History

The Fiat CR-42 was a development of the CR-32 biplane fighter designed by the noted Italian designer Celistino Rosatelli. It first appeared in 1938, and featured an 846 hp. Fiat A.74 radial engine and a “warren truss” wing strut arrangement instead of the usual biplane arrangement. The plane was all metal with mostly fabric covering, and was armed with two 12.7 mm Breda SAFAT machine guns firing through the propeller arc. The idea was to produce a fast, light, highly maneuverable fighter that coupe compete with the monoplane fighters then being produced by other European countries. It was better than nearly all of the biplanes then in service, but of course was outclassed by the more modern monoplane fighters then being introduced.

The first flight of the famous C-130 “Hercules” turboprop aircraft was on August 23, 1954, with the first production C-130 making its maiden flight on April 7, 1955. The aircraft has been in continuous production since, with over 2500 manufactured to date.

Written by Robert Pied and Nicolas Deboeck, this incredible book is an invaluable resource for modelers. Its 196 pages with over 550 photos show the C-130 in incredible detail. Photos of the interiors of the wheel wells, many open panels, and interior photos that show parts of the “Herk” that, until now, mostly maintainers saw. I was a maintainer (also known as a “Crew Chief”) who worked on C-130 “Herks” for over 25 years, and this book brought back many memories.

Saab has a long history of producing excellent fighter aircraft that are often at the leading edge of technology. The AJ 37 Viggen is a prime example of that legacy. Pied and Deboeck tell the story of this potent fighter through pictures and their associated captions. This book is part of HMH’s “Aircraft In Detail” series that is now up to a dozen volumes of front line fighter aircraft with the exception being one about the C-130. Most of the photos are of the two Viggens flying with the Swedish Air Force Historic Flight.

The AJ 37 entered operational service with the Swedish Air Force in 1971 as an attack fighter with the photo-recce version, the SF 37, following in 1973. A more advanced interceptor version, the JA 37, was delivered to the Air Force in 1974. The Viggen’s 2-seater was the flight trainer version, the SF 37. 2007 saw the last of the 329 multi-purpose fighters retire from operational service.

Casemate & HMH Publications presents to us another excellent book from their “Duke Hawkins” series, providing a close up of the "Legacy" Hornet in all its versions: A, B, C and D including the ATARS version. Over 400 photos show every side of the famous jet in service with the US Navy, USMC and the Air Forces of Spain, Finland, Canada, Switzerland, Malaysia and more.

The first thing I noticed upon opening the cover is, there aren’t any chapters proper. Rather, the book is divided into “sections”, each notated in the upper right-hand corner of the right page. Sections include:

Contents Description

The resin/photo etch upgrade set comes packaged in the typical Aires blister pack fixed to a heavy stock paper backer, with industrial strength staples holding everything in place. The set includes the cockpit tub with side consoles and integral rear bulkheads for the pilot and back seater positions, two ejection seats, side walls for both positions, front combing with integral instrument panel, rear seat instrument panel, and separate pilot's control column and some smaller parts. Also included is a small PE fret with seat belts, instrument panel faces, rear view mirrors, rudder pedals and other small details. In addition, a small film is provided that includes the various instrument dial faces. This film is part of a sandwich requiring cutting to shape, with placement between the resin and PE panel faces. All of the individual resin parts require the removal from casting blocks before the parts can be fitted in the model.