I ordered this book over two years ago from Monogram & have been patiently waiting for it ever since (Along with your editor and several thousand others!) . The question is, was it worth the wait?

The answer has to be a definite YES!

The book opens with an introduction to the work of the Allied technical Air Units, along with acknowledgements for all the sources of information. Then there is a page dedicated to the basics of interior painting of Japanese aircraft, along with an illustration of the colours used. These are subject to the limitations of the colour printing process & are not actual paint chips, but this is made plain in the text.

There then follow seven chapters covering first the Army & then the Navy aircraft, finished with a chapter dedicated to instruments alone. Not every aircraft is covered, as the contents have had to be limited to those for which suitable photographs exist, but all the main types are covered along with several rarities.

Each section is profusely illustrated with colour photographs wherever possible. These cover both the interiors as well as individual instruments & sub assemblies such as rudder pedals & seats etc. Also, there are diagrams of instrument panels, cockpit layouts, armament systems & sundry other items. In most cases the colour photographs are of either restored or at least preserved aircraft, but this is clearly noted in the text. Colour references are strangely mostly the Munsell notation or occasionally Pantone references. Fine if you have these. If not, there are a few FS595 references as well.

This book should be required reading for any modeller of Japanese aircraft. Even if you are only vaguely interested in the subject, or just wish to learn more about WWII aircraft in general, this book must be highly recommended.

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