modeller £6.50 - July‘13 (issue 027 )
Hasegawa/Planet Models Fw 190 V18 • Monogram TBD-1 • Italeri Junkers Ju 87 B Stuka • and more…
military illustrated
Eduard & Hasegawa Head to Head in 1:48 scale
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SPITFIRE SHOWDOWN
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aircraft edition
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Squadron/Signal Publications Over 250 books offering a wealth of information SQUADRON/SIGNAL PUBLICATIONS MODELLING REFERENCE BOOKS Squadron Signal Publications is one of the best known and most extensive ranges of modelling reference books ever published, featuring high quality photographs of aircraft, tanks, ships and more in action, as well as an ever-expanding range of ‘walk-around’ volumes which show the subject inside and out in crystal-clear photographs - perfect for superdetailing projects. The books have been helping modellers to add essential details, find markings and apply paint schemes to aircraft, armour and ship models for many years, and the great news is that Squadron Signal books are now easier to find than ever before, because ADH Publishing, the company that brings you this magazine each month, is importing them from the USA. You can find Squadron Signal at good model and book shops, and you can also check www.adhbooks.com to see what we have on offer! Please call us now for full details of prices, availability and range; UK (+44) 01525 222573
SS25066 - KC-135 STRATOTANKER Walk Around (Soft cover) SS65066 - KC-135 STRATOTANKER Walk Around (Hard cover) Many air forces can conduct missions such as air superiority and ground attack, but only the US Air Force has truly global reach. For more than five decades, the essential enabler of this global reach has been the KC-135 Stratotanker. Unarmed and unglamorous, the KC-135 has been one of the most successful and enduring aircraft in US Air Force history. Primarily based on the author’s extensive access to operational KC-135 aircraft on the ground and in flight, this book contains the most detailed photographic documentation of the KC-135 inside and out that has ever been published, as well as color profiles of the KC-135R in the markings of every major USAF command that has operated that variant. Illustrated with 240 photographs, detailed line drawings and color profiles; 88 pages.
SS10230 - S-3 VIKING IN ACTION (Soft Cover) SS50230 - S-3 VIKING IN ACTION (Hard Cover) The Lockheed S-3 Viking was developed in the late 1960s to serve as a dedicated carrier-based anti-submarine aircraft. Over the years, it evolved into an outstanding surveillance and anti-surface platform, effective not only against submarines but also large and small surface ships. The Viking and its main variant, the highly-classified ES-3A Shadow electronic surveillance aircraft, played a key role in the Cold War and in the conflicts of the 1990s. The book is one of the few publications to tell the Viking story and is packed with photos and detailed line drawings, all depicting the aircraft’s weapons, paint schemes, sensors and interior. It also provides an overview of some of the more significant variants that were studied, but never fully pursued, such as the Carrier On-Board Delivery (COD) and dedicated (KS) refueling variants. It also discusses the aircraft’s role in Operation Desert Storm and how the lessons learned from that conflict impacted the Vikings’ mission during the latter part of the 1990s and early 2000s. Illustrated with 186 photographs, line drawings, and numerous color profiles; 80 pages.
SS25070 - Heinkel He 111 Walk Around (Soft cover) SS65070 - Heinkel He 111 Walk Around (Hard cover) The Heinkel 111 saw service on all Germany’s military fronts in the European Theater of World War II. The He 111 entered the war as a medium bomber, supporting Wehrmacht ground campaigns. After the tide in the conflict had turned against the Reich, and air superiority had been achieved by the Soviet Union and the Western Allies, the Heinkel 111 was largely relegated to transport functions. This iconic warplane had its origins as a cutting-edge civil airliner in the mid-1930s. But war was looming and before long it was adapted for use as a bomber. The first mass-produced versions, the He 111-E and He 111-F, served in the Condor Legion with Francisco Franco’s Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, paving the way to further military engagement once World War II broke out. Although produced in large numbers and exported to many countries before and during the war, few examples of the He 111 survive today. This walk around features detailed photographic images of the He 111-P1 restored and preserved in Norway, and the He 111-H20 on display in the RAF museum in Britain. Illustrated with 228 photographs, detailed line drawings, and color profiles. 88 pages.
SS25041 - A-4 SKYHAWK WALK AROUND (Soft Cover) SS65041 - A-4 SKYHAWK WALK AROUND (HardCover) The carrier-capable Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is one of the most successful modern combat aircraft. During the 25 years in which the A-4 was on the production line, 2,960 Skyhawks were built. A relatively light aircraft, with a maximum takeoff weight of 24,500 pounds and with a top speed exceeding 600 mph, the Skyhawk was operated not only by the US Navy and Marines but also by the air forces of Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Malaysia, Argentina, Singapore, Brazil, Indonesia, and Kuwait. Introduced in 1956, Skyhawks played major roles in the Vietnam War, the 1973 Arab-Israeli October War, and the Falklands/Malvinas Conflict in 1982. With a reputation for toughness and agility, Skyhawks remained a part of the American arsenal for nearly half a century - the U.S. Navy retired the A-4 as recently as 2003. Meanwhile, the battle-tested warrior continues to serve today other militaries around the world. Illustrated with 205 photographs, color profiles, and detailed line drawings; 80 pages.
ALSO FROM ADH BOOKS... Airframe & Miniature series No.5 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 – Early Series (V1 to E9 including the T-series) by Richard A. Franks • 208 pages packed with vital information that no active aviation modeller should be without 40+ pages of technical information 20+ pages of walkaround images and technical diagrams 5+ pages of camouflage and markings 25+ pages of model builds and modelling information 200+ photographs including wartime images Colour side views and four-views by Richard Caruana 3D isometric views of all variants by Jacek Jackiewicz Extensive 1/48 and 1/72 scale kit builds Two sets of fold-out 1/48 scale plans
• • • • • • • • •
Shown here is a selection of some of the most popular titles, many more available Available from all good model and book shops For more details visit www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 • Trade enquiries welcome Official UK distributor ADH Publishing, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Beds LU6 1QX Tel: 01525 222573 • Fax: 01525 222574 • email:
[email protected]
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Contents
modeller military illustrated
ISSUE No.027 July 2013
42
6
THE HOLY GRAIL
Eduard’s new 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc Late Version by Brett Green
18 MEND AND MAKE DO
Hasegawa + Aeroclub 1:48 Spitfire Mk.VIII by Brett Green
28 SPITFIRE SHOWDOWN
Eduard and Hasegawa 1:48 scale Spitfire IXs head to head by Brett Green
30 PREVIEW
G.W.H. 1:48 scale MiG-29 9-13
32 FOCKE-WULF’S HOT ROD Ian Robertson’s 1:32 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 V18/U1 “Känguruh”
40 BUILD PREVIEW
Revell 1:32 Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6
42 TBD OR NOT TBD?
Monogram’s classic 1:48 scale TBD-1 Devastator by Rafe Morrissey
47 PREVIEW HobbyBoss 1:48 scale F-14D by Mick Evans
48 HUMP-BACK SCOOTER
Hasegawa’s 1:48 scale A-4M Skyhawk by Spencer Pollard
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56 DESERT STUKA
Charles Whall builds Italeri’s 1:48 scale Ju87 B-2 Stuka
62 PREVIEW
Kinetic 1:48 Kfir C2/C7 by Mick Evans
65 NEXT ISSUES
What’s coming up in the next issues of Military Illustrated Modeller
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66 TAILPIECE
Late breaking news and ramblings from the Editor
32
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04/06/2013 14:29
News Westland Lynx Mk. 7 helicopter takes up residence in the Battle of Britain exhibition at IWM Duxford The Imperial War Museum Duxford has just taken on an exciting new exhibit.
W
estland Lynx Mark 7 helicopter XZ194, gifted to Imperial War Museums by the Ministry of Defence, now sits within the Battle of Britain exhibition. It had been in service since 3 January 1979, when it began life as a Mark I Lynx helicopter. It was converted to a Mark 7 in September 1992 after 3,104 flying hours. This Lynx flew with 7 Regiment Army Air Corps, the main helicopter pilot training unit for the Army, at Middle Wallop until May 2012, when it was declared NonEffective after 6,667 flying hours. The remainder of its serving life was spent with 9 Regiment Army Air Corps at Dishforth and with the School of Aviation at Middle Wallop. The Westland Lynx was, until recently, the British armed forces’ main multi-role helicopter. The Lynx Mark I entered operational service with the Army and the Royal Navy in 1977 and was later adopted by the armed forces of over a dozen nations. It primarily served in the roles of battlefield utility, anti-armour, search and rescue and anti-submarine warfare. Lynx helicopters have served in every British Army combat theatre since 1979, bar the Falklands. They have been present in Afghanistan in a
variety of roles, including liaison, troop transport, medevac, resupply and light gunmanship, since 2006. They also served with 16 Air Assault Brigade in Operation Iraqi Freedom 2003 and the subsequent
occupation of Iraq. Lynx helicopters recently started to leave service, being replaced by the upgraded ‘Super Lynx’ (Wildcat) helicopter. IWM Duxford is the first UK museum to display
a Westland Lynx Mark 7. This is also the first Army helicopter to be displayed at IWM. John Delaney, Collections Manager, IWM Duxford said “The Lynx helicopter would have been seen by every soldier serving on operations over the past 35 years. The majority would have benefited by receiving supplies from them, being carried by them or receiving gunfire support from them. This is the first Army helicopter to be displayed at IWM and it helps us to demonstrate the unique role played by helicopters on the modern battlefield.”
Latest Figures Show IPMS (UK) Continues to Grow
A
s IPMS (UK) reaches its 50th Anniversary this year, membership is higher than it has ever been and the Society is healthier than ever, with more Branches, more Special Interest Groups and the huge success of Scale ModelWorld all contributing to the steady growth. Membership currently stands at almost 2,900 and continues to rise, making the 3,000 mark a real possibility in 2013. As recently as 2007, our membership numbers were stable at just under 1800. To add over a 1000 new members in the past five years, a 50% increase in size, demonstrates that IPMS remains a significant and and important part of the modelling fraternity. There are more ways than ever to join including online via our website (www.ipmsuk. co.uk) , in addition to the existing methods by post or at the many model shows where IPMS (UK) runs a membership stand. Member benefits include six full-colour magazines per year, free entry to Scale ModelWorld, access to the Technical Advisory Service, Decal Bank, Instruction Bank and member discounts with a range of well-known model retailers. Members can also join a local Branch or one of the 70+ Special Interest Groups that are run
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within the Society. For an information pack about the Society including a free issue of their in house magazine please send your name, address and three first class stamps to the Membership Secretary - IPMS (UK) Membership Secretary, 2 Kenilworth Road, Cubbington, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32 7TR
Scale ModelWorld, the annual IPMS (UK) Model Show, is the largest plastic modelling exhibition in the World and takes place on 9-10 November 2013 at The International Centre, Telford, Shropshire. TF3 4JH. Website: www.smwshow.com Exhibitor List www.smwshow.com/exhibitors.php
Military Illustrated Modeller - July 2013
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Eduard 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc Late Version ProfiPACK. • Kit No. 8281
THE
HOLY GRAIL
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The Editor doesn’t waste any time building Eduard’s brand-new 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IXc Late Version.
T
he Focke-Wulf Fw 190 asserted its authority as soon as it appeared over the Channel Front in September 1941. It was so clearly superior to the Spitfire Mk.V that RAF Fighter Command curtailed operations twice - from November 1941 to March 1942, and again from 13 June 1942 - due to unacceptably high losses against the Luftwaffe’s “Butcher Bird”. The Rolls-Royce Merlin 60 series engines would offer the Spitfire the essential edge it needed to balance the scales against this new foe, but the high altitude Spitfire Mk.VII and the unpressurised Mk.VIII were still many months away from production. An interim proposal was therefore made to provide a suitable solution in a more timely fashion. The Merlin 61 engine would be fitted to the existing Spitfire Mk.V airframe, matching the Fw 190s performance at medium and high altitudes. This aircraft was known as the Spitfire F.Mk.IX, Type No.361. The resulting Spitfire retained the clean lines of the earlier Mks. I, II and V, but featured a longer and modified fuselage to accommodate the bigger engine, revised intakes, radiators and oil coolers, and a four-bladed propeller to absorb the greater power. Although initially conceived as a stop-gap measure, the Spitfire Mk.IX and the essentially similar Mk.XVI (powered by a Packard Merlin engine) eventually became the most numerous of all
Spitfire variants with more than 7,000 delivered to the RAF, the VVS and other Allied air forces. The initial production version of the Spitfire Mk.IX featured the universal “C” wing and is usually referred to today as the Mk.IXc. This early variant could be distinguished by a small carburettor intake below and behind the nose, elevators with diagonal mass balances and wide blisters on top of the wings covering both cannon bays. Typical external characteristics of the later Spitfire Mk.IXc included narrow wing blisters over the inboard cannon bay only, new kinked mass balances on the elevators and a wider, longer carburettor intake. Some Mk.IXcs were also fitted with the tall pointed rudder from the Mks.VII and VIII. The Mk.IXe introduced further refinements including relocation of the 20mm Hispano armament to the outboard cannon bay positions, the typical fitting of a .50 cal machine gun in each wing’s inboard cannon bay and the deletion of the outer wing .303 machine guns. The Spitfire Mk.IX continued in front line service until the end of the Second World War and beyond.
THE SPITFIRE MK.IX IN 1:48 SCALE
The search for the ideal 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.VIII / IX / XVI has been something akin to the quest for the Holy Grail. Every time modellers get a whiff, that potentially perfect Spitfire rapidly recedes into the mist.
Back in the 1990s, hopes were high for the Ocidental offering, but that kit had some serious dimensional and cross-section problems. The ICM 1:48 scale Spitfire IX was more accurate, but early pressings were plagued with moulding flaws and the fuselage was skinny. Over-engineering also made this kit a challenge to build. Released in 2001, Hasegawa’s 1:48 scale Spitfires are well detailed, but the whole family is blighted with a noticeably short fuselage and related detail issues. It was Airfix’s turn in 2007, but their Mk.IXc suffered from a long list of shortcomings. The wing, rudder and horizontal tailplanes were very thick, and the dropped flaps were an unnecessary gimmick. The shape of the propeller blades was poor, as were the blobby exhausts and the slab-like cannon bulges on top of the wings. Canopy parts were far too thick for this day and age as well. It seemed that this great aviation icon was cursed.
ENTER EDUARD
Eduard’s announcement of a forthcoming 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IXc generated great anticipation, especially considering the level of detail and finesse of their latest releases. Would the 1:48 scale Spitfire IX curse be lifted at last? Eduard’s 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IXc Late Version comprises 192 parts in grey plastic, 14 parts in clear, a colour photo-etched fret, self-adhesive masks for the canopy and markings for five options. Of these parts, 36 are marked not for use and quite a few more are optional.
OUTLINE ACCURACY
I was particularly interested to see if the fuselage was the correct length, as this is the criticism most often levelled against the Hasegawa kit. Considering the controversy about which drawings are reliable and which are not, I decided instead to measure the Eduard fuselage against the very well-regarded Aeroclub 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IX corrected fuselage. The length of the Eduard kit matched the length of the Aeroclub fuselage almost exactly from the rudder hinge line to the front of the nose. The profiles of the fuselages also matched closely, with the Eduard kit being perhaps a millimetre deeper at the back of the wing root. Other critical elements such as the location of the wing and the horizontal tailplanes were also very close. The Eduard lower wing was then offered up to its Hasegawa counterpart. The span without the wing tips is close enough to be considered identical. As far as I was concerned, the model had passed its first and possibly most important test general dimensional accuracy looks very good.
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Eduard 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc Late Version ProfiPACK. • Kit No. 8281
Surface detail on Eduard’s new Spitfire Mk.IX is just gorgeous. The big studio lights overemphasise the rivets and panel lines on the unpainted plastic.
The Editor in Temora Aviation Museum’s Spitfire Mk.VIII. In particular. Note the obvious rows of rivets, and their different sizes.
The elevators are linked by a central bar that ensures that they can only be posed in unison.
The tail end of Temora’s Mk.VIII. The fabric strips are quite obvious on the rudder too.
The bottom wing is specific to the late version Mk.IXc, with the rear end of the carburettor intake moulded in place.
SURFACE DETAIL
If you have admired the surface detail on any of Eduard’s recent releases, you won’t be disappointed with this one. Panel lines are very crisp, fine and even. Lines of rivets are present, but they are incredibly subtle - at least the equal of those found on Eduard’s exquisite 1:72 scale Bf 110s. The rivet lines seem to accurately follow the pattern applied to the full-sized aircraft too. It is difficult to do justice to the surface detail in photographs, as studio lights tend to overemphasise it – especially the rivets - on the bare plastic. The rivets are visible on the real aircraft too, but the degree of prominence will depend on a number of factors - the gloss level of the paint, lighting, weathering, the angle and distance of the observer and more. I have included a series of photos that show the airworthy Spitfire Mk.VIII at the Temora Aviation Museum taken during a visit in 2009. Granted,
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Temora Aviation Museum also has a flying Spitfire Mk.XVI. Here, the cowl fasteners can be seen to good effect.
this example is glossy and restored but the rivet patterns are very obvious when viewed close-up. Just like on the real aircraft, after a coat of matt paint and putting a little distance between the observer and the model, the rivet detail will be almost invisible (unless you decide to emphasise it with washes and other weathering techniques, but that is entirely your prerogative!) There are some raised details too, including the cowl fasteners and patches over the wing machine gun ports. In my opinion, these are reasonably restrained (once again, looking exaggerated in the photo under the studio lights) and I will probably leave them all in place. The fasteners are visible on the real aircraft (this time Temora’s Mk.XVI, which features flatter paintwork) but if the raised version on the kit are not to your taste it will be a simple matter to sand them down. Fabric detail is equally impressive, with strip and stitching texture beautifully presented on the control surfaces.
DETAIL
Eduard combines plastic and colour photo-etched parts in their ProfiPACK, delivering a very high level of detail straight from the box. The cockpit benefits most from the photo-etch with a nice multi-layered instrument panel, coloured harness straps and scalethickness pilot’s armour. Eduard has not attempted to colour the armour plate, which I think is a good call considering the amount of interpretation that might be applicable to British Interior Grey Green! Eduard’s instructions indicate that the flare rack (Part F47) should be glued to the front of the pilot’s seat, but this was not fitted to the Mk.IX. Just leave it off. The wheel wells and undercarriage parts are really well detailed. The wheel well openings are slightly oval in shape. This seems to correspond with the shape shown in the plans in Robert Bracken’s book, “Spitfire - The Canadians” (Volume One). The exhausts are the fishtail type. They are
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The upper wing is specific to the late Mk.IXc too, with the single blister over the inboard 20mm cannon bay. No insterts here!
Both early and late styles of horizontal stabilisers are included.
Much fuss was made about the raised “fabric” covers over the outboard machine gun ports. They are very fine indeed and look more than acceptable when the model is painted.
Nice fabric strip detail on the rudder.
The kit cockpit detail looks very good straight from the box.
The kit’s plastic exhausts are moulded in one piece per side and feature hollowed out stacks.
The moulding quality of the smaller parts is up to the same high standard as the rest of the kit.
The colour photo-etched fret.
The closed canopy is supplied as a combined centre and rear section. The separate sliding section fits comfortably over the fuselage spine without stretching.
Eduard offers an optional multimedia cockpit in their BRASSIN range.
Note that the lightening holes in the rear fuselage frames are already hollowed out.
The colours on the kit decal sheet are a too light, and the proportions of the upper wing roundels are incorrect.
The detail is truly exquisite. Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Eduard 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc Late Version ProfiPACK. • Kit No. 8281
Here, the Eduard fuselage is compared in size with the well-regarded Aeroclub fuselage. The lengths agree almost perfectly.
More of the BRASSIN cockpit resin parts.
The BRASSIN cockpit was used for this project. The cockpit sidewalls were removed by repeatedly scoring the scalloped casting block strips.
The strips could then simply be snapped off.
The wedge-shaped attachments to the bottom of the resin cockpit floor were nibbled away with a sprue cutter.
A razor saw came in handy for some of the more substantial casting blocks.
The resin parts freed from their blocks are now ready for painting and assembly.
supplied in one piece for each side and the stacks are hollowed out at the end. Nice!
ENGINEERING AND OPTIONS
The kit is broken down conventionally. The fuselage is full-length with the only insert being the forward wing root (one part with a blister fairing and one without). The top engine cowling is split lengthwise into two pieces and two versions are offered. The instructions advise which version applies to what marking option. The lower cowl is separate too. The late and early versions are included, but the early version cannot be used yet as the back half of the big late-version carburettor intake is moulded in place on the lower mid wing. The wings are also moulded without inserts. The narrow C wing bulges are moulded in place over the inboard cannon bay. Ailerons, elevators and the rudder are all separate, while the flaps are moulded closed. This
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is another sensible decision, as the flaps were rarely seen dropped at any time other than on final approach to landing. The early elevators with the straight diagonal mass balance are provided as well as the late kinked version. The elevators are moulded as matched pairs, joined in the middle with a plastic connector. This will ensure that the droop (or otherwise) is consistent when the elevators are glued in place. The early rounded and later tall pointed rudder are also included. Other options include a choice of wheel hubs (four spoke, five spoke and covered, with photoetched covers supplementing the plastic parts); two styles of gear doors, two 250 lb British bombs and racks; and standard or clipped wing tips. In fact, the modeller is offered two options for the clipped wing tips - one set is clear and the other moulded in grey plastic. The canopy side door is a separate part too,
with the option of posing the door open or closed. The clear parts are free from distortion and quite thin. The closed canopy option comprises a combined sliding section and rear section, while the open canopy supplies a separate sliding section to sit over the rear clear part.
MARKINGS
Markings are supplied for five aircraft, including one with alternate markings: • Spitfire LF Mk.IXc, MH712, flown by W/O Henryk Dygala, No. 302 Squadron, Summer / Autumn, 1944 • Spitfire HF Mk.IXc, MJ296, flown by F/Lt Otto Smik, No. 312 Squadron, North Weald AB, Late August, 1944 •Spitfire LF Mk.IXc, MJ586, flown by Pierre Clostermann, No. 602 Squadron, Longues sur Mer airfield, July 7, 1944 • Spitfire LF Mk.IXc, MJ250, No. 601 Squadron,
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The first sub-assembly was the cockpit floor, the rudder pedals and the instrument panel bulkhead. Note that it is actually not necessary to completely remove the rectangle from this panel as I have done here.
The resin sidewalls with a few small photo-etched parts glued in place.
Painting gets underway. The parts are separated into groups that will be painted Interior Green, Black and a reddish-brown shade.
The photo-etched instrument panel and harness straps were sprayed with Testor’s Model Master Flat Clear Lacquer Finish then, when dry, the dial areas were brush painted with Future floor polish. Details are picked out mainly using Vallejo acrylic paints and a fine brush.
The base colour for the cockpit is Tamiya XF-71 Cockpit Green (IJN).
EDUARD’S BRASSIN AND PHOTO-ETCHED ACCESSORIES The following accessories are avaialble now: Bulkheads, floor and instrument panel have been brought together here.
Italy, Summer, 1944 • Spitfire LF Mk.IXc, ML135, flown by Jerry Billing, No. 401 Squadron, Tangmere AB, June 7, 1944 • Spitfire LF Mk.IXc, ML135, flown by Jerry Billing, No. 401 Squadron, France, July 1, 1944 Everything is in register on my sample but the red of the upper wing Type B roundels is too large. The colours look very bright in my photo but they are not as lurid under normal lighting, although the blue may be a little bit too light.
GETTING STARTED
Before you start working on the kit, I strongly recommend that you thoroughly acquaint yourself with the instructions. If you are using any of the resin or photo-etched updates, check those instructions carefully before you start too. As with any modelling project, taking your time and constantly test-fitting are good policies. Make sure that you are confident about the orientation of parts well before you start applying glue.
ITEM NO DESCRIPTION
PRICE
COMMENTS
648099
BRASSIN Spitfire Exhaust Stacks Fishtail
USD$6.76
Individual resin stacks
648100
BRASSIN Spitfire IX Cockpit
USD$33.96
Resin and photo-etched parts
49639
Spitfire IXc
USD$16.96
Additional and replacement photoetched detail parts
48765
Spitfire IXc Landing Flaps
USD$21.21
Landing flap and bay detail with templates.
48766
Spitfire IX Surface Panels
USD$16.96
Hatches, fillers, surface templates, replacement door with separate crowbar and more.
THAT FABULOUS FRONT OFFICE
Eduard sent all the currently available BRASSIN and photo-etched sets along with the sample kit. I could not resist using the BRASSIN cockpit (Item No. 648100), which features some incredibly fine detail on its resin parts. I therefore spent most of the first two days working on this self-contained gem before I even cut the first plastic part from the sprue. Eduard’s BRASSIN Spitfire Mk.IX cockpit comprises 33 parts in light and dark grey resin plus a pre-coloured photo-etched fret. The only kit parts used for the cockpit are the fuselage halves, and the small reinforcement strut between the tops of the two rear cockpit bulkheads. The first step is preparation. Proper preparation of the resin parts is the most important aspect of this entire build. Although the casting blocks and strips are as small as could be practically expected, some time and care is required to free the parts. This
is especially true of the larger parts such as the cockpit floor, the seat and the lower sidewalls. I recommend that you start by fitting a new blade to your hobby knife. For the lower sidewalls, I scored repeatedly along the scalloped connectors joining the part to the casting block, then simply snapped the block off. The remaining waste on the bottom of the parts were then trimmed off with my Olfa hobby knife. I expected that I might have to break out the Dremel motor tool and a cutting wheel to deal with the long casting block underneath the cockpit floor. However, after nibbling the triangular fingers off with a pair of sprue cutters, I removed the remaining block using a razor saw. This was not as difficult or as time consuming as I had expected. But now, a recommendation with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight: thin the bottom of the floor a little beyond the casting block at this stage. This will make it easier to fit the wing to the bottom of the fuselage when the time comes. You can either
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Eduard 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc Late Version ProfiPACK. • Kit No. 8281
The cockpit is assembled as a tub. Here, one of the sidewalls is being test-fitted. The BRASSIN seat is cast with the backrest cushion in place.
The other side is being checked for fit.
The coloured photo-etched harness straps can be fitted once the seat is attached to the bulkhead.
I found that the instrument panel slotted into the sidewalls comfortably after the resin locating slots were widened and deepened.
The nose is engineered with a structural bulkhead to add rigidity. Can’t get the direction of installation mucked up, can we?
The mount for the tail wheel is fitted deep inside the fuselage. Don’t forget to install this before you seal up the fuselage halves!
The fuselage halves are joined after copious test-fitting. It was worth it though, as the fit was perfect.
grind the bottom of the part with a motor tool, or scrape away some excess material with a hobby knife. Don’t remove too much resin though, as you want to leave enough thickness to key to the bottom of the cockpit sidewalls. I removed the seat’s casting block with a razor saw too. If you take your time and use nice sharp tools, most of the other parts will come away from their casting blocks without much resistance. I cut the rudder pedals off their blocks with a sharp hobby knife, but managed to slice one through diagonally. I then had to remove the remaining wedge of resin from the casting block and glue the two pieces together. You’d think I would have learned something from this experience but I managed to do exactly the same thing with the mount for the late version gunsight! Fortunately, I did not end up using that version. In retrospect, I think it will be safer to remove these parts with a razor saw rather than a knife. It will take just a few more minutes, but will save you the ignominy of repairing your self-inflicted damage. Also in the “do as I say and not as I did”
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department, you don’t need to cut out the wafer of translucent resin at the rear of Part R11. The resin mount for the instrument panel, Part R16, will lock in just fine with this membrane still in place. The BRASSIN set offers the choice of two headrests, but you won’t need either of these for wartime Spitfire IXs. The same goes for the photoetched flare rack in front of the seat. Apart from these minor points, I followed the instructions. I used thick tube super glue to secure the parts except where noted otherwise in the following text.
PAINTING THE COCKPIT
Detail parts were attached to the sidewalls and the floor - including the various bulkheads but not the seat – before each sub-assembly was painted and weathered. The seat was painted separately. After a coat of Tamiya grey primer straight from the spray can, the cockpit sub-assemblies were airbrushed with Tamiya acrylic XF-71 Cockpit Green. Mig Productions’ 502 Abteilung oil paint, Abt.160 Engine Grease, was heavily thinned with mineral turpentine and brushed onto the painted
The wing spar and wheel well sidewalls in the process of assembly. The lining of each main wheel well is made up from six pieces plus the wing spar as the front wall.
resin parts as a filter. While this was still damp, a more selective application of AK Interactive’s Dark Brown Wash was brushed along recesses to add layers to the depth. This left a slightly darker, dirty residue in crevices and natural shadow areas. When this shading coat had dried, I drybrushed a mix of Tamiya Cockpit Green and J.A. Grey onto the cockpit parts.. The paint was laid off the stiff brush by wiping it on paper, then the almost dry bristles were brushed along the high points of the cockpit sub-assemblies. Next time I dry-brush, I will do so before the oil wash stage. The wash should tone down some of the more obvious marks left by the dry-brushing. Details on the sidewalls and floor were now picked out with Vallejo acrylic paints and a fine brush. My Optivisor was very helpful for seeing all the detail parts close-up during painting. The plumbing and wiring was painted silver and an orange-brown shade.
GETTING IT TOGETHER
The colour photo-etched instrument panel was coated with Testor’s Model Master Flat Lacquer
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It took me a couple of minutes to get the orientation of the exhausts worked out…
s being
The cockpit floor was fouling against the wing when testfitting, so the floor was reduced to the thickness of paper, or even less in places!
…but they fit well and look great when in place.
“Basic construction of the airframe was complete less than four hours after sealing the fuselage halves.” As it turned out, all I really should have done was to grind down the raised bump on the upper surface of the bottom wing half. This was actually mentioned in the instructions but in my haste I missed it.
The two-part lower and upper cowl parts fit almost perfectly.
The wing roots were kept aligned with plastic clamps.
The model with neither filler nor serious sanding, almost ready for paint.
A few smears of Tamiya Surfacer were applied to the carburettor intake, the lower rear fuselage seam and one side of the starboard side radiator housing, where I had been a bit untidy in assembly.
The lower Azure Blue surfaces and the Dark Earth on the top were sprayed with Gunze’s Mr Colour lacquers.
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Eduard 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc Late Version ProfiPACK. • Kit No. 8281
The upper surface camouflage was painted freehand without masks. This meant that there were several rounds of evaluation and respraying.
A pale mottle was applied to the upper and lower surface colours to lend a bit of irregularity.
while the parts were still on the fret. I flat-coated the harness straps while I was at it. Once the flat coat had dried, I brushed Future floor polish onto the dials printed on the bottom two layers of the instrument panel sandwich. When this first coat had dried, I cut the two top layers of the panel from the fret (Parts PE 9 and 12), brushed a second coat of Future onto the dials then, while the Future was still wet, positioned the two parts on the panel’s photo-etched base (Part PE10). The Future floor polish acts as an effective glue as well as a glossy finish for the instrument dials. When everything had set, the instrument panel was glued to the bulkhead using Gator’s Grip Acrylic Glue. The resin seat was painted Tamiya XF-68 NATO Brown to represent the synthetic Bakelite, then the leather backrest brush-painted with Vallejo acrylics. The lap harness straps were glued in place now. Next, the photo-etched top seat mounts were pushed through the pilot’s armour and the seat was glued to the bulkhead (which had already been glued to the cockpit floor). The shoulder harness was now carefully threaded through the hole near the bottom of the backrest and the slot in the top of the bulkhead, then secured to the seat with a few spots of super glue.
Winsor & Newton Raw Umber oil paint thinned with Pure Gum Turpentine was smeared onto the fuselage of the model, then spread and eventually wiped it off with a fingertip.
Dark exhaust streaks and various stains were added with the usual thinned Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 Red Brown mix.
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The thinned paint remained in the recessed panel lines and rivets.
The heavy wing walkway chipping was achieved by first painting the area dark green, followed by spotting repeatedly with the tip of a silver Prismacolor pencil.
NOT SO SQUEEZY
The fit of all the parts so far was extraordinarily good. Some of the resin parts were actually a snap fit, and no additional surgery had been necessary to get to this advanced stage. The bottom of the sidewalls and the floor are keyed together precisely. The join between the sidewalls and both sides of the floor is a press fit. With the sidewalls pressed in place without glue, I test-fitted the entire tub between the fuselage halves. The fuselage came together without a problem aft of the cockpit, but there was a slight gap between the fuselage halves in front of the cockpit. I dismantled the fuselage and re-examined the parts. Each cockpit sidewall has a narrow vertical slot that is intended to accommodate the bottom edge of the instrument panel. These appeared to be too narrow to fit the three layers of resin and photo-etch, so I deepened and widened the slots. When I glued the sidewalls to the floor and the bulkheads, the edges of the instrument panel slid neatly into the slots on both sides. If you are using the BRASSIN cockpit, don’t get overexcited and glue the fuselage halves together just yet. Now you can return to the kit instructions, where you are advised to fit the tail gear mount and the nose reinforcements before sealing up the fuselage (the BRASSIN instructions do not illustrate these parts).
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
A few spots of super glue were applied to the outside of the resin cockpit sidewalls, and Revell Contacta Cement to the inside of the vertical fin.
The fuselage halves were now brought together, encasing the cockpit tub. I was delighted that the parts met in the middle without any interference from the cockpit. The upper and lower join seams were brushed sparingly with Tamiya Extra Thin Liquid Cement to secure the parts.
BALANCE OF ASSEMBLY
Basic construction of the airframe was complete less than four hours after sealing the fuselage halves. A few of the sub-assemblies look a little daunting, such as the 13-piece wing spar and wheel well sidewalls. You do need to keep careful track of the part numbers and their alignment, but everything fits perfectly. The same may be said of the slightly baffling but ultimately very impressive exhausts and their mounts. Test fit these several times, refer to the
instructions as often as you need to, and you will eventually figure it out. Note that this is not the BRASSIN resin upgrade, but the plastic kit parts – lovely stuff. Really, the only problem I encountered was when I tried to mate the wing to the fuselage. Testfitting revealed that the resin bottom of the cockpit floor was fouling against the plastic of the midwing section. As it turned out, this was actually my fault, not the kit’s. As I suggested earlier, it is a good idea to thin the bottom of the resin floor (Part R8) before assembly. I thinned the floor after the fuselage halves were joined, but the wing still would not fit. I really went to town at this stage, aggressively scraping resin from the bottom of the floor until there was none left in some places.
