Convair B-36 Peacemaker
Warpaint’s latest is their standard A4 format,, softbound publication that is 48 pages (excluding covers) on Convair's B-36 Peacemaker series. Featuring 99 photographs (13 in color) along with 23 of Richard J. Caruana’s color profiles, including his color centerfold of “Miss Featherweight:” a B-36H-1-CF Peacemaker. The color profiles are further enhanced with color scrap illustration of opposite sides of the fuselage as necessary to depict special markings. Nose art and other special markings are also presented enlarged to show off details.
Kev Darling starts out with the seven year development of the Peacemaker, initiating in April 1941 with the initial USAAF specification. The impact of the Pacific war on the project is highlighted as well as ample discussion of the political, financial, technical issues that prolonged the service entry of the B-36.
“The Peacemaker Revealed” provides a complete technical description of the B-36, nicely illustrated with photo highlights to escort the narrative. Flight characteristics are described in conjunction with the proving trials of the aircraft to demonstrate to one and all that it could actually meet its performance goals.
The battle for the Peacemaker program to just survive began in earnest in 1949 as President Truman faced a severe budget crisis and the MiG-15 was revealed to the world. Ken Darling continues the development of each successive version of the B-36, from the ‘B’ through the ‘J’ models. Special activities are well documented and include the FICON project with Republic F-84, Project Tom Tom with wingtip mounted F-84s, and the NB-36 nuclear powered bomber.
Kev Darling continues with the development of the all jet-engined Convair YB-60 in its competition against the Boeing B-52.
The Chapters include:
- Introduction
- Born in War…
- …But Flown in Peace
- The Peacemaker Revealed
- The B-36 in the Sky
- The B-36 Enters Service
- B-36 the Next Phase
- B-36, the Last Models
- FICON
- NB-36 – The Nuclear Bomber
- YB-60 – A B-36 with Jet Engines
- XC-99
- Convair B-36 ‘Peacemaker’ In Detail
- The B-36 Tanker
- B-36 As a Missile Carrier
The Tables include:
- Convair B-36 Specifications
- Convair B-36 Operational Units
- Convair B-36 Production
- Convair B-36 ‘Peacemaker’ Kits, Decals, and Accessories
This tome is really a handy reference for the Convair Peacemaker with plenty of photos and illustrations to help you with your Hobbycraft 1/144 Peacemakers or the huge Monogram 1-72nd kit. If you have any of the Warpaint series, you know how great a value this book is. Highly Recommended!
My thanks to Guideline Publications and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this great book.
Highly recommended!
Reviewer Bio
Frank Landrus
Frank retired from the Ophthalmic industry with over thirty-six years of Research and Development experience. Frank's first model kit was a 1959 Hawk 1/72 US Marines Vought AU-1 Corsair and has been building models for over sixty years. Frank's first encounter with IPMS was attending a North Central Texas ScaleFest show in 1984. Frank soon became more involved in Make-N-Take activities and became the IPMS Western Coordinator for Make-N-Takes [West of the Mississippi River]. Make-N-Takes quickly became a local model contest and airshow staple reaching a high of reaching over 1,300 children before the COVID shutdown. Frank has volunteered to assist in contest judging since 1985 and is currently the Nationals Head Figure Judge until he is dead or they find someone better.
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