May 2021

Book Author(s)
Anthony Cooper
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
Company
Fonthill Media
MSRP
$45.00

This book covers Australian Sunderland operations against the U-boats in Europe in 1942 to 1943. The book is divided into 10 chapters along with an introduction and three appendices, telling the stories of Nos. 10 and 461 Squadrons and their exemplary service in the RAF’s Coastal Command. Serving from UK territorial waters to the Bay of Biscay these Sunderland crews faced the many hazards of weather, long patrols over sea, German fighters, and flack.

These two squadrons were responsible for sinking 11 German U-boats and one Italian submarine. Of the 54 aircraft used by these squadrons, 23 were lost. 12 were shot down by enemy aircraft, 6 crashed on takeoff or landing, 1 disappeared after an SOS and another was lost at sea, after engine failure, 1 was shot down by a U-Boat, 1 exploded while in flight and another crash landed on an airfield.

Book Author(s)
Robert Pied, Nicolas Deboeck
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
HMH Publications
MSRP
$31.00

I discovered HMH Publications and Duke Hawkins Series recently and they are quickly becoming favorites of mine. The quality of the content that is covered (i.e level of detail) and the printing are fantastic. The paper quality is super, with a satin finish. All pictures are in color, with proper exposure and very sharp focus, so all details are crisp.

The pictorial book is split in the following sections: Types, Forward Fuselage, Fuselage, Air Intakes, Wings, Cockpit, Front Landing Gear, Main Landing Gear, Vertical Tail, Maintenance, Engine, Pylons, Action and then an extra 20 pages on the Mirage 5 and Mirage 50.

As you can see, the pictures have very descriptive and relevant captions, helping you understand what detail is being highlighted in each image. Not only you are getting all the walk-around images you need for your build, you are also learning details of the aircraft as you read along.

Review Author
Tim Wilding
Published on
Company
Das Werk Scale Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$29.99

This munition hauling vehicle kit comes is a small, 7 inches by 11 inches, sturdy box. There are three tan color sprues individually wrapped in plastic, a separate hull and a small bag with four track lengths. I am not sure why this bag is in the kit, because the tracks are all on a sprue. I did not need to use them. The small decal sheet has 11 decals on it. The instruction booklet is small too, 9 inches by 7 inches. It has an antique paper look with seven steps on eight pages. The front shows Das Werks and Amazing Hobbies logos, so that tells me this is a partnership between these two model companies. The assembly instructions are typical line drawings and easy to follow. There are four full color painting and marking guides on the last two pages with Ammo by Mig color information. There are no photo-etched or clear parts.