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Eduard 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc Late Version ProfiPACK. • Kit No. 8281
“The curse has been lifted. We finally have the 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IX that this famous marque deserves.”
The clear parts were a joy to work with. Fit was perfect and Eduard makes painting easier by supplying self-adhesive masks too.
Decals were sourced from five different decal sheets, although later research suggested that the actual aircraft was an early Mk.IXc, not a late. The question of the Sky codes remains open too!
The propellers were painted XF-69 NATO Black to represent fading. They were further weathered with Tamiya’s Weathering Pastels and chipped with the tip of a silver Prismacolor pencil.
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This drastic reduction was, in fact, completely unnecessary. On the right side of Page 4 of the BRASSIN cockpit instructions, there is an innocent looking diagram with a small pink circle on the inside of the bottom wing marked for removal. This is the raised interior moulding for the landing light. In my haste, I had totally missed this diagram. If I had ground this small bump off the inside of the wing, the cockpit probably would have fitted without any further effort. Another case of “do as I say, not as I do”! Thanks to Jim Hatch from Scale Plastic and Rail for suggesting the source of my woes. All other elements of construction – the twopiece upper cowl, the multi-part lower nose, the radiators and control surfaces – flew together. It actually looked as if there might be a gap between the bottom nose and one side of the engine cowling when test-fitting, but when the glue was applied it closed up nicely.
DESERT COLOURS
The model was painted using my Iwata HP-CP and HP-TR airbrushes. The lower Azure Blue surfaces and the Dark Earth on the top were sprayed with Gunze’s Mr Colour lacquers. These are supplied in one of several paint three-packs that cover most of the colours in the RAF’s Day Fighter and Desert schemes. Strangely, however, they do not include Middle Stone in any of their sets so I had to use Gunze’s Aqueous (acrylic) H71 Middle Stone instead. The demarcation lines along the bottom of the fuselage and nose were masked with Tamiya tape, but the upper surface camouflage pattern was painted freehand without masks. This meant that there were several rounds of evaluation and respraying, but I managed to eventually achieve the soft-edged finish that I was hoping for. I wanted to take advantage of the very fine surface detail, but was mindful to avoid overemphasising the panel lines and rivets. I therefore employed something I hadn’t tried before except on very small areas. After I had applied several glossy coats of Future Floor Polish, I smeared some Winsor & Newton Raw Umber oil paint thinned with Pure Gum Turpentine onto the fuselage of the model. The paint was allowed to sit for a few minutes, then I spread it further and eventually wiped it off with a fingertip. The thinned paint remained in the recessed panel lines and rivets. I repeated this process for the rest of the airframe. I also found that the effect was further enhanced if I dampened my finger with the tip of my tongue and traced small circles on the plastic. The result was a very subtle shading of the surface feature that was visible when viewed close up but blended into the overall finish from a distance – just what I was after!
DECALS
I based my finish on a contrasty wartime photo, and also the instructions from an Xtradecal 1:72 scale decal sheet that included this subject. Xtradecal suggested that the codes were Sky (although Medium Sea Grey would have been more common), and depicted the aircraft as a late Spitfire Mk.IX. With nothing much better to go on, I followed these suggestions. Decals were now applied. These were sourced from a number of different sheets:
• The “QJ” codes were from Xtradecal Item No. X023-48 – RAF Squadron Code Letters and Numbers 24” & 30”, Sky • The individual “1” code was taken from Aeromaster Decals Item No. 48-047 – Luftwaffe Fighter Numbers (Part 1), and heavily modified (thinned down and a narrow base added) • Individual characters for the serial number were from Fantasy Printshop’s RAF Black Serial Numbers (4”, 8”, 12”) • Roundels are Techmod’s Item No. 48024 – Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc • Stencil markings from Eduard’s decal sheet All the decals performed nicely except for Techmod’s. Let me say that the colours and dimensions of the Techmod decals were gorgeous – certainly better than the Eduard decals. It was only when the markings were on the surface of the model that the trouble started. I applied my usual coat of Solvaset over the roundels and returned some hours later to find the decals dry but still sitting flat above the surface detail. A second application of Solvaset made little difference, so I started slicing the roundels on the panel lines and applied several rounds of Gunze Mr Mark Softer. The decals eventually settled into place, but with more grief than should have been necessary. After a flat coat of Testor’s Model Master Flat Clear Lacquer Finish, shading was applied to key structural features and exhaust stains were added using the usual thinned mix of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 Red Brown. The propellers were painted XF-69 NATO Black to represent fading. They were further weathered with Tamiya’s Weathering Pastels and chipped with the tip of a silver Prismacolor pencil. The same weathering techniques were applied to the wing walk areas.
CONCLUSION
The curse has been lifted. We finally have the 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IX that this famous marque deserves. The kit is accurate, well detailed, with state-ofthe-art surface textures and lots of useful options. It is also a pleasure to build; and fast too. It doesn’t exactly fall together, but if you pay close attention to the instructions and test fit along the way, you shouldn’t have any problems. I was pleased to see that this model did not go down the route of engine detail and poseable flaps. In fact, parts breakdown is quite conventional and construction should be straightforward, so Eduard’s Spitfire will be suitable even for relatively inexperienced modellers. The BRASSIN and photo-etched upgrades are a nice touch for super-detailers. The BRASSIN cockpit really is a remarkable little model in its own right, and is a worthy enhancement for this excellent kit. The sprues also offer some tantalising hints of things to come. Certainly, many of the parts needed for the Mk.IXc early version are already in the box, and a Mk.IXe would only require a new wing, but it would not be a stretch to imagine an Eduard Spitfire Mk.VIII in the near future too (the separately available block-tread BRASSIN tyres are a clue, as these seemed to have been almost exclusively used on RAAF Mks. Vc and VIII). In my opinion, Eduard has delivered easily the best late mark Merlin Spitfire available in 1:48 scale. Bravo! •
MODELSPEC Eduard 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc Late Version ProfiPACK.
Kit No. 8281
Accessories Used : Xtradecal Item No. X023-48 – RAF Squadron Code Letters and Numbers 24” & 30”, Sky Aeromaster Decals Item No. 48-047 – Luftwaffe Fighter Numbers (Part 1) Fantasy Printshop – RAF Black Serial Numbers (4”, 8”, 12”) Techmod Item No. 48024 – Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc Tools and Modelling Products Used: Tamiya Extra Thin Cement Revell Contacta Cement Gator’s Grip Acrylic Glue Selley’s Super Glue Tamiya Surfacer Zip Kicker (super glue accelerator) Tamiya Masking Tape Iwata HP-TR and HP-CP airbrushes Paints and Finishing Products Used: Tamiya (acrylic): X-18 Semi-Gloss Black; XF-1 Flat Black; XF-2 Flat White; XF-64 Red Brown; XF-57 Buff; XF-69 NATO Black; XF-71 Cockpit Green (IJN). Tamiya Spray Can – White Primer; Grey Primer; AS-12 Bare Metal Silver; TS-34 Camel Yellow. Gunze Mr Colour lacquers: 368 BS381C/450 Dark Earth; 370 Azure Blue. Gunze Aqueous Hobby Colour acrylic: H71 Middle Stone. Mr Hobby Mr Color Leveling Thinner 400. Vallejo Model Color (acrylic): 70865 Oily Steel; 70891 Intermediate Green; 919 Foundation White; 70953 Flat Yellow; 70957 Flat Red; 70950 Black Vallejo Panzer Aces (acrylic): 301 Light Rust; 337 Highlight Ger. (Black) Testor’s Model Master Flat Clear Lacquer Finish Solvaset decal setting solution Winsor & Newton Oil Paint: Raw Umber Sin Industries (Mig Productions) The Filter – P245 Brown for Dark Green Tamiya Weathering Pastels Sets A and B Future Floor Polish Accurate fuselage and wing dimensions; very high level of detail; outstanding surface features including crisply recessed panels and subtle rivet lines where appropriate; includes colour photo-etched parts; separate parts for closed and open canopy; many options including kinked/straight elevators, two styles of gear doors, two different upper engine cowlings, clipped or full-length wing tips, three types of wheel hubs (four spoke, five spoke and covered), bombs and pointed/ rounded rudder. Incorrect proportions for wing B type roundels; flare rack on seat should be omitted. RATING: 9.5 out of 10 Thanks to Eduard for the sample www.eduard.com Eduard kits are available in the UK from Creative Models Limited www.creativemodels.co.uk
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Hasegawa 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc. • Kit No. JT79
MAKE DO AND MEND
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The Editor digs deep into his model stash to convert Hasegawa’s 2001-release Spitfire Mk.IX to a Mk.VIII using the Aeroclub fuselage correction and spinner sets. Bruce Archer conducted a detailed comparison between Spitfire Mk.IX kits in 1:48 scale shortly after Hasegawa’s initial Spitfire IX release in 2001. His conclusion was that there was no easy fix to the Hasegawa fuselage dimensional problems. And so, at that time, the modelling community noisily divided into two camps. Some modellers accepted that the Hasegawa Spitfire IX still looked okay, was nicely detailed and was easy to build; while others thought that the error was noticeable and rendered the kit unacceptable. Many modellers acknowledged the problem but built the kit anyway.
THE AEROCLUB SOLUTION
Hasegawa’s attractive box art for their 2001-release 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IXc.
T
he Spitfire Mk.IX was the second most widely used variant after the Mk.V. It served with a variety of countries in most theatres during the Second World War, and remains one of the iconic fighter aircraft of all time. Hasegawa’s 1:48 scale Spitfire VIII and IX family was therefore eagerly anticipated prior to its release in 2001.
HASEGAWA AND THE 1:48 SPITFIRE MAELSTROM
These kits certainly lived up to Hasegawa’s reputation for fine, crisp surface features and good detail. However, it is generally accepted that the rear fuselage is too short with some further compound problems due to this dimensional error. These additional problems include misplaced panel lines but, more importantly, the taper of the lower fuselage line from the cockpit to the rudder is too pronounced. The spinner is also far too long, presumably to help compensate for the short overall fuselage length.
There was never any “right” or “wrong” to these different positions, but Aeroclub had a solution for those modellers who were concerned by these discrepancies. Aeroclub’s 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IX fuselage correction set comprises 14 parts in low-pressure injection moulded plastic. This set is equally applicable to the Mk.IX or Mk.VIII Spitfire. Plastic parts cover the fuselage halves, alternate lower cowls (with either the early short or later long supercharger intake), tail wheel inserts and doors for the Mk.VIII and blanking insert for the Mk.IX tailwheel, plus a fuselage mounted cigarshaped drop tank. The fuselage interior features cockpit sidewall detail. A corrected spinner and propeller assembly was also available separately from Aeroclub. The plastic is quite smooth and crisply detailed with recessed panel lines. There are no moulding imperfections on my sample, but there is some flash surrounding smaller parts. Sprue attachment points are quite stout. I recommend cutting the main parts off with a razor saw before cleaning up with a hobby knife and sanding sticks to avoid damaging the plastic. There are no instructions but this is really not a problem as all the parts correspond with their equivalents in the Hasegawa kit.
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Hasegawa 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc. • Kit No. JT79
The stumpy Hasegawa fuselage.
Fabric texture and surface detail in general is nicely done.
The wings are quite accurate. They feature inserts in the wings to permit different cannon covers for early Mk.IXc, late Mk.IXc or Mk.VIII.
The canopy is broken down into three pieces and may be posed open.
Aeroclub’s fuselage correction set addresses most of the dimensional issues of the Hasegawa kit.
“Even using the short-run Aeroclub fuselage, construction was not too different from any standard injection moulded plastic model.” The Aeroclub correction also includes new early and late-style lower cowl parts, and a bonus cigar-shaped drop tank.
DECISIONS, DECISIONS
I bought a couple of Hasegawa 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IXc kits shortly after their release, but their shortcomings (quite literally) left me a bit cool toward them so they have lingered on the shelf for the last 12 years. With the release of Eduard’s 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IX, it might seem that the Hasegawa kit has been superseded. So what to do with this ugly duckling? I owned the Aeroclub Spitfire Mk.IX fuselage correction and replacement spinner and propeller assembly. I also had the Aeroclub Spitfire Mk.XIV conversion. Having just finished basic construction of Eduard’s 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IXc, I decided to build a Spitfire Mk.VIII using the Hasegwa kit and the Aeroclub correction parts as a direct comparison.
EIGHTS AND NINES
The Spitfire Mk.IX actually entered service prior to the Mk.VIII. The new and improved Mk.VIII featured a strengthened fuselage and retractable tail wheel. It was fitted with the new Volkes Aero Vee air filter, which was also adapted to the later production Spitfire Mk.IX. Each wing was fitted with self-
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Aeroclub’s propeller and spinner set corrects the final dimensional problem with Hasegawa’s kit.
sealing 14 gallon fuel tanks and the capacity of the main tank was increased to 96 gallons. All Mk.VIII Spitfires were fitted with the C wing, with either four 20mm cannon; or two cannon and two machine guns. In the end, the Spitfire Mk.VIII never replaced the “stop-gap” Spitfire Mk.IX in northern Europe. The Spitfire Mk.VIII entered service around the middle of 1943 in Italy and the Far East and in 1944 with the Royal Australian Air Force in the Pacific, largely in a ground attack role. The Hasegawa kit already includes most of the parts necessary to build a Mk.VIII including the pointed rudder and revised tail wheel with separate doors. However, the kit misses out on some of the more subtle elements, including the short-span ailerons and the wing leading edge fuel tanks. These omissions were addressed during the build.
CONSTRUCTION
Even using the short-run Aeroclub fuselage, construction was not too different from any standard injection moulded plastic model. The main distinction was that Aeroclub’s replacement fuselage required a bit of extra clean-up due to a few ragged mating
surfaces and uneven injection points. The locating slots for the horizontal stabilisers were also flashed over with some fairly thick plastic, so these were excavated with a new hobby blade before construction proceeded. The other slight complication was that I had lost one side of Aeroclub’s Mk.VIII tail wheel inserts some time in the last decade. This was easily addressed by simply using the equivalent parts from the Hasegawa kit. They fitted well with only a little trimming and filling here and there. The kit cockpit floor and bulkheads were used, but I employed several upgrades for the front office. These included the Ultracast resin seat with Sutton harness, Ultracast replacement control column and Eduard’s “Zoom” colour photo-etched fret specifically for the instrument panel. Moving on, I cut the wheel bulges from the top of the wings and sanded them smooth. I gouged too deeply into one side of the wing, but a few minutes with filler and sandpaper corrected my mistake. To complete the transformation to a Spitfire Mk.VIII, I filled and scribed a few panel lines on the outer wings to depict the short-span ailerons. I also scribed panel lines and filler hatches for the wing leading edge fuel tanks. In fact, you’ll
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Kit parts are added to the sidewall detail moulded to Aeroclub’s fuselage interior.
Ultracast’s lovely resin seat and the Quickboost control column were used to enhance the kit cockpit.
Hasegawa’s kit parts combined with the Quickboost stick prior to painting.
The base cockpit colour is Tamiya acrylic XF-71 Cockpit Green (IJN). A dark oil wash has been applied over paint to help the structural detail “pop out”.
A little dry-brushing and detail painting makes a big difference.
The seat and basic cockpit floor/bulkhead sub-assembly ready for installation.
Ready to fit in the fuselage.
I used one of Eduard’s early colour photo-etched frets for the instrument panel.
As you can see, I managed to misalign the top layer of the panel. Make sure you are more careful than I was!
Test-fitting is especially important with a conversion project. No hidden dangers here by the look of it.
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Hasegawa 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc. • Kit No. JT79
The thick flash covering the locating slots for the horizontal stabilisers were cut away prior to joining the fuselage halves.
The Hasegawa Mk.VIII tail wheel inserts fitted with only minor trimming and filling.
The cockpit was glued to the starboard fuselage interior before the halves were joined.
Fuselage halves were taped and clamped while the glue set.
Rather than drill holes for the elevator extensions, I simply snipped them off before gluing the stabs in place.
Left: Now you see it, now you don’t! The top wing has had the bulges carved off and sanded back, while the bottom wing shows the unmolested bulges.
The wheel bulges were carved off the tops of the wings. These were generally post-war features added when the geometry of the undercarriage was changed to cater for operation on had runway surfaces.
have to do all this scribing and minor surgery for an accurate Mk.VIII even if you buy Hasegawa’s dedicated Spitfire Mk.VIII kit. Apart from the decals, the contents are identical to this Mk.IXc. The wings and fuselage were brought together with no serious fit dramas. The joins at the wing root were not perfect but only minor filling was required later. Additional upgrades included Ultracast cannon barrels – drilled and pinned to ensure a stout join on the wing leading edges – and flared exhausts with hollowed out stacks. A larger slipper tank was also fitted using Quickboost’s item no. 48 089, labelled “Slippery Tank” (well, I suppose it was, aerodynamically speaking). These large 90 gallon tanks were usually fitted for ferry flights. I did have to trim and fiddle with the flat mating surface of the tank to get it to fit the bottom of the fuselage, but it worked out fine in the end. The fin was also a little thicker than the rudder at the hinge post, so this was sanded down until the two parts matched, and detail was rescribed on the fin.
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A few seam lines and minor gaps were filled with Milliput White Epoxy Putty, and following final sanding, the model was ready for paint.
DIRTY BIRD
When Chris Wauchop and I were working on the Tamiya 1:32 scale Spitfire Mk.VIII for the ADH Publishing “How To Built the Tamiya 1:32 Spitfie” book, we dug up as much reference as we could find on 457 Sqn. RAAF Spitfire Mk.VIIIs. It would appear that 457 Sqn’s Spitfires were delivered in two batches, and quite a few aircraft shared the same codes. For example, there were at least two ZP Ys. The earlier aircraft featured smaller shark’s mouths and large wing roundels. In fact, these are most likely simply RAF roundels with the red circle in the centre overpainted with white. Some time later, these aircraft were repainted with much larger shark’s mouths and small upper wing roundels. On some of the later aircraft, the old eyes could be seen partially painted over by the new mouths. The Australian War Memorial website had a fascinating in-flight photo of ZP Y, serial number
Above: In retrospect, the dihedral was a little extreme.
A58-672. Weatherbeaten scarcely describes the condition of the paintwork. It was positively pulverised! Of particular interest are the dark circles on the upper wings suggesting the overpainting of the old large roundels. The rest of the paintwork is heavily weathered. Several patches of paler Ocean Grey may be seen on the rudder and the other control surfaces. Similarly, darker patches of Dark Green are present elsewhere on the airframe. A chalky exhaust stain, petrol spills from the fuel filler and heavy walkway chipping complete the picture of a Spitfire that has experienced a hard operational life. I had also found a photo of my particular subject, ZP X, A58-672. This was taken post-war and in left profile view. It showed an equally weatherbeaten airframe, with fading and peeling paint, an overpainted or more likely replaced rudder with distinctly different paintwork, and a second set of eyes left over from an earlier small shark mouth. I decided to blend the profile characteristics of
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Basic assembly is complete with no filling or sanding at this stage.
Ultracast’s cannon barrels were drilled and pinned to ensure a robust join with the wing leading edges.
Quickboost’s 90 Gallon slipper tank has been installed here. A little trimming and fiddling was required for a good fit.
Filler has now been applied, and the propeller assembly test-fitted. Looks like a Spitfire now!
Moulding is a little rough, but the shape and dimensions of the Aeroclub spinner and propeller blades are a great improvement over Hasegawa’s.
Above left: Milliput White two-part epoxy putty was used to fill a few gaps and ridges.
Above: Minor filling was also required on the undersurfaces.
Left: Short-span ailerons were depicted by filling, sanding and rescribing the exisiting aileron detail. Note the new lines and circular filler hatch scribed on leading edge for the Mk.VIII’s wet wing too.
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Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Hasegawa 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc. • Kit No. JT79
After a coat of Tamiya Grey Primer, the leading edges and narrow fuselage band were sprayed with Tamiya Fine White.
The instructions’ camouflage plan was enlarged to 1/48 scale, printed out and used as the basis for camouflage masks.
ZP X with the upper surface features of the in-flight ZP Y. After all, as sister aircraft the weathering would probably have been similar.
VIVE LA DIFFÉRENCE!
I specifically wanted a stark contrast in finishes between my Eduard Spitire Mk.IX and this Hasegawa Mk.VIII. The Mk.IX was in desert colours, so the Mk.VIII would be in the Day Fighter Scheme. The Mk.IX was clean, so the Mk.VIII would be filthy. The Mk.IX featured soft-edged camouflage, so the Mk.VIII would be hard-edged. After a coat of Tamiya Grey Primer, the leading edges and narrow fuselage band were sprayed with Tamiya Fine White primer and masked with Tamiya tape. The instructions’ camouflage plan was enlarged to 1:48 scale, printed out and used as the basis for camouflage masks. The scale plan was overlaid with self-adhesive Post-It Note tape and wide masking tape, which was then cut out and peeled off before being applied to the surface of the model as masks. Camouflage paints were Tamiya’s new acrylic RAF colours: XF-81 Dark Green 2 (RAF); XF-82 Ocean Grey 2 (RAF) and XF-83 Medium Sea Grey (RAF). The Dark Green was darkened further to increase the contrast with the Ocean Grey. The weathering started earlier than usual
24
Tamiya tape was used to mask these white theatre markings.
The scale plan was overlaid with self-adhesive Post-It Note tape and wide masking tape before being applied to the surface of the model as masks.
“With the release of Eduard’s 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IX, it might seem that the Hasegawa kit has been superseded. So what to do with this ugly duckling?” with heavy streaking and staining applied, especially to the wings. There were several rounds of repainting in the paler and darker versions of Dark Green and Ocean Grey in an attempt to match the patchwork appearance of the wartime photos. The roundels were also painted with the aid of masks. First, the oversized and overpainted wing roundels were painted with darker mixes of Dark Green and Ocean Grey, sprayed inside a mask cut from wide tape using an Olfa circle cutter. Tally Ho! Promask Item No. P 48 012 – USAF National Insignia Early Type was adapted to spay the large and small circles of the late-war RAAF markings. The Insignia Blue was sprayed first. When dry, the blue paint was gently sanded with Micromesh 3600 grit cloth to suggest heavy fading and peeling. This was followed by a solid coat of white for the smaller circles.
DECAL TIME
The model was prepared for decals with a couple
of coats of Future Floor Polish. The markings were mostly sourced from Aeromaster Sheet No. 48-780 – Aussie Spitfires Part 4. This includes a nice big shark’s mouth in left and right sides. I decided prior to application that I would cut this into at least two pieces per side, and paint the gap between the top and bottom teeth black. Despite this precaution, fit was still tricky. In fact, I ended up cutting the decals again so that they fitted in the key places, but there were a number of gaps that I needed to fill with paint. These gaps were painted with Vallejo acrylics and a fine brush. The Aeromaster decals otherwise worked very well. I used a second set of eyes on the aircraft nose, and partially oversprayed them with the camouflage colours. Wartime photos show that “Grey Nurse” was painted on both sides of the forward fuselage. I sourced a second Grey Nurse decal from Ventura Decals Item No. V4801 – Australian Spitfire Mk.8s.
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Lower surfaces were painted Medium Sea Grey and mottled with a paler shade.
Camouflage paints were Tamiya’s new acrylic RAF colours.
The roundels were also painted with the aid of masks. First, the oversized and overpainted wing roundels were painted with darker versions of Dark Green and Ocean Grey.
The rudder was sprayed with different versions of dark green and grey to reproduce the effect seen in the profile view reference photo.
Tally Ho! USAF National Insignia masks were adapted to spay the large and small circles of the late-war RAAF markings.
This was followed by a solid coat of white for the smaller circles. There were also several rounds of repainting in the paler and darker versions of Dark Green and Ocean Grey in an attempt to match the patchwork appearance of the wartime photos.
The Insignia Blue was sprayed first. When dry, the blue paint was gently sanded with Micromesh 3600 grit cloth to suggest heavy fading and peeling.
The model was prepared for decals with a couple of coats of Future Floor Polish.
The shark’s mouth was cut into at least two pieces per side prior to application.
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Hasegawa 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc. • Kit No. JT79
A second set of eyes was applied to the aircraft nose, and partially oversprayed them with the camouflage colours.
A second round of weathering followed a flat coat, comprising fuel stains, panel line highlighting and exhaust streaks using a thinned blend of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 Red Brown.
Heavy fuel and oil stains were also added to the bottom of the model.
I painted the spinner RAAF Sky Blue (using Tamiya’s AS-5 Light Blue Luftwaffe) based on the assumption that stocks would have been readily available, but it is also possible that the colour was RAF Sky.
26
Military Illustrated Modeller - July 2013
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MODELSPEC Hasegawa 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc.
Kit No. JT79
Accessories Used : Aeroclub Item No. K839 – Spitfire Mk.VIII/IX Fuselage Correction Aeroclub Item No. P422 – Spitfire Mk.VIII/IX Spinner and Propeller Eduard Item No. FE 203 – Spitfire Mk.IXc Zoom Colour Photo-Etch Eduard Brassin Item No. 648 098 Spitfire Wheels 5 Spoke (block tread) Quickboost Item No. QB 48 089 – Spitfire Mk.IX Slippery Tank (409 l) Quickboost Item No. QB 48 172 – Spitfire Mk.IX Control Sticks Ultracast Item No. 48020 - Supermarine Spitfire Seats with Sutton Harness Ultracast Item No. 48083 - Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX Flared Exhausts Ultracast Item No. 48146 - Supermarine Spitfire C Wing Cannons The windscreen fit appeared to be pretty awful on initial testing, but a bead of liquid glue held the part in place and filled small gaps.
Decals and Masks Used: Aeromaster Item No. 48-780 – Aussie Spitfires Part 4 Tally Ho! Promask Item No. P 48 012 – USAF National Insignia Early Type Ventura Decals Item No. V4801 – Australian Spitfire Mk.8s Paints and Finishing Products Used: Tamiya Extra Thin Cement Revell Contacta Cement Gator’s Grip Acrylic Glue Selley’s Super Glue Tamiya Surfacer Zip Kicker (super glue accelerator) Tamiya Masking Tape Iwata HP-TR and HP-CP airbrushes
Eduard’s BRASSIN block-tread Spitfire wheels were mated with Eduard’s four-spoke wheel hubs included in their Spitfire Mk.IXc kit.
Tools and Modelling Products Used:
The markings were mostly sourced from Aeromaster Sheet No. 48-780 – Aussie Spitfires Part 4.
A second round of weathering followed a flat coat, adding more fuel stains, panel line highlighting and exhaust streaks using a thinned blend of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 Red Brown. Although the weathering and in particular the dark streaking on the wings and repainting may look extreme when finished, it is closely based on the actual pattern seen in both photographs.
FINISHING TOUCHES
In the side view reference photo, the spinner is a slightly but clearly darker colour that the white theatre markings. I painted the spinner RAAF Sky Blue (using Tamiya’s AS-5 Light Blue Luftwaffe) based on the assumption that stocks would have been readily available, but it is also possible that the colour was RAF Sky. The windscreen fit threatened to be pretty awful on initial testing, but a bead of liquid glue held the part in place and filled small gaps.
Many RAAF Spitfire Mk.Vc and Mk.VIII aircraft were fitted with block tread tyres as supplied in the Eduard BRASSIN set. These resin tyres were designed for the Eduard Mk.IX, but they may be adapted for use on the Hasegawa kit too. The resin wheels are supplied with five spoke hubs, but I liberated the spare plastic four-spoke hubs from the Eduard kit and used them with the resin BRASSIN tyres. They fitted perfectly.
CONCLUSION
Hasegawa’s 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.VIII / IX kits may not be the best of the type available, but this was still an enjoyable project. Aeroclub’s 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.VIII / IX fuselage is a comprehensive, accurate and relatively straightforward conversion, and certainly delivers a much more accurate profile to the Hasegawa kit parts. •
Tamiya (acrylic): X-18 Semi-Gloss Black; XF-1 Flat Black; XF-2 Flat White; XF-14 J.A. Grey; XF-24 Dark Grey; XF-64 Red Brown; XF-55 Deck Tan; XF-62 Olive Drab; XF-57 Buff; XF-69 NATO Black; XF-71 Cockpit Green (IJN); XF-81 Dark Green 2 (RAF); XF-82 Ocean Grey 2 (RAF); XF-83 Medium Sea Grey (RAF). Tamiya Spray Can – White Primer; Grey Primer; AS-12 Bare Metal Silver; TS-34 Camel Yellow; TS-38 Gunmetal. Xtracolor: X007 BS210 Sky. Mr Hobby Mr Color Leveling Thinner 400. Vallejo Model Color (acrylic): 847 Dark Sand; 70865 Oily Steel; 70891 Intermediate Green; 919 Foundation White; 70950 Black; 70953 Flat Yellow; 70957 Flat Red; 70950 Black; 70995 German Grey Vallejo Panzer Aces (acrylic): 301 Light Rust; 337 Highlight Ger. (Black) Testor’s Model Master Flat Clear Lacquer Finish Solvaset decal setting solution Sin Industries (Mig Productions) The Filter – P245 Brown for Dark Green Tamiya Weathering Pastels Sets A and B Future Floor Polish Good fit. nice level of detail; fine surface features; includes most of the parts needed to build a Mk.VIII too. Incorrect dimensions for fuselage and spinner with associated flow-on problems. RATING: 8 out of 10 Hasegawa kits are available from Hannants www.hannants.co.uk and hobby retailers worldwide and online
Aircraft Edition
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KIT COMPARISON - Eduard and Hasegawa 1:48 Spifire Mk.IXc Kits Head to Head
SPITFIRE SHOWDOWN Eduard vs. Hasegawa 1:48 scale Spitfire IX kits
H
aving built Eduard’s and Hasegawa’s Spitfire Mk.IX kits at the same time, I had the opportunity to compare each of the major elements from both models.
ACCURACY EDUARD
Outline and detail accuracy is very high. The only possible nitpick is the flare rack on the pilot’s seat, which may easily be omitted. Eduard’s Spitfire Mk.IXc Late Version takes the honours here. 9.5 out of 10
HASEGAWA
Hasegawa’s short fuselage has been well documented since the kit’s release in 2001, and it does make a visible difference to the appearance of the finished model. Hasegawa’s kit also suffers from additional problems associated with and resulting from the short fuselage. These additional problems include misplaced panel lines but, more importantly, the taper of the lower fuselage line from the cockpit to the rudder is too pronounced. The spinner is also too long, presumably to help compensate for the short overall fuselage length. 6.5 out of 10
LEVEL OF DETAIL EDUARD
Eduard is a clear winner here too. Even without the BRASSIN after-market enhancements, the cockpit, the wheel wells, the hollowed exhausts and the engineering of the tail wheel are beautifully detailed. The inclusion of the colour photo-etched parts is just the icing on the cake. 9 out of 10
HASEGAWA
Detail in Hasegawa’s kit was excellent for its time and still stands up well today, but the heavier rendition of the cockpit bulkheads and the seat, plus the general level of detailing can’t compare with what Eduard provides in their box. 7.5 out of 10
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Hasegawa’s 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IXc with Aeroclub’s fuselage (top) alongside Eduard’s 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IXc Late Verison with basic construction completed.
SURFACE FEATURES EDUARD
Recessed rivets and panel lines are very much a matter of taste, but I really like Eduard’s approach. Panel lines are very fine and crisply recessed, while recessed rivets are depicted in several sizes and are incredibly subtle. These may be highlighted or left alone at the painting and weathering stage. The raised fasteners on the engine cowl look overstated on the bare plastic, but they look fine under paint. Those who really don’t like them can always sand them down to reduce their prominence. 9 out of 10
HASEGAWA
Typical Hasegawa panel lines – fine and crisply recessed - but still a narrow points win to Eduard. 8.5 out of 10
and Messerschmitt Bf 110 families. Since then, Eduard has taken a new approach to their engineering. The result is that their newer kits are much easier to build. The new 1:48 scale Messerschmitt Bf 109 E kits and the 1:72 scale Bf 110 family are particularly impressive in this respect. Eduard’s new 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IXc benefits from this shift in design philosophy. Fit is excellent throughout and the model will be well within the capabilities of even relatively inexperienced modellers. Some have questioned the ease of fit and the engineering of the upper and lower cowl parts, which are moulded as two parts each split down the centreline. I imagine that the parts are designed this way to allow deep detail for the overhanging cylinder head covers and the large carburettor intake. Also, bear in mind that the Hasegawa Spitfire fuselage is moulded as full-length halves, so the same join seam appears on the upper cowl. The Hasegawa lower cowl is split lengthwise in exactly the same manner as the Eduard kit too.
LEVEL OF FIT AND EASE OF BUILD
9 out of 10
EDUARD
HASEGAWA
Some years ago Eduard kits developed a reputation for being difficult to build. Examples included their 1:48 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A/F
Hasegawa kits have a reputation for finicky fit, partly due to their copious employment of insert parts to maximise the variants that can be built from
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The finesse of Eduard’s surface detail may be appreciated in this view.
one set of moulds. Although Hasegawa’s Spitfire does have a few inserts (tail wheel covers and cannon bay covers), the fit is actually very good indeed. The only areas that could have been better during my build were the fit of the windscreen and the dihedral of the wings, which appeared to be a bit extreme without surgery. Another narrow points win to Eduard. 8 out of 10
VERSATILITY / OPTIONS EDUARD
Lots of goodies here, including separate parts for closed and open canopy, kinked/straight elevators, two styles of gear doors, separate pilot’s door, two different upper engine cowlings, clipped or full-length wing tips, three types of wheel hubs (four spoke, five spoke and covered), bombs and pointed/rounded rudder.
Fit of the Eduard kit is excellent.
The distinctive profile of the Spitfire Mk.IXc is captured beautifully by Eduard’s model.
9 out of 10
HASEGAWA
Hasegawa is pretty well equipped in this regard too – tall and regular ruder, clipped and standard wing tips, bombs and the option of Mk.VIII or Mk.IX tail wheel arrangement. I’m calling this one a draw! 9 out of 10
DECALS EDUARD
Eduard offers five options for late version Spitfire IXc subjects. The decals are their in-house production, not Cartograf. The print quality is good and register is perfect, but the Sky colour is too light, and the red and blue of the markings are too bright. The proportions of the upper wing roundels are off too. Stencils are a highlight though.
