This is the second book in the series on the history of JG 1. It carries on from the previous edition, and like all of the the Classic serial books continues its page numbering from the initial edition. What has been said about the initial volume is true for this one as well.

It is broken down into several sections, each covering a period of a month or two. Though not a specific day to day operational record, it does focus on some of the more interesting missions. Like the earlier volume, much of the book is used for photographs and artwork. This time the artwork is by Tullis and Davidson and is very well done. It is mostly FW-190s with a few 109s tossed in. Interestingly, most of the 109s have heavy panel line shading while the 190s do not. I personally am not a fan of this tendency to over-accentuate panel lines so find the 190 works more to my tastes.

Since much of the book is photographs and art work, I found it rather interesting to note that there were some anomalies between the art and photos. Classic has done a great job of providing profiles based on the photos in the book. That is what has made Classic books so popular and is why I buy them. However, the artists are obviously using a standard FW-190 template over which the apply the camouflage. Now this may be much ado about nothing, but when drawing the FW-190A-4s, every one shows the small inner gear doors down. However, many of the photos on which the drawings are based do not show these doors. I don't know if it is because they were removed or if they were normally closed when on the ground. However, it was quite noticeable to me.

Anyway, that small bit aside, the book is excellent. It provides a good history and has a lot of photos that I have not seen before. As a modeler, you'll want to put the grabs on this one. I would not be surprised to see several decal sheets based on these books from someone!

Review book courtesy of my library.

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