The first book in Mushroom Model Publications new “Spotlight On” series presents an array of beautiful color profiles of Germany’s famous WWI Albatros fighter family…from the D.I through the D.Va.For the most part, the 41 pages that form the bulk of the book display what may best be described as a one-man gallery of very detailed illustrations depicting very realistically the variety of camouflages and personal markings that adorned many of these elegant aircraft.

Author Dave Douglass is first and foremost an artist. His comments in the first-page introduction are a personal message describing himself, his vocation, hobbies and passion for WWI aircraft. The following pages confirm that. The artwork is precisely rendered with attention to the specific details of each subject and consideration of the way natural sunlight would affect their appearance. Each illustration reflects something of an old master’s painting style, which might also be suggestedby the way the artist presents himself in a photograph included on the book’s back cover.

The book’s format is unique. Each page features a single subject, presented in landscape format with minimal text included below to caption the profile. The format is illustrated in the photos below. All of the pages also can be viewed on Mushrooms link to a You Tube video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk4ifmjIImM

Some of the subjects will be familiar to WWI aviation buffs and model builders…many of them havingpreviously appearedon kit and aftermarket decal sheets. However, there are also some that a shown in less familiar German markings and three, an Albatros D.I and a D.II in captured (RAF) markings and a D.III in captured (French) markings.

Unfortunately, there are no plan view illustrations to accompany the profiles. But a pair of lozenge patterns are included at the end of the book to depict how the upper and lower wings would appear if finished in that manner. In this reviewer’s opinion, it would have been better if small overhead plan views had been included.

All in all, this is a book would make a great addition to any WWI model builder’s library. The skillfully rendered illustrations provide what cannot be appreciated in black and white photographs of the time. They give viewers a sense of how each aircraft really would have looked. And, they deserve to be appreciated for both the research that went into them and the skill necessary to create them. The author has created a book that is also a work of art. I guess another way of saying it is that if I had a coffee table, this book would be on it.

My thanks to Mushroom Model Publications for the review sample and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review this excellent book.