Aeroclub’s replacement fuselage and spinner comprehensively address Hasegawa’s dimensional errors.
7 out of 10
HASEGAWA
Not always known for their decal excellence, Hasegawa’s markings in their Spitfire IXc kit are actually pretty good. Colours and dimensions are accurate, although the carrier film looks thick on the sheet and there are only two options. Points win to Hasegawa here.
The dihedral is a bit steep on the Hasegawa wings. This may be addressed by shimming the join at the wing root.
8 out of 10
CONCLUSION
In my opinion, Eduard’s Spitfire Mk.IXc Late Version is easily the best of this famous breed in 1:48 scale. It is clearly better than the Hasegawa Spitfire Mk.IXc in terms of accuracy and detail; while surface features have better finesse and fit is excellent. If you have been waiting for the ultimate 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.IX to come along, don’t delay. Buy Eduard’s kit. The only area that could use some improvement is the decals, and there are hundreds of colourful aftermarket options available out there right now. But what if you have one or twelve Hasegawa Spitfire Mk.IXc kits unbuilt on your shelves? I wouldn’t buy another 1:48 scale Hasegawa Spitfire, but don’t throw away the ones you might
already have. If you are unconcerned about dimensional accuracy (there are many modellers who fall into that category, and it is absolutely their right to take this position), then build and enjoy. If you are concerned by the dimensional problems of the fuselage, then there are a number of valid uses for the Hasegawa kit that will still deliver an accurate result. If you were lucky enough to pick up Aeroclub’s Spitfire Mk.IX fuselage correction set, use it. It is an ideal first conversion
if you want to stretch your skills. Roll Models also have two resin fuselage correction sets for Hasegawa’s kit too – a Mk.VIII and a Mk.IX. Alternatively, you may wish to use Hasegawa’s kit as the basis for a Spitfire Mk.XIV or Mk.18 project using Aeroclub’s conversion; by cross-kitting the Airfix Spitfire Mk.22/24; or even using the old Falcon vacform kits and conversions. Regardless, there is still a place in the modelling world for Hasegawa’s Spitfire Mk.IXc. •
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: G.W.H. • Kit No. L4813 - MiG-29 Fulcrum Late Type 9-13
LUCKY 9-13 G.W.H. expands their 1:48 scale MiG-29 family to include the current standard 9-13 version.
The all-new upper wing/fuselage part.
T
he MiG-29 “Fulcrum C” 9-13 MiG-29 is similar to the “Fulcrum A” 9-12, but with an enlarged fuselage spine containing additional fuel and a Gardeniya active jammer. The 9-13S is another version with the same airframe as the 9-13, but with an increased external weapons load of 4,000 kg, and provision for two under wing fuel tanks. The radar is upgraded to N019ME, providing the ability to track 10 targets and engage two simultaneously. The 9-13 can operate the Vympel R-77 (AA-12 “Adder”) air-to-air missile (similar to the AIM-120 AMRAAM).* The MiG-29 remains in widespread service today with the Russian Air Force, former states of the Soviet Union and a range of export countries. G.W.H. released their 1:48 scale MiG-29 Fulcrum 9-12 Late Type in November 2012. They have now followed up with a MiG-29 Fulcrum C Type 9-13. This is the first time a hump-backed Fulcrum has been available in 1:48 scale as an injection-moulded kit. The new kit comprises 198 parts in medium grey plastic, eight parts in clear plastic, two photo-etched frets and markings for three aircraft. The upper fuselage/wing “pancake” is all new, capturing the characteristic hump back nicely. Decals for two Russian Federation Fulcrum Cs are also new. Surface detail is made up from a combination of fine, crisply recessed panel lines and recessed rivets of various sizes, some of which are almost invisible at certain angles. Hinge lines, intakes, bumps and vents compliment the panel detail to good effect. The surface and structural features are really very impressive. Note that I have intentionally photographed some of the parts into the hard light of my studio flash, which tends to exaggerate the effect - the features really are very fine when viewed under normal light. The kit is sensibly broken down into upper and lower “pancakes” incorporating the wing and fuselage elements in a single piece each. These large parts are carefully packed to avoid damage
30
The one-piece missiles have to be seen to be believed!
Clear parts are beautifully moulded.
during shipping and storage. The upper fuselage Two full engines are included. The intake fans, requires no inserts for the single-seat configuration, engine bodies and exhausts are some of the best reducing the amount of joins and potential for I have seen in a 1:48 scale plastic kit. In fact, I misalignment. would suggest that they are up to the standard of The cockpit is fitted out with an eight part plastic some after-market resin parts. ejection seat supplemented with a further five photoIf you just cannot bear to hide the engines etched parts, including the harness. Photo-etched away inside the fuselage, G.W.H. has supplied an parts are also used engine stand to display this to detail the rudder little masterpiece separately. pedals, gunsight and Undercarriage parts are pilot’s mirrors. The also very well detailed. The instrument panel is tyres are injection moulded injection moulded plastic, which will please plastic. Individual modellers who do not like dials are supplied on working with vinyl tyres the decal sheet. These (myself included). are clearly marked A large centreline fuel tank with numbers, with is supplied along with two a corresponding slim wing mounted tanks. illustration in the Additional ordnance instruction sheet. includes two R-27R and four The canopy parts R-73R missiles. These are truly Plastic parts are supplemented by two photo-etched frets. are impressively a remarkable achievement in thin and sparklingly modern moulding technology. free from distortion. Even more impressive is They are all presented in one piece each, with their the absence of the usual centreline seam down fine fins moulded in place. They really have to be the centre of the main canopy part - no cleanup seen to be appreciated. required here! Of course, the canopy may be The decal sheet is well printed, and includes posed either open or closed. markings for three Fulcrums. The windscreen is moulded with two faint lines In common with last year’s MiG-29 Fulcrum A, down either side. These are not moulding seams, so this new kit is beautifully detailed and features do not remove them. They represent the structural superb surface textures. Despite the level of rods fitted to the inside of the windscreen of the detail, parts breakdown is quite conventional and real aircraft. You could try painting these fine lines construction should not present any problems to from the inside, but I think they will look just fine as modellers with a few plastic kits already under they are. their belts. • Separate parts are supplied for either open Thanks to G.W.H / Lionroar for the sample or closed auxiliary intake vents on the top of the www.lionroar.net fuselage - a really nice touch. Alternate cannon vent panels (open or covered) are included too. Speed * background information courtesy of Wikipedia brakes may be posed open or closed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan_MiG-29. The wheel wells are comprehensively detailed with structural features moulded in place.
Military Illustrated Modeller - July 2013
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Feature Article: Hasegawa 1:32 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5 • Kit No. 8169 Planet Models 1:32 Fw 190C V-18/U-1 resin conversion • Kit No. 233
Focke-Wulf’s Hot Rod Ian Robertson converts Hasegawa’s 1:32 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5 into the Fw 190 V18/U1 “Känguruh” prototype using Planet Models resin conversion.
T
hroughout WWII, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A proved to be an excellent fighter at low and medium altitudes. However, as early as 1941 the RLM recognised the need for a fighter with better performance at high altitude to effectively combat Allied bombers and their fighter escorts. The proposed Fw 190B-series was Focke-Wulf’s first attempt to turn the Fw 190 into an effective high altitude fighter. Modifications to the A-series design included extending the aircraft’s wingspan, adding a pressurised cabin, and equipment upgrades to boost performance of the BMW 801 engine. However, persistent difficulties during testing led to the B-series being abandoned by mid 1943. A more promising solution to the high altitude problem was to replace the BMW 801 radial engine with an inline engine. Both the DaimlerBenz DB 603 and Jumo 213 inline engines were candidates for this role. Kurt Tank, the chief
32
engineer at Focke-Wulf, favoured an improved Fw 190 design that incorporated the DB 603 rather than the Jumo 213 engine. However, misgivings by RLM officials about the implementation of DB 603 engines in a fighter led Focke-Wulf to concentrate its production efforts on the Jumo 213 power plant. Jumo 213 engines powered the successful Fw 190D (Dora) series, as well as the high altitude Ta.152H. By contrast, the DB 603 was limited to only a few Fw 190C prototypes and the handful of production Ta.152Cs that entered service in the closing days of the war. One of the more unusual test beds for the DB 603 engine was the Fw 190 V18/U1, the fourth Fw 190C prototype after the V13, V15, and V16. The V18 featured a DB 603 S engine with an exhaust-driven Hirth turbo-supercharger mounted prominently beneath the fuselage. The bulged appearance of the supercharger gave rise to the
aircraft’s nickname, “Känguruh” (kangaroo). Other modifications to the V18 included a larger tail, exhaust pipes that extended beyond the wing, four-blade VDM propeller, and modified canopy intended for a pressurized cabin (although that was never implemented). Test flights of the V18 extended from late December 1942 through mid 1943. The results of these flights were not encouraging due to persistent overheating problems associated with the supercharger. Despite these problems, five additional test aircraft (V29 through V33) were fitted with the Hirth turbo-supercharger in an attempt to improve its reliability. However, in late summer 1944 the decision came down to convert all surviving turbo-supercharged prototypes as development aircraft for the Ta.152 program, thus ending this experiment in Fw 190 fighter design.
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PLANET MODELS RESIN & HASEGAWA STYRENE
Planet Models offers a comprehensive resin set to convert Hasegawa’s 1:32 scale FockeWulf Fw 190 A-5 into the Fw 190 V18/U1 prototype. The conversion set includes resin fuselage parts (new fuselage halves, rudder, cowl, oil cooler), supercharger, tubular exhausts with protective panels over the wing root, main wheels, and four-blade propeller assembly, as well as two vacuform canopies (rear portion only) and decals for the V18 prototype. Hasegawa’s Fw 190 A-5 kit supplies the cockpit, wings, elevators, landing gear, windscreen (and rear canopy, if desired), and tail wheel assembly. The quality of the resin mouldings in the Planet Models conversion set is very good, with small attachment gates, no pin holes, minimal flash and no warping. The parts feature finely engraved panel lines that rival those on the Hasegawa kit, with a slight edge in crispness going to Hasegawa. On the down side, some panel lines and hatches on the fuselage are absent or misplaced, and there are several inaccuracies in the shape/size of certain parts. These issues will be addressed in the next section. Planet Models indicates that Hasegawa’s new 1:32 Fw 190 A-5 through A-8 will work as the base kit for this conversion. However, only the A-5 kit includes the proper underwing panels (parts Y3
Hasegawa’s 1:32 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5
The Planet Models Focke-Wulf Fw 190 V18/U1 conversion set converts Hasegawa’s 1:32 Fw 190 A-5 into the V18/ U1 prototype. The set includes resin parts, a vacuform rear canopy, and decals.
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Feature Article: Hasegawa 1:32 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5 • Kit No. 8169 Planet Models 1:32 Fw 190C V-18/U-1 resin conversion • Kit No. 233
The kit’s seat was replaced with a thinner and more detailed resin seat from J. Rutman Productions. The rails behind the seat were made from stock styrene.
The cockpit after an application of Polly Scale RLM 66. The seatbelts were made from lead foil and MDC photo-etched buckles.
and Y4) for the V18. These bulged panels, which are visible in several photographs of the V18, show that the wings of this aircraft were taken from an airframe fitted with 20 mm MG FF wing cannons. Hasegawa’s A-6, A-7, and A-8 kits include underwing panels for 20 mm MG 151 cannons, but not for MG FF cannons. Hasegawa’s A-5 kit also supplies the correct pitot tube for the V18, whereas the A-8 kit does not. Thus, the A-5 is the kit of choice for this conversion.
CONSTRUCTION COCKPIT
Hasegawa’s cockpit is simple yet effective, and as per usual, the first step in construction. Take note that Hasegawa’s instructions would have you install the control stick backwards, so be sure to rotate it 180 degrees before gluing it in place. I swapped the kit seat for a thinner and more detailed resin seat from J. Rutman Productions, and I added throttle grip made from a strip of styrene and a small piece of styrene rod. After painting the cockpit Polly Scale RLM 66 Dark Gray, I applied several dark washes to help bring out its details. Light gray and brown chalk pastels were brushed over the cockpit surfaces to give the surfaces a slightly worn appearance. Using a Waldron punch and die tool, I punched out individual instrument dials from the kit’s decal sheet. I used Microset and Microsol to help the decals adhere and conform to the instrument panel’s surfaces. Later, a spot of Future floor polish was placed on each dial and allowed to dry. Before setting the cockpit aside to begin work on the fuselage, I installed seatbelts made from lead foil and MDC photo-etched buckles. I painted the straps Tamiya XF-57 Buff, and the buckles Model Master Aluminium.
FUSELAGE
Several additions to the fuselage are needed before gluing the halves together. First I installed the disc-shaped canopy crank (Hasegawa part K11) to the forward right side of the cockpit sidewall, and then painted the interior sidewalls of the fuselage RLM 66. Next I turned my attention to the rear of the fuselage and installed the base plate for the tail wheel. Planet Models provides a small resin base plate; however, it is too short and narrow for the space it occupies. I therefore cut a new, slightly larger plate from sheet styrene, drilled holes to match the insertion points of the tail wheel, and attached it using CA glue. Then, on each side of the fuselage I used a Dremel tool to cut a small crescent-shaped notch at the rear wheel opening - Planet Models incorrectly moulded this area as a straight edge.
With the back end of the fuselage in order, I switched my attention to the front end and installed the air intake screen for the oil cooler. I added a piece of sheet styrene above the screen so that the top of the air intake wouldn’t be an open space leading into the fuselage. I glued the fuselage halves together using CA glue. Note that there is no need to install the cockpit assembly before closing the fuselage – the completed cockpit slides in easily from below once the fuselage is sealed up. Just be certain to install the cockpit before joining the wing assembly to the fuselage! I added a small strip of styrene to the top of the tail and reshaped it to represent the antenna attachment point.
A new base plate for the tail wheel, made from stock styrene, replaced the undersized resin part. A crescent-shaped notch (arrow) was made at the opening for the rear wheel on each side of the fuselage.
Using CA glue, the fuselage halves fit together near perfectly. The V18 was unarmed, so a blanking plate was added to the opening for the gun sight.
Test fit are cor
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A small piece of styrene rod was glued to the top of the fin to fashion a lead-in for the antenna wire.
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The fuselage was too wide for Hasegawa’s windscreen (arrow), and there was a step between the upper cowl and windscreen. Careful sanding below the windscreen, and the addition of a piece of sheet styrene on the cowl, addressed these problems. Lost panel lines were rescribed.
The fuel hatch beneath the cockpit on the starboard side was repositioned slightly forward. Further aft, another fuel hatch (not shown) was added.
New panel lines (arrows) were scribed, and old ones filled, to correct errors on the cowl. The left photo shows the cowl prior to correction.
The conversion parts are designed to accept Hasegawa’s wing assembly without modification. A small strip of styrene was added to the mating surface on the wing root to improve the fit.
An internal brace was added for stability along the main seam of the supercharger. The shaded area was removed so that the supercharger would fit directly to the underside of the unmodified fuselage (see text for explanation).
The holes on each side of the supercharger were repositioned. The original hole, now filled, is visible below the new hole.
A quick test fit of the Hasegawa windscreen revealed that the fuselage was too wide for the part, and that there was a step between the upper cowl and the leading edge of the windscreen. To address these issues, I sanded the surfaces on either side of the fuselage below the windscreen until the parts matched, and I added a thin sheet of styrene on the upper cowl to remove the step. Lost panel lines were rescribed. After priming the fuselage surfaces with Tamiya Fine Grey Surface Primer, I noticed several errors with respect to the placement of panel lines and fuel hatches. Most notably, the panel line that extends over the cowl is angled backward rather than positioned vertically. This positioning is incorrect based on photographs of the V18 (see pp. 253, 255, and 259 in Smith & Creek). I filled the incorrect panel line with Tamiya Putty, sanded it flush with the cowl, and then scribed a new panel line as well as several latches. Also on the cowl, Planet Models missed the panel line and latches located beneath each exhaust panel, so I scribed these as well. Lastly, I repositioned the starboard fuel hatch beneath the cockpit
A pounce wheel was used to add rivet details to the entire airframe.
by moving it forward slightly, and I added the starboard fuel hatch located aft of the cockpit. One minor inaccuracy that is difficult to address is the position of the long cowl bulges on the panel directly in front of the windscreen. These bulges are positioned a bit low on each side of the cowl, but raising them would require major surgery so I decided to leave them alone. Similarly, the teardrop bulge on the port side of the cowl appears undersized (see pg. 253 in Smith & Creek), but again, I opted to ignore this detail.
WINGS
The Planet Models conversion is designed to accept Hasegawa’s wing assembly without modification. I found it necessary to add a small strip of styrene to each wing root, but otherwise the fit was excellent. Filler was used to remove prominent sink marks on the landing flaps and on the wing surfaces where the internal spars are located. I also faired over the wing root cannon ejection chutes and filled the openings for the cannons on the leading edge of the wings.
The assembled model is primed and ready for paint.
Test fitting of the port exhaust pipe confirms that the new holes on the supercharger are correctly positioned.
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Feature Article: Hasegawa 1:32 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5 • Kit No. 8169 Planet Models 1:32 Fw 190C V-18/U-1 resin conversion • Kit No. 233
I omitted parts T1 and R8 from the wheel well (the central framework and ejection chutes, respectively) and added a scratch-built section of pipe that leads to the engine. This pipe, which I made from 4.8mm butyrate tubing, represents a continuation of the elbowed pipe that extends from the front of the supercharger to the panel between the wheel wells.
SUPERCHARGER AND EXHAUSTS Alclad II Metalizers (Dark Aluminium, Airframe Aluminium, Dull Aluminium) were sprayed over the cowl panels, wing roots, and hatches on the underside the wings. Afterward, a wash of Tamiya X-1 Black was brushed onto the metallic surfaces and allowed to dry.
After masking the natural metal surfaces, the rest of the model was shaded in Polly Scale black.
The airframe was painted with Polly Scale RLM 02 and weathered to simulate tonal variations as they appear in photographs.
The supercharger comes in two halves plus an insert for the intake screen and a cap at the back. I added an internal brace along the main seam for stability. The supercharger assembly integrates a section of the lower fuselage, ostensibly to assist with positioning the supercharger to the airframe (see shaded area in photograph). However, test fitting revealed that the rear section of the supercharger didn’t match up well with the width or curvature of the fuselage, so I decided to remove the problem area and instead install the supercharger flush to the fuselage. This approach removed the need to cut off the rear section of the wing assembly to accommodate the supercharger insert. After careful test fitting and minor reshaping of the contact surfaces, I had no difficulty attaching the supercharger cleanly to the fuselage. At the rear of the supercharger there is a hole on each side that accepts a pipe from the exhausts. These holes are located too far down on the supercharger, so I filled them and drilled new ones. Also, the main exhaust pipes are too long, and if left unmodified will extend all the way to the end of the supercharger. Photos show that this was not the case on the aircraft, so I removed the last 5 mm from each exhaust. I then drilled out the ends of the exhausts to make them appear hollow. Subsequent test fitting revealed that the exhausts would resist a secure fit to the model because of the tension that builds over the curved surfaces of the wing and fuselage. To address this problem, I added two metal pins to each exhaust, and drilled corresponding holes in the wing roots to accept the pins. The exhausts were then set aside for painting and later installation. The resin pipe (part 20) provided by Planet Models for attachment to the front of the supercharger is too narrow in diameter. Photos show that it was noticeably wider than the exhaust pipes, whereas the part supplied by Planet Models is the same diameter. I scratch built a replacement by heating and bending a piece of 4.8mm butyrate tubing, and adding strips of lead foil to represent the joints. The replacement pipe was set aside for painting and later installation. At this stage I should have added the lower protective exhaust panels over the wing roots (Planet Models parts 21 and 22). However, I forgot to do so and didn’t discover my error until after the model was painted and the exhausts firmly installed (“Hey, what are those two resin pieces sitting in my Planet Models box?”). Although I was able to correct the error, the fit was tight and resulted in the need for repairs to the paint.
CANOPY
Decals were applied over a gloss coat of Future floor polish. Dry transfers were used for the work number on the tail.
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The conversion requires the use of Hasegawa’s windscreen. As mentioned earlier, it was necessary to reshape the fuselage slightly so that the windscreen fitted cleanly. For the rear portion of the canopy I chose to modify Hasegawa’s styrene part rather than use the vacuform part supplied by Planet Models. Both the windscreen and rear canopy were prepared by dipping them in Future floor polish, blotting away the excess liquid, and then allowing the parts to dry for 24 hours before proceeding with masking and painting.
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Alclad II Metalizers were used to paint the exhausts. Metal pins were added to the midsection of each exhaust pipe. Corresponding holes drilled in each wing root helped anchor the pipes to the model. With the exhaust pipes painted an installed, the model takes on the distinctive appearance of the Fw 190 V18/U1.
The pipe that attaches to the front of the supercharger was scratch built from 4.8mm butyrate tubing. The resin part supplied by Planet Models (upper pipe) is too narrow in diameter and was therefore replaced.
Three modifications were made to the rear canopy. First, I changed the angle of the interface between the rear edge of the glazing and the metal portion. Photos show that the canopy on the V18 prototype differed from production models in this regard. Second, I scribed a small round hatch on the right side of the rear portion of the canopy. Third, I masked and painted the frames on the glazed portion of the canopy. After the masks were in place I sprayed the canopy RLM 66 Dark Gray to depict the colour of the internal surfaces of the framing, although it is possible that these areas were left natural metal. A thin layer of Mr. Surfacer 1000 was then sprayed as a base coat for the Alclad II metalizer. The metallic effect was achieved using a combination of Alclad II Dark Aluminium
and Airframe Aluminium. Washes of thinned Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black were applied over the metal surfaces to complete the finish. I then set aside the rear portion of the canopy for later installation.
LANDING GEAR
The landing gear was assembled, painted RLM 02 Grey, and set aside until the model was near completion. I used fine solder wire for the brake lines and the wires on the radius rod hinge connected to each strut. Bare metal foil was wrapped around the oleos, and the lightening holes in the oleo scissors were drilled out. Hasegawa’s wheels were replaced with the ones supplied by Planet Models, and the tail wheel was upgraded using a resin wheel and yoke from Eagle Editions.
PAINT AND MARKINGS
I began by priming the model with Tamiya Fine Grey Surface Primer from a rattle can, and polishing the surfaces smooth using a Micromesh polishing cloth. The natural metal areas on the model, including hatches on the underside of the wings, were painted a combination of Alclad II Dark Aluminum, Dull Aluminum, and Airframe Aluminum. Washes of thinned Tamiya Black were applied over all metal surfaces. These areas were then masked until painting was complete. After pre-shading the rest of the model black, I applied Polly Scale RLM 02 Grey over all exposed surfaces except for the undersides of the ailerons. Photos show that the ailerons were considerably lighter than the rest of the painted airframe, so I
The undersides of the ailerons were painted RLM 76. Although the V18 was unarmed, it retained the bulged under wing panels characteristic of an aircraft fitted with 20 mm MG FF cannons. (Note: In this photo the model still has the Planet Models pipe leading to the front of the supercharger. This part was later replaced with the wider diameter pipe.)
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Feature Article: Hasegawa 1:32 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5 • Kit No. 8169 Planet Models 1:32 Fw 190C V-18/U-1 resin conversion • Kit No. 233
Hasegawa’s rear canopy was modified to look like the pressurized canopy of the V18. Masking reveals the new framing. The arrow points to the filled panel line that represented the original interface between the glazed canopy and the metal portion.
A collection of subassemblies added during the final steps of construction. Sheet styrene was used to make new flaps displayed in the open position at the back of the oil cooler housing.
undersides and gear covers were painted RLM 02 rather than The main landing gear were enhanced with bare metal foil over the RLM 76. After carefully oleos, break lines, wiring added to the radius rod hinges, and decals examining all the from EagleCals. Gear indicator pins were made from stretched sprue. The wheels are provided in the Planet Models conversion set. photos of the V18 I could find, I concluded opted for RLM 76 Light Blue. It is possible that the that tonal variations on the wings were a result of ailerons came from a camouflaged aircraft, in weathering (including dirt, fuel stains, fading, etc.), which case it may have been appropriate to paint as well as a strong shadow cast by the fuselage the upper surfaces of the ailerons RLM 71, 74 or onto the port wing. It is worth noting that the diffuse 75. However, in the absence of clear photographic patterns of light and dark on the wings do not evidence to the contrary, I decided to leave them match any standard camouflage patterns for the RLM 02. Fw 190, which makes the camouflage theory even While on the topic of colours, a couple of less plausible in my opinion. With these thoughts in photographs of V18 leave the impression that the mind, I tried to replicate the tonal variations, minus upper wing surfaces may have been camouflaged the shadow, as they appear in photographs. rather than uniform RLM 02. This could have been A distinctive feature of the V18 was the light the case if, for example, the wings were taken strips associated with many of the rivet lines on from an early Fw 190 A variant with RLM 02/71 the fuselage, and in particular under the cockpit. camouflage, although it wouldn’t explain why the These may represent areas of exposed metal, and/
or strips of putty applied beneath the rivets. To replicate the effect I masked around several of the rivet lines and fuel hatches and then misted these areas lightly with Alclad II Dull Aluminium. Before applying decals I unmasked the metallicpainted surfaces and sprayed Future floor polish over the model. The decals supplied by Planet Models were thin and a bit fragile, so I swapped out everything but the letter codes and the “Nicht betreten” warnings on the wings. Fortunately, I had a supply of Eaglecals decals for the Fw 190, so there was no problem finding suitable markings. I resorted to dry transfers for the aircraft’s werknummer (0040) because these numbers were not included with the Planet Models decals. Once the decals were dry, I applied a coat of Polly Scale clear flat and clear satin mixed in equal amounts to dull the model’s painted surfaces while still leaving a bit of sheen. I avoided spraying this clear coat over the metallic surfaces.
A distinctive feature of the Fw 190 V18 was the light strips associated with many of the rivet lines on the fuselage, particularly around the cockpit. The triangular fuel symbols were sourced from EagleCals decals.
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MODELSPEC Hasegawa 1:32 scale Fw 190 A-5. (8169) Planet Models 1:32 Fw 190C V-18/U-1 resin conversion. (233) Accessories Used:
The canopy was installed in the closed position. An antenna wire, made from stretched sprue, extends between the retractor mechanism on the canopy and the tip of the fin.
Eagle Editions tail wheel. EagleParts No. 52-32 Eagle Editions decals for generic national markings J. Rutman Productions Fw 190 resin seat (out of production) MDC Luftwaffe WWII Fighter Harness Set, No. E32001 Plastruct 4.8mm butyrate tubing, No. TB6 Verlinden Lead Foil, No.50 Paints and Finishing Products:
The supercharger mounted under the Fw 190 V18’s fuselage inspired the nickname, “Känguruh” (kangaroo). Other modifications to this prototype included a Daimler-Benz DB 603S inline engine, four-blade VDM propeller, larger tail, and plans for a pressurized cabin.
FINISHING TOUCHES
I painted the exhausts pipes, and the pipe leading from the front of the supercharger, a combination of Alclad II Pale Burnt Metal, Burnt Iron, and Dark Aluminum. Testor’s Model Master Burnt Iron was sprayed around the joints of the exhausts. These pipes were then attached \to the model with CA glue. The previously assembled landing gear was now ready to install. The undercarriage of the Fw 190 is unique in that the main struts rake both forward and inward, making proper alignment a trickier proposition than on most other aircraft models. The task is further complicated because Hasegawa’s struts do not fit into the receptacle in the wheel wells without first trimming the attachment plugs. With the plugs trimmed, I glued the struts in place using 5-minute epoxy, which afforded me time to ensure proper alignment of both struts before the glue set. The project was completed once I installed the wing tip lights, gear indicator pins, pitot tube (part Z6 from the Hasegawa kit), propeller assembly,
and rear canopy. As a finishing touch, I added an antenna wire made from stretched sprue.
CONCLUSION
Despite the minor inaccuracies and challenges this conversion set presented, the project was enjoyable and well worth the effort. The V18 was a unique member of the Fw 190 lineage, and the Planet Models conversion makes for a great addition to any collection of 1:32 Würgers. •
Tamiya Fine Grey Aerosol Surface Primer Mr. Surfacer 1000 Alclad II Metalizers - Airframe Aluminum; Dark Aluminum; Dull Aluminum; Burnt Iron; Pale Burnt Metal Model Master Enamels - Burnt Iron; Non-buffing Aluminum Polly Scale Acrylics – RLM 02 Gray; RLM 66 Dark Gray; RLM 70 Black Green; RLM 76 Light Gray; Black; Clear Flat; Clear Satin Tamiya Acrylics – X-1 Black; X-25 Clear Green; X-27 Clear Red; XF-57 Buff Future Floor Polish References: Filley, B. 1999. Fw 190 A, F, and G In Action. Squadron/Signal Publications, USA. Smith, J.R. & E.J. Creek. 2011. Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Volume One 1938-1943. Ian Allan Publishing, UK. High quality resin conversion of the Fw 190 V18/U1. The completed model has undeniable hot rod appeal, and makes a unique addition to a lineup of 1:32 Würgers. Experience working with resin is recommended. This conversion has a number of (relatively minor) issues with accuracy, some of which are easy to correct, and others that are not. Decals are fragile, and the aircraft’s work number is not provided. Rating: 8.5 out of 10 Hasegawa kits are available from Hannants www.hannants.co.uk and hobby retailers worldwide and online
Hasegawa’s 1:32 Fw 190 A-5 makes the ideal base kit for this conversion. It includes the correct underwing panels, pitot tube, and flat-style canopy should you decide to use it over the vacuform canopy provided by Planet Models.
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BUILD PREVIEW: Revell 1:32 Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 • Kit No. 04665
Basic assembly is complete.
A view from below.
W E I V PRE
GUSTAV THE GREAT
I
The Editor builds a test shot of Revell’s forthcoming 1:32 scale Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6, due for release in June 2013.
was lucky enough to receive test shot sprues of the forthcoming all-new 1:32 scale Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 during April, and I have recently finished basic construction. This model was built straight from the box for a forthcoming book to be released by ADH Publishing. Revell's initial release will include parts for an early and a late Bf 109 G-6, including: • Alternative cockpit parts (different cannon breech covers, alternative footrests, and battery box option behind the pilot's head) • Both early framed and clear-vision Erla canopies; and two windscreen versions • Standard and tall tails • Long and short tail wheel strut and alternate tail wheel well fairings • Treaded and smooth main wheels • Morane mast with clear insulator base and DF loop for late version • Early and late shell ejector panels under the fuselage • Alternate starboard side engine cowls (with and without the G-5-style compressor bulge). The kit is cleverly engineered to allow different panels to be fitted to the engine cowl and fuselage sides, suggesting the possibility of other earlier or later variants. This does mean that there are a few extraneous join seams to be filled that do not fall on panel lines, but fit is very good so filling and sanding will be minimal. Another unique feature is that the wing wheel bulges are not separate stick-on parts but fully
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formed on the top and bottom surfaces of the inboard upper wing panels. Also, the internal wheel well sidewalls are split into three parts plus wing spar on each side, resulting in a uniquely realistic depiction of the undercarriage bays without the canvas covers fitted. Surface features are crisp and fine, comprising mainly recessed panel lines. Recessed rivets are used sparingly. I like the fabric texture on the control surfaces, which is raised and appropriately restrained. All control surfaces, including the leading edge slats and even the front radiator ramps, are separate. The rudder, elevators and ailerons are hinged and may be built to be moveable when the model is complete. The cockpit is very well detailed. It is made up from a modest 19 parts, but the result is really impressive. The fuel line that runs along the starboard sidewall is provided as a clear part, so the inspection panel may be masked off during painting. Harness straps are moulded in place on the seat pan and rear bulkhead. Also interesting is the wing spar, which is attached directly to the bottom of the cockpit floor. Outline accuracy appears to be spot-on. The fuselage length is correct, and the nose captures the streamlined yet muscular appearance of the real thing. There are a number of areas that could have been done better. The characteristic cowl bulges are undernourished and do not appear to carry far enough to the top of the fuselage; the circular front
of the supercharger intake is thin and some details are absent; the sides of the oil cooler housing lack the curves of the original; the propeller blade shape is not quite right, while the small cowl scoops and exhaust ejectors are moulded solid. The shapes of the 300 litre drop tank and ETC rack have not been captured perfectly either. The spinner shape looks good, and it correctly depicts the tapered "keyhole" openings for the propeller blades. However, the split between the front and back of the spinner is not on a natural panel line and will be a pain to eliminate, especially if you want to apply a spiral decal. Fortunately, these are all add-on parts so if you are a full-on 109 afficiando there will be ways to address these issues by the time the kit is released.
CONSTRUCTION IMPRESSIONS
The engineering of the kit is impressive and even unique in a number of areas. Fit is very good. I particularly enjoyed building and painting the cockpit. This build was straight from the box, so I kept the moulded-on harness straps even though I was not keen on them. In the end though, I was really pleased with the way they looked after careful painting. Oddly, the shoulder straps appear to disappear behind the seat pan but it will be a simple matter to add hardware and maybe a short extentsion to the straps. The instrument panel features raised bezels and flat circles for decal instruments that will be supplied with the production kits. As the kit decals are not
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The unusual engineering of the spinner and propeller means that there is an unnatural join seam left to fill… …but the fit is pretty good.
The detail seen in these photos is straight from the box. The only addition is Airscale decals for the placards and instruments, as Revell’s decals were not yet available.
Careful painting really brings out the detail of the cockpit parts.
The instrument panel is very effective.
The forward fuselage is cleverly broken down to permit many variants in the future.
yet available, I used Airscale instrument dials and placards in my cockpit. The floor and sidewalls were built as subassemblies, but I left off the clear fuel line to permit masking of the clear inspection panel. This was glued in place after all the cockpit painting was complete. I also like that the sidewalls include the UV lights moulded to the top. Stout locating points for the open canopy are also moulded to the starboard sidewall. With basic construction complete, I have now handed this model over to Chris Wauchop for painting and weathering.
