Up here in Seattle we have a large IPMS club. Over the past two years or so, one of our members, Rick Taylor, has been busy building a large variety of very unusual resin, 3-D printed, limited-run armor models from a small company called Vargas Models. Owner Luis Vargas specializes in 1/35th (and more recently 1/72nd) scale models that, for the most part, cannot be found elsewhere. His prolific output, along with Rick’s building expertise, has created quite a stir up here in Seattle. Rick drove most of his Vargas builds out to the recent Omaha Nationals and had them on display at the vendor booth, eventually picking up several awards in the show. I was lucky enough to be provided with one of the latest kits myself for review; the L118/M119 105mm Light Towed Howitzer.

Historical Background

This book is part of a series of volumes on World War II in the Pacific, the author having published numerous titles dealing with American, Australian, New Zealand, and Japanese aviation activities during the war. He is Australian, and has lived in the areas under discussion, and is also a pilot, so has the background to treat the subject accurately.

This particular volume discusses the Allied effort to provide air transportation in the South Pacific, identifying the units of the American, Australian, and New Zealand units. Of course, the Douglas DC-3 and C-47 variants were active in all areas where the Allies operated, and as well, the type had also been produced in Japan, with the type being operated in small numbers by the Japanese. These operations are not mentioned in the book, but the C-47’s were aided by Lockheed lodestars and other transport types. The detailed reporting only covers the role of the C-47 in these combat areas.

Guideline Publications Guideline Publications is the UK's leading publisher of modelling and hobby-related magazines. With a world-class portfolio of titles and an international Social Media presence, Guideline Publications has a dedicated readership that is constantly expanding into new areas.

Adrian M. Balchis an aviation author and photo-journalist based in Swindon, England. He served in the Royal Air Force as an air traffic controller for over 22 years, from June 1971 to June 1993. He has been published since December 1966 in aviation periodicals and has authored books published through Airlife Publishing, The History Press, and Guideline Publications. You can find some of his photographs at https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/photographer/Adrian%20M.%20Balch.

I was not familiar with this series of books, so I was not sure what to expect. But being a fan of British aircraft, I couldn’t pass up the chance to review it. This book by author Chris Goss is just under 100 pages and measures 9.5” tall and 6.75” wide. There is a short forward by Air Marshal Philip Sturley and a one page introduction by the author. All of the photographs are from the collection of the late David Howley. The book contains one chapter covering the Jaguar and another covering the Harrier. There is also a short appendix listing the different variants of the two aircraft and units that operated them. The pictures are a mixture of black and white photos and color photos and are presented two on a page for the majority of the book.

The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs", into all-weather precision-guided munitions. JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, giving them a published range of up to 15 nautical miles. JDAM-equipped bombs range from 500 to 2,000 pounds . The JDAM's guidance system was jointly developed by the United States Air Force and United States Navy, hence the "joint" in JDAM. When installed on a bomb, the JDAM kit is given a GBU (Guided Bomb Unit) identifier, superseding the Mark 80 or BLU (Bomb, Live Unit) nomenclature of the bomb to which it is attached.