Many of you know of Aero Research through their excellent aircraft photo CDs. This is their first venture into printed media and they have chosen to start what I hope will be a long series of guides for the modeler. This initial offering is on the A-1 Skyraider.

The book is what I guess you'd call ring bound and this feature will make it much easier to sit flat on your work bench. It is 104 pages and includes three dozen photographs.

This is not a history of the aircraft, per se, nor a markings guide as there are several other books that will cover this. What it is are a series of drawings of all all 35 different Skyraider variants, showing the salient features of each type as well as what may need to be done to modify the recommended kit to match this version.

Pretty neat stuff, eh?

The book includes a full rundown on all the available kits in the three major scales. It also choses the best in each scale. As the 1/32 kit has not yet been released, it is left out of the overall recommendations. Not surprisingly, for most variants, the 1/72 Hasegawa kit and the 1/48 Tamiya kit are those chosen. The book also has a full list of aftermarket decals and detail sets that have been done for the Skyraider, including those not currently available as one never knows where one will run across something interesting. This is also a full listing of paper and electronic references (including Modeling Madness). There are also serial number lists, world wide units that have flown the aircraft and a list of survivors.

I've included a single page of one aircraft to give you an idea of how things are organized. What this shows is a profile of the aircraft and those salient features that may need to be changed. Green areas are optional items that have been seen on some aircraft. Background stats are also provided.

In all, it really is an excellent reference and resource for the modeler. Its most reasonable price makes it a true bargain as well. Most highly recommended. 

 You can get more information by visiting www.aeroresearchcds.com

Thanks to Aero Research for the review  bookCD.

September 2011

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.