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Jakub Fojtik attended the Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague, achieving his Bachelor degree in Management of Security Forces, Security, and Law Studies. He followed up with a Master Degree in Management of Security Forces and a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Business Law. To top it off he achieved a Doctorate (JUDr.) in Security studies at the Academy of the Slovak Police in Bratislava and a Ph.D. in Management of Security Forces from the Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague. Jakub Fojtik is currently a University Lecturer at the Police Academy of the Czech Republic, the Vice President of Military Sales for Aero Vodochody Aerospace a.s. (Aero L-39, L-159, etc.) and an independent aviation journalist who is regularly published in aviation related journals and aviation magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Defence Helicopter, Fly Past, Flying Revue, Hobby Historie, Letectvi a Kosmonautika, 4 Rotors, and many others. He is the author of over twenty aviation books, primarily rotary wing military aircraft monographs like: Mi-8/17 Mi-8 Multipurpose Helicopter (Jakab, 2009); Mi-4: Mi-4 Multi-Purpose Helicopter (Jakab, 2011); Latest Hips [Mi-171 & Mi-17V-5 and its Subvariants] In Detail (W&WP, 2014); Albatros: Aero L39, L59, L139 (Magnet Press, 2016); Ka-50 Ka-52: Werewolf, Black Shark, Erdogan, Alligator and the Others (Kagero, 2017); Mi-28: Night Hunter and the Others (Kagero, 2017).

Warpaint's latest is their standard A4 format softbound publication that is 68 pages, not including the covers. Petr Kolmann contributes twenty-nine color side-profiles along with an upper and lower plan view. Petr Kolmann also provides two pages of 1/72 line drawings profiles, details, and cross-sections. I counted 65 clear black and white photographs and 68 color pictures. The front cover features a Petr Kolmann color side profile of 3405, a Slovakian L-29 in the final camouflage scheme used. She is now flying under the civil registration of OK-AJW with Blue Sky Service. The bottom of the front cover shows off a color photograph of Czechoslovakian L-29, cn 490902, manufactured in 1964. Note that it is painted in the Soviet style red trim paint. Czechoslovakian L-29s were later painted in a grey-blue paint scheme in the late 1980s. The rear cover features two color photographs. The upper picture depicts a Bulgarian L-29 Delphin, cn 394974, coded 118. Last registrered in the US as N20724 she was at Lancaster Regional Airport in Texas in 2015 as part of the Cold War Air Museum.

Jakub Fojtik opens up with the design and development of the Aero L-29 Delfin starting in 1955 when the Czechoslovak Ministry of National Defense issued a requirement for an advanced jet trainer. The prototype, XL-29, achieved its first flight on April 5, 1959, with flight testing following. Early 1961 saw a Soviet flyoff between the L-29, the TS-11 Iskra, and the Yakovlev Yak-104 (Yak-30). Despite the usual political machinations, the Aero L-29 was subsequently chosen as the Warsaw Pact standard trainer. Over 3,600 aircraft were manufactured, with production ending in 1974. After an excellent discussion of the L-29’s development, the next section is devoted to operational use by country to the tune of 40 pages. The Aero L-29 was succeeded by the Aero L-39 Albatros as the preferred jet trainer for the Warsaw Pact nations. The Delphin saw combat in the 1960s Nigerian War and was utilized by Egypt in the 1973 Yom Kippur War against Israeli tanks. Once replaced in the Warsaw Pact training roles, the Aero Delfin saw use by aerobatic teams and even raced at the Reno Air Races, although non-military use is outside the scope of this volume.