G-6 presents the opportunity to build either an early G-6 with the framed canopy and short tail or a late G-6 with Erla hood and tall tail straight from the box. Subtle differences are covered by alternative parts, and outline accuracy is excellent. Detail is clearly better than the Hasegawa kit in the areas of the cockpit, canopies, undercarriage and wheel wells. I would give the Revell kit a narrow points victory for their surface detail too. It is crisp, very fine and subtle. The excellent fit and the lack of complication (i.e., no engine, no gun bays etc) also makes this kit a straightforward and satisfying build. The shape or detail discrepancies around the cowl bulges, propeller blades, supercharger intake and oil cooler housing are baffling, but they will not bother everyone. If they are of concern, most of the issues may already be addressed by aftermarket corrections, and those that can't now (principally the cowl bulges) almost certainly will by the time the kit is released. So do we really need a new 1:32 scale Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6? Well, I am impressed. I like the engineering, the good fit, the high level of detail straight from the box, and the options to build either an early or a late G-6. In my opinion, this is a very good kit. Considering Revell's pricing policy, you'll be able to afford a whole Staffel of Gustavs too! •
INITIAL CONCLUSION
Hasegawa's 1:32 scale Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 was released in 2001 and became an instant classic. This easy to build and generally accurate kit heralded the widespread resurgence of 1:32 scale aircraft modelling. However, Hasegawa's Gustav was not perfect. The nose appears was not quite tall enough and the spinner was misshapen. Other problem areas included the staggered nose scoops, poorly shaped oil cooler housing, stick-on upper-wing wheel bulges, undersized tail wheel and some detail missing from the cockpit, canopy and undercarriage. Fast-forward 12 years and Revell has taken a completely different approach in terms of engineering and options. Revell's all-new 1:32 scale Messerschmitt Bf 109
Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit www.revell.eu
Even the moulded-on harness straps come up nicely!
The multi-part wheel well looks great. Note the recess for the wheel bulge in the top of the wheel well. No stick-on parts here!
ORDER NOW More information on Revell's 1:32 scale Bf 109 G-6 kit will be available closer to release. The ADH Publishing book, "How to Build Revell's Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6", will include: • An analysis of available Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 kits in 1:32 scale • Close-up detail reference of a Bf 109 G-6 airframe • an exhaustive step-by-step guide to building the model straight from the box • A guide to improvements and super detailing • Modelling contributions from Marcus Nicholls, Roy Sutherland, Chris Wauchop and myself • Scale drawings by Radu Brinzan and • A list of references, accessories and decals The book should be available in July 2013 and may be pre-ordered now from the ADH Books website or by filling in the form on p31. Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Revell/Monogram 1:48 Douglas TBD-1 Devastator • Kit No. 7575
TBD or Not TBD? Rafe Morrissey takes a trip down memory lane as he builds the classic Monogram 1:48 scale TBD-1 Devastator.
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ith apologies to the Bard, TBD or not TBD? That is the question. With the release of the recent Great Wall Hobby 1:48 scale kit of the TBD-1 Devastator, many have promptly consigned Monogram’s earlier effort to the dustbin. I have to confess a special place in my heart for this kit as it was one of the first my father built with me when it was released in 1974. I had always intended to “do one up right” and had several in my pile of kits. While I was eager to have the new kit from Great Wall and happily picked one up, I wondered if the Monogram kit still had anything to offer. I must admit that at first glance, Monogram’s kit still impresses, even after so many years. I chose to build an original release of the kit, which included the Shep Paine diorama guide further enhancing the appeal. There are other advantages to working with the older moulding. I compared the kit contents with a newer release and found that the moulding was much crisper on the earlier release with much less flash. The sprue attachment points are also smaller and there was noticeably less flash and none of the sink marks that were apparent on the later releases. I decided I would give it a go and see what could be done with a 38 year-old kit.
TBD TRENDSETTER
Before we begin, I feel compelled to offer a bit of historical insight. Almost all World War II enthusiasts will be aware of the valiant sacrifice of the Devastator units in the Battle of Midway. Their performance in that battle highlighted the courage of the American torpedo pilots and the obsolescence of their aircraft. The TBD gained a notorious reputation from that battle. What is often over-looked is that when it was introduced, the TBD was equally heralded as an example of state of the art engineering. It was the first carrier-based monoplane aircraft with all-metal construction, folding wings, retractable under carriage and an enclosed canopy. At the time, it was a revolutionary design, yet within six years it would be considered an aged relic. The TBD’s history highlights the fast pace of aviation engineering development during the war years. Contrast that with the F/A-18C which is still a front-line aircraft thirty-three years after it was first introduced!
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Art IMITATES LIFE
In a certain sense, the Monogram kit mirrors the history of the real aircraft. When it was introduced in 1974, it was a revolution in terms of detail, accuracy and value. It included a fully appointed cockpit, accurate outline, multiple markings and ordnance options and three well-sculpted figures. Yet within a decade, the first kits with recessed panel lines would appear, relegating the Monogram kit to has-been status. I will always view this kit through the rose- coloured glasses of nostalgia, but readily admit that building it to a high standard requires the full application of one’s modelling skills. That said, I believe the kit still holds a lot of enjoyment to offer to those willing to take up the challenge of building it. Hopefully, this article can smooth the path for those willing to give it a try.
Test fitting any kit is a good idea. With older Monogram kits, it is imperative. Those wing gaps will need attention.
Back to Basics
The first step when tackling this kit is to test fit all of the parts. With most modern kits, this is a helpful step to identify minor fit and construction challenges. With Monogram kits of this vintage it is an essential exercise in order to overcome significant fit issues that are guaranteed to be present. The dichotomy between the care and attention in crafting the individual parts and the apparent lack of concern in how they fit together has always baffled me with Monogram’s releases. Finding a way around them is a challenge but not an insurmountable one. In this instance, the biggest issue was the substantial gaps between the upper wing sections and the fuselage. Shimming was the obvious answer, but I elected to fit sections of plastic to the upper wing sections before construction of the wings rather than trying to do so later in the build. This allowed me to work the joins between the new and old plastic without running the risk of destroying the raised surface detail on the fuselage. Building raised panel line kits is an exercise in compromise. It is impossible to preserve all of the detail. The key is to make sure that lost detail is minimised and that it is eliminated in a symmetrical fashion. It is possible to mimic raised panel lines by making a single pass with a needle in a pin-vise against a straight-edge. In the case of the TBD, I sanded away the panel lines running across the fuselage to the nearest lateral panel line and use several layers of plastic tape to create a guide to scribe the replacement lines. You must make one firm pass with this technique because you want to raise a kerf that will give the impression of a raised line. If you make a mistake, sand away the replacement line and try, try again.
Use sheet plastic and superglue to extend the inner edge of the wing and close the gaps.
Careful dry brushing and a dab of Future in the instruments creates a convincing panel.
The stock Monogram cockpit looks quite credible even after so many years.
The sidewall detail effectively complements the cockpit parts and will combine for a very nice cockpit.
Unique Challenges
One of the challenges unique to modelling the TBD no matter what vintage kit you are dealing with is the issue of filling the wing half seams that are bisected by the corrugations that are one of the distinguishing features of the aircraft. I was really stumped by this and had tried a number of approaches without success. My good friend and super-modeller, Dave Powell, came to the rescue by suggesting cutting down Flexi-file ribbons to fit between the ribs. This worked well and I was able to eliminate the seams effectively. Thanks, Dave! Another challenge with the TBD in the yellowwings scheme is that the cockpits were painted with aluminum lacquer. This makes weathering and highlighting detail much more difficult. Thankfully, the level of detail provided in the kit is high (if
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Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Revell/Monogram 1:48 Douglas TBD-1 Devastator • Kit No. 7575
The secret to dealing with the wing seams: Cut Flexi-file ribbons to fit between the ribs.
Drilling out lightening holes in the traverse ring adds a bit of detail that improves the look of the kit part.
There is no easy answer for masking the canopy. Tape a sharp knife and patience are your only option.
Patience and careful work will result in a paint-ready model.
not extraordinary considering its age). I painted the parts with Alclad II Aluminum and after detail painting, applied a very light wash of raw umber oil paint. It is critical to be deft with the wash as too much results in a grimy appearance. We are not trying to represent grime but rather emphasise shadows with the wash. I also drilled in a row of lightening holes in the traversing ring for the rear machine gun. When all painting and detailing is complete, the cockpit really looks good straight from the thirty-eight year old box! The last unique challenge related to the TBD is masking the extensive canopy. I could not find an available masking set and understand the shapes of the panes in the Great Wall kit are different, so the Eduard set for that kit would be no help. That leaves you with a cutting mat, a sharp hobby knife and a lot of Tamiya masking tape. I elected to use thin strips of tape to outline each pane and then filled in with larger pieces. It took me a week
working an hour and a half or so each evening the get the entire canopy done. The results were very effective and sometimes there is no alternative to patience and a steady hand.
Floquil Old Silver produces a realistic painted lacquer appearance. It readily accepts repairs and re-spraying too.
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PAINTING AND FINISHING
Any bare metal finish requires a lot of preparation and the TBD with its fit problems poses an even greater challenge. In addition to the wing to fuselage seams, the gaps at the lower wing to fuselage and front of the wing also required a lot of filling and sanding. Fortunately, the earlier shim work made dealing with the wing to fuselage junction much easier. I have become a real fan of mixing talcum powder with Gorilla brand superglue. It is much easier to sand and scribe than any other filler. Adding more talcum powder adds mass and increases the ease in sanding, so I vary the mixture depending on the problem. After several bouts of filling, sanding and priming,
Though only two parts, the kit engine looks pretty good after careful painting, dry brushing and a wash of thinned raw umber oil paint.
I achieved an acceptable base for the Aluminium lacquer finish. I elected to use Floquil Old Silver over a primer coat of Alclad II Gray primer. To my eye, it resulted in a finish that replicated the aluminium lacquer paint finish of the real aircraft very effectively. Once I had fixed a few small glitches the aluminium finish inevitably revealed (the Old Silver was easy to repair using Micromesh polishing cloths), it was back to the knife and cutting mat to mask the walkways, wing chevrons and tail band. I didn’t trust the decals for this and thought paint would look better. I forgot that the wing walks needed to be flat while the rest was semi- gloss, so had to re-mask and spray flat clear over them. Next time, I will simply wait to mask and paint after the semi-gloss finish is applied. I departed slightly from the box scheme in that I wanted to represent a live torpedo round rather than the red-tipped training round. I used Alclad II
More tape and making are needed to get a convincing result for the tail band, wing walks and chevrons. Wait to mask the wing walks until the end, though!
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The time spent on masking the canopy has been well worthwhile. The overlapping sections are particularly effective.
View from the top. The folding wings lend even more interest to this attractive model.
MODELSPEC The box may be bent and tattered, but the model inside is still a fun build!
Monogram provided three figures with this TBD kit. Figures lend a sense of perspective and context to any model.
The detail inside the fuselage machine gun bay is typical of Monogram kits of this era.
Magnesium for the body and painted the warhead light grey. I used a brown pencil to add some chips and dings and applied some raw umber oil paint to add some grime seen in many reference photos. I used Future floor polish for the gloss-coat and to seal in the decals. As enamoured as I was with the thirty-year-old kit, I didn’t trust the decals. Fortunately, Yellow-Wings Decals produces a variety of TBD markings including the aircraft from the U.S.S. Yorktown depicted on the box. These worked well with the Micro-Scale system, although I had to apply a combination of multiple applications of Micro-Sol, and Solvaset and some careful slicing and dicing of the decals to get the insignia to settle over the corrugated wing surfaces. A final topcoat of Alclad II Semi-Gloss achieved just the right level of sheen to my eye. I have become a big fan of their clear finishes and the variety of sheens is helpful in achieving specific effects. I added some light exhaust stains with pastel but these aircraft were well-maintained during this period, so don’t over-do it!
CONCLUSION
After thoughtful consideration, I have concluded that Monogram's kit remains a worthwhile representation of the historic TBD Devastator. There is no doubt that a good amount of planning and elbow grease are needed to achieve a good result, but I think when complete, the Monogram kit still looks good compared to the Great Wall kit. It is no walk in the park, but the finished result is quite impressive. The addition of Monogram’s excellent figures really helps set the model off and take the imagination back in time. I hope this article will help inspire you to tackle the kit and ease the bumps in the road. •
Revell/Monogram 1:48 Douglas TBD-1 Devastator
Kit No. 7575
Paints Used: Floquil Old Silver, Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black, Tamiya XF-3 Flat Yellow, Tamiya XF-7 Flat Red, Tamiya XF-8 Flat Blue, Alclad II Magnesium Accessories Used: Yellow-Wings Decals TBD-1 Vital Statistics: Length - 35’ (10.67 Metres) Dry Weight - 5,600lbs. (2,540kg) Combat Weight - 9,289lb (4,213kg) Engine - Pratt & Whitney R-1830-64 900 h.p. Twin Wasp radial engine Crew - Three Pilot, Torpedo Officer/Navigator, Radioman/Gunner Performance: Maximum Speed- 206mph at 8,000 ft. Cruising Speed- 128mph Range- 435 miles (700km) Weapons Load: X1 1,000lb. (454kg) bomb or x2 500lb (227kg) or x12 100lb (45kg) bombs or x1 1000lb (454kg) Mk. XIII Torpedo Availability: Readily obtainable on secondary market, e-Bay, swap-meets, etc. Still looks like a TBD; high level of detail, especially considering its four-decades-old vintage; includes figures and Shep Paine inspiration. Inevitable difficult fit in a number of areas; raised panel lines and corrugated wings present challenges when filling and sanding; tedious masking of glasshouse canopy. Rating: 7.5 out of 10 (even today!) Aircraft Edition
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KIT PREVIEW: HobbyBoss 1:48 F-14D Super Tomcat. • Kit No. 80368
SUPER TOMCAT Mick Evans casts his eye over the latest addition to HobbyBoss’ 1:48 scale Tomcat family – the F-14D.
The upper fuselage and wing glove part.
Clear parts are well presented. The included photo-etched fret.
The wings feature separate flaps and leading edge slats and may be built to swing, but they are not synchronised.
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his is a new and up to date kit from HobbyBoss and is a welcome addition to modellers interested in 1:48 scale United States Navy subjects. Previous to this release from HobbyBoss, the standard was set by Hasegawa with their very accurate but difficult to build series of F-14 kits. This new offering looks very good and certainly challenges the benchmark Hasegawa kit. On opening the box we are presented with a beautifully engraved and detailed kit. There are approximately 494 finely engraved grey coloured injection moulded plastic parts, 18 clear injection moulded parts, 4 vinyl parts and 25 etched metal parts in this kit. The grey plastic parts are contained on 23 sprues. The packaging for this kit is of a high standard with the upper and lower fuselage halves, intake tunnels, and radar packed separately and in individual plastic bags. The kit contains all the required weaponry that can be fitted to all versions of the F-14 so my extensive spares box of spare weapons will continue to grow and save me purchasing weapons kits! The plastic parts have absolutely no flash at all and the surface detail is crisply moulded displaying fine panel lines and rivet detail. The surface of the parts has no moulding imperfections and the moulding that this manufacturer is applying to their kits these days is nothing short of superb. I have read on some forums that the detail is overdone but for me it portrays the detail on the aircraft - for some modellers overdone and
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for others exactly what they want. Cockpit detail is sufficient for this scale and once totally painted is enhanced by application some instrument decals supplied. Each Mk.14 NACES ejection seat has 5 plastic parts and 6 etched metal parts in its makeup while the cockpit has 37 parts used in its construction along with the ejection seats. The fuselage is built as two major assemblies. The two main fuselage halves capture the nicely detailed main wheel wells, intake trunking and complete engine assemblies. The main wing attachment points are designed to pivot but have no synchronising mechanism. The kit has extended flaps and leading edge slats so the wings must be assembled fully swung to the forward position unless you cut the attachment points to assemble the flaps and slats to the streamline position. The Tomcat has inflatable bags to seal the wing sweep areas in the extended position and these are supplied as options in the kit for either a swept wing or extended wing and while the kit has the capacity for a gimmick of wing swing I believe they should be fixed in either the fully extended or swung position. The General Electric F110 engines are nicely replicated, but why? They are completely hidden inside the fuselage and are not visible except for the compressor face through the intake and the afterburner nozzle and turbine disc. The engine exhaust nozzles are very nicely replicated through 11 parts with internal and external petals
Above: One of the three large decal sheets.
separately moulded. Speed brakes are supplied to be position in the open or closed positions while the complex undercarriage system is accurately portrayed. Finally this kit has a comprehensive selection of external weapons. The instruction sheet is made up of a detailed black and white explosive assembly view that details the assembly of the kit while the colour scheme is printed on a glossy colour sheet. The two colour schemes are provided on a glossy colour sheet detailing the colours required for the provided scheme as follows: • F-14D, BuNo 164603 of VF-213 based on the USS Carl Vinson and • BuNo 164342, of VF-101, based on the USS Enterprise in 2000. The decals are supplied on three separate sheets and look thin and crisp. I have built three Hasegawa F-14s and was impressed with the detail and build at the time of their release, but the level of detail and the supplied weapons appears to put this kit in a slightly higher class. Even so, the proof will be in the build and the ease of assembly. This kit looks to be one that can easily be built straight out of the box with no after-market details required except for those who want the perfectly detailed cockpit. Highly Recommended. • Thanks to Creative Models Limited for the sample www.creativemodels.co.uk
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Hasegawa 1:48 A-4M Skyhawk II ‘U.S.M.C Attacker’ • Kit No. 07233
Super Scooter
Spencer Pollard builds Hasegawa’s 1:48 scale A-4M Skyhawk II straight from the box, using only construction and painting ideas and techniques from 20 years ago.
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idely regarded as one of the finest 1:48 jet kits ever made, Hasegawa’s family of A-4 Skyhawks is a perfect example of what is possible when you take a cool subject, replicate it in one easy to build package and then offer multiple versions to spice things up a little. Available in both single and two-seat variants, Hasegawa’s collection replicates virtually every mark of A-4 and those kits, combined with an incredible number of aftermarket accessories and decal sheets, allows the modeller the
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opportunity to build a huge collection from one basic set of mouldings: they are almost a one-stopshop, for fans of this important aircraft. From the off, Hasegawa decided that their kit would be modular, clever breakdown of the fuselage allowing for variations to be incorporated with simple inserts into the moulds. These included – in the case of the early single-seaters – new nose cones, upper fin tops, pylons, aerials etc. and then as we see here for the remodelled Mike-model, Skyhawk II and two-seat TA-4J, new fuselage
halves, cockpit interiors and canopies. Cross kitting also allows further variation and as was seen in an earlier build completed by this author, the chance to build the as-yet unseen, OA-4M. Though historically this approach has often resulted in kits that were perhaps less than easy to build (Fujimi’s 1:72 Harrier family, being a good example…) Hasegawa seem to have brought their A-game to this one, so all of the parts come together seamlessly, making construction and subsequent painting a pleasant experience. It must
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‘I decided to build this kit from the box and in so doing, turn the clock back twenty years and see if a model built and painted using ideas and techniques back then, could stand up to models built using new, cutting-edge techniques and materials in 2013...’ be, I have three under my belt and have plans for two more!
THIS MONTH’S MODEL…
Having built an early A-4C and a converted OA-4M, I was keen to tackle my favourite A-4 variant, the punchy A-4M Skyhawk II. Ever since Matchbox released their 1:72 kit – complete with the same VMA-331 markings seen on this one – I’ve wanted to build a detailed model of this aircraft. Quite why it took so long is a mystery, but
I’m pleased that finally, I have one on the shelves, the aggressive lines of this little aircraft contrasting nicely with the sleeker curves of other, more glamorous types. Having chosen to build the Mike-model, I gave some thought to how best to present it as a feature. Sure, there are plenty of aftermarket details on the market and so I could have taken that route, adding a new cockpit, maybe using some new decals or etched details. But I didn’t want to do that. Instead, I decided to build this kit from the
box and in so doing, turn the clock back twenty years and see if a model built and painted using ideas and techniques back then, could stand up to models built using new, cutting-edge techniques and materials in 2013. So, decision made, I elected to build the kit from the box, use only basic tools and then finish it using only enamels and oil paints – just as I would have done at the beginning of the nineties and just as, I am sure, many modellers around the world still do. Let’s get cracking then!
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Hasegawa 1:48 A-4M Skyhawk II ‘U.S.M.C Attacker’ • Kit No. 07233
CONSTRUCTION BEGINS…
As with most models that I build, I tend to warm up by bringing together everything that’s in two halves, minor sub-assemblies, cockpit, seat and in this case, construct the fuselage halves. Let me explain. The fuselage comprises six major pieces: two rear sections, two nose cone halves and two hump halves. In order to ensure that their joins were nice and smooth, it was decided to create two large halves by gluing the nose and hump pieces in place, any filling then being along their upper edges rather than across the delicate surface detail that decorates the model. I also chose to clean up some of the smaller parts, either leaving them attached to the runners by tabs that would be invisible on the completed model, or by removing them, cleaning up any burrs and then mounting them on cocktail sticks, either in pre-drilled holes, or by using small blobs of White Tack. I could now get cracking on the fun bits, beginning with the cockpit… Although the aftermarket is full of replacements for the Skyhawk’s ‘pit, the kit parts were deemed suitable for this out-of-the box project, careful construction and painting being more than enough to satisfy me. Hasegawa supply some really neat detail on the instrument panels and side consoles that would benefit from careful painting, which is exactly how I approached the side consoles. Following a base coat of Humbrol Neutral Grey, the panels were picked out in matt black and then drybrushed with a pale grey shade to pop the switches. Some additional work with white, yellow and red helped create a neat recreation of the real consoles and so I was happy to move on to the instrument panel. Here, I chose not to paint the details, but rather use the supplied decal applied directly over the raised detail. By using Gunze Sangyo Mr Mark Softer, the decal settled down perfectly over the dials and switches to create a most pleasing replica of the real panel. A few drops of gloss varnish into each of the dials and a little additional painting hear and there and it was ready to fitted inside the cockpit. This model is a tail-sitter and so with the cockpit tub glued in place, some five-minute epoxy was mixed with some of Ripmax’ ‘Keel Ballast’ and then dripped into the nose. Because of the glue, this mixture self-levels and then sets hard, never to move again! Before joining the fuselage halves, the inside of the intake and the jet pipe needed to be assembled and painted according to the instructions. Though the intakes are small, they are open enough to be able see the fan detail and so care was taken to first paint the insides of the intakes and the trumpetshaped structure that sits inside the fuselage in Humbrol Satin White, before picking out the fan in Games Workshop Boltgun Metal (the only time an acrylic colour was used on the model). If the intakes offered a level of internal detail, the jet pipe certainly did not and though there is a fan at one end, it is invisible in the completed structure and so I was happy to simply prime the parts and then coat them in a layer of Alclad II Steel before moving on. Whilst the airbrush was full of this colour, the jet pipe and the gun barrels were sprayed and set aside for use later.
The cockpit, like the rest of the kit, was built from the box, the detail and features being more than adequate.
Instead of painting the instrument panel’s dials and switches, the supplied decal was applied over the moulded features, Mr Mark Softer helping it settle down, to create a most realistic-looking panel.
Close-up of the completed pit. A little drybrushing and some carefully applied oil-colour washes, helped accentuate the finer details.
The Skyhawk is a notorious tail-sitter, so some Ripmax Keel Ballast was glued into the nose to ensure it stayed on all three wheels.
Small gaps were filled with Gunze Sangyo Mr Filler Primer – here being applied around the avionics hump using a fine brush.
The jet pipe, exhaust and guns were all primed with Alclad’s grey primer and then finished with various metallic colours, again from the Alclad range.
Generally, the fit of the parts in this kit is very good, a couple of Berna Clamps being all that’s needed to keep the larger parts together whilst the glue set.
MOVING ON…
With the internals complete, they could be fixed in place and the fuselage halves joined together – almost. Before committing the parts to the glue brush, any small gaps were first attended to.
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With the airframe together, the first of a series of primer coats was applied to check for mistakes.
Tools of the trade for a perfect finish: a sponge sander, a sheet of Micromesh and a small piece of fine Scotchbrite.
The first step was to smooth out the primer coat. This was done using 3600-grit Micromesh, used in small, circular motions.
The undersides of the model were sprayed with a couple of layers of satin white, this colour being brought over onto the ailerons – the latter being masked, along with the cockpit opening, using Tamiya masking tape. The upper surfaces could not be sprayed with Light Gull Grey, in this case using Humbrol’s excellent, satin enamel No. 129.
The fit of the intakes to the fuselage resulted in a slight step and so some careful filling and sanding was needed to create a smooth joint.
Finally, the nose could be smoothed over. We are now ready to paint our little Scooter.
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Hasegawa 1:48 A-4M Skyhawk II ‘U.S.M.C Attacker’ • Kit No. 07233
Why I chose to do this now is anyone’s guess. I just like to get any filling and subsequent sanding out of the way so that painted sections don’t become needlessly contaminated later on. Though the fit of this kit is on the whole very good, smaller areas such as the join between the hump and the upper fuselage needed a dab of filler followed by a touch of Gunze Sangyo My Filler Primer, the latter applied using a fine brush, before being set aside to dry ready to be smoothed over with a sanding sponge. The wings were assembled before joining the fuselage halves. This was a very simple job, the single-span lower section mating perfectly with the two upper panels, Clever design alleviates the need for much in the way of clean-up and so they can be joined to the fuselage almost immediately, some Tamiya asking tape and a couple of Berna Clamps ensuring that everything stays in place whilst the glue sets. The intakes are moulded in two halves with a separate ‘mouth’ that, in the case of this model, is painted in red to match the triangular waning stencil that decorates the side of the fuselage. Given that the intakes are white inside, grey outside and then red, it seemed sensible to keep that red piece separate and simply glue it in place once painting and weathering had been completed, thus cutting down on a very tricky masking job. To do this I had to ensure that the joint between the parts was perfect before painting and so I spent some time sanding their mating faces until no gaps could be seen. The last thing I wanted, was to try and join the parts and find an unsightly gap that needed to be filled, so time spent adjusting the fit was well worth it! So, with the parts fettled accordingly and the fit as precise as possible, the intake were sprayed white and then fixed to the fuselage and their respective ‘mouths’ sprayed grey, masked and then painted gloss red, before being set aside to dry. With the airframe all-but complete, time could be spent checking for flaws before adding some of the smaller details I was confident, would not be broken off during painting. These included the underwing pylons (fixed into pre-drilled holes), electronic lumps and bumps, upper fin and two of the smaller undercarriage doors that line the rear of the main undercarriage bays.
Painting And Weathering
Perhaps the most important aspect in the painting of any model is the preparation and how you go about priming the surface ready for its final layers of paint. Many modellers simply apply the camouflage to the bare plastic, but I’ve always worried that I would miss a constructional flaw and so always apply a layer of primer, check the model, correct any mistakes, apply more primer and then sand the surface smooth using Micromesh and fine Scotchbrite finishing pads. On this model I found several areas that needed to be sorted out: the joints between the intakes and the fuselage; between the wings and the fuselage; lower fuselage and wing and that electronics hump and upper fuselage. None of these gaps were particularly nasty, just annoying, and so I used a smear of Humbrol filler sanded smooth and then ‘finished’ with Mr Filler Primer. The model was now ready for a final thin coat of white primer, before being sprayed in its Gull Grey over white camouflage. As mentioned earlier, this model was painted entirely in enamels, or more specifically, Humbrol’s newly formulated enamels. Over the years this famous brand has suffered at the hands of
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Painting A Complex Tail Marking – Step By Step
The rudder was first masked-off and then sprayed with a couple of layers of Humbrol Gloss Yellow, before being set aside to dry.
The black panel on the tail is a complex shape so in order to produce this marking, we need the decal sheet and a roll of masking tape.
A length of tape is laid across the marking on the decal sheet and then, using a brand-new No.10 scalpel blade, the tape is cut to follow the shape of the panel’s lower edge. This is then repeated for the leading edge.
The first piece of masking is then placed on the model, extreme care being taken to ensure it is in exactly the right place.
The second section of masking is then applied followed by the smaller pieces that need to cover the depressions in the rudder. The surrounding areas are also masked off at this time, ready for the black to be sprayed on.
With the masking removed, the results of all of that painstaking work can be seen. Though time-consuming, the results are far neater than would ever be possible using the kit’s decal sheet.
And here’s the fin after the decals have been applied and then blended-in with some carefully applied weathering. Job done!
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Though decals are supplied to decorate the interior of the slat-bays, I decided that it would be far more realistic to paint them and so masked them and sprayed the areas with Xtracolor Post Office Red, this colour also being used for the inner faces of the airbrakes and inner surfaces of the flaps and their underwing bays. All the colours used on this model were enamels, colours being drawn predominantly from the new Humbrol range with the odd colour from Hannant’s Xtracolor list.
In order to prepare the model for decaling, it was given several thin layers of Alclad Aqua Gloss.
poor quality control, erratic colour matches and protracted drying times, so much so that many modellers simply refused to use them. Humbrol, now in the ownership of Hornby, decided that enough was enough and brought their production back into the UK, the results being huge upswing in quality. Keen to see whether this was so, I took a trip to my local Hobbycraft and bought the colours I needed for this model, Satin White, Satin Gull Grey, Matt Black, Gloss Yellow and a couple of other greens that I needed for the weapons. Each of the colours was sprayed onto the model using my Iwata HP-CH airbrush, the paint being thinned with Humbrol’s Enamel Thinner. Right from the off I could see that these paints were entirely different from those that I had used before. Thinned down, the paint atomised evenly to produce a smooth finish that could be built up in layers to create a pleasingly opaque colour. Once dry – overnight in this case – the surface could be gently buffed using 3600 grit Micromesh to produce a super-smooth finish: I was, to put it mildly, very impressed. Happy that the white and grey were dry, the thorny issue of the tail markings could be addressed. As with many of their kits, Hasegawa provide options in how to create the marking on the tail: either use one decal that has all of the markings in place, or use the individual letters and numerals and paint the larger sections, in this case that distinctive black flash. I chose the latter. Here’s how I did it… Coloured tails are often fairly easy to mask and paint so long as you have some high quality masking tape – in this case Tamiya’s – a scalpel and some accurate drawings that show you exactly where the demarcations are. In this case, the shape of the black panel and the need to align numbers along it’s bottom edge that were black and yellow, meant that the masking needed to be extremely accurate, if everything was going to line up. The way this was accomplished here was to lay a piece of 15mm masking tape over the decals sheet and then using brand-new No.10A scalpel blade, trace the outline of the lower edge of the marking, pencil marks then being applied to the tape to act as guides to its location on the model. This process was then repeated for the leading edge of the black panel, again, care being taken to ensure that the masking tape was cut as accurately as possible. These pieces of tape were now laid onto sheets of plasticard and the fin masked-off with more tape and sprayed yellow, this being the accent colour
in-between the ribs on the rudder. Once dry, more tape was laid over the yellow marking on the decals sheet, each being cut out individually and then placed on the model in order. The larger masks could now be applied to the fin, constantly checking their location so that they were placed in exactly the right place. The fin could now be sprayed with black and the model set aside to dry, before removing the tape to reveal the completed, black and yellow marking. With the paintwork dry, my Skyhawk was oversprayed with several layers of Alclad Aqua Gloss in readiness for the decals. This is always my favourite step in the completion of a model, but it can sometimes throw up obstacles that can make it more frustrating than it needs to be. Over the years, I’ve read numerous articles stating that Hasegawa decals are too thick and unusable which is simply not true: apply them using Gunze Sangyo Mr Mark Setting and Softer solutions and I guarantee that they will look every bit as good as those from the aftermarket. That said, they can suffer in the colour department, white often-looking more like creamygrey, than a pure colour. In this case, the decals certainly fell into that category and so I replaced the star and bar markings with those found in Hasegawa’s TA-4J kit, which were a much cleaner
The simple weapons load reading to be fixed in place. Not the weathered look of the well-used LAU-10 rocket launchers…
The undercarriage is well detailed and benefits from some careful painting and weathering. Here’s the nose gear in all of its glorious detail…
Often ignored, here is the painted and weathered underside of our model…
The main gear bays feature excellent detail. Here’s a close-up of the partially painted bays from our feature model.
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Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Hasegawa 1:48 A-4M Skyhawk II ‘U.S.M.C Attacker’ • Kit No. 07233
Almost there! Our A-4 has been painted, weathered and decalled. All that remains is the best bit of any project: final assembly.
MODELSPEC Hasegawa 1:48 A-4M Skyhawk II ‘U.S.M.C Attacker’ Kit No. 07233 SPECIALTY TOOLS AND MATERIALS: Tamiya Extra Thin Liquid Cement Flory Sanding Sponges Micromesh 3600 Finishing Cloth Gunze Sangyo Mr Filler primer Humbrol Filler PAINTS AND FINISHING PRODUCTS USED:
white colour that matched the rest of the white paint used on the model. The rest of the decals came from the kit sheet. After allowing the decals to dry out, the model was washed in warm soapy water, left to dry and then oversprayed with several thin layers of matt varnish to seal everything in. Weathering a model is all a matter of personal taste and although I like my models to show wear and tear, I’m not keen on them looking like junkyard dogs. In this case and in keeping with my ‘old school’ ethos, the panel lines were ‘washed’ with mixture of Windsor & Newton Raw Umber oil paint and Humbrol German Grey enamel. This was used both neat and thinned into a delicate wash that could be applied to the panel lines and around the finer details, any excess being removed with either a soft, flat brush, cotton buds, or a cotton cloth dampened with Rowney’s Odourless Turpentine.
SMALLER DETAILS
Having completed the painting, decaling and weathering, I could breath a sigh of relief and turn my attention to the undercarriage and weapons. The former an easy step. The latter, not so much! The undercarriage units in the kit are really well detailed and look fine with little more than a coat of paint and a touch of weathering here and there. As with the rest of the kit, enamels were used to produce the colour coats, the quality of the new colours allowing not only the painting of the finer
details, but once thinned down, the washes needed to accentuate the detail. If the undercarriage was straightforward, the weapons proved less so. As with almost every Hasegawa aircraft kit, this one is devoid of weapons save from the underwing tanks that are specific to the aircraft. This being the case, if you want a model that features external stores you’ll have to raid either another kit, or one of Hasegawa’s extensive weapons set. After spending considerable time trying to find pictures of A-4Ms carrying weapons – most appearing to be flown without, which wasn’t helpful! – I settled on a centreline tank from the kit and then two Rockeye bombs and two LAU-10 rocket pods, both of which can from the aforementioned weapons sets. These were carefully assembled and then the painted accordingly, the rocket pods being weathered to reflect heavy use. All that remained was to mask and paint the canopy and then add the smaller details such as the aerials, slats and flaps and this one was done. The slats are a far from easy couple of pieces to fix in place and needed some carefully applied superglue on their actuators and undersides of each on to ensure they were securely fastened. The flaps simply fix in place with a large tab, so a dab of glue and that as they say, was that – almost. You’ll notice in the pictures that I’ve forgotten to add the pitot tube to the leading edge of the fin; I’ll be adding this in due course, after hanging my head in shame… •
The canopy parts benefit from some detail painting to highlight panels and rivets.
