This treatise
continues the ever-growing line of Detail & Scale reference books covering
WWII-related aviation subjects. The book offers 79 illustrated pages with
minimum text, a set of multi-view drawings, and 18 pages (including the front
and rear covers) of color photographs and side-profile artwork. Many of the
vintage photos have never been previously published and are a refreshing
surprise. Half of the color section is devoted to detail photos of restored
warbirds and museum displays.
Each variant of
the B-25 is covered by a general overview of the subtype, with the salient
differences between the marques noted in the text. Production totals for each
version are given though individual block numbers and serial number runs have
been omitted. As this book is a technical overview of the Mitchell, no unit
histories are addressed though the vintage photos are captioned with the
applicable data when known. The captions for the detail pictures are concisely
written to direct and focus attention without ambiguity.
The Lloyd
Jones-developed multi-view isometric drawings are, despite the author’s claims
of being “the most accurate scale drawings ever made available to the public”,
lackluster at best. I noted many discrepancies between these plates and other,
more trustworthy drawings. Additionally, the odd 1:120th scale does
not easily translate to any common modeling equivalent, relegating the
illustrations to utility only as general layout reference. The color side
profile artwork is adequate to the task, though obvious errors exist here as
well.
The “kit review”
section at the back of the book is the worst facet of this volume—in fact it’s
the worst I’ve ever seen. Many kits are dismissed without comment other than to
say they are crap while some are not mentioned at all. It is unfathomable that
more emphasis and detail was not placed on this feature as the book’s target
audience is, in fact, scale modelers. It would seem these paltry few paragraphs
were added hastily as an afterthought, without regard to hobbyists who need
information to make an informed decision.
I would qualify
my recommendation of this book by insisting that it not be relied upon as a
stand-alone reference. While many of the photographs will be of great interest
to modelers, the poorly-rendered drawings make it useful only as an adjunct to
other more detailed publications. That, coupled with the unforgivable short
shrift that the kit review section merited, places this book on the second tier
of available B-25 references. A real shame too, since a more diligent editor
could have easily turned this volume from an also-ran into a first-place winner.
Jus’
mah ‘pinion, y’unnerstan’…
Ó
2003 by Roger M. Jackson
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