Traplet Publications

Model Aviation World December 2009

Reviewed By  Michael Scott, IPMS# 43177

MSRP: US $9.99 Website: www.modelaviationworld.com This is the first edition of a new magazine devoted to plastic scale modeling. It is edited by Spencer Pollard and Alan Firbank and published in England by Traplet Publications. The volume is a larger format publication of eighty-two pages, meaning, it is larger and heavier than Finescale Modeler, for example. This premier issue covers various features which I believe will be found regularly in the magazine, such as a "Round Up" of modeling news and information, the "Kit Box" which looks at newly released kits, the "Toolbox" and "Transfer List" (decals to the US and dekkels to Oz) information. There is a "Book Review" and a section called the "Operations Room" which is to be the editors' pages in which will appear, "..the fascinating world of aircraft in all forms..." This will include, among other subjects, blimps, civilian aircraft, helicopters and news about them, along with news of club doings, shows, collections, and so forth. To the meat of the thing, the remainder, excepting the adverts which are dominated by Airfix but take up much less content than similar publications, is composed of ten feature articles on models and modeling, most of them in depth, accompanied with lots of color pictures. Featured are articles on the D0 17 "flying pencil", 1/72 Storch, a Belgian club show report, Tamiya MiG-15, F-94C (what?, you say...) interceptor, the Wingnuts Wings Brisfit construction piece, Airfix Buccaner and an article on weathering. The overall balance of photos and graphics with text is good. This is definitely not a magazine that sacrifices depth of description for graphics. My only nit would be that the quality of photos is slightly uneven. Some are bright, crisp and clear, some others are not so much so but still very acceptable. In summary I would call this a magazine that provides in-depth material on those subjects it covers, has a wide range of articles and devotes equal opportunity to kits and items out of the mainstream, which is all good. I have spent much more time with this magazine, and had my horizons broadened than has been my experience with other aircraft and model aircraft publications. I recommend this one to you.