I'm sure that most of you by now are aware of the outstanding Finnish AF history books in the Suomen Ilmavoimien Historia series. Without a doubt, the Finnish Air Force is one of the best researched subjects, much of it thanks to the authors and publishers of this series.

Their latest release looks very much like the previous books: B5 (250x174 mm) format with laminated soft covers, 96 pages printed on glossy art paper with lots of photos (including a number of period color images) and superb profile drawings.

The book covers the complete history of Finnish warpaint or camouflage from the early days until the end of WW II. It includes serial and tactical number painting and style as well. The tactical number section includes several pages of placement information.

It opens with a history of the various camo schemes, insignia changes, tactical markings. Then come  sections covering fighters, bombers, recce and transport aircraft, seaplanes, and trainers, each type has at least one photograph or profile to show the schemes worn.

There are several charts included in the book, the most useful to modelers being one that equates the various colors to Humbrol, Xtracolor and Gunze paints.

What I found most beneficial is that this is the first time I can recall any of these books being done in a manner that provides both Finnish and English on the same page. In the past, this only applied to photo captions with the English summary being in the very back of the book. This change makes the book very much more readable and is a major improvement. I can only hope that this is a sign of things to come and that others in the series or those being redone will follow this same trend.

This is a book that any WWII modeler needs to have on their shelves. It is an outstanding reference and one that I can most highly recommend.

Review book courtesy of  Kari Stenman Publishing, where you can order your copy of this and several other superb books on the Finnish AF.

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