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Humbrol Gloss Yellow 69; Gloss Black 21; Matt Black 33; Satin White 130; Leather 62; Light Gull Grey 129; Light Grey 147; Gull Grey 140; Light Olive 86; Light Grey 64; US Dark Green 116; Linen 74 Alclad: Grey Primer & Microfiller; Pale Burnt Metal; Dark Aluminium; Polished Aluminium; Steel; Aqua Gloss Hannants Xtracolor Post Office Red X31 Daco Products ‘Decalsetting Strong Version’ Gunze Sangyo Mr Mark Softer; Mr Mark Setter Vallejo Matt Varnish Washes of oil paint – Winsor & Newton Raw Umber and Mig Abt. 501 Snow White Lovely surface detail; accurate shapes; very well moulded; excellent box art; simple construction sequence. Simplified seat; lack of weapons; no positive locators for slats; white printing on decal sheet. Rating: 8.5 out of 10 Hasegawa kits are distributed in the UK by Amerang www.amerang.co.uk
The leading edge slats drop down to reveal the red paint beneath.
The complex painting and decaling on the tail is well worthwhile.
Military Illustrated Modeller - July 2013
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The model was oversprayed with several thin layers of matt varnish to seal paint and decals. I replaced the star and bar markings with those found in Hasegawa’s TA-4J kit, which were a much cleaner white colour.
‘The undercarriage units in the kit are really well detailed and look fine with little more than a coat of paint and a touch of weathering here and there...’
In the absence of kit ordnance, weapons were sourced from Hasegawa’s extensive after-market weapons sets.
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Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Italeri 1:48 Junkers Ju 87 B-2/R-2 Stuka. • Kit No. 2690
DESERT STUKA Charles Whall finishes Italeri’s 1:48 scale Stuka as a Ju 87 B-2, of 1./St.G3 based in North Africa, 1942.
I
taleri’s latest 1:48 scale Ju 87 Stuka makes a refreshing change from the older Hasegawa offering that was the only decent kit in this scale until now. The Italeri offering is a completely new tool with sharp details, crisp panel lines and a number of other refinements over Hasegawa’s (which is still an excellent kit however). Four different markings schemes are available, based within in the European Theatre of Operations with the usual splinter scheme camo. Having built my first Stuka from the Battle of Britain period, I wanted to find a scheme that was different from ‘the norm’ and I certainly found what I was looking for with this tropical scheme I came across from an old modelling manual.
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INTERIOR CONSTRUCTION
I have never built a kit straight from the box as there are always loads of great aftermarket sets available these days. This kit is no exception. It is an ideal starting point for additional detailing so as usual I went to town with adding a number of parts, and some scratch-built items too. A Jumo engine set is available if the modeller wishes to show a stripped down Stuka. This is nicely detailed, complete with firewall, engine bearers and other plumbing, but is screaming out for some superdetailing, Maybe next time! The kit does offer a small photo-etched fret for the instrument panel, seatbelts and wing walkways, but the cockpit itself is very basic so I went to work adding a number of etched and styrene parts.
Gunner’s and radio compartment details were added and the framework behind the pilot’s seat was re-worked using brass rod to create a more accurate construction and fitted into the canopy. A coat of RLM66 blended everything together and the lead wiring from Plus Model and other small features like the map-box, maps and PE instrument panel enhanced an otherwise fairly dull grey cockpit. The kit seat is an odd shape so I raided the spares box for an old photo-etched seat that was enhanced using brass wire for the framework. Once the cockpit was finished, thin strips of styrene rod were used for the canopy rails. 0.2mm wiring was added to the radio and gunner compartment. I added a leather cushion for the pilot’s seat made from Blue-Tak
Military Illustrated Modeller - July 2013
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The kit seat is an odd shape so I raided the spares box for an old photo-etched.
Scratch built plastic parts were added to the sidewalls.
The Master turned brass machine gun barrel is gorgeous.
Photo-etched and plastic enhancements to the radios.
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Italeri 1:48 Junkers Ju 87 B-2/R-2 Stuka. • Kit No. 2690
and used Eduard photo-etched seatbelts. The cockpit went together okay but having glued the sidewalls to the fuselage, a fairly wide gap was apparent along the length of the cockpit sills where the sidewall did not follow the contour of the fuselage and needs some careful manipulation to get it to marry up.
EXTERIOR
As I was making a tropical B-2 I had to use the Hasegawa kit part as Italeri does not provide an alternative. The clear canopy parts are well scaled and were given a coat of Future then masked using an Eduard set. The front canopy does not fit well and a noticeable ‘step’ between the canopy and the fuselage sides was immediately apparent, but a small amount of Green Putty filled the gap nicely and was sanded level. The famous gull-wing section aligned perfectly at the fuselage roots and only a very small amount of liquid cement was used here. A nice addition on the PE set mentioned earlier, are counter-balances for the elevators (Fig 17). Italeri have been thoughtful here and provided the modeller with an option to drop the elevators which have been provided as separate parts to the rear stabilisers. A significant area of the Stuka’s wing is taken up by the flaps and ailerons and while Italeri have provided a separate set of much neater actuator details over the plastic triangles that attach those parts to the wings on the Hasegawa kit, I chose to scratch-build the flap actuators from styrene and piano wire for a more accurate representation - quite time consuming but worth it in the end. The kit’s bomb support mechanism was enhanced using some brass wire to represent actuator rods and left in the dropped position ready for ‘bombing up’.
PAINTING AND MARKINGS - A LESSON IN PERSEVERANCE!
The tropical camouflage scheme really makes this Stuka stand out but is incredibly time consuming. I am not one to shrink from a challenge but this project really tested my airbrushing ability, right up to the point of considering abandoning the whole project! I had to keep correcting mistakes. The smallest deviation with the airbrush would result in a glaring error! But I knew what I wanted to achieve and stuck with it, which proved worthwhile as I was very pleased with the end result and have learnt something new about fine airbrush work. In my opinion this is what modelling is all about. The paints scheme is RLM 78 Light Blue; RLM 79 Sand Yellow, RLM 80 Olive Green, while the fuselage band and underside wing bands were RLM 21 (White). All painting was carried out with various acrylics (Tamiya, Gunze, PollyScale and Aircraft Colours) and applied using my trusty Iwata HP-B airbrush with 0.2mm nozzle. The base colour for the green was applied at a pressure of 20psi to create the fine edge to the pattern and various lighter shades were built up in ‘filters’ providing more depth to the colour. After a flat coat to seal everything, I used the oil-dot filter technique to create weathering streaks over the top of the completed scheme. A small amount of post shading was carried out to enhance various areas with some highly thinned black-
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Military Illustrated Modeller -
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JUNKERS JU-87 STUKA TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: Powerplant: Role during war: Length: Height: Empty weight: Operational weight: Wing Span: Wing Aspect ratio: Wing Area: Service ceiling: Maximum speed: Cruising speed: Initial climb rate: Range: Fuel capacity internal: Fuel capacity external: Machine guns:
1 × Junkers Jumo 211 Da inverted Vee, rated at 1200 hp (894.59 kW) (Ground) Attack Fighter, Close Support Attack Fighter, Dive Bomber 36 ft 5 inch 13 ft 1.8 inch 7026 lb 9594 lb typical, 10697 lb max 45 ft 3.33 inch 5.95 344.46 sq ft 26245 ft 238 mph at 13450 ft 196 mph at 9845 ft Climb to 13,125 ft in 12 min 0 sec 370 miles typical, 491 miles max 110 Imp gal (132 US gal) 2 × 0.312 inch MG 17 fixed forward-firing in the leading edges of the wings, 500 rounds each 1 × 0.312 inch MG 15 trainable rearward-firing in the rear cockpit, 900 rounds Cannons: Bomb load: Up to 1,543 lb carried on five hardpoints, 1 under the fuselage rated at 1,102 lb, and 4 underwing rated at 110 lb each. General disposables load consisted of: 1 × 1,102 lb SC/PC-500 or 551 lb SC-250 bomb under the fuselage 4 × 110 lb SC-50 bombs under the wings Torpedoes/rockets: Crew: 2: pilot, radio operator/gunner Naval or ground based: Ground First flight (prototype): April 1935 Operational Service: 1937 - 1945
Brass wire was used to replace the framework above the pilot’s seat.
“I have never built a kit straight from the box as there are always loads of great aftermarket sets available these days.”
Careful painting really brings out the detail of the cockpit sidewalls.
July 2013
04/06/2013 14:57
The Eduard instrument panel sandwich.
Eduard’s photo-etched seat belts are a highlight too.
Mass balances for the elevators are provided as photo-etched parts.
Wing walks are photoetched parts too.
The airframe is coming together.
A number of rounds of repainting and repairs eventually delivered this result.
The desert paint job was very challenging but ultimately satisfying.
Despite the age of the Super Scale decals, they performed admirably.
Decals were cut out close to the outlines of the letters and numbers.
Aircraft Edition
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Italeri 1:48 Junkers Ju 87 B-2/R-2 Stuka. • Kit No. 2690
MODELSPEC Italeri 1:48 Junkers Ju 87 B-2/R-2 Stuka.
Kit No. 2690
Aftermarket Parts Used: Eduard photo-etched parts Gunze/Aircraft Colours/Tamiya acrylics Quickboost Pitot tube, wing mounted machine gun barrels, magazine drums and corrected prop/spinner Moskit copper exhausts Master brass MG17 barrel Verlinden & Hasegawa Luftwaffe airfield sets
Decals over the air brakes are tricky!
The distinctive glass house canopy is even more striking with the pale-coloured framing. I chose to scratch-build the flap actuators from styrene and piano wire.
References: Classic Colours, Luftwaffe Colours, Stuka volume 1, Luftwaffe Ju 87 Dive-bomber units 1939-1941, Peter C Smith Applied modelling encyclopaedia, Squadron Signal Publications Good detail; well moulded. Oddly shaped pilot’s seat; some fit issues. RATING: 8 out of 10 Italeri kits are distributed in the UK by The Hobby Company Limited www.hobbyco.net
“Italeri’s Stuka will be great for beginners or seasoned veterans alike.”
The kit’s bomb support mechanism was enhanced using some brass wire.
brown Tamiya paint. General weathering to the wings, walkway areas was done with a wash of black/brown oils and a dusting of Tamiya and MIG pigments. General scuffing was done using Prismacolour silver and HB pencils. The Super Scale International decals I needed for the markings are currently out of print but after a great deal of searching, the set was provided by a very kind member of the HyperScale community www.hyperscale.com. Apparently, the decals were old, which did not bode well as I expected them to crack up in warm water. So I only had one shot with them but thankfully they went down beautifully with a minimal amount of Microset/sol and sealed with a flat coat of Vallejo matt varnish mixed with a little satin.
WAS IT WORTH IT?
Absolutely! Overall, I found the kit very easy to manage but with a few minor fit issues. Italeri’s Stuka will be great for beginners or seasoned veterans alike; and provides a great base for lots of extra detailing.
SETTING THE SCENE Italeri’s Stuka is a great project for beginners and seasoned veterans alike.
The base was made from Jelutong with a simple moulding routed around the edge. A layer of cork matting provides a great base onto which I added very fine sand (collected from Taquali airfield in Malta) using white glue. I used the wonderfully detailed Verlinden starter trolley and added ladders from Eduard PE sets which are rather pricey but do make a nice addition. Oil drums and empty boxes were added for additional interest.
PHOTOGRAPHY:
Fuji Finepix 9500S using a sheet of white card as background/infinity curve placed in a photo-tent. Two 36W daylight bulbs provided lighting. •
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Military Illustrated Modeller -
July 2013
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31/05/2013 12:09
KIT PREVIEW: Kinetic Model Kits 1:48 Israeli Aircraft Industries Kfir C2/C7 • Item No. 48046; a joint project with IsraCast Studio.
MIRAGE MIMEOGRAPH Mick Evans takes a look at Kinetic’s new 1:48 scale Israel’s home-grown Mirage V derivative, the Kfir C2/C7.
I
have been eagerly awaiting this release from Kinetic as the only way to build a decent 1:48 model of the Israeli Kfir until now has been to extensively modify an Esci/Italeri Mirage III/V using either an Isracast or Eagle Designs resin conversion set. Esci/Italeri did release a 1:48 scale Kfir many years ago but it falls way short of the mark in terms of detail and accuracy. I have one of the Esci/Italeri kits in my collection that I will consign to my spares box or give it away. The Kfir is a heavily modified version of the Mirage V manufactured by Israeli Industries to incorporate a General Electric J79 engine similar to that fitted to the Israeli F-4J Phantom or Kurnas. The rear fuselage was modified and shortened to fit the wider but shorter J79. Aerodynamic improvements such as forward fuselage canards and extended leading edges were applied to the outer wing sections creating a dog tooth in the leading edge rather than the aerodynamic slot fitted to the Mirage. The avionics were extensively modified and a new nose with aerodynamic strakes was designed and fitted. New pylons were designed to carry an extensive weapons load as were some new fuel tanks. The Kfir is one of my favourite aircraft, along with the Mirage IIIO that I worked on for many years, so I was keen to see how accurate this Kinetic kit was. There are many plans around for the Kfir and Mirage so it is very easy to compare. Plus, I have just spent 3 months building and rescribing the old 1:32 Scale Revell Mirage as a Mirage IIIO.
IN THE BOX
I spent many hours pouring over the shapes of this kit, checking detail and accuracy against Isradecal plans and Isradecal resin conversion parts and of
Markings are supplied for five aircraft.
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course some Mirage kits and plans. Kinetic has not let us down. I would rate this as Kinetic’s best kit to date, accurate and with good detail. There is one error with the 110 gallon supersonic tanks but I will deal with that later. The surface detail is fine and restrained, the best that Kinetic has done so far and represents the panel lines of the Mirage that I am used to without being overdone and trench like. Photographs I have seen of the Kfir show the panel work (depth, visibility) to be similar to the Mirage hence my continual reference to the Mirage. The kit contains over 180 light grey injection moulded parts and 13 clear parts. The fuselage is
basically two one-piece halves to which are added the nose cone, wings and intakes. The air scoops for the heat exchangers that are moulded on the fuselage are hollow, adding further realism. One important detail that all kits of the Mirage IIIE/V manufacturers miss but Kinetic have included are the rear radio hatch bulges located just below the pitch dampers on the lower rear fuselage - big plus for this. The intakes are amazing having full length ducting back to the engine compressor face another big plus. The wings are spot on, the anhedral looks correct, panel detail is superb and accurate. Most importantly, every vent around the gun troughs and
Surface detail is crisp and fine – some of Kinetic’s best to date.
Detail parts are also well moulded.
Military Illustrated Modeller - July 2013
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gun bay have been moulded, something missed on all Mirage models. There is possibly a small air scoop missing from the front of the gun bay, this is only fitted to the gun pack and not the gun bay fuel tank so check your references for this. The wheel wells look good but they are missing all the hydraulic pipework that is evident in the real thing. My only other minor point is the speed brake bays. Separate speed brakes is a first for any Mirage kit and is greatly applauded as most of the time when a Mirage and I presume Kfir is on the ground the speed brakes are slightly cracked open. The speed brakes are used by the pilot to bleed the hydraulic pressure after the engine has shutdown, and depending on the skill of the pilot was to how far these were cracked open. The best pilots got them back to streamlined or almost. Kinetics moulding has a small compromise on the edges of the speed
The wheel wells will benefit from the addition of plumbing and wiring.
The stores supplied for this kit is extensive with the following supplied: • Python-3 Air to Air Missile • Mk82 Retarded Bombs • CBU-10 Rockeye dispensers • Griffon Laser Guided Bomb • Laser Designator • 286 Gallon Subsonic fuel tanks both with fins and without • 110 Gallon Supersonic jettison able finned fuel tanks • Rocket bay fuel tank weapons pylons • Gun bay weapons pylons • Centre line multiple weapons pylon The weapons and tanks supplied are superb except for the 110 Gallon supersonic tanks. In 1:48 scale these should be 118mm long. The kinetic tanks are 104mm long.
Alternative noses are supplied.
The transparencies look great and crystal clear; and most importantly they are the correct shape.
Plenty of ordnance is included. Check out all those tanks!
brake bays where they are not quite vertical but slightly chamfered. A few scrapes with a sharp knife should enhance this area. The nose wheel well detail looks great as do all of the undercarriage legs and doors. The cockpit has sufficient detail with alternate ejection seats and instrument panels being provided for the C2 or C7 version. Alternate nose cones are also provided for the C2 or C7 version along with the laser designator for the C7. Kinetic also provide separate elevons and pitch dampers along with elevon actuator covers for either streamlined or drooped. Now if the pitch dampers were deselected as normal prior to engine shutdown, the pitch dampers will be streamlined. These are only rarely drooped. This can only occur if someone had the pitch dampers selected with hydraulic power on and was moving the flight controls when the hydraulic power have bled down. The elevons are totally different. These will always be in the drooped position unless there is hydraulic power supplied by the engine, emergency hydraulic pump or external hydraulic cart for maintenance.
WHAT WENT WRONG?
This is the first 1:48 scale Mirage/Kfir kit to include the jettisonable and finned Israeli 110 Gallon supersonic fuel tank. Unfortunately the kit tank is 14mm short. The Israeli tanks is jettison able whereas the French tank is not. The Israeli and French 110 Gallon tanks are the same length but the Israeli tank sits further aft on the pylon to assist in jettison as does the fins fitted to the rear of the tank. This distance in 1:48 scale is around 14mm so the distance that a French tank protrudes in front of the wing compared to the Israeli tank in 1:48 scale is also 14mm and I believe this has contributed to the error. I have compared it to Italeri 1:48 French tank and Isracast resin Israeli tank to confirm as detailed above. The transparencies look great and crystal clear; and most importantly they are the correct shape.
MARKINGS
There are 5 schemes provided by Kinetic for this kit with the decals printed by Cartograf and designed by IsraCast Studio. The markings supplied are as follows: • KFIR C7 number 553 ‘Venus’, ‘The Arava
The top tank is the Esci French 110 Gallon tanks, centre is Isracast Israeli 110 Gallon tanks and the bottom is the Kinetic Israeli 110 Gallon tanks. The difference in size is quite striking.
Guardians’ squadron, Hatzor AF Base, 1988 in the late 4 tone desert scheme. • KFIR C7 number 539 ‘Venus’ (Hebrew version), ‘The Arava Guardians’ squadron, Hatzor AF Base, in the late 4 tone desert scheme • KFIR C7 number 521 ‘Pluto’, ‘The Arava Guardians’ squadron, Hatzor AF Base, 1994 in the
The fuselage is broken down into left and right fuselage halves.
Bombs too.
late 4 tone desert scheme. • KFIR C2 number 805 ‘The Valley’ squadron, Ramat-David AF Base, 1983 in the air superiority Grey scheme. • KFIR C2 number 861 ‘Venus’, ‘The Valley’ squadron, Ramat-David AF Base, 1985 air superiority Grey scheme.
CONCLUSION
At last, a superb kit of the Kfir. There is very little that I can criticise and I am full of praise, except for the very short 110 gallon supersonic tanks. I would have liked to have seen a scheme for an early Kfir C2 with the big black and yellow recognition triangles but this may come in a later release. I cannot wait to build this kit and see how it assembles but it looks a breeze. Note that this kit does not lend itself to maybe a Mirage IIIE/V coming from Kinetic as the tooling is specific to a Kfir and would require a complete retool for the Mirage, still hopefully soon. Big kudos to Kinetic for this excellent kit. Available online from Lucky Model www.luckymodel.com.•
Aircraft Edition
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modeller Next Issues military illustrated
ISSUE No.027 July 2013
Aircraft Edition - Brett Green AFV Edition - Marcus Nicholls Publisher; Alan Harman Graphic Design; Alex Hall, Colin Trundle Advertising Manager; Colin Spinner Advertising Sales; Mark Peacock Advertising Assistant; Joe Brown Office Manager; Paula Gray Administration Manager; Hannah McLaurie MIM Website; Alex Hall Editors;
Military Illustrated Modeller Issue 28 - AFV Edition on sale 18 July 2013
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AMBUSH AT POTEAU
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A major 1:35 Ardennes diorama from José Brito
LION HEART
Amusing Hobby 1:35 Pz.VII Löwe
HARD TUSK-MASTER
Chris Jerret returns with his amazing 1:35 Abrams TUSK
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Military Illustrated Modeller Issue 29 - Aircraft Edition on sale 15 August, 2013
Advertisements are accepted for publication in Military Illustrated Modeller only on ADH Publishing’s standard terms of acceptance of advertising, copies of which are available from the advertising department. Please write to the address above. All advertising, circulation and subscription enquiries should also be directed to the UK address above.
Subscription rates are; Option 1 - 12 Issues (AFV & Aircraft) 1 year UK - £60.00 / Europe - £75.00 / World - £85.00 (prices include shipping) Option 2 - 12 Aircraft Editions 2 years UK - £60.00 / Europe - £75.00 / World - £85.00 (prices include shipping) Option 3 - 12 AFV Editions 2 years UK - £60.00 / Europe - £75.00 / World - £85.00 (prices include shipping) For all orders, please call; (UK) +44(0)1525 222573 or visit www.miltaryillustratedmodeller.com
BLACK STALLIONS ABOVE IRAQ
Academy’s big MH-53E by Jeroen Veen.
SEPECAT JAGUAR A Feliks Kamil Sztarbala builds Kitty Hawk’s 1:48 scale Jaguar A.
DELTA DAGGER
Marcus Nicholls brings us Meng’s 1:72 scale F-102A Delta Dagger.
GOLDILOCKS’ CHOICE PART TWO
The Editor paints and weathers Revell-Monogram’s 1:48 scale Heinjel He 111 H.
www.fsc.org www.pefc.org © ADH Publishing 2013
...AND MORE! Aircraft Edition
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FOURTH FOKKER Not content with three Fokker D.VII variants, Wingnut Wings has now also released a 1:32 scale Fokker D.VII F plus additional markings on a separate decal sheet. The Editor takes a look.
N
ever a company to do things by half measures, Wingnut Wings simultaneously released three Fokker D.VII kits in December last year. These were the main Mercedespowered Fokker D.VIIs variants from the Fokker, Albatros and OAW factories. Despite the availability of the three Mercedespowered variants in December, a number of visitors to HyperScale’s Plane Talking Forum expressed a wish to see the rare and much coveted BMW IIIa “altitude” engine variant from Wingnut Wings too. Well, their wishes have been granted. The latest kit release by Wingnut Wings is the Fokker D.VII F, with the BMW IIIa engine. The newest Fokker kit comprises 198 parts in grey injection moulded plastic, two parts in clear, eight photo-etched parts and markings for five aircraft. 36 parts are brand new. These contain the BMW engine, engine cowlings and two new propellers.
The two interplane struts are each presented as single “N” shapes and are moulded with goodsized locating pins that fit into corresponding holes in the wings. The wings do not require any rigging, which should appeal to first-time WWI modellers. The fuselage interior is supplemented with a thoroughly detailed cockpit complete with framework, bulkheads, ammunition bins and fuel tank. The instrument panel is adorned with individual authentic decal instruments. I particularly like the faded “back side” lozenge decals, printed complete with linen texture, for the cockpit interior. The Spandau machine guns are provided with the option of photo-etched cooling jackets. The photo-etched fret also offers harness straps and gun sights. One of the new propellers and BMW IIIa engine details.
The colour instruction booklet is lavishly illustrated and includes reference photos of all five subjects. The decals themselves are printed perfectly and should behave themselves very nicely on the model.
CONCLUSION
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One of the three large decal sheets supplied with the kit.
One of the two decal sheets in the aftermarket set.
The main decal sheet is brand new too. It contains markings for five colourful options. In common with their earlier releases, Wingnut Wings’ Fokker D.VII features beautiful surface texture including subtly stretched/wrinkled fabric, fine strips and stitching, crisply recessed panel lines and raised details where appropriate. Kit engineering is conventional and designed to make construction as painless as possible while not compromising on detail. The thick upper wing is moulded in two pieces - upper and lower halves - and features separate ailerons. The elevators and rudder are separate parts too. The lower wing has a bottom full span (don’t cut the halves off the moulded spars in between!) with separate top sections for the left and right sides. The main three-legged cabane struts are moulded in once piece each, ensuring correct alignment. The tops of the cabane struts have nice big locating tabs that should result in a solid bond with the upper wing.
Other options include an anemometer, a telescopic Oigee sight, alternative engine fittings and three styles of Spandau mount. Where optional parts are offered, the instructions direct the applicable marking options. Painting options for interior and exterior elements are quite comprehensive too. The 32 page instruction booklet is presented in the same format as its predecessors, with 3D construction views supplemented by generous reference photos of wartime machines and some colour cockpit detail shots from The Memorial Flight Association Fokker D.VII F.
WINGNUT WINGS DECALS 30010 - FOKKER D.VII F FIGHTING FOKKERS PART 5 DECALS
In conjunction with their new 1/32 scale Fokker D.VII F, Wingnut Wings has also released Part 5 of their after market decal series with five additional options for their newest release.
