History

From 1953 to 1957, Chevrolet had three full-sized automobiles it was selling to the public – the bottom of the line 150, the mid-range 210, and the top of the line Bel Air. The 210 model was Chevrolet's bestseller up until 1955. It offered the widest choice of body styles in 1953, including a convertible, Sport Coupe hardtop, two- and four-door sedans, and a station wagon.

However, in 1954, the 210 convertible and hardtop were dropped and a deluxe model called the Del Ray Club Coupe was introduced. This model came factory-equipped with interior furnishings found on higher-end models like the Bel Air. Drivers could enjoy upgrades such as padded vinyl seats, a lighted glove compartment, two door armrests, and carpeted floorboards. The cost of the Del Ray was now within $100 of the Bel Air with its luxury and premium trim and it never achieved the sales Chevrolet had hoped for.

This is the latest Squadron at Sea edition from Squadron and, in my opinion, one of the most interesting publications ever produced. It is a 136 page book of high quality black and white and some color photos, most of which have never been published before.

The first section deals with the history and building of the ship. I found this very interesting, especially the part about using cardboard boxes and cutouts to help lay out different configurations for various compartment layouts (way before computer aided programs).

There are also sections on commissioning, trials, overhauls, reconfigurations, armaments, and inactivation. Another section that really got my interest was the part about the ship being hit with friendly fire, something you don't hear about too much during WWII.

The color drawings would be most helpful to those that decide to build a model of the BB 55. There are several different paint schemes to choose from.

In many ways, the development of Soviet tactical aviation, or Frontovaya Aviahtisya (FA), went through similar developmental phases as the Tactical Air Command of the USAF. Evolving out of the combat experiences of World War II, it made do with aircraft left over from the war. As technology advanced, the FA had access to the early jet fighter and then to purpose built fight-bomber aircraft. During the Cold War, the Soviet’s FA procured modern fighters and faced Western air forces in Europe and the Far East. As TAC learned lessons from fighting in Viet Nam, so did the FA learn from its combat in Afghanistan.

The chapter titles and some explanations are as follows:

First, thanks once again to Gary at Squadron for providing IPMS/USA yet another review item. We count on the support of many companies, small and large; Squadron has survived just about every trial and tribulation imaginable for a business while continuing to provide excellent service and products!

With Squadron having branched out into the aftermarket genre over the past few years, their in-house products continue to improve in quality. Such is the case with these propeller and spinner assemblies.

The Revell/Monogram (RM) P-61 was, at the time of its release in 1974, a market-setter for detail. In many ways, it still is, but the kit propellers have a difficult-to-remove seam between the front and rear spinner halves, and there is no propeller mounting boss detail as is very evident on the real item; the RM blades are cast to the front spinner dome. Strong, certainly, but improvement could be made…

I have built several PJ Productions kits, done at least one of their conversions, and a number of their detail parts. I have real respect for Phillipe’s ability to produce a really good resin product.

You get one resin pour with 2 seats and 2 ejection handles. Both of the seats were free of flaws or bubbles, and those fine little handle assemblies were also flawless.

Rather than start from scratch with this project, I thought I would take a Mirage I had built previously and add the PJP seat. I could have used a Jaguar, but decided that it would be nicer to improve one of my several Mirages. Then I ran into the problem. Three of the four Mirage kits I’ve built have been PJ Production kits or conversions, and they already had good resin seats. OK, I was going to use a Dagger I built 20 years ago with Argentine markings from the Malvinas/Falklands war. And to tell the truth, I can’t remember whose kit it is.