Plus model, maker of fine detailed aftermarket products, just produced a ladder for the McDonnel Douglas F-4 Phantom II. What is unique about this item is that it is injection molded instead of resin or photo etch that other companies make. Although this does require some assembly, being able to make fine adjustments to better fit the various kits is a real bonus.

The kit comes in a sturdy box and the sprue is in a suitable plastic bag. The instructions are printed on the back of the box and are basic but sufficient to assist your build. I am not sure if the parts layout changed from previous releases but instructions indicate the steps (rungs) are separate parts but that is not so with what is on the sprue. That is very good since I can image how difficulty it would be to attach and align those parts. Hopefully the instructions will be updated on future releases. The 8 parts have minimal flash which cleans up easily.

Thank you to Video Aviation for providing this elegant aircraft accessory deck crew figure, and thank you to the IPMS Reviewer Corps for letting me review it! I am very appreciative of all you do for the scale modeling community. Video Aviation is a small Italian company that offers a variety of diorama and vignette accessories in three scales that will make a welcome addition to aircraft displays. The casting masters are completely CAD designed and rapid prototyped for production. This allows the same figure to be easily produced in different scales.

Brengun, based in the Czech Republic, is known for producing a range of photo-etched and resin accessories for airplane models. They also produce a small number of 1/72nd and 1/144th aircraft model sets. One of their latest airplane kits is the Yakovlev Yak-1, Year 1941.

The Yak-1 was a maneuverable, fast and well-armed fighter developed by the Soviet air force in 1940. At the start of the Operation Barbarossa, the Soviets had about 500 Yak-1’s built, but just less than 100 were combat operational. TheYak-1 had a steel frame with wooden wings and composite fuselage, it was easy to maintain and fairly reliable and proved to be an excellent base for further developments. At altitudes, below 4,000 feet, was where the Yak-1 performed the best and was strong competition, and in some cases, more than a match for its German foes.

Ginter Books’ latest book covering the Curtiss XP-55 “Ascender” is an in-depth look at one of the more oddball aircraft designed for the USAAF during the Second World War.

The book consists of 72 pages printed on glossy, good-quality stock, bound in a soft cover made of heavier stock. Front and back covers have beautiful color pictures, and almost every page inside has either multiple black and white photos or drawings.

The author has previously published a book on the 1940 fighter competition that took place in the US, and some of that research comprises the early section of this book. The XP-55 was a direct result of that competition, and several pages describe the process and innovations it generated.

The Pocket Manual is a compilation of various Air Ministry pamphlets, publications and manuals on the De Havilland Mosquito.

The book starts with the design specifications and related documents. This is followed by the pilot notes in chapter 2 and the operations and tactical publications. This last section details aspects of operating the night bomber version, strategic bomber version, pathfinding and even the Sea Mosquito. The book concludes with 105SQ operations record books.

This is an interesting look at various period publications to aid in operating and maintaining the Mosquito. There is good information for the historian, pilot and some nice detailed period cockpit photos with instrumentation callouts. If the Mosquito interests you, you will find this book to your liking

Our thanks to Osprey Publishing for the review copy and my thanks to IPMS/USA for the review opportunity