By the middle of the 17th century Spain held the largest empire the world had ever known – with territory spanning most of the New World to Italy and beyond. And yet, in an all-to-familiar tale, the enormous expense of maintaining such a long reach was prohibitive, and was quickly bankrupting the country. In addition, wealth was becoming concentrated into fewer and fewer hands, with nobility in one guise or another owning roughly 95% of all land in Spain. The monarchy was so strapped for funds that less than 20% of all taxes actually made it into the national treasury, most going to banks for loan debt, further enriching the elite at the expense of the nation.

The title of this publication is, “British Aircraft of World War One: A Photographic Guide to Modern Survivors, Replicas, and Reproductions".

It is, indeed, a photographic guide. Every page of the 128 pages in the book contains at least one photograph. Some of the images are of aircraft that date back to World War I, those being the Survivors. Also covered in text and photographs are replica aircraft and reproductions. In the “Author’s Note, definitions of these three types of aircraft are provided. In short, original aircraft are those which contain a “significant number” of original parts, although much of the aircraft may have been restored. “Reproductions” are defined as newly build aircraft which were constructed using similar materials and building methods. A replica appears to be an original aircraft but on closer inspection has parts and gear that are fairly modern, and certainly not original.

About the Author

Michael John Claringbould was raised in Papua New Guinea, where he developed his fascination for the Pacific air war. During a career in the Australian foreign service he undertook postings across Oceania and the Pacific. He is author of three books on the USAAF Fifth Air Force: The Forgotten Fifth, Forty of the Fifth, and Black Sunday, and co-author of Eagles of the Southern Sky, a history of the Tainan Kaigun Kokutai in New Guinea, and The Roarin 20s, a unit history of the USAAF 312th Bombardment Group. Michael is also an associate editor of the historical aviation magazine Flightpath, to which he has been contributing articles for 18 years. He now lives in Australia.

This latest title from Italian Aviation Series, AB 205 Huey in Italian Army Service, comes in a paperback book with high quality paper on 64 pages. There are plenty of pictures, over 140, and full color profiles that we’ll surely keep modelers entertained. The text is Italian and English and the English reads very well. The thing that really makes this book stand out is the color photos. All are crystal clear and show some great marking options.

FIRST THINGS: THANK YOU to Mig Jimenez and his team for supporting IPMS USA and the reviewer Corps. We collectively advance when we work with Manufacturers who have the dual goal of (1) customer satisfaction and (2) having a great product. Read more anon…

OK I have to confess, I have used some MIG products in the past, and was impressed (Metallics), but had not used “standard” coatings from Mig. Reason? I have too many bottles of paint, and every new manufacturer has to make a living.

More on MIG (from their website):

“With this set, you will be able to paint the complex schemes used by the former Soviet Union consisting of 4 to 5 different colors, a solution saving precious modelling time.