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Midland Publishing |
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European Airlines |
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by John K. Morton |
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Reviewed By Walt Fink, #2447 |
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MSRP: $27.95 USD From an airline modeler's standpoint, it seems the last few years have seen available supplies and new releases of aftermarket decals for U.S. airlines waning while those for overseas airlines have been on the increase. I don't know if this is because that's a more fertile market for the manufacturers or just a sign of the times that the airline industry as we know it is undergoing changes ranging from startups and mergers to death throes, and the modeling market's following along accordingly. In this book, aviation author John Morton has put together a collection of photos and information on airlines and their equipment presently operating in Europe; I found his work to be super interesting and informative from both an airline modeler's standpoint as well as a historian's perspective. Morton presents his information in a slightly unusual manner, he lists the airlines' home countries geographically rather than alphabetically, beginning with the westernmost (Ireland) and progressing easterly. There's no table of contents and at first I thought this feature might be a hindrance to the reader needing a quick reference. After reviewing the book, though, I found this isn't really the case. The book isn't thick enough to make specific and quick reference a chore; a quick riffling of pages is all that was needed to find what I was looking for. Just a general knowledge of European geography gives the reader a good idea of where each country is in the book anyway. Morton's photography is top-notch. The book contains 190 beautiful, sharp color photographs of subjects spanning 144 airlines; as a bonus, the majority of the photos on the covers and the flyleaf aren't repeated inside the book's pages. Another strong point of the author's work is his writing style which begins each country's write-up with a short descriptive narrative of the demographics there as well as important changes in the airline industry within. All the major flag carriers as well as other scheduled and charter companies are given good coverage. I particularly appreciated the caption under each and every photograph giving the location where the shot was taken... departing Geneva, arriving at Manchester, taxiing at Lanzarote, on the runway at Rhodes, etc., and the month and year it was recorded; all the information's there. Each caption also describes the pictured airline in terms of equipment operated, routes, a brief company history, and---where applicable---information on political considerations such as lines stemming from the independence of former Soviet bloc countries, or so-called "low cost" airlines-within-airlines. Specific information on several aircraft including seating configurations and such are also provided. Nice job. This isn't a work showing all the special color schemes or commemorative paint jobs which many of the European airlines have presented, though several are in fact included. It also isn't a book for the modeler who wants to use it as reference to super detail an airliner model, though most of the aircraft pictured do in fact have the gear extended and such. It IS, however, a super book for those wanting to duplicate international liveries and who're interested in the history of the airlines and their countries of origin. Available from Specialty Press, European Airlines is priced at $27.95 and may be ordered on the web at www.specialtypress.com or by calling 1-800-895-4585. Shipping and handling charge of $4.95 will be added to each order. This is a terrific book, very thorough and a great source of inspiration for airliner modeling. Morton's managed to pack a lot of information into his work which at first glance has the slick look of a picture book, but on closer examination goes much further. Thanks to IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review this fine work. It is highly recommended. |
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