Apparently book #1 of this series did well enough so that they can release their second title. I'm quite pleased to see that Valiant Wings Publishing has chosen an aircraft that has not really had a ton of press, especially when compared to their first effort on the Me-262. As with their first release, the purpose of this series is not only to provide information on the aircraft, but also on available kits and books.

The book starts out by providing information on the history of the type, starting with the initial prototype. What makes this book special is that there are drawings and photos of these planes, with each successive improvement noted in the drawings. Each plane in this early series has a bit of a history involved with it that gives some pertinent information on the aircraft in question. As the type gets more into production, this information isn't provided, of course. However, we are given information on all the known prototypes. This not only covers the variations on the Typhoon, but also touches on the Tornado as they both used the same basic airframe.

In the airframe section, we are provided with a goodly section on camouflage and markings. Here you'll find several pages of very well drawn profiles by Richard Caruana. All the major production aircraft are covered in this section as well.

The book then goes into the miniatures section. This is the modeler's section with the author's choice for the best kits in each scale and a build-up of those kits. Next is a section that has drawings of all the prototypes and the differences between the different batches. Something a dedicated modeler will find to be of considerable value.

The very last section is an 'in detail' section. Thankfully there is a single preserved example of the Typhoon and so there are many photos of this plus bits of other planes and images from the period tech manuals and some period photos. These are used to cover all the different bits and systems of the Typhoon. 

This is followed by appendicies listing and showing photos of many of the various modeling accessories dedicated to the Typhoon. A kit listing with all variations is next followed by a list of books associated to the aircraft. This is followed by a huge fold out that offers plans of many of the different variants in 1/48 scale. I know that many are plans fans and you'll find these to be especially useful as it provides cross section data as well.

All in all, and like its predecessor,  it makes for a superb book that should appeal to both the enthusiast as well as the modeler. It is a book that I found quite a good read. It is a great effort and well worth the cover price. A book I can highly recommend to you as a reference.

July 2011

For more on Valiant Wings, including getting this book, visit www.valiant-wings.co.uk. Thank you for the review copy.

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