All jokes aside, the Handley Page V/1500 was proof that in some situations size does matter. At the time when military aviation was still somewhat in its adolescence, the controversial idea of dropping a significant bomb load on an enemy target 500 miles away (and flying over a substantial body of water in the process) meant finding an appropriately large and powerful aerial vehicle to carry out the mission. The Germans had used huge zeppelins to bomb London, but some in Britain believed it a better strategy to use an aeroplane to return the favor. Thus was born a scheme to build a ‘Super’ bomber…actually a ‘Super’ Handley Page bomber, capable of carrying up to 30 250-lb. bombs.

MMP’s latest volume in their “Orange Series” covers the Henschel Hs 123. The book is published on high quality smooth paper, in-between glossy stiff stock covers. On first inspection this appears to be of the same high production quality I have found in all other MMP productions. Lots of clear photos and nicely-done color plates appear throughout the book.

In a similar manner to other titles in this series, this book starts with several chapters covering the design and development of the Hs 123 (about 30 pages in ll). Throughout each of the chapters in this section there are numerous 1/72^nd scale drawings depicting either the entire aircraft, or a particular feature thereof. This is followed by a chapter titled “Technical Description.” Here, as one might expect, the technical specifics of the design are laid out (ie, single-seat sesquiplane of metal construction….), and the text is accompanied by drawings from the actual Technical Manual of the aircraft.

This is a beautifully illustrated book showing more than 170 profiles of vehicles used by the Deutsche Afrika Korps (D.A.K.) during the North African campaign. The sections of the book include:

• Introduction
• Light vehicles
• Medium/Heavy Vehicles
• Armored Fighting Vehicles
• Artillery
• Markings
• Colors
• Photos
• Photo credits/bibliography.

A Prologue briefly describes the military episodes of the Afrika Corps between 1941 and 1943. The Prologue describes how the Afrika Corpstook over for the Italian army and, despite being outnumbered and out-supplied, effectively battled the British and, later, American forces. The Prologue provides a brief backdrop for the vehicles that are profiled in the book.

Windsock WWC Summer 2014 is the second issue of Volume 30…and/or the second edition of the first centenary year of Albatros’ rebranded publication. It provides readers with a substantial amount of WWI aircraft modeling information and both historical and technical reference. An extended FRONT LINE NEWS section leads into the regular columns: OUR READERS GALLERY (Featuring two very well-built Nieuports) and LOGBOOK ENTRIES (Reviewing 4 new titles) before getting into the meat of this issue. What follows is a 3+ page article (complimented by multiple color photos) about an impressive large scale radio-controlled Avro 504K powered by a fully operational 1:4 scale Bentley rotary engine that makes this unique combination fly as well as it looks!

Background

Airing in 1978 and 1979, with a brief return in 1980, the original Battlestar Galactica (BSG) television series laid the foundation for a follow-on series of books, games, and reimagined series of television shows chronicling humanity’s struggle to survive after the Twelve Colonies of human civilization were all but wiped out by the treacherous cybernetic Cylons in the attempt to rid the universe of human life. Despite the limited run of the original TV series, BSG has remained a popular franchise among Sci-Fi fans for three-and-a-half decades.

In honor of the 35th anniversary of the original series (TOS), Moebius Models has released a series of kits depicting craft from the 1978 production, with the flagship being Galactica herself.