Albatros Publications Ltd.

Windsock Worldwide Vol 23 #2, March/April 2007

Reviewed By  John Ratzenberger, IPMS# 40196

MSRP: GBP 6.70 (approx $14 USD) These magazines are obtainable directly from Albatros Publications, individually or by subscription. Please visit their website at www.windsockdatafilespecials.co.uk or email them at mail@windsockdatafilespecials.co.uk . Please note this is a new internet address, although prior ones still appear to work at this time. There are several subscription options, some in combination with Datafile releases, that are best explored there. The magazine, previously called Windsock International, is A-4 format, 32 pages, plus covers, plus 4-page insert, all crammed with information. No blank space here, barely any margins. That is good for content, a bit busy for reading. Writing style is short and to the point, with photos and captions being the main content. Given the lack of period color photos, they do a great job of getting as much color into this as they can -- although the quality of most B/W photos is exceptional. When John put this issue on the available list, I jumped because of the cover article on Roden's 1/32 SE5A, which is on my bench now, sort of. As I am "enhancing" that kit, I figured the Windsock would help and it certainly does. While I had identified some of the issues, I found some new ones, and got a couple better ideas of how to correct things than I had come up with. Other articles include really nifty photos of an exhibition at New Zealand's Aviation Center at Omaka, the Lohner Type M L16, a great set of period photos from the AGO Flugzeugwerke, a 1/3 scale flying model of a Morane Type L powered by a scale 80-hp LeRhone rotary engine !!!, and a dozen-or-so reviews of books, kits, and other items. The review style is very "personal" and somewhat "in-depth", not just canned manufacturer PR stuff. Windsock International (whoops, Worldwide) is one of several WW1 aviation magazines. Taken with their Datafiles, this probably pushes Albatros Publications to the forefront of WW1 aviation. I'm "into" WW1, but my focus is on one hand narrowly British but on the other broadly land, air, and sea -- thus specific Datafiles are fine for my purposes. The Windsock magazine is a bit pricey for my interest level. However if you are like many of my friends who arise in the morning, put on their white scarf, go stand in front of a fan and throw a cup of castor oil into it, before leaving for work ... then you'll want to take a hard look at this magazine. It is very hard to imagine any other source with so many connections into public and private collections and so much dedication to keep on digging and presenting new information on a regular basis. My sincere thanks to Albatros Publications for the review copy.

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