Scale aviation modeller international

Convair Class

VF Convoy

Fighter

The Original Proposal for the

X F Y-1 P o go

AUTHOR: Jared A. Zichek

YEAR: 2017

PUBLISHER: Retromechanix Productions

ISBN: 978-0-9968754-3-1

FOR M AT: 37 pp Paperback

T

he US Nav y’s Convoy

Fighter competition of

1950 aimed to procure

an aircraft which could take

off vertically from a ship to

provide rapid point defence for

a convoy, task force, or similar

group of naval vessels; then,

on completion of the mission,

land back vertically. A number

of firms submitted proposals,

and the most successful was

Convair’s offering, the XFY-

1 Pogo. Three prototypes

were built, but ultimately

the project was cancelled.

This slim volume tells the

story of this strange aircraft,

from specification, through

design and development, to

cancellation. It then outlines a

similar proposal which Convair

submitted to the Army for a

VTO battlefield observation

aircraft, and finally describes the

“Gamby Vertigo Plane” of 1933, an

unsolicited submission to the War

Department, which first mooted

the concept of a VTO “tailsitter”.

For a small book there is

a wealth of detail, and the

reader gains an insight into

the mechanics of the US Navy

procurement process as well. It

also shows the ambitious nature of

aircraft development at the time,

the author arguing that the project

was doomed to failure because the

ambition was too far ahead of the

practical technology available.

There are very few

photographs, most of the book’s

illustrations being a mix of

technical drawings and profiles.

This is a very specialised

book, but if you are interested in

aviation development, particularly

experimental prototypes, it

merits a place in your collection.

Thanks to the author for

supplying this copy for review.

MJC

Cross and Cockade International Calendar for 2019

Cross and Cockade International

http://www.crossandcockade.com

I

t is already that time of year to

start thinking about a calendar

for 2019 and in my view, there

is no better calendar to grace

your model room wall than that

produced by Cross and Cockade

International (CCI). (Full disclosure:

I must confess to being a member

of Crossand cockade and a builder

of First World War aircraft). 2019

will be the 19th year of production

for this calendar, which every year

showcases the work of some of

the world’s best aviation artists.

The 2019 calendar features

work by Mark Postlethwaite, Brian

Knight, Russell Smith, and Barry

Barnes, amongst others. The latter’s

water colour painting depicts

a BE2 flying over Stonehenge,

thus portraying two of my main

interests, aircraft

and archaeology!

All 12 of the

paintings are

superb examples

of the aviation art

and I am looking

forward to next year

and getting to turn

a new page every

month, but not until

I have finished the

last four months of

the 2018 calendar!

As always,

profits from the

sale of the 2019

Cross and Cockade

International

Calendar go to assist

in the upkeep of the British Air

Services memorial at the St-Omer

airfield in northern France. For

further details on this and the other

excellent CCI projects and

publications please visit w w w.

crossandcockade.com

My thanks to CCI for providing

an electronic version for review.

I will be buying my hard copy at

Scale Model World in November.

TMU-S

Boeing 737

AUTHOR: Luca Granella

YEAR: 2017

PUBLISHER: IBN Istituto

Bibliografico Napoleone

ISBN: 9788875652944

FOR M AT: 120 pp Softback

O

ne of the most

common airliners

today, particularly

on domestic and short-

to-medium routes, is the

Boeing 737, has gone from

strength to strength since

the series -100 first entered

service with Lufthansa in 1968.

This dual-language book, in

Italian and English, is devoted

to this successful aircraft.

The first part of the book, and

by far the larger part, covers the

aircraft itself. The narrative first

describes the 737’s development

and service, and includes

various tables giving lists of

principal operators, as well as

vital statistics for each variant.

The majority of this part

consists of colour photographs

of various 737s. These are

divided into sections by

operator or theme, e.g. Italian

B737s, or Ryanair colours. As

you would expect, given the

size of the book only a very

small proportion of users

and colour schemes can be

shown, but those that are

included are well-picked

and colourful, and should

provide plenty of inspiration

for the airliner modeller.

Said airliner modeller should

then turn to the second part of

the book, where they will find

a modelling section. This lists,

among other things, kits on the

market in the last twenty years,

and describes two builds of a

Hasegawa 1/200 scale B737-800:

one using the kit decals and one

with aftermarket markings.

Again, there are plenty of

photographs of the work in

progress and of the completed

models. Finally, there is a walk-

around section of detail photos.

If your modelling interests

tend towards airliners, this

book is bound to appeal.

Thanks to the publisher

for the review copy.

MJC

76 • OCTOBER 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

BOOKS & MEDIA

076-79-Books-1018.indd 76 14/09/2018 15:22