This is one of the rare Pacific Profiles books not written by Michael John Claringbould, although it is illustrated by him. Author Kevin Gogler is a son of a WWII Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Beaufort pilot, and this book is obviously a testament to his father and his fellow RAAF personnel who flew, and were associated, with the Beauforts and Beaufighters in the Pacific War.

From the Introduction:

“Amidst the enormous numbers of American aircraft that fought in the Pacific War, it is often forgotten that two British-designed types served operationally with the RAAF in large numbers. A combined total of some 1,280 Beauforts and Beaufighters were delivered to the RAAF and served with fifteen wartime squadrons plus a variety of training and support units.

The latest journal of Cross & Cockade International — Winter 2019, features photographs of Sopwith Pups on the front cover, rear cover, and rear inside cover. These pictures all support the John Grech article on 2^nd Lt. Patrick Alva O’Brien. The front cover photograph is of POW Lt. S.S. Hume behind a downed Sopwith Pup, A7340, of 66 Squadron that was lost in action on May 27, 1917.

Cross & Cockade International is a non-profit UK-based group known as the First World War Aviation Historical Society that publishes their journal four times a year. They also provide a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publish WWI-themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS USA. This journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front.

From the publisher’s website:

REFERENCES – a new series of A-4 size volumes. Each consists of 16–24 pages and includes selected archive photos, color painting schemes or 3D renders. Some books would contain scale drawings, too. One can find high-quality decal sheets in 1/48th and 1/72nd scales of one specific painting scheme. If the illustration differs in details from the decal, we will present photos which were used to develop sheets. Series for modelers as a supplement to other publications or compilation of already published materials.

Krzysztof Dabrowski from Poland has a lifelong interest in the subject of military aviation, and has written dozens of articles on a variety of related subjects for printed magazines and the ACIG.org/ACIG.info, AeroHisto and The Boresight websites. His particular area of interest is the air warfare during the Cold War, the aircraft involved, and the experiences of their crews. This is his first instalment for Helion and he is working on a second title (Dropping the Big Ones: Live Testing of Soviet Nuclear Bombs, 1949-1962) for release in 2021.

First off, my apologies to Jon Vojtech, the generous genius behind the UMM product line. Jon graciously provided the Reviewers Corps with a nice selection of new products at the National Convention in Hampton VA, this year, and I am very late in submitting my review.

If you need to make extremely fine cuts in a part – plastic, soft metal, 3D resin, or cast resin material – this tool will do the trick. The blade itself is razor thin (sorry…), coming in at 0.1mm or about 0.004”. Using a blade this thin means applying gentle pressure, letting the very fine teeth do the work – push too hard and you’re likely to bend or snap the blade.

The handle is 3D printed filament, and incorporates a recess for the included Allen wrench that’s used to change blades. And speaking of that, the handle will accommodate a number of blades including the UBT12 Medium Rough Razor Saw.