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The Aviation Workshop Publications |
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On Target Profiles |
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Reviewed By Paul Bradley, #35554 |
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GBP 10.99/12.99 The Aviation Workshop is a relatively new company founded by well-known modeling luminaries Gary Madgwick and former Scale Aircraft Modelling editor Neil Robinson as part of the Model Alliance group. As well as publishing these books, Model Alliance also produces a series of decals and resin conversion sets that often complement each other, giving the modeler a one-stop source of aftermarket products. I received three new books in their On Target series; Profile 3: BAe Hawk in Worldwide service; Profile 4: Spitfire I to VI in the European Theatre of Operations; and On Target Special 1: ‘Operation Telic’ RAF Jets in Operation Iraqi Freedom. All the artwork in these three books is by Jon Freeman, so needless to say that they are top-notch and as accurate as you will find anywhere. For those who haven’t seen the first two in the Profile series, I would refer you to the Aircraft In Profile feature of Scale Aircraft Modelling magazine, as the format is very similar – probably not a coincidence, given the credentials of one of the publishers! The books are soft cover, 11 ½ by 8 ½ books printed on high-quality paper with card covers. Each Profile is 32 pages plus the interior covers and is packed with full-color profiles of the type in question. In the case of the Hawk book, there are 13 pages each with 4 single side views, plus 21 pages of one aircraft shown in 4 views – very useful indeed for getting the camo patterns correct on all sides! Each profile is accompanied by a very detailed caption, explaining the basics of that particular scheme, plus any applicable nuances, using actual paint names. Small detail paintings are included for squadron badges or other interesting markings. |
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No attempt is made to give any history of the types, nor are there any
photos; this is purely a modelers’ reference to compliment your other
reference materials. As the publishers explain, this is not designed
as the ‘last word’ on the subject, but to act as sources of inspiration,
and that they certainly do! For those with the new Airfix Hawks,
there are a plethora of interesting schemes to drool over, and what’s
more, there are a number of complimentary decal sheets in the works that
feature many of the aircraft in the book – I for one am very taken by the
Dragon Hawks and Model Alliance has just announced a sheet that will
feature these two spectacular aircraft! These are in both 1/72 and
1/48 scales. The Spitfire book is basically the same and also features a color chip chart at the back of the book – these shades will be limited by the printing process, but will give a good idea of what each color is supposed to be! Once again, there are complimentary decal sheets available from Model Alliance in both 1/72 and 1/48. The third book on review is the first On Target Special, and this is bang up-to-date as it covers the RAF contribution to Operation Iraqi Freedom, codenamed Operation Telic. Written by Andy Evans and Jon Freeman, the format is somewhat different to the regular Profiles, as it includes an historical text and masses of photos as well. The book is divided into a number of chapters, each featuring a different aircraft type. Therefore, there are sections on Tornado GR.4/GR.4As, Tornado F.3s, Harrier GR.7s, and Jaguar GR.3s, as well as a handful of Canberras and Nimrods. A color chart is also included which gives names, descriptions and an FS595b equivalent, so we can get exactly the right shade! Given the relatively small numbers of RAF aircraft involved, the Brits certainly went overboard on their nose art, as it seems every aircraft had some sort of decoration; some had two or three different names or pictures! All of this is well covered both photographically and in profile, leaving no margin for mistakes. The historical text is a goldmine of information; did you know that the RAF used a new weapon to minimize collateral damage – a laser-guided 1000lb concrete bomb! Full details of this are contained in the book, making it easy to model some for your next Tornado! As with the regular Profiles, details are included of the complimentary decals, and there are two sheets available covering a mass of different aircraft in both 1/72 and 1/48. All Model Alliance products, including these and other books are available at their website: http://www.theaviationworkshop.co.uk/index.html, or from Linden Hill and Victory Models in the US. I can thoroughly recommend these books as a great source of information on alternate color schemes for your models. With so many aircraft covered and in full color, these books represent great value for money. As the publishers point out, these aren’t one-stop references, but they do provide a very useful compliment to other references and are a wonderful source of inspiration. The only downside is that I will now have to finance a bunch of Airfix Hawks, Tamiya Spitfires and Airfix Tornados to put all these great color schemes on to! My sincere thanks to The Aviation Workshop for supplying the review samples. |
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