Andrea Press

The Red Baron: A Complete Review in History and Miniature

by  Cesar Alvarez, Julio Cabos, Baldomero Saez, Lee Preston, Charles P. Davis, Javier Huerta

Reviewed By  Bart Cusumano, IPMS# 31882

MSRP: $24.95 U.S. ISBN: 8-4965-2733-6 72 pages - 11-5/8 X 8-1/8 - soft cover perfect-bound format; full color (except for most period photos). Andrea Press C/ Los Talleres, 21 - Pol. ind. de Alpedrete 28430 - Alpedrete Madrid SPAIN Website: www.andrea-miniatures.com. As part of its continuing series of modeling manuals, Andrea Press brings us The Red Baron: A Complete Review in History and Miniature. These books are a wonderful combination of historical portrait and modeling guide. In this case, we have a recounting of the life of Baron Manfred von Richthofen combined with a how-to guide in the construction and painting of two Andrea kits: the 1:32 scale kit of Richthofen's Fokker Dr.1 and the 1:32 scale figure of the Red Baron with his ever-faithful dog Moritz. The book is broken down in chapters as follows: The Man: In this chapter we look at Richthofen from childhood through his formative years which lead him to his military career, starting in the cavalry and culminating in his joining the Air Service to his ultimate fame as one of Germany's top fighter aces of WW1. There are many nice period photos of Richthofen and his contemporaries, but few of his machines. The Ace: This chapter rehashes some of the previous chapter, but takes a more in-depth look at Richthofen's career in the air. Included are another serving of period photos as well as a neat chart that lists each of Richthofen's air victories, including data such as the type of aircraft he flew, dates, times and data on the aircraft he downed. The Airplane: Here we have a nice piece of reference material for building a Dr.1 kit (Andrea or whoever) with some nice drawings and photos of the Dr.1. Of particular use to me were the photos of internal cockpit components, cutaway drawings and actual photos of Dr.1's. There is also information on all the other aircraft Richthofen flew during his relatively short career as a fighter pilot. Andrea also includes four pages of Dr.1 "blueprints" providing interesting internal structure and alignment information. There is also some narrative on the actual construction components of the Dr.1 discussing things like how the propeller was made and the aircraft's cloth covering. The Kit: This chapter should more appropriately be called The Kits. Up first is the construction and painting of Andrea's 1:32 scale multimedia kit of the Dr.1, covering everything from basic construction to painting to decaling. Next is a guide on painting Andrea's 1:32 scale figure kit of Richthofen (which includes his dog Moritz) using Andrea's line of acrylic paints. The Last Flight: Appropriately titled, this chapter delves into Richthofen's final flight on April 21, 1918. In keeping with the controversy as to who downed the Red Baron, Andrea provides all the facts as currently known regarding Captain Roy Brown, Richthofen and the 53rd Australian Field Battery and leaves it up to the reader to decide what ultimately transpired. Trivia: In this chapter we have a compilation of various Richthofen-related items like model kits, movies, websites, etc. I have to say that collectively I like this book. I am quite familiar with Richthofen's story and what I read in this book seemed well researched and accurate to what I know. There are lots of nice, crisp period photos and some wonderfully rendered color paintings, photos and charts. There are also some very nice reference photos of the Dr.1. The modeling sections are clear and to the point and provide a nice companion piece to the Andrea kits. I for one would not build or paint either of the kits without this book on hand. There are a few miscues (e.g., photo captions on page 5 which were not translated into English and remain in Spanish), but I feel that this does not detract from the overall value and appeal of the book. Even if you don't build WW1 aircraft, this is an interesting read. I have to give it a thumbs-up. Many thanks to Andrea Press for providing the sample and to IPMS/USA for allowing me the pleasure of doing this review.

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