The bottom of Page 7 depicts a color photograph of the Aero XL-29 prototype with a dark blue flash mid-fuselage from nose to tail. The color photograph at the top of the page shows off the three competitors at Monino in the fly-off: the Aero L-29, TS-11 Iskra, and the Yakovlev Yak-104. You can see the special markings utilized by XL-29 on Page 12 in the third side color profile. The top two L-29 Delfins are marked in standard Russian markings, the rear fuselage red stripe, outside of the country roundels. The Czechoslovakian L-29 at the bottom the page clearly does not have the standard Russian rear fuselage red stripe. Petr Kolmann also provides the 1/72 line drawings for the late series L-29. Page 35 shows off Petr’s line drawings for the early series L-29 and the L-29R Reconnaissance variant. The Recce variant is fairly easy to spot with the ventral fairing housing the cameras directly beneath the cockpit and the use of wingtip fuel tanks.

Color photographs of Ugandan L-29s are shown on Page 56 with a more interesting paint scheme. Ugandan pilot training started with Piper L Cubs, jumping straight from the cub into the jet L-29 Delphin. Rather unorthodox pilot outfits are displayed in both photographs with shorts winning out over a more typical pilot’s attire. The last chapter is the Aero L-29 Delfin In Detail. This chapter focuses on detail shots of the Delfin as shown on page 66. Notable is the early series L-29 landing light in the nose. Color photos also show off the early series engine intakes vs the later series engine intakes with a boundary layer splitter-extender. Photograph 5 shows off the nose landing gear assembly, including the landing light that was moved from the nose. The Chapters include:

• L-29 Genesis
• Concept Clarification
• New Requirements
• Two Engine Types
• First Flight
• Testing Period [Page 7]
• Trials in the USSR [Page 12]
• L-29 Production
• Eye in the Sky
• With Machine Guns
• Aerobatic Special
• List of L-29 Flying Prototypes [Table]
• List of Serial L-29s Used for Testing [Table]
• L-29 Military Operators
• Afghanistan
• Angola
• Azerbaijan
• Belorussia
• Bulgaria
• Chechnya
• China
• Czechoslovakia
• Standard Late Series L-29 1/72 Drawings by Petr Kolmann
• Standard Early Series L-29 1/72 Drawings by Petr Kolmann [Page 35]
• L-29 Recce Version 1/72 Drawings by Petr Kolmann
• Czech Republic
• List of Military L-29 Deliveries Including Annexations and Resales 1962 to 2015 [Table]
• Dometsk People’s Republic
• Egypt
• Estonia
• France
• Ghana
• German Democratic Republic
• Georgia
• Guinea
• Hungary
• Indonesia
• Iraq
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstgan
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• People’s Republic of Luhansk
• Mali
• Nigeria
• Romania
• Russian Federation
• Slovakia
• Syria
• Uganda [Page 56]
• Ukraine
• USSR
• Vietnam
• L-29 Technical Data [Table]
• Aero L-29 Delfin In Detail [Page 66]

I was able to read Jakub Fojtík’s monograph over four days. The text is well supplemented with very clear photographs with good captions. Petr Kolmann provides well executed color side profiles and the 1/72 line drawings. This is a nice reference on the Aero L-29 Delfin and would be a handy addition to your reference library. Whether you are building any of the standard scale model kits, I would consider this edition essential as an aide to your build. There are also no shortage of decals, photo-etch, and resin bits to detail your kit. Depending on your budget, you can start with HpH’s resin 1/32 L-29 Delfin that was released in 2010 and 2011. In 1/48, you have the excellent AvantGarde (AMK) kit issued in 2013 that has been re-released by Eduard in 2017 and 2018. AMK has also released a gorgeous 1/72 kit in 2016 that was also re-released by Eduard in 2020. The 1/72 KP Aero L-29 release in 1970 is still readily available as it has been re-relased many times under different manufacturers. Mark I Models released four kits in 2014 covering many camouflage schemes in 1/144 scale. If anything, with the easier availability of 3-D printing, there will be even more details / conversions available. If you own any of the previous releases in the Warpaint series, you know what you are getting. If this is your initial entry into this series, you will be quite pleased.

My thanks to Guideline Publications and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this great monograph.

Highly recommended!