As you may guess from the title, this one is more about
the aircraft itself than its development history. However, that has not been
forgotten as the book starts with a background on the aircraft. It then
immediately goes into a look at the various parts of the aircraft. We are
fortunate that the lone extant complete airframe is undergoing restoration at
the Smithsonian, which allows us a lot of nice photos of the parts of the plane
while under restoration with quite a bit of it completed. There are also a number of period
photos as well as sections from tech manuals to help us see what is what in this
aircraft.
This then goes into a section that covers the aircraft's
development. This includes sections on all the different variants, delineating
the differences between the versions. Part of this section are drawings of the
versions so you can see what, if anything has changed from type to type. It
includes projected development for aircraft not built by war's end.
Then there is a section on those that survived the war,
though most were eventually scrapped. Several pages on camouflage and markings
are presented to us and this features several pages of full color profiles of
various aircraft. As is typical of Valiant Wings books, this one also includes a
section on kits, accessories and decals. Part of the increase from 64 to 146
pages is the inclusion of full build articles on the Dragon 1/72 kit, and the
Tamiya 1/48 offering. There is no 1/32 full build, but a note as to where in the
Valiant Wings catalogue one can find one using the Z-M kit.
In all, a most valuable reference book on the type. One
that both enthusiasts and modelers alike will find useful. It is a
great effort and well worth the cover price. A book I can most highly recommend to you as a reference.
July 2021
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For more on Valiant Wings, including getting this book, visit
www.valiant-wings.co.uk. Thank you
for the review copy.
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