Characteristics:

21cm x 29.7 cm, 130 pages, French language with English pictures captions and summary , 63 color pictures, 365 b/w , 47 color profiles.

Today is a look at one of the first publishing from DTU, the French editor of the well-known modelling magazine REPLIC. Still available, this very good study of one of the famous squadron of the WWII published in fall 2001, will help most of modeller with the old kits, recent 1/32 from Trumpeter, and waiting for the future 1/24 scale from Vintage model. First check, the translation; well here each pictures have English captions and the last 16 pages are made of summary of literature from pages 1 to 110.This way you’ll not miss that is important to know. Content is :

 1-history of the AVG

 2-CAMOUFLAGE AND MARKING

 3-the Curtiss P-40 from the Tigers

 4- victories and losses

 5- aces and personalities of the AVG

 6- Crews of the AVG

 7- Color profiles

 8- Flying Tigers and French comics

 9- Flying Tigers and cinema

10- Flying Tigers and Flight Simulator               

11- Flying Tigers in plastic kits

12- books

13- translation

 All start with the portray of Claire Lee Chennault, the father of the AVG in China. With a mixture of color and b/w pictures, you’ll discover the beginning of the story with as elsewhere in the world, ground accidents during training courses. Personnel and the AVG ‘s leopard mascot lead you in the daily routine very well. The camouflage and markings chapter is an adaptation of Terrill’s Clement research for Aeromaster decals, dealing with basic camo, spinner and wheels areas, stencils and serials, nationality marks, shark teeth, insignias, victory marks, weathering effects, inside cockpits… aside 12 color profiles and a upper view drawing. The following P-40 chapter (3) in 12 pages give a comparison chart between P-40 C/E versus KI-27 KI-43 KI-44 and KI-45 ennemies. A listing on 2 pages inform us on Curtiss serial, AVG serial, serviceable date, individual figure, pilot name for  99 P-40C in service. The color photoscope with its 45 details pics cover the general airframe views, canopy, cockpit, gears, and engine (cowlings removed). As machines are nothing without men, they are honoured through aces in the chapter about victories and losses. Ace status start with 5 victories and each of the 19 flying tigers that reached this are shown with a pilot identity picture, short story of the career, details on enemies shot down and a profile of they aircraft! Four more pilots, even if not considered as aces are not forgotten due to their personality; Greg Boyington, James H.Howard, Kenneth O.Jernstedt, Robert.L Scott.

Need to find the mecanical chief, Armor specialist, communication agent? 259 people from the headquater, 1^st squad (Adam and Eve), 2^nd squad (panda bear), 3^rd squad (hell’s angels), are listed. 12 aircrafts that crossed the P-40 in the air appear like Buffalo, Hurricane, Lancer, KI-27/43/44/30/46/45/48/21 in profiles. And now, how this myth survive? Fascination gave inspiration since the end of the WWII. Comics (from France), movies (from USA) with “Flying tigers”, staring John Wayne, and “God is my co-pilot”(Dennis Morgan) remain us that 7^th art also bent over this human story. For modellers 24 pages deal with the P-40 in the 3 major scales 1/72 1/48 and 1/32 .We could now ad the trumpeter 1/32 scale produced last year. Briefly 13 kits and conversions, 6 decal sheets are reviewed before tips on building a 1/72 diorama, the 1/48 monogram P-40C, Mauve P-40E and the step-by step construction of the big and beautiful 1/32 Craftworks model. Books available at that time and the translated pages close this in deep pictoral research of one of the more amazing group involved in WWII. Recommended to shark fans and beautiful Curtiss pursuit aircraft!

January 2005

Available at DTU  in France , contact: dtu.sarl@wanadoo.fr

Also distributed by Great Model Webstore 

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