Once again, Wingnut Wings has addressed modellers’ wishes with this new 1/32 scale Fokker D.VII F. In common with their earlier Fokker releases, this is an outstanding package – well-detailed, superbly moulded and with ample photographic reference for the project. The straightforward Cover sheet for the new separately struts and rigging-free available decal sheet from Wingnut Wings. wings will appeal to first-time WWI modellers, and the pre-sized and integrated lozenge and rib tape decals are time saving and precise too. And if you can’t find any markings or colour schemes that you like in the kit options, Wingnut Wings’s new decal sheet offers you five more. • Highly Recommended. Thanks to Wingnut Wings for the review sample www.wingnutwings.com
Military Illustrated Modeller - July 2013
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Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Aircraft in Action
Heinkel He 112 in Action (SC) Bernad. Saw only limited action with the Luftwaffe. Used by the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. Went on to see service with the Spanish, Rumanian, Hungarian and Japanese AFs. Includes A and B series variants, as well Gunslingers in Action (SC) Drendel. The story of the modern day gunfighter - Helicopter as sections on service with the Luftwaffe, Japan, Spain, gunships in Vietnam. Covers the origins of the gunship, gunship Hungary, and Rumania. Also covers the rocket propulsion tactics, and the various helicopters employed as gunships and experiments with the He-112. Over 100 photos, 13 color drawings, numerous line drawings; 50 pages. scouts. 99 photos, 10 detail drawings, 9 color photos and SS1159 paintings; 50 pages. SS1014
B-1 Lancer in Action (SC) Drendel. The BONE - B-1 Lancer - is the USAF's latest swing-wing heavy bomber and has seen action over Iraq, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan. Includes the B-1A and B-1B variants. 100 b/w photos, black & white line art, full-color centerspread and 3 full color cover drawings; 50 pages. SS1179
Junkers Ju 52 in Action (SC) Stapfer, Mau and Punka. Includes the Single-Engine Ju 52, Ju 52/3m Pre Series, Ju 52/3m fe, Ju 52/3m ge, Ju 52/3m reo, Ju 52/3m ho, C-79, Ju 52/3m g3e, Ju 52/3m g4e, Ju Reggiane Fighters in Action (SC) Bristol Blenheim in Action (SC) 52/3m g5e/g6e, Ju 52/3m g7e to g12e, Ju 52/3m g14e, Punka. Covers the WWII Italian fighter Re.2000/2001/2002 Mackay. The Bristol Blenheim opened WWII for RAF, flying Ju 52/3m See, Ju 52/3m MS, CASA 352, and AAAC-1 Toucan the first operational sortie of a British bomber in WWII. Used in and 2005. Includes Re.2000 in Italian, Hungarian, and variants. Also covers operations in the Spanish Civil War, every theater where the British fought, the Blenheim would see Swedish service, Re.2001, Re.2002, and Re.2005 in Italian Sino-Japanese War, as well as Ju 52/3ms in foreign service action over Europe, the North African deserts and the jungles service. Also covers Re.2000 service on the Eastern Front. and postwar civil service. Over 90 b/w photos, numerous line Extensively illustrated with 100 b/w photos, line drawings, of Asia. Blenheim's were adapted to many roles notenvisioned drawings, 10 full color profiles, 3 cover paintings; 50 pages. by its designers, photo reconnaissance, float plane, and night 10 full-color profiles and 3 cover paintings; 50 pages. SS1186 ffighter. Over 101 photos, 40 detail drawings, 2 pages ofscale SS1177 drawings, 13 full color paintings; 50 pages. SS1088
B-2 Spirit in Action (SC) Goodall. America's 1st operational bomber to employ a BE2 in Action (SC) flying wing design and stealth characteristics has seen Cooksley Used as fighters, reconnaissance aircraft, artillery combat over Yugoslavia and Afghanistan. Includes the B-2 spotters and bombers. Includes the BE2a, BE2b, BE2c, BE2d, upgrades, Air Refueling, and B-2 weapons. Also covers BE2e, BE2f, BE2g, and BE12 variants. Over 100 photos, Operation Allied Force and Operation Enduring Freedom. 100 40 detail drawings, 2 pages scale drawings, 13 full-color b/w photos, numerous line drawings, 2 pages full color art/ drawings; 50 pages. photos; 50 pages. SS1123 SS1178
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Gloster Gladiator in Action (SC) Harrison. Covers operations in France, Norway, the Middle East, Malta, and Aden, as well as Gladiators in service with Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, China, Ireland, Greece, Egypt, Iraq, Portugal, Finland, Soviet Union, Australia, Free French, and South Africa. Illustrated with 100 b/w photos, line art, 10 full-color profiles, 3 cover drawings; 50 pages. SS1187
Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Aircraft in Action
Tupolev SB in Action (SC) Stapfer. It saw service in Spain and China and was the backbone of the Soviet bomber force when the Nazi's invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. Includes the ANT-40-1, SB-2-M-100, SB-2-M-100-A, Avia B-71, Avia B-71A, Avia C-46 Commando In Action (SC) B-71B, SB-2-M-100, SB-2-M-100-A (Modified), SB-2-M-103, Love. Includes the CW-20/C-55, C-46A, R5C-1, XC-46B, XC-46C, C-46D, C-46E, C-46F, and C-46G/XC-113 variants. SB-bis-3, PS-40, PS-41, PS-41 bis, SB-MMN, USB variants. Also covers operations in the Far East as well as Post War civil Operations in Poland, Finland, Russo-German War, aircraft in and military service. 100 b/w photos, line art, 10 full-color foreign service. Over 100 photos, 38 line drawings, 10 color profiles, 3 cover drawings; 50 pages. profiles; 50 pgs. SS1188 SS1194
F4F Wildcat in Action (SC) Dann. History of the F4F's development and operational service. Includes the XF4F-2, XF4F-3, F4F-3, Xf$F-6, F4F-3A, F4F-3P, F4F-7, F4F-3S, XF4F-5, F4F-4, Xf4F-4, XF4F-8, FM-1, FM-2, G-36A, Martlet Mk I, Martlet Mk II/G-36B, Martlet Mk III, Wildcat Mk IV (F4F-4B), Wildcat Mk V, and Wildcat Mk VI variants. Also covers Wildcat exports to Finland, Belgium, and Iran. 100 photos, 10 color profiles; 50 pages. SS1191
Sepecat Jaguar in Action (SC) Ashley. The Sepecat Jaguar is an Anglo-French strike aircraft, having served with the British, French airforces, and several export customers. Includes Jaguar A/GR.1, trainer variants, British and French service, Naval trials, as well as service with Oman, Ecuador, India, and Nigeria. Also covers combat operations in Iraq, Senegal, Chad, South America, and the Balkans. 97 photos, 26 line drawings, 10 color profiles; 50 pages. SS1197
F-102A Delta Dagger in Action (SC) Davis. Supersonic interceptor aircraft that entered USAF service in 1956. Includes the YF-102, F-102A, XF-92A, YFUS Liaison Aircraft in Action (SC) 102A, F-102A, TF-102A, F-102B, F-102C, JF-102A, QF-102A, Adcock. Covers L-1 thru L-5 during WW II. Includes and PQM-102A/B variants. Also includes operational and the Stinson L-1 (O-49) Vigilant, Taylorcraft L-2 (O-57) Air Guard service. 100 photos, 35 line drawings, 10 color Grasshopper, Aeronca L-3 (O-58) Grasshopper, Piper L-4 (O- profiles; 50 pages. 59) Grasshopper, and the Stinson L-5 (O-62) Sentinel. Over SS1199 90 b/w photos. 10 full-color profiles; 50 pages. SS1195
Fairey Firefly in Action (SC) Harrison. British WWII Naval Fighter that superceded the Fairey Fulmar in the Fleet Air Arm, and remained in British Ilyushin IL-4 in Action (SC) F-16 Falcon in Action (SC) Stapfer. Includes the DB-3S, DB-3B, DB-3T, DB-3TP, DB-3T Drendel. Over 4000 F-16s have been produced since the mid Service into the mid 1950s. Includes the F.1, F.1A, FR.1, NF.1, T.1, TT.1, NF.2, T.2, F.3, T.3, FR.4, TT.4, NF.4, FR.5, NF.5, AS.5, (Experimental), Capsule DB-3, TsKB-30, DB-3M, TsKB-30 N-1, 1970s. Includes the YF-16, F-16A/B, and F-16C/D variants. T.5, TT.5, AS.6, TT.6, AS/T.7, T.7D, U.7, T.8, U.8, and U.9 DB-3F, DB-3F, IL-4, IL-4TK, and IL-6 variants. Also covers the DB-3F in German and IL-4 in Finnish service, Approximately Also covers weapons, and other mission attachments, as well variants. Also covers Firefly operations in the Pacific, Malaya, 90 photos, b/w line drawings, 10 color profiles; 50 pages. as experimental F-16s, and the listing of foreign operators. and Korea, as well as Fireflies in foreign service. 90 photos, 100 photos, 27 line drawings, 7 color profiles; 50 pages. 17 line drawings, 10 color profiles; 50 pages. SS1192 SS1196 SS1200
2
Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Aircraft in Action
C-5 Galaxy In Action (SC) Lippincott. This reprint includes 6 all-new pages packed with color photos and additional information about the Galaxy. Illustrated with 158 photos, 8 color profiles and b/w line drawings; 64 pages. SS1201
Early MiG Fighters in Action (SC) Stapfer. Until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the MiG Design Bureau had a near monopoly on the supply of fighter aircraft to the Soviet Air Force and the nations within Moscow's sphere of influence. Updated with 7 pages of new material and illustrated with more than 100 photographs, plus 10 color profiles, detailed line drawings, and color covers; 56 pages. SS1204
P-40 Warhawk in Action (SC) Dann. British Commonwealth air forces gave the name Tomahawk to models equivalent to the P-40B/C and Kittyhawk to models equivalent to the P-40E and all later variants. The reissue features four new pages with color photographs and locations of Still Airworthy and On Display modern examples of the P-40. Illustrated with more than 100 photographs, 10 color profiles, line drawings; 64 pgs. SS1205
F-14 Tomcat in Action (SC) Drendel. The Tomcat attained speeds greater than Mach 2 with its twin afterburning turbofan engines. The versatile aircraft performed the role of fleet air defense, fighter escort, tactical air reconnaissance and air-to-surface strike fighter. This all-color In Action book is the perfect complement to the author's other book, "Tomcat!" This reissue features four new pages with color photographs and ‘On Display’ locations. The book features more than 100 color photos, line drawings, color paintings and seven color profiles; 56 all-color pages. SS1206
P-47 Thunderbolt in Action (SC) The P-47. The P-47 was the biggest, most heavily armed, and one of the fastest single engine fighters developed during World War II. Indeed, several P-47 experimental aircraft topped 507 mph, and several pilots claim to have flown the big fighter into transonic speed ranges. More than 100 photographs, line drawings and color profiles. 60 pages. SS1208
P-51 Mustang in Action (SC) Davis. The P-51 Mustang was one of the most outstanding aircraft developed by the Allies during World War II. Dozens of period photographs from around the world illustrate the production, development, and evolution of the legendary Mustang. Illustrated with more than 130 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 64 pages. SS1211
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Messerschmitt Me 262 in Action (SC) Stapfer. The Me 262 not only enjoyed superior speed, but it also had deadly firepower: a total of (4) Mk.108 30 mm cannon were mounted in the nose of the fighter variant. Its operational service, however, was hampered by its temperamental engines and under-strength undercarriage. A total of 1,433 Me 262s were built during World War II. Covers the production and development of the Me 262 with more than 100 photographs, color profiles, and detailed line drawings; 52 pages. SS1212
F/A-18 Hornet Color in Action (SC) Drendel. While the Super Hornet is a distant relation of the A-D Hornets, they all trace their roots to the loser of the lightweight fighter competition of the early 1970s, the Northrop YF-17. The twin-engine YF-17 had a definite advantage in this competition; on 2 May 1975, the Navy announced the MDD/Northrop design as the winner. More than 100 photographs, color profiles and detailed line drawings; 52 pages. SS1214
C-141 Starlifter in Action (SC) Burford. The first C-141 rolled out of the Lockheed Plant in Georgia on 22 August 1963 to much fanfare. From there, in war and peace, the C-141's story has been lifted to the stars of aviation history. Illustrated with over 150 color and 8 b/w photographs, 3-view drawing, 3-scheme color camouflage art, and color profiles; 58 pages. SS1215
Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Aircraft in Action
F4U Corsair In Action (SC) Sullivan. The Corsair was first conceived as a high-speed, high-altitude fighter for the Navy in 1938 when Chance Vought's design team drew up plans for a fighter with a 1,800 hp engine and a huge 13-foot propeller - the F4U's F6F Hellcat in Action (SC) famous inverted gull wing was introduced to allow prop Sullivan. The heavily-armed fighters could pack armament clearance. Illustrated with 169 photographs (53 in color) plus including six wing-mounted .50 caliber machine guns, 20mm color profiles and detailed line drawings; 64 pages. cannons, wing-mounted rockets and a bomb rack. This book SS1220 takes detailed look at F6F Hellcat with 100 photographs, color profiles, detailed line drawings; 60 pages. SS1216
US Navy UAVs in Action (SC) Neubeck. UAV evolved extensively and saw extensive action during Operation Desert Storm - the war against Iraq in 1991. UAVs can stay aloft 2 or 3 days and ground operators can be rotated on a regular schedule; they also use less fuel thus reducing operating costs. Newer roles, such as bombing, are also being considered for UAVs, some of which will be equipped to carry a weapon pod or bomb rack. SS1217
A-10 Warthog in Action (SC) Drendel. Introduced in the mid-1970s, the A-10 has seen service in the Gulf War of 1990-1991; in the Balkans, later in the 1990s; in Afghanistan after 2001; and in the occupation of Iraq, beginning in the spring of 2003. Illustrated with more than 106 photographs, 11 full color paintings, 43 detail drawings and 2 pages of 3-view drawings; 56 pages. SS1218
F-22 Raptor in Action (SC) Drendel. This volume traces the history of the Raptor and describes in detail why it is likely to be the world's best fighter for years to come. With the onset of the Obama Administration, Raptor production was capped at 187 units. As challenges to US global leadership mount, however, the Raptor's capabilities will face increasing demand. Illustrated with 169 photographs plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 56 pages. SS1223
B-25 Mitchell in Action (SC) Doyle. The US supplied B-25s to the British Royal Air Force and to the Soviet Union, which flew them against the Nazis on the Eastern Front. Through period photographs and detailed information, the career of the Mitchell is covered from the experimental NA-40 prototype to the final production B-25J model. US Marine Corps PBJ versions are also chronicled. Illustrated with nearly 200 photographs, more than 80 of them rare period photos in original color, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 72 pages. SS1221
F-84 Thunderjet In Action (SC) Davis. Thunderjets flew 86,408 missions during the conflict and took out 60 percent of the ground targets eliminated by American forces. In addition, 8 Soviet-built MiG fighters met their end thanks to F-84 pilots. After the Korean War, the F-84 took part in the Suez Crisis and the Berlin Crisis and stood alert during the first 2 decades of the Cold War. Illustrated with 164 photographs plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 72 pages. SS1224
P-38 Lightning in Action (SC) Doyle. The Lightning saw service in Europe, and it was after flying a P-38 to assess the progress of the Normandy Invasion in 1944, US Lt. Gen. Jimmy Doolittle referred to the Lightning as "the sweetest-flying plane in the sky." Illustrated with nearly 150 period photographs, a third of them rare original color photos, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 72 pages. SS1222
B-52G/H Stratofortress in Action (SC) Katz. This volume is packed with historical, and recent photographs of the B-52. As part of his research, the author flew on a B-52 training mission, and the flight report in this volume is the most detailed description of a B-52 mission ever published. Illustrated with color profiles, detailed line drawings and over 190 photographs; 88 pages. SS10207
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Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Aircraft Walk Around
F-117A Nighthawk Walk Around (SC) Goodall. Losses of aircraft to radar directed missiles and antiaircraft guns during the Vietnam War led the USAF to develop a strike aircraft less visible to radar. Also used in the Persian Gulf War and more recently in Yugoslavia. Details cockpits, engines, landing gear and weapons. 12 color profiles, 40 pages color; 80 pages. SS5526
F-15 Eagle Walk Around (SC) Drendel. The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15 first entered service in 1974 and became the USAF's premier fighter of the late 20th and early 21st Centuries. Inside and out coverage of all variants with emphasis on F-15C and F-15E. Cockpits, radar, weapons, landing gear/wheel wells, and engines, etc.. Illustrated with 92 b/w and 109 color photos, 14 color drawings, 9 b/w drawings; 80 pages. SS5528
AH-1 Cobra Walk Around (SC) Mutza. In this title the AH-1 is presented in meticulous detail. Includes cockpits, engines, weapons, airframe and more. Also covers US Marine Corps version. Illustrated with 112 b/w and 96 color photos, 12 color drawings, and 9 b/w drawings; 80 pages. SS5529
Bf 109E Walk Around (SC) Stapfer. The Messerschmitt Bf 109E was the backbone of the Luftwaffes fighter force from the Invasion of Poland, the Battle for France and the Low Countries, the Battle of Britain, and the Invasion of Russia. This title gives a comprehensive inside and out coverage of the Bf 109E and includes details of engines, cockpits, landing gear, airframe and more. Illustrated with over 100 b/w and over 100 color photos, 16 color drawings, 20 b/w drawings; 80 pages. SS5534
EA-6B Prowler Walk Around (SC) Michaels. The need for Electronic Warfare aircraft developed after WWII with the rapid development and proliferation of sophisticated guided weapons. This title gives inside and out coverage of fuselage, wings, tail, cockpits, engines, landing gear, and more. Illustrated with over 83 b/w and 118 color photos, 12 color drawings, 5 b/w drawings; 80 pages. SS5535
UH-1 Huey Gunships Walk Around (SC) Mutza. Not long after the UH-1s flew their first support roles (medevac, etc.) in Vietnam in 1962, armed version began to appear. This title gives inside and out coverage of the US Army's workhorse combat helicopter during the Vietnam War. Includes the UH-1s engines, rotors, airframe, and cockpit and cabin plus a wide variety of weapons. Illustrated with over 106 b/w and 97 color photos, 14 color drawings, 7 b/w drawings; 80 pages. SS5536
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MiG-21 Fishbed Walk Around Part 1 (SC) Stapfer. The MiG-21 began production in 1959 and would continue in production until 1985. Also the longest production run of any combat aircraft. This title includes inside and out coverage of the MiG-21F-13 (Fishbed C), PF (Fishbed D), PFM Fishbed F), U (Mongol A), and UM (Mongol B) variants. Illustrated with over 114 b/w and 100 color photos, 12 color drawings, 11 b/w drawings; 80 pages. SS5537
F-8 Crusader Walk Around (SC) Barthelmes. The F-8 entered service in 1957 and was to remain in US service until 1987, and in French service until 2000. In Vietnam the F-8s had the highest kill ratio of any USN aircraft, which earned it the title of "MiG Master". This title includes interior/exterior photo coverage of cockpits, engines, landing gear, airframes and weapons. Illustrated with over 137 b/w and 124 color photos, 12 color drawings, 8 b/w drawings; 80 pages. SS5538
MiG-21 Fishbed Walk Around Part 2 (SC) Stapfer. The MiG-21 began production in 1959 and would continue in production until 1985, making it not only the most produced supersonic jet aircraft ever, but also the longest production run of any combat aircraft. With details on the airframes, cockpits, landing gear, engines and weapons. Illustrated with over 123 b/w and 97 color photos, 12 color drawings, 11 b/w drawings; 80 pages. SS5539
Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Aircraft Walk Around
Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker Walk Around (SC) A supersonic all-weather counter-air fighter, the Su-27 is equipped with a look-down/shoot-down weapons system and beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles. Its range, thrust-to-weight ratio and maneuverability are all significant MiG-15 Walk Around (SC) improvements over earlier Soviet fighters; one of the world's Stapfer. This title includes inside and out coverage of the foremost combat aircraft and a potent adversary. Over 200 MiG-15 Fagot-A, MiG-15 Fagot-A (modified), Mig-15 Fagot-B color and b/w photos, line drawings and 10 color profiles; (Early), MiG-15bis and Fagot-B (late) variants: with details on 80 pages. the airframes, cockpits, landing gear, engines and weapons. Illustrated with over 100 b/w and 124 color photos, 12 color SS5547 drawings, and 27 b/w drawings; 80 pages. SS5540
OV-1 Mohawk All Walk Around (SC) The Grumman OV-1 Mohawk was the first turboprop aircraft to enter into US Army service to fill the role of visual, photo Me 262 Walk Around (SC) and electronic reconnaissance. The Mohawk was retired from Concise history of Messerschmitt's Schwalbe, the world's U.S. Army service in 1996. More than 150 photographs, line first operational turbojet fighter aircraft. An extensive visual drawings, and 12 color profiles; 80 pages. description of the airframe - inside and out from every perspective; detail photos are of Me 262A-1 WNr 500071 as SS5549 restored at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. Illustrated with more than 100 b/w photos, over 100 color photos, 12 full color profiles plus line drawings and scrap art; 80 pages. SS5542
MiG-17 Walk Around (SC) The MiG-17 'Fresco' followed the MiG-15 'Fagot' into Soviet AF service and evolved into a highly maneuverable, reliable and easy-to-maintain air combat fighter. Every detail of this Cold War fighter aircraft is illustrated with over 200 color and b/w photos, line drawings and 12 color profiles; 80 pgs. SS5546
OH-58D Kiowa Warrior Walk Around (SC) Werner. The OH-58D was Bell’s answer to the U.S. Army’s request for a digital platform to aid new artillery. Originally unarmed as part of the Army Helicopter Improvement Program, the OH-58D was based on the OH-58C. The helicopter’s success led to the decision to arm it with two hard points capable of holding either .50-caliber machine guns, seven-shot rocket pods, Air-to-Air Stingers, or Hellfire missiles. This book takes a detailed look at the Kiowa Warrior with more then 200 color photos, color profiles, and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS5550
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Douglas A-26 Walk Around (SC) Mesko. Only American combat aircraft to see combat service in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Pilot and bombardier/ navigator were positioned side-by-side, while a single gunner sat in the rear behind the bomb bay where he operated two remote controlled twin .50-cal machine gun turrets. Over 200 photographs, color profiles, line drawings; 80 pages. SS5551
AH-64 Apache Walk Around (SC) Bernstein. The AH-64 Apache, considered by many to be the world’s premiere armed helicopter, has been in service with the US Army for more than 2 decades. Designed principally as an antitank helicopter to combat large Soviet armored formations invading Western Europe, the Apache has had a major renaissance in recent years. A detailed look illustrated with more than 200 color photographs, color profiles and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS5552
E-2 Hawkeye Walk Around (SC) Neubeck. The E-2 Hawkeye is the first U.S. Navy carrierbased aircraft designed specifically to fill the all-weather airborne early warning mission. In addition to war service, the versatile aircraft has been used by the US Coast Guard for patrolling the coastal areas as well as by law enforcement agencies for drug traffic interdiction. Takes a detailed look at the E-2 Hawkeye with more than 200 photographs, color profiles, and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS5553
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Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina Walk Around (SC) Doyle. The US Navy began taking deliveries of the PBY-5A in October 1941 and then placed orders for over 600 more following Pearl Harbor. During WWII, PBYs conducted anti-submarine warfare, patrol bombing, F-111 Aardvark Walk Around (SC) convoy escort, search-and-rescue operations, and cargo Neubeck. This aircraft’s original design met 2 different transport. Some PBY-5As went to the US Army and others to US mission roles for the US military. It served in Vietnam, Libya, Allies - Australia, Britain, Canada and the Free French forces. and Operation Desert Storm. Currently, the Royal Australian This book presents a comprehensive view of Catalina with 170 Air Force continues to fly the C-model plane, and the aircraft photographs, color profiles, detailed line drawings; 72 pags. has one of the best safety records in the Air Force inventory. SS5560 Features 12 color profiles, 3-view illustration, line drawings, and over 200 color and 21 b/w photos. 80 pages. SS5557
F-89 Scorpion Walk Around (SC) Savage. Equipped with advanced radar for its time, the Scorpion guarded the Cold War skies over the northern Macchi C.205 Veltro Walk Around (SC) frontiers of the United States, ready to confront Soviet Di Terlizzi. After the war, modified C.205s went on to serve circumpolar nuclear bomber attack, while earning the the Royal Egyptian Air Force during its 1948 war with Israel. distinction of being the 1st combat aircraft armed with nuclear air-to-air weapons (Genie rockets). Illustrated with Close-up look at one of WWII’s most aesthetically pleasing 200 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line and innovative single-seat fighters! Illustrated with 225 photographs, color profiles, detailed line drawings; 80 pags. drawings; 60 pages. SS5561 SS5558
Saab 35 Draken Walk Around (SC) Putnikov. Sweden's most famous fighter, hailed by some as a F-84F Thunderstreak Walk Around (SC) 'fighter pilot’s dream,' was developed and built by the Saab Neubeck. The F-84F remained in service with several company between 1955 and 1974. Designed with the Cold European air forces for decades, with Greece only retiring its War situation in mind, the Draken was specially tailored to last Thunderstreak in 1984. Illustrated with more than 250 Sweden's particular needs. Illustrated with 260 photographs, photographs, color art, and profiles; 80 pages. plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS5559 SS5562
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Lancaster Bomber Walk Around (SC) Mackay. Known for its greenhouse cockpit, turret nose, twin tail, and 33-foot long bomb bay the Lancaster took part in Air Marshall Harris’s 'Operation Gomorrah' in July 1943, in which Germany’s industrial center of Hamburg was devastated by round-the-clock bombing raids. In the thick of the air war, the Lancasters also paid a high price - 3,249 were lost in action. Illustrated with 200 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS5563
F-102A Delta Dagger Walk Around (SC) Neubeck. The Convair F-102A Delta Dagger was developed for the US Air Force as a supersonic interceptor at the onset of the Cold War. It featured a 60 degree swept delta wing to lessen drag coefficient and yield stability at very high altitudes. After retirement in the US, 152 of the planes were converted to high-speed, unmanned drones for use as test targets for newer fighters. More than 200 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS5564
F4U Corsair Walk Around (SC) Doyle. The F4U Corsair was arguably the best piston-engine carrier-borne fighter ever produced. Designed in 1938 and first flown in 1940, the Corsair remained in production until 1953, long after many of its contemporaries had been rendered obsolete. In addition to detailed line drawings and color profile illustrations, this volume is packed with over 200 photographs, 80 pages. SS5565
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B-29 Superfortress Walk Around (SC) Savage. Equipped with pressurized cabins for high-altitude effectiveness, with an electronic fire-control system, and remote-controlled machine gun turrets, the B-29 Superfortress was the most advanced aircraft of WWII. A B-17G Flying Fortress Walk Around (SC) unique look at the plane that ushered in the nuclear age. Doyle. The B-17 Flying Fortress is arguably the most famous Illustrated with over 210 photographs; 80 pages. US bomber of World War II, and perhaps all time. The vast SS25054 majority of these aircraft were the G-model, accounting for 8,680 of the 12,730 Flying Fortresses built. Not surprisingly, with more than eight thousand examples being produced by three manufacturers, a number of changes were introduced in the course of the production run. This new addition to Squadron’s Walk Around series takes the reader over, under, and through the B-17G, illustrating the subtle - and not so subtle - changes in gun mounts, turrets, crew positions, and other details. Ten aircraft were photographed in order to create this comprehensive look at the famed Flying Fortress through more than 300 photos with detailed captions; 88 pages. SS5567 KC-135 Stratotanker Walk Around (SC) Katz. Many air forces can conduct missions such as air superiority and ground attack, but only the US Air Force has truly global reach. This book contains the most detailed photographic documentation of the KC-135 inside and out that has ever been published, as well as color profiles of the KC-135R in the markings of every major USAF command that has operated that variant. Illustrated with 240 photographs, detailed line drawings and color profiles; 88 pages. SS25066
A-4 Skyhawk Walk Around (SC) Drendel. The carrier-capable Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is one of the most successful modern combat aircraft. During the 25 years in which the A-4 was on the production line, 2,960 Skyhawks were built. A relatively light aircraft, with a maximum takeoff weight of 24,500 pounds and with a top speed exceeding 600 mph, the Skyhawk was operated not only by the US Navy and Marines but also by the air forces of Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Malaysia, Argentina, Singapore, Brazil, Indonesia, and Kuwait. Introduced in 1956, Skyhawks played major roles in the Vietnam War, the 1973 Arab-Israeli October War, and the Falklands/ Malvinas Conflict in 1982. With a reputation for toughness and agility, Skyhawks remained a part of the American arsenal for nearly half a century - the U.S. Navy retired the A-4 as recently as 2003. Meanwhile, the battle-tested warrior continues to serve today other militaries around the world. Illustrated with 205 photographs, color profiles, and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS25041
F9F Cougar Walk Around (SC) Neubeck. Photographs in this volume illustrate in detail the differences between the various Cougar models, making use of over a dozen display aircraft located in museums across the United States as well as one Cougar on display in Argentina. Grounded in solid historical research, features historical images from the photo archives of both the U.S. Navy and Grumman, includes rare photos of F9F Cougar in its final days, serving as a target drone for later generations. SS25068
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B-26 Marauder Walk Around (SC) Doyle. Exclusive photos illustrate the rarely seen inner workings and outer features of the B-26G, with additional coverage of the B-26, B-26B, and B-26C. The B-26 Marauder saw service in Europe, the Mediterranean and the Pacific, including use by the United States, the Free French, the Royal Air Force and the South African Air Force. More than 220 photographs, plus numerous detailed line drawings and color profiles. SS25069
Heinkel He 111 Walk Around (SC) Mackay. This iconic warplane had its origins as a cutting-edge civil airliner in the mid-1930s. Although produced in large numbers and exported to many countries before and during the war, few examples survive today. This volume features detailed photographic images of the He 111P-1 restored and preserved in Norway, and the He 111H-20 on display in the RAF museum. Illustrated with 228 photos, detailed line drawings and color profiles; 88 pages. SS25070
B-25 Mitchell Walk Around (SC) Doyle. Profusely illustrated, enhancing color photographs, taken both on the ground and in the air, four vintage blackand-white images and 14 line drawings further illustrate details, while five color renderings of aircraft and markings provide a glimpse at the nature of the crews. Illustrated with more than 200 photographs; 80 pages. SS25071
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At The gate Series
Douglas DC-9/MD-80 at the Gate (SC) Peeler. The most successful of all the twin-jet transports, the DC-9 brought jet travel to the general public. The DC-9 and its descendants have transported countless people to big cities and tiny towns, serving communities that had never before known jet travel. Military versions have served in the aeromedical evacuation, logistics and VIP transport roles. Traces the development and many users of this important aircraft in 200 color and b/w photos, line drawings and color profiles; 80 pages. SS5801
Boeing 737 At The Gate (SC) Tidwell. Few commercial aircraft have enjoyed a production run that spans more than four decades and service in nearly every nation on Earth. The Boeing 737 has such a track record. Takes the reader on a journey through the continuing story of the 737 from the first aircraft to roll of the production line in the 1960s, to the very latest airframes being delivered to major airlines today. The book also offers the reader a look at some of the most interesting 737 liveries as well as parts of the aircraft that few people get to see. Also covered are business jets, cargo carriers, and military versions of the 737 that are less familiar even to the thousands of air travelers who have flown aboard this legendary Boeing liner. Illustrated with over 220 photographs; 96 pages. SS28002
Combat Chronicles of the Black Widow (SC) Thompson. In this volume we hear from the crews who rode the Black Widow into battle all over the world. The outbreak of war in Europe left no room for doubt that the United States needed quickly to come up with a specialized night fighter to confront the totally new face of air combat. Illustrated with 152 photographs; 112 pages. SS6701 B-29 Superfortress Combat Chronicles (SC) Hilton. In early 1945, the 40th BG moved to newly-liberated Tinian from which they took part in the final chapter of WWII - the aerial assault on the Japanese home islands. Introduces you to fellow veterans of the 40th who relate their no-less extraordinary experiences - ditching in the Bay of Bengal, lost in the Siberian Taiga, downed behind enemy lines in China, taken prisoner after bailing out over Tokyo. Personal accounts from the men who served on the front lines of the air war in the Pacific, a unique primary historical source and a truly exciting read. Illustrated with over 100 photographs; 120 pages. SS36002 Aeroscouts in Vietnam Combat Chronicles (SC) Mutza. The Army developed new tactical doctrine using helicopters - the airmobile concept - which was based largely on air cavalry units. Such units were descendants of the US Cavalry, which had operated as light, horse-mounted infantry. Packed with more than 30 action packed, often hair raising first-hand accounts of helicopter scout combat in Vietnam, this latest addition takes you into the thick of the action. Besides being exciting reading, these personal recollections by dozens of the fighters themselves provide invaluable, primary source historical coverage of one of America's epic conflicts as experienced by frontline helicopter scouts. Illustrated with 160 photographs; 136 pgs SS36003
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Aircraft Specials
MiG Alley - Air to Air Combat Over Korea (SC) Davis. A pictorial record of the American pilots and their aircraft who ran up a 10 to 1 victory ratio over the MiG-15.In all, 976 "North Korean" aircraft were shot down in the three years of the Korean War. This title gives a history of the Air War in Korea, as well as the pilots own words of what it was like to fly the F-86 Sabre (also F-82, F-51D, F9F-3, B-29, & F3D-2) against North Korean and Soviet pilots. Illustrated with 145 photos, 7 maps, 28 drawings, 40 full color drawings; 80 pgs. SS6020 Planes, Names & Dames Volume 2: Korea (SC) Davis. The art of decorating the front section of military aircraft goes back to the First World War. It was a way of personalizing a piece of machinery that one depended on every day. The theme went from patriotism to the latest trend in music to sex (girls), and this sort of art appeared on every type of aircraft. This title covers military aircraft nose art of the post war period including the Korean War and the late 50s. Extensively covers the wide variety of personal and mission markings carried by the F-80, F-84, F-86, B-29, F- 51s and other planes in Korea. Illustrated with 239 b/w and 47 color photos, 64 pages. SS6058 Red Ladies in Waiting (SC) Stapfer. This title is considered by the author as a retrospective of the early 1990s, the ex-Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc. The former Soviet Union had a number of facilities to store and display aircraft, including complexes at Khodinka, Ramenskoye and Tushino. Includes coverage of facilities in Hungary and former East Germany, as well as US aircraft that found their way into Soviet/Eastern Bloc service. Illustrated with 213 b/w and 56 color photos; 64 pages. SS6065
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Arab Air Forces Post WWII (SC) Tullis. Traces the history of the air forces of the Arab nations through the turbulent years after WWII and their many conflicts with Israel as well as many clashes amongst themselves. Includes Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen Arab Republic, and the Peoples Democratic Republic of Yemen. Illustrated with 204 b/w, 28 color photos, 12 color drawings, 2 maps; 64 pgs. SS6066 Planes, Names & Dames Volume 3 (SC) Davis. The art of decorating the front section of military aircraft goes back to the First World War. It was a way of personalizing a piece of machinery that one depended on every day. The theme went from patriotism to the latest trend in music to sex (girls), and this sort of art appeared on every type of aircraft. This third volume of military aircraft nose art covers the Vietnam period (1955-1975). Includes aircraft types such as F-86, F-104, A-26K, UH-1, OV-1C, A-1J Skyraider, F-4E, F-105D, F-8E, and many more. Includes some art from foreign airforces. Illustrated with 259 b/w and 91 color photos; 80 pages. SS6068 And Kill MiGs (SC) Drendel. Revised edition. USN, USAF, and USMC aerial combat over North Vietnam, 1981 Sixth Fleet shoot down of Libyan fighters, and Operation Desert Storm. Includes pilots’ own descriptions of engagements, with lists of USAF and USN MiG killers in Vietnam, as well as section on the North Vietnamese Enemy with listing of the MiGs' Kills. Illustrated with 168 b/w and 19 color photos, 46 color drawings, 1 map, 1 b/w drawing; 104 pages. SS6072
Pride of Seattle (SC) The story of the first 300 Boeing B-17Fs. A fascinating book revealing the varied fates of the machines and their crews, diverse, often tragic, sometimes inspiring but always interesting. Illustrated with 120 b/w period photos, 32 full color profiles; 64 pages. SS6074 Aces (SC)
Patton. The exploits of the aces , their aircraft and tactics, from WWI to the Korean Conflict. Includes such notables as Manfred von Richthofen (Red Baron), Gregory (Pappy) Boyington, Francis S. Gabreski, Herman Graf, and the novel inclusion of Michael Wittmann as the "Tiger Ace", and many more. Illustrated with 20 b/w photos, 116 color drawings, and 48 b/w drawings; 64 pages. SS6077 Aces 2 (SC) Patton. The exploits of air aces - pilots who shot down five or more enemy aircraft - have fascinated the world since WWI. Successful aces combined the killer instinct, mastery of their aircraft andof air combat tactics, and the ability trapidly adjust to changes in their situation. Chronicles 29 aces from WWI, WWII and the '67 Arab-Israeli war. 40 b/w drawings, 30 pages color profiles, 64 pages SS6084
Aces 3 (SC) Patton. This title gives the exploits of the aces, their aircraft and tactics, from WWI to the War in Vietnam. The stories of 59 air aces since WWI, plus one tank ace of WWII. Includes such notables as Joseph M. McConnell, Richard "Dick" Bong, Randy Cunningham, and Ernst Udet. Illustrated with 139 color drawings, and 62 b/w drawings; 64 pages. SS6088
Worldwide F-16 Markings (SC) The F-16 Fighting Falcon, also known as the 'Viper', evolved from a 1972 USAF lightweight fighter prototype program to create a small, low-cost, air superiority day fighter designed for high performance and ease of maintenance and achieved combatready status in October 1980. Since then, 21 foreign nations including Belgium, Denmark, Turkey, Egypt and Israel have the F-16, making it the most popular fighter in the world. The varied national insignia, squadron markings and camouflage of these international F-16s are depicted in full color. Over 200 color photos; 64 pags. SS6091
Tomcat! (SC) The F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twinengine, variable sweep wing, two-place fighter designed to attack and destroy enemy aircraft at night and in all weather conditions. The F-14 can track up to 24 targets USN Aircraft Camouflage & Markings 1940-45 (SC) simultaneously with Doll. A highly detailed its advanced weapons and informative look control system and at the variations of attack six with Phoenix camouflage schemes AIM-54A missiles while continuing to scan the airspace. and insignias used by Armament also includes a mix of other air intercept missiles, the US Navy during rockets, and bombs. The Grumman F-14 Tomcat has retired WWII. Includes both after over 30 years of service. It was the final member of a carrier and land based family of Grumman cats which began almost seventy years aircraft. Illustrated ago. This book presents a personal narrative of the testing with 150 b/w and 6 and operational use of the Tomcat. More than 150 color color photos, 40 color photographs, color paintings, and color profiles; 64 pages. drawings; 64 pages. SS6092 SS6087
