Author: Glenn Ashley
Publisher: AIRfile Publications
Illustrated: Jon Freeman
Price: £19.99 GBP plus p&p direct from the publisher
Review by Geoff Coughlin (Sep 2013)
Our thanks to Neil and the team at AIRfile Publications for supplying our review sample. Get this great title and others here now at AIRfile Publications
Introduction
Quality reference books are always interesting, especially when they seem to cover something a little different or an area that hasn’t been done to death before. This new title is right up every modeller’s street – plenty of good quality all-colour profiles and diagrams, plus informative text and photographs.
Quick summary
Hawker Siddeley / British Aerospace First Generation Harrier – In Worldwide Service Volume 1: 1960-2000 offers over 70 pages of profiles and 4-views of the great variety of schemes applied to not only RAF aircraft but those from overseas operators of the type.
The release of this title coincides very well with the recent release by Airfix of their all new-tool early Harrier GR.1 in 1:72 – the perfect accompaniment to this book and vice versa!
The Harrier has certainly been a success story with the type operating with several overseas air arms from Italy to India and the Royal Thai Navy, making for a unique and fascinating reference source for modellers and aviation enthusiasts alike.
P&P | UK £2.40 | Europe £5.75 | Rest of World £9.95
What I like
This is written and presented exactly like we modellers appreciate; many familiar schemes and a few less so fill the pages with profiles in plan and side views – excellent. Some of the schemes are superb like the one applied to the T.2A ‘Red 6’ XW934 of No.1 Squadron RAF in pink after a stop-over at an Armee de l’Air base in France is extraordinary and will have you reaching for your search engine to try to locate appropriate decals for your model project.
Essentially what you have are lots and lots of profiles with captions explaining what you need to know. So, for around £20.00 GBP that’s what you get and for the price represents good value for money.
Other comments and summary
One thing I would have liked is a contents page at the front that lists all the aircraft featured and the page where they can be found. Equally, there’s no index at the back of the title and while these small points slightly niggle, they don’t detract sufficiently to stop me buying a copy. Far from it, this is a good book, covering an important aspect of an extraordinary military type that will appeal to many aircraft modellers and enthusiasts. I have found myself constantly picking it up for inspiration and I suspect that you will too!
With the Airfix Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.1 newly tooled and available you have a great combination!
Recommended
Geoff C.