Kecay Publishing

Captured Butcherbirds Vol. 1

by  Jacek Jackiewicz & Robert Bock

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

MSRP: $49.90 ISBN: 978-83-924914-2-2 Website: www.kecay.com On the heels of their book, Captured 109s, Kecay Publishing has released a similar volume on the FW-190. Having reviewed the other book, I was very enthusiastic to receive this latest edition. So, how does it stack up next to the 109 book? "Outstanding" is all I can say. A soft-bound book consisting of 120 pages printed on high-quality paper filled with in-depth coverage of these Luftwaffe machines in the hands of the Allies. First off, let me say that literally every page of this book is fascinating and not a page is wasted -- even the inside covers have information on them. Almost every page has either color drawings or color photos on them. Superior stuff, too. Every version of the Focke Wulf is covered from the A-4 to the D-13. The ground attack and trainer versions are also well represented. Not to be forgotten are the Mistel Focke Wulfs and the Ta-152s. The book is broken down into official and unofficial captured aircraft. Official being the ones sent for evaluation and unofficial being used by Allied units for fun and training. The unofficial ones are, by far, the most colorful -- ranging in everything from all white to red, blue, yellow, lizard speckles, bare metal and everything in between. If you have been wondering what to do with your 190 and didn’t want to go with the same Luftwaffe grays or late-war greens, these have color and lots of it.

Yes this is a photo book and a whole lot more. The photos, mostly black-and-white, are of exceptional quality. It sounds so cliché but many of the pictures are previously unpublished. There are plenty of color photos as well. They are some of the best renditions I have seen and are color balanced and look phenomenal. All the photos are right-sized for the modeler to glean the information from them. I was flabbergasted at some of the photos and drawings. I especially loved the night intruder 190s with their black bellies and sides. As nice as the photos are, the really nice touch is the evolutionary colored line drawings. You can follow the aircraft from capture until destruction. Some of these aircraft go through a significant change throughout their captured life. As an example, you can follow the first FW-190A-3 of Oblt. Faber as it transitioned through the flight test program. The drawings are first rate and will be inspirational to the modeler. I know they were for me. Besides flyable examples, many non-flyable aircraft are included also. The text is easy to read and really informative. Obviously some aircraft, such as Faber’s are covered more than others, but this in no way diminishes the book. There is a nice section on Watson’s Whizzers and their search for prop and jet airplanes. I really hope that decal manufacturers get hold of this book and go to town as there is so much information here that they could have a great time with it. The D-9s alone could fill at least three sheets. How many times have you looked at a photo and failed to notice something? Well I did this with the Ta-152 "Green 4". The book shows the evolution and pointed out some interesting things that I just plain missed, such as the Stammkennzeichen number. For those of you who bought the new Pacific Coast Ta-152 you will find this book amazing. The US Navy couldn’t be left out and they certainly had some very colorful 190s. Truly you could just build them to add color to any collection. Like I said, the unofficial portion of the book is quite colorful. There are quite a few aircraft that I had not seen before such as the lemon yellow "Cobras Prize". How about Fw-190s with US fighter group markings such as K4 or G9 of the 404th FG? You could have a lot of fun with these markings as the Stars and Bars were simply added over the German markings and the unit codes outlined in red. So what you got was an airplane with German colors and markings AND with the US markings in the traditional place -- very unique. Since I just finished the Tamiya FW-190F-9 for the IPMS Journal as the T/O aircraft there are two brand new photos of this machine, before and after the application of the US markings -- very interesting.

There are more FW-190S trainers in this book than I have found anywhere in print. All are fairly simple in the painting but interesting is the differences in the rear canopy and the markings applied to them, including unit markings for JG110. Lots of JG301 and JG6 aircraft are included as well. Not to be forgotten the JV-44 aircraft are well represented as four of the five aircraft are shown including the D-11. I am having a hard time describing the quality of this book. It is GREAT! I loved everything about it. The best thing about it is that it is just Volume 1 so there will be even more coming. I can’t wait. The second volume promises Japanese hinomarus, Soviet stars, French, Turkish, Hungarian and Rumanian markings. Some will question the price of this book but, when you consider it is an all-color book with great photos, drawings, profiles and a history of these machines, I have to say it is definitely worth the money. Besides, the cost includes the shipping and handling so $49.90 is all that you pay. This is a welcome addition to my library and should be to yours as well. I thought it was worth every penny. Thanks to Kecay for the review copy. Order directly from their website and please let them know that IPMS/USA sent you. Highly recommended