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Air War Iraq: Operation Iraqi Freedom (SC) Drendel. All new book covering Allied airpower in the war to topple Aircraft Specials Saddam Hussein. Full The Aviation Art of Lou Drendel (SC) color and b/w photos Drendel. Lou Drendel of fighters, bombers, has been drawing and transports, helicopters, painting airplanes since and the people who he can remember. fly and maintain Inspired by the model them. Also includes US airplanes his father built CENTCOM - Air Forces for him, he took pencil and Navies Air Order of and paper and began Battles. Illustrated with drawing. He hasn’t 100 b/w and 117 color stopped yet, more than photos; 64 pages. 60 years later. Lou’s art SS6124 has been featured in dozens of books P-61 Black Widow Special (SC) published by Squadron/ Thompson. During Signal. Now, they are gathered together in one volume. This World War II, nightly book displays more than 200 of the extraordinary works of raids by Luftwaffe the famed aviation artist; 64 pages. bombers over Britain forced the United States SS6093 to develop nightVietnam Scrapbook An Army Pilot's Combat Tour (SC) fighting abilities. The Steinbrunn. In January P61 Black Widow 1966, Robert was created as a new Steinbrunn entered the prototype with airborne US Army for 4 intercept radar. It also memorable years. featured four .50 At Fort Rucker, caliber machine guns in Alabama, he received a top-mounted turret training in Bell and four 20mm helicopters, including the Huey and Iroquois cannons underneath to handle any threats in the darkness. The crew consisted of a pilot, a gunner and a radar observer. (UH-1A, B and D models). Afterward, he This book takes a detailed look at the development and was sent to Fort Knox, implementation of the P-61 Black Widow night fighters with Kentucky, where he about 200 photographs and detailed line drawings; 64 pages. was assigned to A Troop, 7th Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry, the SS6126 'Ruthless Riders', flying the short-cabin Bell UH-1C gunship. After honing their reconnaissance skills in training, the 3rd Army Aviation in Vietnam Special (SC) Mutza. During and 7th Squadrons became the 'eyes and ears' of the 4th Infantry Division, which was based at Camp Enari, Pleiku, in Vietnam, the US Army employed a variety of the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Steinbrunn documented his time flying helicopters in Vietnam and has compiled his aircraft to accomplish memories into a memorable book. Illustrated with more than combat missions. Following turf and 200 photographs; 80 pages. budget debates with SS6098 the Air Force, the Army Operation Enduring Freedom (SC) settled on the use of Drendel. Noted military various helicopters and author Lou Drendel some fixed-wing outlines the initial Allied observation planes. military response against Using airmobility and the al-Queda terrorist air assault strategies, network and the Taliban the Army was able to government in demonstrate the ability to rapidly move significant amounts Afghanistan that of men and equipment on the battlefield. Army aircraft provided them safe were further used as gunships, medevacs, air controllers haven and training as well as surveillance and transportation. This book takes facilities. Extensively a detailed look at the development and implementation of illustrated with over 200 Army Aviation in Vietnam with nearly 200 photographs, color photos - half in full-color, profiles and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. 1 map; 64 pages. SS6127 SS6123
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Air Force Colors Volume 1 (SC) Bell. Covers the development and application of US Army Air Corps camouflage markings from the post WWI timeframe to early WWII. Includes Standard Insignia, markings and colors, unit markings, VIP aircraft, GHQAF and the Designator System, Training Colors, and Camouflage. Also covers Combat Groups and Squadron Insignia. Illustrated with 198 b/w and 3 color photos, 67 color aircraft profiles; 96 pages. SS6150 Air Force Colors Vol 3 (SC) This volume traces the history of WWII Army Air Force colors and marking in both the Pacific Theater and the Zone of the Interior (ZI). 96 pages, 16 in color, over 200 photos. SS6152 56th Fighter Group (SC) Flying P-47s, the 56th FG was one of the highest scoring USAAF Fighter Groups in Europe. Traces the Group from WWI I through action in Korea and Vietna m until today. Over 200 photos, 8 pages of color, 64 pages. SS6172
Fighter Squadron 14 - Tophatters (SC) The oldest serving squadron in the history of the USN. VF-14 can trace its history back to September of 1919 and serve d in WWII, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf Over 175 photos, 8 pages of color, 80 pgs SS6173 357th Fighter Group (SC) Formed in California in Dec of '42 and equipped with P-39s. More than one year later, the Group was thrown into combat flying P-51 Mustangs against th e Luftwaffe. The history and combat opera tions from its formation to the end of the war in Europe. Over 140 photos, 8 pages color profiles, 64 pages. SS6178
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Detail & Scale
EA-6B Prowler in Detail & Scale (SC) Kinzey. This title gives Aircraft Specials 31st Fighter Group USAAF WWII (SC) a comprehensive look, inside and out, of the US The USAAF's 31st Fighter Navy's primary Electronic Group had an outstanding Countermeasures Aircraft. record, flying Spitfires and Illustrated with 171 b/w Mustangs in the 8th, 12th and 35 color photos, 24 b/w and 15th Air Forces. Entering the war as the first American drawings; 72 pages. Fighter Group to participate SS8246 in the European Theater P-51 Mustang in Detail of Operations, the 31st FG & Scale Part 1 (SC) ended the war as the top Kinzey. Complete development scoring Allied fighter group of Allison-powered RAF in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and the fifth Mustang Mk I, USAAF highest overall for the USAAF with 570 1/2 confirmed aerial P-51, A-36, and P-51A and victories. Approximately 200 b/w photos, line drawings and Merlin-powered P-51B and 40 color profiles; 80 pages. P-51C. Illustrated with 163 b/w and 30 color photos, and SS6180 37 b/w drawings; 72 pages. 4th Fighter Group in WWII (SC) SS8250 The 4th initial operated F-84 Thunderjet in with Spitfires but changed Detail & Scale (SC) to P-47s and finally to Kinzey. Includes complete P-51s. The first 8th AF fighter group to penetrate inside and out tour of the different variants and a German air space and 2-page modeling summary. first to engage enemy Illustrated with 156 b/w aircraft over Paris and and 48 color photos, 8 Berlin, the 4th claimed 1000 kills , the highest of color drawings, 41 b/w line any USAAF fighter group in drawings; 80 pages. WWII. Over 250b/w SS8259 photos, line drawings, 10 color profiles; 80 pages. P-40 Warhawk in Detail & Scale Part 1 (SC) SS6181 Kinzey. Extensive interior Hawker Hunter in Color (SC) and exterior photo coverage Robinson. The Hawker of the different variants. Hunter was designed in Includes a 2-page modeling 1948 as a RAF replacement summary. Illustrated with 166 for the Gloster Meteor. The b/w and 51 color photos, 10 Hunter served with the RAF color drawings, 29 b/w line in the 1950s and 1960s, drawings; 80 pages. and has served with nearly twenty foreign air forces. SS8261 This title covers every RAF P-40 Warhawk in Detail Squadron to fly the Hawker & Scale Part 2 (SC) Hunter. Illustrated with 54 Kinzey. Includes a 2-page b/w and 6 color photos, 200 modeling summary. Illustrated color drawings; 32 pages. with 152 b/w and 62 color SS6506 photos, 10 color drawings, 26 USAF Europe Volume 2 in Color (SC) b/w line drawings; 80 pages. SS8262 Robinson. Covers the bombers of SAC, the fighters of TAC, transports, the Military Air Lift Command and the P-39 Airacobra in trainer and liaison aircraft. Detail & Scale (SC) Illustrated with 43 photos, Kinzey. Illustrated with 185 over 85 full-color drawings; b/w and 58 color photos, 10 32 pages. color drawings, 28 b/w line SS6563 drawings; 83 pages. SS8263
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B-24 Liberator in Detail & Scale (SC) Kinzey. Includes a 2-page modeling summary. Illustrated with 177 b/w and 55 color photos, 10 color drawings, 23 b/w line drawings; 83 pages. SS8264
F4F Wildcat in Detail & Scale (SC) Kinzey. Includes a 2 page modeling summary. Illustrated with 141 b/w and 57 color photos, 12 color drawings, 38 b/w line drawings; 80 pages. SS8265 F-106 Delta Dart in Detail & Scale (SC) Kinzey. Includes a 7-page modeling summary. Illustrated with 146 b/w and 30 color photos, 25 b/w line drawings; 72 pages. SS8269 F-100 Super Sabre in Detail & Scale (SC) Kinzey. Includes a 8-page modeling summary. Comprehensive photo-archive showing the F-100 inside and out. Illustrated with 154 b/w and 40 color photos, 28 b/w line drawings; 72 pages. SS8270 FJ Fury in Detail & Scale (SC) Kinzey. This title has extensive photo coverage of the airframes, cockpits, landing gear, engines, and weapons. Includes a 2-page modeling summary.Illustrated with 170 b/w and 36 color photos, 10 color drawings, 22 b/w line drawings; 78 pages. SS8272 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in Detail & Scale (SC) Kinzey. Also covers Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, as well as a 4-page modeling summary. Illustrated with 206 b/w and 51 color photos, 5 color drawings, 4 b/w line drawings; 80 pages. SS8274
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M551 Sheridan in Action (SC) Doyle. Beginning in 1966, the Allison Division of General Motors built 1,562 M551s with primary armament being a 152-millimeter gun/launcher capable of firing conventional ammunition or the Ford-built Shillelagh anti-tank missile. Whatever the conception, this vehicle proved an asset to the Army in Vietnam, Panama, and Operation Desert Storm. Illustrated with 91 color photos, 8 b/w photos, 7 color profiles, 3-view drawing, vehicle development illustrations, and 2 colorized camouflage patterns; 60 pages. SS2041
Tiger I in Action (SC) Italian Truck-Mounted Artillery in Action (SC) Doyle. Illustrated with over 200 vintage photographs, plus Riccio. Italian military planners saw the need for highly color profiles and detailed line drawings; 72 pages. mobile artillery early in the 20th Century. Accordingly, Italy SS2047 began mounting anti-aircraft weapons on truck chassis prior to WWI, giving birth to the autocannone, a weapon concept which would soldier through both World Wars. A unique and lavishly-illustrated survey of the various weapon combinations devised by the Italian military from the inception of the autocannone until the end of WWII. Illustrated with more than 200 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 56 pages. SS2044
WWII US Sherman Tank in Action (SC) Ervin and Doyle. Nearly 200 period photos, in rare original color, line drawings, turret, weapons used, Includes color profiles; 80 pages. SS2048
World War II Jeep In Action (SC) Doyle. Jeeps were configured for radio gear, armed with weapons, and bore stretchers. Large numbers of Jeeps were also delivered to allied nations. This book takes a detailed look at these vehicles' service during World War II with more than 100 photographs, color profiles and detailed line drawings; 52 pages. SS2042
M113 APC in Vietnam in Action (SC) Doyle. Although the M113 has largely been replaced by the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and is now only in limited use by the US armed forces, the vehicle remains in use today in the armed forces of other allies around the world. Illustrated with 130 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 64 pages. SS2045
German Armored Cars in Action (SC) Doyle. Packed with more than 220 period photographs, chronicles development, deployment of Germany's six and eight-wheeled armored cars before and during WWII; 80 pgs. SS12050
M48A3 in Vietnam in Action (SC) Doyle. Just as the Sherman tank was the quintessential HMMWV In Action (SC) 'American tank' in WWII, the M48A3 Patton tank was the Doyle. TThis book takes a detailed look at HMMWV with most prominent US battle tank during the Vietnam War years more than 100 photographs, color profiles and detailed line of the 1960s and 1970s. Illustrated with 109 photos, plus M151 MUTT in Action (SC) drawings; 52 pages. color profiles and detailed line drawings; 48 pages. Doyle. 220 photographs; 80 pages. SS2043 SS2046 SS12051
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M42 Duster Walk Around (SC) Doyle. The lack of radar tracking system meant the M42 was a 'fair weather' shooter against low, slow targets; it just could not keep pace with the new generation of Soviet jet aircraft. As American involvement in Vietnam increased, 3 Sturmgeschutz III Walk Around (SC) battalions of Dusters were sent to South Vietnam - initially Cockle. Extensive coverage of the StuG III Ausf G variants for anti-aircraft duties, but with clear skies over the South, armed with the 75mm 40 L/48 gun. Inside and out details the M42 was usefully employed as convoy escort, perimeter of running gear, hull, fighting compartment, engine deck, and base security, and direct fire support. A detailed look engine, and fittings. Illustrated with 118 b/w and 107 color at the M42 Duster with more than 200 photographs, color photos, 18 color drawings, 12 b/w drawings; 80 pages. profiles and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS5702 SS5705
Cadillac Gage V-100 Commando Walk Around (SC) Doyle. The best-known American armored car of the post-WWII era, the Cadillac Gage Commando - a versatile, amphibious, 4x4 vehicle - still looks modern even though it made its debut in 1962. The V-100 Commando went through numerous changes in light of its extensive and varied experience in reconnaissance, convoy escort, riot control, security, and as a personnel carrier. Illustrated over 200 color photographs plus detailed line drawings; 80 pgs. SS5708
Sd.Kfz.251 Ausf.D Walk Around (SC) Stapfer. Considered the German Army’s most important armored half-track in WWII, the Sd.Kfz.251 allowed the US Tank Destroyers Walk Around (SC) M26 Pershing Walk Around (SC) infantry to keep up with the Heer's fast armored elements. Mesko. This title follows the development of the M10, M36, Doyle. The basic design of the M26 - the designation the The vehicle came in 4 models and 23 variants, but the Ausf.D and M18 tank destroyers, with inside and out details of T26E3 had been given when it was classified 'standard' in running gear, hull, fighting compartment, engine deck, March 1945 - was to form the basis of a long line of excellent was the most produced model. Illustrated with over 150 color engine, and fittings. Illustrated with 145 b/w and 147 color tanks (M46, M47, M48 and M60) that would serve US armed photographs, detailed line drawings, and 8 colored profiles. photos, 12 color drawings, 8 b/w drawings; 80 pages. forces for 40 years. Illustrated with 250 photographs, color A must have book for the armor, modeling, history, and military enthusiast; 80 pages. SS5703 profiles, and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS5709 SS5706
M2/M3 Half-Track Walk Around (SC) Mesko. These halftracks saw service on every front during WWII, and served in many countries for decades after the end of the war. This title includes inside and out coverage of the US Army personnel halftracks during WW II. Also covers the M4 Mortar Carrier, M16 MGMC, and Israeli variants. Illustrated with 130 b/w and 114 color photos, 12 color drawings, 8 b/w drawings; 80 pages. SS5704
US Military Motorcycles of WWII Walk Around (SC) Doyle. The advent of the Jeep took over the motorcycle's role in military service, and the bikes were relegated to veteran vehicles of the past. Illustrated with over 200 color photographs, 11 black-andwhite photographs and color art by Don Greer; 80 pages. SS5707
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GPA and DUKW Walk Around (SC) Doyle. Production of the GPA, essentially an amphibious Jeep, ended in 1943, just as the career of the DUKW, a virtual aquatic truck, was on its way to becoming the 'gold standard' by which other amphibians are measured to this day. Illustrated with 263 high quality photographs, color art, and profiles; 80 pages. SS5710
Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Armor Walk Around
M24 Chaffee Walk Around (SC) Doyle. As American-built armor came into contact with Axis forces in WWII - first of all in North Africa - it quickly became clear that the 37mm cannon favored on US armor Pre-Standardized Jeep Walk Around (SC) was simply inadequate against the tough armor of their Doyle. Three distinct versions of a reconnaissance car were adversaries. Packed with over 200 photos, plus color art and produced before they were standardized into the World War profiles; 80 pages. SS5714 II-era Jeep. This book takes a detailed look at Jeep’s early evolution with more than 250 photographs, color profiles and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS5711
M113 APC Walk Around (SC) Doyle. The M113 family of vehicles is arguably the most successful series of armored personnel carriers of all time. M3 Medium Tank Walk Around (SC) The driver was provided with four M17 periscopes, and his hatch had provision for an M19 infrared periscope as well. Doyle. The M3 Medium Tank was designed as an interim The commander's station, just aft of the driver, had a cupola answer to European battlefield conditions at the start of equipped with five M17 periscopes and an M2 HB machine World War II. This book takes a detailed look at the M3 Medium Tank with more than 200 photographs, color profiles gun. Illustrated with 170 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 72 pages. and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS5715 SS5712
Pz.Kpfw Panzer 38(t) Walk Around (SC) Stapfer. The Panzerkampfwagen 38 (tschechisch) - Armored Combat Vehicle 38 (Czech) was one of the most important tanks in the Wehrmacht arsenal in the first half of WWII. Illustrated with over 300 photographs, color art, and profiles; 80 pages. SS5713
M88 Armored Recovery Vehicle Walk Around (SC) Doyle. The M88 Armored Recovery Vehicle was designed and developed in the late 1950s. The M88 had been so successful that it was taken as the basis for the new upgraded recovery vehicle, which is still in use today - the M88A2. Illustrated with 175 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS5716
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M7 Priest Walk Around (SC) Doyle. Nicknamed the Priest because of its pulpit-like antiaircraft ring, the vehicle was intended to provide armored units with organic, highly-mobile artillery support. Production began in April 1942 and it first went into combat with British at the Second Battle of El-Alamein in the autumn of that year, with US forces first taking the American-built vehicle into engagements in Tunisia somewhat later. Packed with more than 230 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS5717
GMC CCKW Truck Walk Around (SC) Doyle. This volume is packed with detailed photographs and highlights modifications through the years of its service - a wooden truck bed to save on precious steel, an open cab to allow for more cargo room in ship holds, 2 designs for axles, negative electrical system and a winch that was installed on a third of the trucks. Illustrated with more than 190 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS5718
M5/M5A1 Stuart Walk Around (SC) Mesko. Illustrated with more than 190 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS5719
Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Armor Walk Around
M3A1 White Scout Car Walk Around (SC) Doyle. The White Motor Company began serial production of the four-wheel-drive M3A1 Scout Car in 1940. Illustrated with more than 200 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS5720
FT-17 / M1917 WWI Tanks Walk Around (SC) Doyle. Introduced in 1917, the Renault FT-17 and its American-built copy, the M1917, revolutionized tank design. The vehicle's rotating turret, rear-engine, driverforward design are characteristics of the most advanced tanks even today. This volume presents a careful study of the details and variations of this innovative vehicle, inside and out. Two-hundred thirty-seven photographs reveal the intimacies of no fewer than 14 of the finest surviving examples of these machines, preserved on three different continents. Nine detailed line drawings supplement the photos and comprehensive captions; 80 pages. SS27023
M551 Sheridan Walk Around (SC) Hughes. Illustrated by more than 240 photographs plus eight detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS27026
Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer Walk Around (SC) Stapfer. Illustrated with over 200 photographs, plus detailed line drawings, and color profiles; 80 pages. SS27027 M108/109 Self-Propelled Howitzer Walk Around (SC) Doyle. Introduced in the early 1960s, the M108/109 marked the transition from open-topped to fully enclosed self-propelled artillery. Illustrated with more than 315 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 88 pages. SS572
M41 Walker Bulldog Walk Around (SC) Hughes. The standard US light tank during the early years of the Cold War, the M41 Bulldog was developed as a more powerful successor to the M24 Chaffee. Illustrated with 250 photographs plus color profiles and numerous detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS27024 M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer Walk Around (SC) SS27029
Valentine Tank Walk Around (SC) Doyle. Though not the 1st tank to go into battle against the Axis in WWII, Valentine has distinction of having highest production numbers of any wartime British tank, arguably the most variations. After the war, Valentines continued to serve several British Commonwealth armies late as 1950s. Illustrated with 250 photos, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 88 pages. SS5722
M26 Dragon Wagon Walk Around (SC) Doyle. Examines the armored and soft-skin versions of this massive vehicle, and its trailers, through hundreds of color photos and some of the finest restored examples in existence. Illustrated with over 230 photographs; 80 pages. Diamond T 4-ton Truck Walk Around (SC) SS27031 SS27025
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Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Detail In Action
US Armor Camo & Markings of WWII (SC) Mesko. This book attempts to give a broad overview of the various schemes and identifications used on U.S. military vehicles from 1941-1945. Illustrated with 177 b/w photos, 27 color drawings; 64 pages. SS6090
Detail In Action
K5(E) Railgun Detail in Action (SC) Doyle. The German K5(E) 280mm railgun is arguably the most effective weapon of its type ever developed. M50A1 Ontos Detail in Action (SC) Boasting an 11-mile range, the 24 massive guns of this Doyle. 'The Thing' - the meaning of the Greek word 'Ontos' type were deployed from Italy to the Russian Front, and is an apt name for this ungainly vehicle. Originally developed even along the English Channel Coast. Today, only two of for the Army, which then discarded it, the Ontos was instead these fearsome artillery pieces remain. Through a collection adopted by the Marine Corps. Conceived as a potent, of 55 vintage black and white photos - many of them lightweight, mobile 6-barrel tank killer to counter a feared previously unpublished - and more than 170 photos of the mass Soviet armored attack in Europe, the Ontos instead two preserved examples in the US and France, the intricacies rose to fame in the jungles of Vietnam where its six 106mm of these massive weapons are explored in detail. In addition, recoilless rifles proved deadly against massed infantry the book is augmented by nine illustrations; 80 pages. attacks, as well as being well-suited for urban assault work. SS5902 This volume incorporates over 60 period photos chronicling the development and use of the Ontos, plus a further 150 detailed walk-around photos providing an in-depth Modeling series exploration of this unique fighting machine; 72 pages. SS5901
Ferdinand / Elefant Detail in Action (SC) Doyle. In an effort to turn the proverbial lemon, in the form of an unsuccessful Tiger design, into lemonade, Porsche engineers at the behest of the German army, converted the failed chassis into one of the largest and most potent tank destroyer designs of World War II. Initially fielded as the Ferdinand, the vehicles were further modified, and ultimately given a new - and apt - name: 'Elefant.' This new volume explores not only the combat history of both the Ferdinand and Elefant, but also chronicles the development of the ill-fated Porsche Tiger design through 88 period black-andwhite photos. Further enhancing its utility to the enthusiast, 110 full-color photos of the only surviving examples of each type illustrate the nuances of the construction and subsequent wartime modification of these giant tank killers. Also features 16 detailed line drawings as well as 15 masterful color profiles; 80 pages. SS39001
Armor Specials
Converting and Detailing Plastic Figures (SC) Chilstrom. Renowned miniaturist Bill Chilstrom shares his tips and techniques for bringing injection molded plastic figures to life. His award winning diorama 'In the Footsteps of the Grand Armée' is the focus of this book. Bill detailed and converted 28 figures, three horses, two wagons and a mule in the building of this diorama. Many step-by-step and in-progress photos accompany the informative text clearly illustrating what to do to really enhance stock plastic figures. All color; 64 pages. SS6097
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Tank Warfare on Iwo Jima (SC) Harper. A small section devoted to Japanese tanks is also included.133 photos (many never before published), 14 vehicle color plates, 12 color movie stills and excerpts from official documents; 96 pages. SS6096
Soldiers In Action
US Infantry-Vietnam (SC) Mesko. Includes an overview of operations in Vietnam from the first US involvment to US withdrawal. Also covers weapons and equipment. 108 photos, 51 detail drawings, 4 maps, 14 full color drawings; 50 pages. SS3006 US Airborne in Action ( SC) Thompson. Over 100 photos, 40 detail drawings, 16 color drawings; 50 pages. SS3010 LRRP's in Action Vol.1 (SC) Burford. These small units penetrated deep behind enemy lines to gather information on enemy base camp locations. SS3011
Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Warships In Action
Warships In Action
US Subchasers In Action (SC) Connelly. During WWI, German U-boats took a heavy toll on merchant and military ships. This book takes a detailed look US Destroyers in Action Part 2 (SC) at US Sub Chasers with more than 100 photographs, color Adcock. This title covers the development and operational profiles and detailed line drawings; 52 pgs. service of the Farragut, Porter, Mahan, Fanning, and Craven SS4033 class destroyers. Illustrated with approximately 100 photos, b/w line drawings, and 6 color profiles; 50 pages. SS4020
PT Boats in Action (SC) Doyle. American Patrol Torpedo - or PT - boat crews served valiantly in every theater during WWII. From the Aleutians Gato-Class Submarines in Action (SC) to the Mediterranean, these men harassed enemy shipping, Stern. More than 100 b/w photos, 6 color profiles, line launched attacks against much more formidable warships, drawings and color covers; 20 color photos, up-to-date rescued downed air crews, and spirited General Douglas information, where the surviving vessels can be viewed. MacArthur to safety from Corregidor Island in March of 1942. SS4028 PT boats also laid mines and smokescreens, coordinated air-sea rescue actions, and conducted intelligence and raiding operations. This volume chronicles the evaluation, use, and eventual destruction of the US PT boat fleet through 180 photographs, many of them color. Coverage includes ELCO, Higgins, and Huckins boats; 64 pages. SS4034
Ship Specials
USS Tennessee in World War II (SC) Simmons. Commissioned in June of 1920, the US battleship Tennessee saw service in some of the most crucial and dramatic battles in the Pacific Theater of WWII. Docked on Pearl Harbor's Battleship Row on 7 December 1941, her crew manned anti-aircraft guns and fought back as bombs ripped through her deck. The year 1944 saw the Tennessee take part in battle after battle (including Surigao Strait, the last battleship vs battleship action in naval history) as US forces worked their way towards the Japanese Home Islands. In 1945 she took part in the attack on Iwo Jima. Enriched with exclusive, eye-witness accounts from members of her crew, chronicles the dramatic career of one of America’s most battle-tested warships with over 200 photographs, color profiles, and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS6094 US Navy Flying Boats and Amphibians in WWII (SC) Adcock. Soon after the early aviation pioneers learned to fly, their attention turned to water. It was more abundant than land and presented a vast landing area. With nearly 200 photographs, color profiles and detailed line drawings, this special Squadron/ Signal book looks at the various flying boats and amphibians and the contribution they made; 80 pages. SS6095
Ship Specials
Japanese Light Cruisers of WWII in Action (SC) Patton. These fast ships, carrying seaplanes and heavy torpedo armament, generally were used as flagships for destroyer flotillas and submarine squadrons. Of these, 9 were sunk by Allied submarines, 11 were sunk by US aircraft, 2 were sunk by US torpedo boats or destroyers, and 3 were still afloat at the end of the war. Includes never before published photos, 90 b/w photos, 6 color profiles, line drawings, color covers; 58 pages. SS4025
U-Boat War (SC) The story of Hitler's UBoat fleet operations from 1939 to 1945. Provides an extensive collection of photographs and color paintings of the men, submarines and insignia of the Uboat fleet. Includes appendices, 8 pages in color. 64 pages. SS6078
US Navy Ships Camouflage WWII, Part I Destroyers and Destroyer Escorts (SC) Adcock. When WWII ended in 1945, the fleet was restored to Standard Navy Gray to await the next revolution in deceptive paintwork. Illustrated with 116 b/w photos, 2 color photos, and over 30 color renderings/profiles; 68 pages. SS6099
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Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 On Deck Series
USS Alabama on Deck (SC) Adcock. Now a museum ship berthed at Mobile's Battleship Memorial Park in her namesake state, she is a unique floating memorial and tribute to the men who crewed her. Additional illustrations include 73 b/w and 85 color photos, detailed line art and color cover paintings; 80 pages. SS5601
Iowa-Class Battleships on Deck (SC) USS Pampanito On Deck (SC) Stern. The USS Pampanito, a Balao-class fleet submarine, was Doyle. More than 270 color photos, 88 pages. commissioned in late 1943 and went into action in the Pacific SS5607 at the height of WWII. Illustrated with 265 highly detailed photographs, color profiles, and intricate line drawings; 80 pages. SS5604
Higgins PT Boat On Deck (SC) Doyle. Illustrated with over 120 photographs; 80 pages. SS26008 ELCO 80 PT Boat On Deck (SC) Doyle. Say "PT Boat" and the image that comes to mind is that of the 80-foot patrol torpedo boat built by the Electric Launch Company (ELCO) in Bayonne, New Jersey. USS Lexington (CV-16) On Deck (SC) Packed with over 200 photographs, plus color art and Adcock. The USS Lexington joined the fleet in 1943 and saw profiles; 80 pages. extensive action throughout WW2. Post war modernization SS5605 allowed her to continue in service until 1991! Extensive color and b/w photography, full color aircraft and ship paintings, 40 pages of color; 80 pages. SS5602 USS Kidd On Deck (SC) Doyle. Illustrated with 234 photographs; 80 pages. SS26010
Nimitz Class Aircraft Carriers On Deck (SC) Goodall. The largest naval vessels in the world are the Nimitz-class super aircraft carriers. USS Carl Vinson was the first to launch air attacks as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. In the mid-1990s USS Theodore Ohio-Class SSBN on Deck (SC) Goodall. Since its inception in 1960, strategic deterrence has Roosevelt supported NATO air strikes against Bosnian Serbs been the sole mission of the fleet ballistic missile submarine during fighting in former Yugoslavia. USS Abraham Lincoln backed up Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (SSBN), which provides the nation's most survivable and in Afghanistan in the early 2000s. Illustrated with more enduring nuclear strike capability. Unprecedented bow-tothan 300 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line stern look, this critical US weapon system more than 200 color, b/w photos, line drawings and 8 color profiles; 80 pgs. drawings; 80 pages. SS5606 SS5603
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USS Massachusetts On Deck (SC) Doyle. Illustrated with 286 photographs, and color profiles; 96 pages. SS26011
Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573
Non-Military Vehicle
Squadron At Sea
USS Arizona Squadron at Sea Series (SC) Doyle. Packed with rare photographs unearthed from sources throughout the country, this volume follows the history of one of America's most iconic naval vessels. Glimpse the life of the crews that manned her and follow her through the maintenance and refits that dramatically changed her appearance. Describes the horrific explosion that ripped through her hull on the dark morning of 7 December 1941, and a series of unique photos document the years of wartime salvage work aboard the sunken battleship. Chronicled too is Arizona’s ongoing service as a tomb and memorial to the 1,177 men who perished with her. A testament to the Arizona and her men brought to you as you've never seen them before. Illustrated with 288 photographs, 5 detailed line drawings, 7 color illustrations; 120 pages. SS34001
USS North Carolina Squadron at Sea (SC) Doyle. Laid down in 1937 and launched on 9 April 1941, the USS North Carolina was the first new construction battleship to enter service during WWII and took part in every major naval offensive in the Pacific Theater, becoming the most decorated US battleship of WWII. After a brief stint post war as a training ship, the North Carolina - dubbed in the press as the 'Showboat' - was laid up in reserve, before her eventual movement to Wilmington, in her namesake state, and her preservation as a war memorial. This volume traces the history of the North Carolina, photographically documenting the evolution of armament and electronics that elevated her pre-Pearl Harbor design to its peak - bristling with guns to counter the threat of kamikaze attack. Generously illustrated with more than 330 photographs - many of them color, detailed line drawings and 11 color profiles that document the various camouflage schemes worn by both the ship and her scouting aircraft.; 136 pages. SS34002
USS Texas Squadron At Sea (SC) Doyle. The USS Texas proudly saw combat in both World Wars I and II, and since 1948 has been preserved in her namesake state as memorial to American servicemen. Armed with 10 14-inch guns and displacing 32,000 tons, the battleship is still a formidable sight as she enters into her second century. This expansive volume tells the tale of the Texas and her crew. Loaded with black-and-white and color photos not only showcase the construction, numerous voyages, modifications, combat action, and ultimate preservation of the ship, but also show the vessel as a home, office, and workshop for the men who served as her crew. These historic images are augmented with five line drawings illustrating her key configurations, as well as nine color profiles depicting her aircraft, as well as the many camouflage schemes she wore. Illustrated with over 350 photographs; 152 pages. SS34003
USS Saratoga Squadron at Sea (SC) Doyle. Faced with the restrictions of the Washington Navy Treaty, the US Navy had a choice: either scrap their partially complete, battlecruiser Saratoga, which along with her sister ship Lexington were intended to be the most powerful in the world; or convert them into an aircraft carriers. Having survived two torpedo hits by Japanese subs, as well as repeated bomb and Kamikaze strikes, at war's end she took part in the huge Magic Carpet operation that transported thousands of US servicemen back to the mainland. Deemed too old for the victorious Navy's postwar needs, her final duty was to test the survivability of an atomic blast. Still afloat after the first nuclear explosion, she was sent to the bottom of Bikini Atoll by the second of the blasts, and still rests there today, where she welcomes the occasional scuba diver. All these exploits, as well as others, including Saratoga's numerous refits, are presented and profusely illustrated with 383 color and b/w photos capturing the ship, her crew and aircraft supplemented by 11 line drawings and 25 color renderings; 160 pages. SS34004
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American Fire Apparatus Volume 1: Pumpers (SC) Mutza. Organized companies of firefighters first appeared in Colonial America and were mobilized, like local militias, on a volunteer basis. Like military equipment, firefighting apparatus evolved in tandem with technological advances. This volume traces the development of the chief and best-known fire-fighting apparatus 'the pumper or fire engine' from hand-drawn pumps, through horse-drawn vehicles in the 19th Century to the advanced fire trucks of the 21st Century. Chapters introduce the early years of the pumper, follow its motorization, and then, decade-by-decade, meticulously review the evolution of the fire truck from the 1930s until today. The book’s dedication to the firefighters who gave their lives on 9-11 serves as a reminder that the nation's First Responders stand guard together with the armed forces on the front lines of our defense. Illustrated with over 300 photographs; 96 pages. SS6401
American Fire Apparatus: Volume 2 Aerial Equipment (SC) Mutza. As the urban skyline rose and horse power gave way to motorization, the need increased for better ladders and other aerial equipment to fight fires in tall buildings. Ladders grew longer and the trucks that carried them evolved. Improved aerial ladders were fixed to truck beds and new methods were devised to get water and firefighters to building heights. The hundreds of unique and dramatic photos that pack this volume feature fire trucks equipped with a wide spectrum of devices evolved over more than a century, including aerial ladders, elevating platforms, aerial ladder platforms, and water towers. The book illustrates the evolution of the styles and function of the vital 'hook-and-ladder trucks' that are an integral part of fire departments throughout the United States. Containing more than 320 photographs, including rare, historic photos and dramatic color shots; 96 pages. SS6402
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The Battle of Salamis 480 BC: The 'Wooden Walls' that Saved Greece (SC) Includes the historical elements of the battle, Great battles a brief biography of the father of the great Thermopylae victory, Themistocles, and 480 BC: The Most chapters from the Persian Unequal Battle in point of view as well. Also History (SC) addresses the lesserBelezos and Kotoulas. known details of the The definitive history of battle to assist in the fabled battle at the understanding the pass of Thermopylae. For overwhelmingly difficult 2 and 1/2 days Spartan conditions under which King Leonidas lead his 300 the Greek fleet prevailed. along with a contingent Enriched with color and b/w photos, maps and tactical of Thespians against the movements and color uniform plates; 96 pages. English Text. massive Persian army of SS7004 Xerxes I. Amply illustrated with photos, maps and color The Battle of Berlin: The Collapse of plates to create a panorama of the men, equipment and the 'Thousand-Year' Reich 1945 (SC) the world they fought in. Written in Greece and expertly Stavropoulos, Vourliotis, translated into English, includes glossary; 100 pages. Terniotis, Kotoulas, Valmas, SS7001 and Zouridis. By the dawn Marathon 490 BC: Athens Crushes Persian of 1945, the Western Allies Might (SC) had driven back Hitler’s Belezos, Giannopoulos, last, desperate effort in the Kotoulas and Ardennes. However, the Grigoropoulos. The Allies' insistence on Battle of Marathon is Germany's unconditional a landmark in world surrender deterred the history. Through their Germans from making any victory, the Athenian concession over ending the and Plataean hoplites war - Hitler and the Nazi did not merely saved their faithful saw their only option to be a fanatical Wagnerian cities from destruction, but stand leaving only Germany's ruins to commemorate the they also destroyed the tragedy. Further, it was already clear that another kind of war myth of the 'invincibility' was right around the corner. Illustrated with color and b/w of the Persians and photographs, color maps, 8 aircraft and 9 armor profiles, and proved the superiority of their armor, weaponry and tactics. 14 color uniform plates; 128 pages. English text. Reveals the causes of the Persian invasion, follows the SS7005 unknown Marathon runner in his run to announce the victory Kursk 1943: The Greatest Tank and relates the captivating myths created by the historical battle that still remain a part of the oral tradition of this epic. Battle in History (SC) Great Battles of the Enriched with photographs, maps of the area and tactical World; Kampouris, battle movements and color illustrations of uniforms. Written Zouridis, Theodoratos, in Greece and expertly translated into English. 104 pages. Stavropoulos, Varsamis, SS7002 Vourliotis, Gedeon, El Alamein 1942: The Axis Major Valmas. In the summer Defeat in Africa (SC) of 1943, after two years After a bloody 12-day of total war on the Eastern battle, the Africakorps Front, the Germans were was forced to retreat. The ready to meet the Soviets soon-to-be-legendary on the decisive battlefield. 8th Army had smashed The greatest tank battle of German dreams of all time proved to be the dominating North Africa. beginning of the end for Enriched with color the Third Reich. The elite panzer formations were decimated and b/w photographs, and would never again regain their former strength. Nothing color maps, aircraft and could turn the fortunes of the war for the Axis and their Soviet tank profiles and color flood was not to be stopped until the ruins of Berlin. Illustrated illustrations of uniforms; with color and b/w photographs, color maps, 12 aircraft and 120 pages. English text. 18 armor profiles, and 12 color uniform plates; 136 pages. SS7003 SS7006
