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Polygon Press |
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Tupolev Tu-95/142 Russian Aircraft in Action |
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by Yefim Gordon |
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Reviewed By Clarence Wentzel, #11478 |
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MSRP: $17.95 USD This hardcover 80 page book contains around 200 color and black & white photos covering virtually all of the different variants of the Tupolev Tu-95/Tu-142 series of aircraft, known by the NATO codename of “Bear”. Beyond the photos, three pages of narration provide an overview of the numerous versions of the Bear and a three-view drawing shows the Bear D. Finally, color profiles are included of the Bear A and the Bear J. I have always been impressed with the Bear series of aircraft. Their eight giant counter-rotating propellers, mounted on swept wings, make for a really distinctive shape in the air. I can remember when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev landed in the US in the long range VIP version of the Bear. Impressive! I’ll confess that the prime reason that I wanted to review this book was because I had the Trumpeter kit of the Bear J. I like to see some photos of the aircraft that I am building before I start construction. It makes me more comfortable with the directions, painting instructions, decals etc. I had some references on the Tupolev Tu-95/142 but most of them were written before the opening of the Soviet Union and included a lot of questions. To my delight, this book contained several photos of the Bear J, a number of them of the exact markings contained in the kit. I will now feel much more comfortable when I start the model. Modelers will want to look at this book before they buy. It is somewhat expensive and is primarily photo book. The narration and three-view drawing can be considered incidental. The photos, however, are great. The author has collected a lot of old Bear photos, many taken from NATO aircraft, and has added lot of new ones. He apparently has access to numerous airfields where Bears are stored, or continue to operate. The photos do a great job of illustrating the major versions of the Bear. My only disappointment was that no cockpit photos and few general walk-around details were included. I can recommend this book for fans of Soviet aircraft. The photos answer lots of questions about these Tupolev bombers. I can foresee lots of detailed examples of the Trumpeter kits being built based on information contained in this book. I want to give a big thanks to Specialty Press for providing the sample for review. Further information on this book and their other great Soviet aircraft monographs can be found on their web site – www.specialtypress.com. |
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