The latest in Mushroom Models Publications' orange series is this rather hefty book on the RAF's first post WWI operational fighters the Gloster Grebe and the Gamecock. These aircraft were bought in relatively small numbers typical of the late 1920s when the massive cost of the war had pushed most armed forces into a rather austere period. The Grebe was one of the RAF's first aircraft to be powered by a non-spinning radial air cooled engine. The Grebe was also somewhat of a success in terms of foreign sales with a number having been sold to New Zealand.

This was followed by the Gamecock, a natural progression of the series with a more powerful engine and several major airframe improvements. The Gamecock was to be the RAF's last wooden construction fighter with future endeavours constructed with metal framework. Like the Grebe, the Gamecock was a delight to fly and decked out in the colorful squadron colors of the day, performed lively aerobatic maneuvers for air show crowds. It was also a mildly successful aircraft in terms of foreign sales with Finland purchasing a construction license. Some Finnish Gamecocks lasted into the 1940s and for those who have read Carmel J. Attard's recent DB-3M/IL-4 build article, this plane was credited to a Finnish Gamecock.

In addition to the the major types, there are sections on variations on the theme that include the Gorcock, Goldfinch, Guan and Gambit. This also includes the Japanese A1N naval fighter.

As with all books in this series, in addition to a strong history section, there are sections that show the inside story of the aircraft. As there are no extant period airframes, this is done using illustrations from the technical manuals of the time. These are quite complete and show every aspect of these two aircraft. There is also full color coverage of the reproduction Gamecock recently completed in March of this year.

You would expect full airframe and other technical data and a production summary is included. You'll also find biographies of the designer, Henry Folland as well as information on all of Gloster's test pilots of the time. 1/48 scale drawings are also part of the package as well as several pages of superbly drawn color profiles of the aircraft described in the text.

Like other MMP books, this one is all any modeler or aircraft enthusiast needs on the type. Another outstanding edition and one I give my highest recommendation.

April 2011

Review book courtesy of MMP Books, where you can order your copy of this and many other superb aviation and modeling books. The book is also available through Casemate Publishing in the US and Platypus Publications in Australia.

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