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Britain 1940: The RAF Fights a Desperate Battle Against the Luftwaffe (SC) Stavropoulos, Terniotis, Valmas, Varsamis, and Vourliotis. The confrontation between Britain's Royal Air Force and Germany's Luftwaffe was the first large scale success against Hitler's aggression, and it is one of the defining episodes in the long history of the British nation. Enriched with color and b/w photographs (including 10 page Photographic Tribute to the Battle of Britain), color maps, 50 aircraft profiles and 9 color uniform illustrations. A fitting tribute and record of "their finest hour"; 160 pages. SS7007 D-Day 1944: The Allied Invasion of Normandy (SC) Stavropoulos, Vourliotis, Papadopoulos, Valmas, Kampouris and Terniotis. The Allies launched their invasion of German-occupied Europe after 18 months of preparation - three and one half million troops, more than ten thousand warplanes and an armada of nearly five thousand sea-going vessels stormed 'Fortress Europe' and opened the long awaited second front against Hitler's Reich. Includes the Allied bid for air superiority, the landings, a photo file, opposing commanders and forces, portable weapons and many lesser known details of the making of the new Western Front. Amply illustrated with more than 60 b/w and 30 color photos, 6 maps, 21 equipment profiles, 13 uniform plates and additional specially commissioned art; 136 pages. SS7008
Military Essays
Byzantine Armies 325 AD-1453 AD (SC) Military Essays; Belezos. Reveals the checkered historical course of the empire and its military organization, which was compelled to defend its territories and culture against a horde of belligerent enemies from without and from the state's own bureaucracy within. Illustrated with 75 photos, maps and additional graphics plus 13 full color plates. Also includes a glossary of Greek and Latin terms; 136 pages. English text. SS8001
Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Aircraft In Action
TBF/TBM Avenger In Action (HB) Doyle. Designed by Grumman as a replacement for the Douglas TBD Devastator, Avenger production began prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and it remained in US Navy service until October 1954. This all-new edition is B-52G/H Stratofortress in Action (HB) filled with 212 vintage photos, 29 of them in color, these Katz. More than any other weapon system, the legendary are augmented by five color profiles and a like number of Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is the embodiment of American detailed line drawings; 80 pgs. military power in the popular imagination. Boeing delivered SS50225 the last B-52 in 1962. Five decades later, the B-52 remains in front-line service, most recently taking part in combat over Afghanistan and Iraq. Even more amazingly, current plans are for the B-52 to remain in service until 2040. This volume is packed with historical and recent photographs of the B-52, including some that were released by the US Air Force and its contractors just for use in the book. As part of his research, the author flew on a B-52 training mission, and the flight report in this volume is the most detailed description of a B-52 mission ever published. Illustrated with color profiles, detailed line drawings and over 190 photographs; 88 pages. SS50207 B-29 Superfortress In Action (HB) Doyle. While most often remembered as the type of aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb, and for its extensive use in bombing Japan during the latter stages of WWII, the B-29 also saw plenty of combat during the Korean War. Individual sections of the book explore the interior and armament of these bombers, as well as their production by Boeing, Martin, and Bell. Illustrated with 248 photographs, 90 of them in full color; 88 pages. SS50227
B-17 Flying Fortress in Action (HB) Doyle. The B-17 Flying Fortress dropped more bombs than any other US aircraft in WWII and is arguably the iconic bomber of that epic conflict. First flown in 1935, the aircraft was repeatedly modified, upgraded, and perfected in response to combat experience. Also highlights the roles played by individual aircraft and their crews, such as the 'Memphis Belle', which completed 25 missions over enemy territory; 'Stage Door Canteen', christened by Winston Churchill's daughter; and 'All American', which demonstrated the incredible toughness of the Flying Fortress by returning safely to base despite having its tail nearly sheared off by a Messerschmitt. An unmatched, lavishly illustrated account of one of the greatest warplanes of all time, a must have! Perfect binding. Illustrated with 200 vintage photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS50219
F3D Skyknight in Action (HB) Carey. The US Navy's first all-weather jet fighter, the Douglas F3D Skyknight, traces its origins to 1945, when the Navy began studies for a jet-powered, carrier-based night fighter. This book chronicles the development and operational history of the Navy fighter from conception to duty in the Korean War, to service as a night interceptor in Vietnam, where it was an ECM/ELINT platform, jamming North Vietnamese missile and anti-aircraft sites. Illustrated with more than 196 photos and 10 line drawings; 80 pages. SS50229
S-3 Viking In Action (HB) Elward. The Lockheed S-3 Viking was developed in the late 1960s to serve as a dedicated carrier-based anti-submarine aircraft. . It also provides an overview of some of the more significant variants that were studied, but never fully pursued, such as the Carrier On-Board Delivery (COD) and dedicated (KS) refueling variants. It also discusses the aircraft’s role in Operation Desert Storm and how the lessons learned from that conflict impacted the Vikings' mission during the latter part of the 1990s and early 2000s. Illustrated with 186 photographs, line drawings, and numerous color profiles; 80 pages. SS50230
Aircraft Specials
Aces & Wingmen II Volume 1 (HB) Morris. Includes chapters covering thirteen different Fighter Squadrons, and histories of the 353rd and 354th Fighter Groups. Also lists Aces with the B-24 Liberator in Action (HB) Doyle. Lavishly illustrated with almost 250 authentic wartime 355th Fighter Group. photos, including over 80 in vintage color, with supplemental Over 600 b/w and 31 color drawings and color profiles. Experimental versions, classic photos, with 56 color bombers, freighters, tankers, reconnaissance birds - even the drawings; 256 pages. rare gunship version - are shown; 88 pages. SS0001 SS50228
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Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Aircraft Walk Around
KC-135 Stratotanker Walk Around (HB) Katz. Many air forces can conduct missions such as air superiority and ground attack, but only the US Air Force has truly global reach. For more than five decades, the essential enabler of this global reach has been the KC-135 A-4 Skyhawk Walk Around (HB) Stratotanker. Unarmed and unglamorous, the KC-135 has Drendel. The carrier-capable Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is one been one of the most successful and enduring aircraft in US of the most successful modern combat aircraft. During Air Force history. Primarily based on the author's extensive the 25 years in which the A-4 was on the production line, access to operational KC-135 aircraft on the ground and in 2,960 Skyhawks were built. A relatively light aircraft, with flight, this book contains the most detailed photographic a maximum takeoff weight of 24,500 pounds and with a documentation of the KC-135 inside and out that has ever top speed exceeding 600 mph, the Skyhawk was operated been published, as well as color profiles of the KC-135R not only by the US Navy and Marines but also by the air in the markings of every major USAF command that has forces of Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Malaysia, Argentina, operated that variant. Illustrated with 240 photographs, Singapore, Brazil, Indonesia, and Kuwait. Introduced in 1956, Skyhawks played major roles in the Vietnam War, the 1973 detailed line drawings and color profiles; 88 pages. Arab-Israeli October War, and the Falklands/Malvinas Conflict SS65066 in 1982. Navy retired the A-4 as recently as 2003. Meanwhile, the battle-tested warrior continues to serve today other militaries around the world. Illustrated with 205 photographs, color profiles, and detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS65041
B-29 Superfortress Walk Around (HB) Savage. Equipped with pressurized cabins for high-altitude effectiveness, with an electronic fire-control system, and remote-controlled machine gun turrets, the B-29 Superfortress was the most advanced aircraft of WWII. Two of those planes, the Superfortresses Enola Gay and Bockscar, dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Yet over all, the B-29 received less notoriety than its storied elder siblings, the B-17 and B-24, perhaps because its service areas - the China, Burma, and India Theater and the Western Pacific - were less publicized than was the war in Europe. Designed by Boeing, nearly 4,000 B-29s had been turned out by the time production ended in 1946. A unique look at the plane that ushered in the nuclear age. Illustrated with over 210 photographs; 80 pages. SS65054
F9F Cougar Walk Around (HB) Neubeck. The first swept-wing carrier-based fighter aircraft built for the USN, the F9F Cougar marked a major leap forward in the area of naval aircraft design from its predecessor, the straight-wing Grumman F9F Panther. The prototype of the first version of the Cougar, the F9F-6, first took to the air in September of 1951, six months after contract award. There were several different models of the Cougar. The F9F-6 was followed by the F9F-7 and F9F-8. addition there were also two reconnaissance models - the F9F-6P and the F9F-8P - as well as a two-seater trainer version, the F9F-8T. The contemporary photographs in this volume illustrate in detail the differences between the various Cougar models, making use of over a dozen display aircraft located in museums across the United States as well as one Cougar on display in Argentina. Grounded in solid historical research, the book also features historical images from the photo archives of both the U.S. Navy and Grumman, and also includes rare photos of F9F Cougar in its final days, serving as a target drone for later generations of fighters. Illustrated with over 230 photographs; 80 pages. SS65068
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B-26 Marauder Walk Around (HB) Doyle. Exclusive photos illustrate the rarely seen inner workings and outer features of the B-26G, with additional coverage of the B-26, B-26B, and B-26C. Initially dubbed "the Widowmaker" due to its high wing loading and high landing speeds. More than 220 photographs, plus numerous detailed line drawings and color profiles. SS65069
Heinkel He 111 Walk Around (HB) Mackay. Although produced in large numbers and exported to many countries before and during the war, few examples survive today. This volume features detailed photographic images of the He 111P-1 restored and preserved in Norway, and the He 111H-20 on display in the RAF museum. Illustrated with 228 photos, detailed line drawings and color profiles; 88 pages. SS65070
B-25 Mitchell Walk Around (HB) Doyle. Soaring into the pages of history with Jimmy Doolittle's famed Tokyo Raiders, the North American B-25 Mitchell was the most-produced American medium bomber of World War II. Profusely illustrated, this volume examines the nuances of the external features and explores the inner workings. Enhancing color photographs, taken on the ground and air, 4 vintage blk/wht images, 14 line drawings. Illustrated with more than 200 photographs; 80 pages. SS65071
Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Combat Chronicles
B-29 Superfortress Combat Chronicles (HB) At The Gate Series Hilton. With its pressurized cabins for high-altitude operation, its long range, large bomb capacity, and turbosupercharged engines, the B-29 Superfortress was the epitome of cutting edge American air power during WWII. The author, a photographer with the 40th Bomb Group and a veteran of 83 Superfortress missions, offers a first-hand, eye-witness account and shares Boeing 737 At The Gate (HB) his experiences on reconnaissance and bombing missions, Tidwell. Few commercial aircraft have enjoyed a production flying the 'Hump' and taking off from an advanced base run that spans more than four decades and service in in Sichuan, China, to pummel Japanese occupation forces nearly every nation on Earth. The Boeing 737 has such a throughout Asia. Then in early 1945, the 40th BG moved to track record. Takes the reader on a journey through the newly-liberated Tinian from which they took part in the final continuing story of the 737 from the first aircraft to roll of chapter of WWII - the aerial assault on the Japanese home the production line in the 1960s, to the very latest airframes islands. Introduces you to fellow veterans of the 40th who being delivered to major airlines today. The book also relate their no-less extraordinary experiences - ditching in offers the reader a look at some of the most interesting the Bay of Bengal, lost in the Siberian Taiga, downed behind 737 liveries as well as parts of the aircraft that few people enemy lines in China, taken prisoner after bailing out over get to see. Also covered are business jets, cargo carriers, Tokyo. Personal accounts from the men who served on the and military versions of the 737 that are less familiar even front lines of the air war in the Pacific, a unique primary to the thousands of air travelers who have flown aboard historical source and a truly exciting read. Illustrated with this legendary Boeing liner. Illustrated with over 220 over 100 photographs; 120 pages. photographs; 96 pages. SS76002 SS68002
Combat Chronicles
Combat Chronicles of the Black Widow (HB) Thompson. Dramatic firsthand accounts by the pilots, radar observers, and gunners who saw combat aboard the first dedicated US night fighter in WWII fill this unique volume, the first in Squadron/Signal's new Combat Chronicles series that brings you actionpacked, eye-witness war stories, interviews, and firsthand reminiscences from the front lines. In this volume we hear from the crews who rode the Black Widow into battle all over the world. The outbreak of war in Europe left no room for doubt that the United States needed quickly to come up with a specialized night fighter to confront the totally new face of air combat. Northrop was able to come up with designs for a new, specially designated night fighter and a contract for what was to become the P-61 Black Widow was signed on 11 January 1941. After the first production aircraft rolled off the assembly line in October 1943, the P-61 went on to operate in the European, Pacific, China-Burma-India, and Mediterranean Theaters of the war. Experience WWII as it was seen by the men in the cockpit of this history-making radar-equipped night interceptor. Illustrated with 152 photographs; 112 pages. SS7701
Aeroscouts in Vietnam Combat Chronicles (HB) Mutza. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, U.S. Army planners sought to increase the Army?s helicopter force. The Army developed new tactical doctrine using helicopters - the airmobile concept which was based largely on air cavalry units. Such units were descendants of the US Cavalry, which had operated as light, horse-mounted infantry. Air cavalry troopers were, in essence, horse soldiers, and helicopters were their steed. True to their proud and colorful heritage, the Air Cavalry not only employed tactics used by their forefathers of the Indian wars, they embraced their culture as they deployed in the grueling conflict in Indochina. Packed with more than 30 action packed, often hair raising first-hand accounts of helicopter scout combat in Vietnam, this latest addition takes you into the thick of the action. Besides being exciting reading, these personal recollections by dozens of the fighters themselves provide invaluable, primary source historical coverage of one of America's epic conflicts as experienced by frontline helicopter scouts. Illustrated with over 160 photographs; 136 pages. SS76003
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Armor In Action
German Armored Cars in Action (HB) Doyle. Germany began developing its heavy armored cars well before the outbreak of World War II. Germany's early six-wheel armored cars were based on 6x4 truck chassis, and their off-road mobility was limited. These vehicles soon gave way to an expanding series of eight-wheel drive/eight-wheel steer vehicles fitted with a variety of armament. In time these too were supplanted by even larger armored cars incorporating refinements based on lessons learned from the vehicles' field experience, such as heavier armor, armament, and an air-cooled engine. Packed with more than 220 period photographs, this book chronicles the development and deployment of Germany's six and eight-wheeled armored cars before and during WWII; 80 pages. SS52050
M151 MUTT in Action (HB) Doyle. The M151 was intended to be a lightweight, highmobility replacement for the M38A1, itself a successor to the famed World War II jeep. Dubbed the Military Utility Tactical Truck or "MUTT" by the military - GIs almost universally referred to the vehicle as a "jeep." The series' service life spanned more than 40 years and four manufacturers, and the vehicles saw service everywhere the US GI was deployed. This volume chronicles the development and field use of the M151 series in Europe, the Middle East and, of course, there is extensive coverage of the vehicles' service in Vietnam. The photos, many previously unpublished, are augmented by seven line drawings. Illustrated with 220 photographs; 80 pages. SS52051
Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Armor Walk Around
M551 Sheridan Walk Around (HB) Hughes. First deployed in combat in Vietnam, the M551 Sheridan is the first US tank to be fully amphibious and also airborne capable. Photos of the sub-variants of the M551 Sheridan, such as the 'Product Improvement Program,' A1, FT-17 / M1917 WWI Tanks Walk and VISMODs round out this profile of the versatile historic Around (HB) Doyle. This volume presents a careful tank. Illustrated by more than 240 photographs plus eight study of the details and variations of this innovative vehicle, inside and out. Two-hundred thirty-seven photographs reveal detailed line drawings; 80 pages. SS67026 the intimacies of no fewer than 14 of the finest surviving examples of these machines, preserved on three different continents. Nine detailed line drawings supplement the photos and comprehensive captions; 80 pages. SS67023
Diamond T 4-ton Truck Walk Around (HB) Doyle. As it became increasingly apparent that the United States could not avoid getting involved in World War II, the US Army stepped up its efforts at modernization and industrial mobilization. Toward this end, the Quartermaster Corps ordered a series of 4-ton 6x6 trucks from Chicagobased Diamond T Motor Car Company. The chassis of the artillery prime mover was adapted for use a dump truck, a long-wheelbase truck to transport bridging equipment, and what would become the US Army's standard medium wrecker during WWII. The design of the Diamond T was so successful that it is widely recognized as the forerunner of the Army's post-WWII M-series trucks, which were utilized for 50 years. For this book, the finest preserved examples of the classic Diamond T were sought out and extensively photographed, resulting in a volume packed with color photographs augmented by five period black-and-white photos. Illustrated with 232 photographs; 80 pages. SS67031
Detail In Action Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer Walk Around (HB) Stapfer. Pictures of Jagdpanzer 38 vehicles in Bulgarian and Swiss service appear here for the first time, and the SK-23 steam-powered recovery vehicle based on the Hetzer is also M41 Walker Bulldog Walk Around (HB) documented along with extensive coverage of the G 13, Hughes. The standard US light tank during the early years including the first-ever color photographs of that variant's of the Cold War, the M41 Bulldog was developed as a more interior. Illustrated with over 200 photographs, plus detailed powerful successor to the M24 Chaffee. Illustrated with 250 line drawings, and color profiles; 80 pages. photographs plus color profiles and numerous detailed line SS67027 drawings; 80 pages. SS67024 Ferdinand / Elefant Detail in Action (HB) Doyle. In an effort to turn the proverbial lemon, in the form of an unsuccessful Tiger design, into lemonade, Porsche engineers at the behest of the German army, converted the failed chassis into one of the largest and most potent tank destroyer designs of World War II. Initially fielded as the Ferdinand, the vehicles were further modified, and ultimately given a new - and apt - name: 'Elefant.' This new volume explores not only the combat history of both the Ferdinand and Elefant, but also chronicles the development of the illfated Porsche Tiger design through 88 period black-and-white photos. Further enhancing its utility to the enthusiast, 110 M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer Walk M26 Dragon Wagon Walk Around (HB) Around (HB) Doyle. Engine and drive train, driver's full-color photos of the only surviving examples of each type Doyle. This volume examines armored and soft-skin versions compartment, weapons and sighting systems, and stowage illustrate the nuances of the construction and subsequent wartime modification of these giant tank killers. Also features - both interior and exterior - are all carefully presented. of this massive vehicle, and its trailers, through hundreds 16 detailed line drawings as well as 15 masterful color of color photos and some of the finest restored examples in Illustrated with 230 color photographs, 5 black and white profiles; 80 pages. existence. Illustrated with over 230 photographs; 80 pages. photographs, 5 line drawings, and 4 profiles; 80 pages. SS79001 SS67029 SS67025
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Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Squadron At Sea
On Deck Series
Squadron At Sea
USS Texas Squadron At Sea (HB) Doyle. Armed with 10 14-inch guns and displacing 32,000 tons, the battleship is still a formidable sight as she enters USS Arizona Squadron at Sea Series (HB) into her second century. This expansive volume tells the tale Doyle. Packed with rare photographs unearthed from sources of the Texas and her crew. Loaded with black-and-white and color photos not only showcase the construction, throughout the country, this volume follows the history of numerous voyages, modifications, combat action, and one of America's most iconic naval vessels. Glimpse the ultimate preservation of the ship, but also show the vessel life of the crews that manned her and follow her through as a home, office, and workshop for the men who served the maintenance and refits that dramatically changed her as her crew. These historic images are augmented with five appearance. Describes the horrific explosion that ripped through her hull on the dark morning of 7 December 1941, line drawings illustrating her key configurations, as well as and a series of unique photos document the years of wartime nine color profiles depicting her aircraft, as well as the many salvage work aboard the sunken battleship. Chronicled too camouflage schemes she wore. Illustrated with over 350 photographs; 152 pages. is Arizona’s ongoing service as a tomb and memorial to SS74003 the 1,177 men who perished with her. A testament to the Arizona and her men brought to you as you've never seen them before. Illustrated with 288 photographs, 5 detailed line drawings, 7 color illustrations; 120 pages. SS74001
USS North Carolina Squadron at Sea (HB) Doyle. Laid down in 1937 and launched on 9 April 1941, the USS North Carolina was the first new construction battleship to enter service during WWII and took part in every major naval offensive in the Pacific Theater, becoming the most decorated US battleship of WWII. This volume traces the history of the North Carolina, photographically documenting the evolution of armament and electronics that elevated her pre-Pearl Harbor design to its peak - bristling with guns to counter the threat of kamikaze attack. Records not only the ship's wartime operations that earned her 12 battlestars, but also her crew and their work and recreation. Generously illustrated with more than 330 photographs - many of them color, detailed line drawings and 11 color profiles that document the various camouflage schemes worn by both the ship and her scouting aircraft.; 136 pages. SS74002
Higgins PT Boat On Deck (HB) Doyle. This illustrated volume showcases details of Higgins PTs preserved in Massachusetts, Texas, even an operational example in Oregon - the sole operational WWII PT . More than 80 color photographs, these preserved vessels are augmented by nearly 40 vintage photos illustrating rarely seen fine details of the wooden shipbuilders' craft. Illustrated with over 120 photographs; 80 pages. SS66008
USS Kidd On Deck (HB) Doyle. Documented in color close-up photos are the details of the exterior of the ship, as well as her interior spaces, where destroyer sailors lived, fought, and some died, painstakingly restored and preserved today in Baton Rouge by the Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission. Illustrated with USS Saratoga Squadron at Sea (HB) 234 photographs; 80 pages. SS66010 Doyle. When commissioned in 1927, Saratoga's decks teamed with fabric-covered biplanes, and the ship and her crew projected US military power far beyond the nation's shores. So impressive was Saratoga that she and her crew served as a backdrop for two major Hollywood motion pictures. In 1941 she was called to do what she was built for, and for the next four years plied the Pacific, her biplanes replaced by the famed Wildcats, Hellcats, Dauntlesses and Avengers that prosecuted the war against Japan. Having survived two torpedo hits by Japanese subs, as well as repeated bomb and Kamikaze strikes, at war's end she took part in the huge Magic Carpet operation that transported thousands of US servicemen back to the mainland. Still afloat after the first nuclear explosion, she was sent to the bottom USS Massachusetts On Deck (HB) of Bikini Atoll by the second of the blasts, and still rests there today, where she welcomes the occasional scuba diver. Doyle. This book documents the warship through an Profusely illustrated with 383 color and b/w photos capturing impressive collection of images and data tables revealing the ship the ship and how it functioned as a fighting machine as the ship, her crew and aircraft supplemented by 11 line well as a home to her almost 1,800-man crew. Illustrated with drawings and 25 color renderings; 160 pages. 286 photographs, and color profiles; 96 pages. SS74004 SS66011
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Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Oliver Publishing Viking Summer: 5.SS-Panzer-Division in Poland Our first title, Viking Summer: 5.SS-PanzerDivision in Poland, 1944, includes: A general history of the period and detailed accounts of the Kovel and Warsaw battles. 13 pages of colour artwork by Dennis Oliver depicting over 40 different vehicles including Sdkfz 251 half-tracks, Pzkw IV and Pzkw V Panther tanks and others. Many never before published black and white photographs. Detailed tables showing vehicle types and allocations. Comprehensive explanation of vehicle markings and numbering systems. ADH027 STUG: Assault Gun Units In The East The second title in this series, STUG: Assault Gun Units In The East, Bagration To Berlin, is the first volume in a two part set and includes: Histories of the German Army’s assault gun units, volume two will contain Waffen SS, Luftwaffe and obscure units. Colour artwork by Dennis Oliver depicting over 40 different vehicles with details of unit markings and insignia. Explanation of vehicle characteristics and production and field modifications. Campaign maps and diagrams ADH028 Fortress: German Armour In The Defence Of Sicily A detailed history of the units involved and their actions in Sicily by well known author and researcher Claude Gillono 13 pages of colour artwork by Dennis Oliver depicting over 30 different vehicles and guns including half-tracks, assault guns, Pzkw III, Pzkw IV, Pzkw VI Tiger tanks and the deadly 88mm Flak gun. Black and white archive photographs, many never before reproduced Campaign map. Detailed tables showing vehicle types and allocations. Illustrations of unit insignia and vehicle markings. ADH029
Model Tech Manual LVT2 and LVT(A)2 (SC) LPP010
Project LTVs Amtanks: LVTA1, LVT(A)4, LVT(A)5 (SC) Information from factory blueprints, tech manuals and bulletins, photos, personal narratives and exhisting vehicles. Tips on building, detailing and weathering are provided throughout. Figure sculpting and painting pointers provided by Bill Chilstrom. LPP008
Model Tech Manual LVT(A)1, LVT(A)4, LVT(A)5 (SC) LPP011
Project LTVs Amtracks: LVT2 and LVT(A)2 (SC) Models, photos and layout with tips on building, detailing, painting and weathering. LPP009 LVT Line Drawings: LVTA1, LVT2, LVTA2, LVTA4 (SC) LPP012
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Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573 Airframe & Miniature No 2: The Hawker Typhoon inc. The Hawker Tornado by Richard A. Franks. 128 pages packed with vital information that no active aviation modeller should be without. • 40+ pages of technical information • 20+ pages of walkaround images and technical diagrams • 5+ pages of camouflage and markings • 25+ pages of model builds and modelling information • 200+ photographs including wartime images • Colour side views and four-views by Richard Caruana • 3D isometric views of all variants by Jacek Jackiewicz • 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32 scale full kit builds • A full set of fold-out 1/48 scale plans ADH015 Airframe & Miniature No.3 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190D and Ta 152 by Richard A. Franks. 160 pages packed with vital information that no active aviation modeller should be without. • 60+ pages of technical information • 20+ pages of walkaround images and technical diagrams • 5+ pages of camouflage and markings • 20+ pages of model builds and modelling information • 200+ photographs including wartime images • Colour side views and four-views by Richard Caruana • 3D isometric views of all variants by Jacek Jackiewicz • 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32 scale full kit builds • A full set of fold-out 1/48 scale plans ADH017 Airframe & Miniature No 4: The Hawker Tempest This fourth book in our much acclaimed series contains a massive 128 pages packed with vital information that no active modeller and Tempest enthusiast should be without. • Over 40 pages of technical information • Over 20 pages of walkaround images and technical diagrams • Over 5 pages of camouflage and markings • Over 25 pages of model builds and modelling information • Over 200 photographs including wartime images • Colour side views and four-views by Richard Caruana • 3D isometric views of all variants by Jacek Jackiewicz • 1/72 and 1/48 scale full kit builds by Libor Jekl and Steve Evans • A full set of fold-out 1/48 scale plans is included ADH026
Captured Butcherbirds Vol.1 J.Jackiewicz & R.Bock English text, soft cover, 128 pages, 329 photos, 28 multiviews painting schemes and 127 side profiles. Entire book is published in colour ADH021
Hacks Utility Planes of the Mighty Eighth J. Jackiewicz Continuation and sequel for the 'Assembly Ships'. English text, soft cover, 132 pages, 267 photos, 195 colour profiles. Entire book is published in colour. ADH022 FW-190 In Foreign Service (Captured Butcherbirds Vol. 2) J.Jackiewicz, S.Fleischer, R.Bock English text, soft cover, 100 pages, 215 photos, 112 side profiles. Entire book is published in colour. ADH023 Japanese Aircraft in Foreign Service J.Jackiewicz & S.Fleischer English text, soft cover, 128 pages, over 300 photos, 187 side profiles and colour plates. Entire book is published in colour. ADH024
The Messerschmitt Me 262 Airframe & Miniature Series: Under the expert guidance of series editor Richard Franks, this exhaustively researched book covering the popular Messerschmitt Me 262 for the avid enthusiast. 116 pages of technical information, full colour profiles, walkaround images, diagrams, camouflage and marking details, a wealth of photographic resource plus comprehensive model builds and information on kits both past and present. Every active aviation modeller should have this series by their workbench. This is the first in the series, The Messerschmitt Me 262 by Richard Franks, available now. By Richard A. Franks • 116 pages packed with vital information that no active modeller of aviation subjects should be without • Over 40 pages of technical information • Over 10 pages of full colour profiles • Over 20 pages of walkaround images and technical diagrams • Over 5 pages of camouflage and markings • Over 25 pages of model builds and modelling information • Over 200 photographs including wartime images • Colour side views and four-views by Richard Caruana • 3D isometric views of all variants by Jacek Jakiewicz • 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32 scale full kit builds by Steve Evans and Richard Franks ADH013
Thunderbolts of the Hell Hawks By Don Barnes, John Crump & Roy Sutherland Ninth Air Force P-47 units have been long overlooked, despite their significant contribution to victory in WWII. Their war was close to the ground, dive-bombing and strafing in support of the US Army at the Normandy landings, and in the race across France, Belgium and Germany. "Thunderbolts of the Hell Hawks" is a new book offering a personal view of one of the most decorated and effective P-47 units in the Ninth Air Force. This rich visual account of the 365th Fighter-Bomber Group, the "Hell Hawks", is presented in 320 pages with over 500 photos, most published for the first time. The book also features 98 thoroughly researched and detailed colour profiles of their Thunderbolts, illustrated by Don Barnes. All but three of the aircraft profiled have languished in obscurity for the past 65 years, brought to light for the first time here. Published with full cooperation of the 365th FG Association, and with the kind help of the men and families who shared memories and personal photo albums, this book is a testament to their strength, courage and sacrifice helping bring an end to the war in Europe. Don Barnes, John Crump and Roy Sutherland interviewed and befriended over 20 surviving pilots from the 365th FG. Maps, charts and photos of surviving artifacts illustrate the very detailed, almost day-to-day record of the Hell Hawks’ missions. Additionally, more than 100 sidebars, many written by the men of the 365th, themselves, give life and humanity to the story. This unique book offers an extraordinarily personal and illustrative portrait of the lives of P-47 pilots. Inspired by the excellent book "Hell Hawks" by Bob Dorr and Tom Jones, this book is a companion piece, providing much additional information and a rich visual picture of the 365th during the last year of the war in Europe. ADH025
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Books Books Books Book www.adhbooks.com or call 01525 222573
Attack on Pearl Harbor Covering all of the major aspects of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, this book is written so that it will appeal to both the layman, seeking an understanding of what happened on the “Day of Infamy,” and to the enthusiast who wishes to learn much more information than is usually found in a book of this size. Photos with detailed captions, extensive artwork, charts, tables, maps, and text combine to make this a comprehensive yet very affordable reference on one of the most important dates in world history. By Bert Kinzey. • More than 145 Photographs • 46 Art Illustrations • 6 Maps • 8 Tables • Illustrations showing all types of Japanese aircraft used in the attack with markings applied to the aircraft flown by many of the group commanders and other pilots • Illustrations of American Army and Navy aircraft that were in the air over Oahu during the attack including those flown by pilots who shot down Japanese aircraft • Information and data on each of the six aircraft carriers used by the Japanese as well as illustrations of the markings carried by their aircraft • Complete information on the composition of both attack waves including numbers and types of aircraft flown, armament carried, carrier assignments, unit assignments, targets assigned, and the names of group leaders • Maps showing the routes of the attack waves and how the torpedo, dive bombing, and horizontal bombing attacks were carried out in the Pearl Harbor area • List and map of American ships present in or near Pearl Harbor during the attack • Table of ships of the Pacific Fleet not at Pearl Harbor during the attack and indicating their locations • Official U. S. Navy damage report and information as to when all but three of the sunk and damaged ships were returned to action with the fleet • Photographs showing the ships listed on the Navy damage report before, during, and after the attack • Japanese mistakes and the eventual fates of each of the Japanese ships that took part in the attack • A look at the Special Attack Unit of five midget submarines and the U. S. Navy ships that engaged them ADH014
Airframe Album No 1: The Heinkel He 219 Uhu This new series of books will offer everything that modern modellers want when they are tackling a specific subject and will include:
• Period diagrams • Data from flight manuals • Data from spare parts catalogues • Walkaround images of preserved examples • Fully detailed 3D isometric views of prototype and production machines • Full colour profiles and concise camouflage and marking notes • A wealth of pictures of the recently restored NASM example • Pictures before, during and after restoration • Isometric views by Jacek Jackiewicz • Colour profiles and camouflage detail by Richard J. Caruana • 100 pages in total Publication well in advance of the Revell and Zoukei-Mura 1/32 scale kit releases. by Richard A. Franks ADH030 Airframe Album No.2: The Hawker Sea Fury A Detailed Guide to The Fleet Air Arm’s Last Pistonengine Fighter by Richard A. Franks Our second title in the Airframe Album series will cover the Hawker Sea Fury, and follows on neatly from our Airframe and Miniature titles on The Hawker Typhoon and recently published Hawker Tempest. • Period diagrams • Data from flight manuals and spare parts catalogue • Walkaround images of preserved examples • Pictures before and during restoration of the restored TFC and airworthy FAA examples • Fully detailed 3D isometric views of prototype and production machines by Jacek Jackiewicz • Colour profiles and concise camouflage detail by Richard Caruana • 100 pages • An overview of all Hawker Sea Fury kits available in 1/32, 1/48 and 1/72 scales ADH031
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How to build the Tamiya Steel Wheeled Tiger I The Tiger I is one of the most popular modelling subjects in 1:35 scale. In this book, world-renowned modeller Angus Creighton concentrates on the Steel Wheeled version of the famous German WW2 Tank. With five versions of the Tiger portrayed in great detail, particular attention is paid to subtle production differences, as well as focusing on the rare command version and Borgward BIV control vehicle. With step-by-step guides covering and painting, applying zimmerit and adding markings. ADH001 How to build the Tamiya Fairey Swordfish A full colour, high quality guide describing in great detail the building, detailing and painting of Tamiya’s stunning 1:48 Fairey Swordfish. Inside you’ll find over fifty pages of clear, easy to follow photographs of the model being constructed plus shots of the real thing. TMMI’s Geoff Coughlin has built two complete models, one in grey with wings extended and a camouflaged machine with wings folded back for carrier stowage. ADH002 How to build the Tamiya Bristol Beaufighter The 60 page book includes information on: • Building the basic model; • The six detailed versions of the Beaufighter; • Details of production variations; • Weathering; • and many other handy hints and tips! ADH003 How to build the Tamiya Spitfire Mk.IXc and Mk.VIII Revised edition with extra pages covering the Spitfire Mk.VIII. The complete guide to bulding Tamiya's amazing 1:32 Spitfire Mk.IXc written by Brett Green. The book now features 4 models, by Brett and Marcus Nicholls, Roy Sutherland and now Chris Wauchop. Hundreds of images, reference photos and how to get the very best from the model. Also features lists of after market parts... ADH011 How to build the Tamiya P-51D Mustang The complete guide to bulding Tamiya's amazing 1:32 P-51D written by Brett Green. Exhaustive step-by-step guide to construction plus models, by Brett, Mark Glidden and Roy Sutherland. Hundreds of images, reference photos and how to get the very best from your model. Also features lists of after market parts and decals. ADH016
