History

The book relates the part of the air war in Southeast Asia between the U.S. Army Air Forces and the Japanese fighter-interceptor squadrons. The author begins with an account of bomber development, with the emphasis on unescorted heavy bombers relying on heavy defensive armament and concentrated in close tactical formations. When the war began, it was discovered that this didn’t work too well against Luftwaffe fighters, and only slightly better against more lightly armed Japanese fighters. The Japanese Army, on the other hand, developed fighters whose prime attributes involved light weight and extreme maneuverability. This meant inadequate armament, and no protection for the pilot or vital aircraft systems. At least the Ki-43 had two .50 cal. guns, as opposed to the pair of .30 cal. guns on the earlier Ki-27.

As previous reviews have indicated, this bimonthly magazine continues to achieve its claim of “Showcasing the very best in scale aircraft modeling.” Actually, I think it might better be said that each issue “showcases the very best photography of scale aircraft models.” Whatever the claim, this publication provides eye candy for those in the hobby who can afford the price of admission. At $14.95 a copy, it should be a cut above the rest of the crowd…and, by most measures, it is. The photography is nothing short of spectacular, the layout is professionally handled, and, in contrast to previous issues, #41 is printed on a slightly thinner, glossy paper that greatly enhances the sharpness of the 185 photos used to illustrate the six model building features (and the remainder of photos that illustrate the product reviews). In common with previous issues, #41 offers a variety of subjects that should satisfy the tastes of many model builders. In this issue, articles cover building:

Model-Master’s line of aftermarket detail parts now includes a 1/48 scale turned brass pitot tube designed to enhance any 1/48 Hawker Hunter (currently, that means an Academy or recently released Italeri kit). It is one of those small items that will dramatically improve the appearance of the finished model, something that becomes quite obvious when the metal part is compared to the injection molded kit part. Placing it next to the kit part clearly illustrates how much the injection molded plastic part is bulked up for manufacturing…resulting in something that is thicker than it should be. The photo below of the nicely tapered Master-Model metal part next to the kit part on the sprue demonstrates how much thicker (and shorter) the kit part really is.

Authors Michael Collins and Martin King have written a well researched and historical account of the German attack in the Ardennes in December, 1944. What makes this book special is that it covers the human (but not necessarily humane) aspects of the battle.

The book is a day-by-day narration of the main military actions that occurred during the Battle of the Bulge. Each chapter begins by describing the front situation and what different units were charged to do. So far, that is a ‘regular’ history book. But then the rest of each chapter has first person narratives from the soldiers (from both sides, but mainly American ones) and even support personnel like nurses, on how they managed to do what they were charged with.

Most of the book covers the German thrust up to December 25^th. The last chapter of the book covers the Allied counter-attack that lasted from late December, 1944, up to January/February, 1945.

This elegant looking jet trainer has been in service with numerous air forces for many years and has even become a common sight at “warbird” fly-ins. Several years ago, Eduard released an exquisite little model of this trainer. Their latest version is the “Weekend Edition,” a more basic boxing of their “Original,” “Dual Combo,” or “Profipak” releases. To meet the “weekend” criteria, this kit has no photo-etched frets, resin pieces, masks, or decals for multiple marking options. What you get instead is the all-plastic, basic kit with decals for one scheme: the Libyan Air Force Academy circa 1985. Included in the box are 56 pieces molded in tan plastic, six pieces of clear parts, a decal sheet with lots of stencil/data markings, and a six page instruction booklet. All the pieces are crisply molded with excellent surface detail. The decals are on register with the instrument panel renditions among the best I’ve seen in this scale.