Specialty Press

Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings 1933-1945 Photo Archive 1

by  K.A. Merrick, Eddie J. Creek, and Brett Green

Reviewed By  Floyd S. Werner, Jr., IPMS# 26266

MSRP: $44.95 ISBN: 1-85780-275-7 Review copy courtesy of Specialty Press (www.specialtypress.com) Luftwaffe aircraft colors, nothing else will get a heated conversation going. Luckily for us there are experts in the field and even luckier is that they are not afraid to share their research with us. That doesn't make it much easier but it does allow us to read their findings and make our own decisions. This latest hardbound book from Specialty Press builds on the ground breaking work of Ken Merrick's two-volume "Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings 1933-1945". These photographs represent aircraft or coloration that were not available at the time of the original work. There are many previously unpublished photos, many in color, that will inspire the model builder. On the 144 pages are over 300 large photos, many of them in color, that are quite nice and well exposed. The only text is below each picture which explains the interpretation of the particular aircraft's color scheme. Whether you agree with them is up to you. Lufwaffe color interpretation from black and white photos is difficult at best. Whether you agree or not, you cannot argue with the quality of the book and the photos. Some unique paint schemes are presented and they should start some heated debates. The chapters are broken down similar to the original books by use of the airplane, day fighters, night fighters, bombers, ground attack, maritime, recon, civil and training. This allows the book to address the progression of the camouflage schemes throughout the war for each specific aircraft mission. The final chapter deals with interiors which contains some very useful photos and drawings. If I was going to find anything wrong with this book, it is that I would have liked to see color profiles. That really is a preference of mine and not a ding on the book which is superbly executed. This book makes a good companion volume to Merrick's "Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings 1933-1945" books. Having a modeler as an author proves very useful to what modelers are looking for. Thank you, Brett Green. It appears that this is just the start of a series of books to complement Merrick's books. I hope that the series is not too long in coming. I enjoyed the book, but I didn't agree with some of the color interpretations. Didn't I tell you that Luftwaffe colors were fun? Highly recommended.

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