatbelts “dry” directly on the painted seatbelt or “wet” if the seatbelt has been coated in Future.

I almost always like to coat my cockpits with Future (in preparation for a wash), however, in this review I choose to apply the seatbealts over a “flat surface” (i.e, just over enamel paint).

Centenary Datafile 168 is the first in a set of Datafiles that cover the Hannover CI.II/CI.IV/CI.IIIA series of aircraft. The history of the “Hawa” is presented in this issue, supplemented with 50+ period photos and six pages of technical drawings in 1/72nd and 1/48th by Mick Davis.

Included within is a discussion on the very unique and interesting geometry of the “Hawa” as well as some historical documentation in the form of the Aeronautical Engineering report on 13199/18 including notes and sketches. Modelers will find the entire publication filled with excellent detail resources, but the AE report includes some awesome sketches and drawing which can assist the modeler in adding detail to a model.

Some excellent full color artwork by Ronny Bar are presented on the back cover, both inside and out, and on the inside front cover.