The P-38 was the only American fighter aircraft in production throughout American involvement in the war, from Pearl Harbor to VJ Day. With its unusual twin-boom design, this was one of the most distinctive fighters of WW2, and saw action in all theatres of the war, being especially effective in the Pacific area. This book describes the development of the later versions of this iconic warplane, with full technical details and many detail photos.
Profusely illustrated with photos, including a comprehensive walk-around section showing all aspects of the airframe, and diagrams from official manuals. Includes 1/72nd and 1/48th scale plans, and colour profiles showing many of the colourful schemes applied to the P-38 by its users.
This is a really neat book. I have a lot of warbird books, and this is one of the best, especially if you're a big fan of the P-38. There are tons of Mustang and B17 books and not too many really good ones on this aircraft. There is a lot of technical information, as well as great photos and drawings. Recommended for aircraft buffs.
MMPBooks (Mushroom Models Publishing) has a proven track record of offering some of the best publications on the market and this latest addition to the collection is no exception. Written by Robert Peczkowski and illsustrated by Artur Juszczak, this book is another example of the excellent publications coming from MMPBooks There are 33 books in the "Yellow Series", featuring a wide range of aircraft from before WW II through the end of that conflict, and this book, featuring the Lockheed P-38J-L is a welcome addition becoming the 34th book in the series.
MMPBooks offers a "preview" of the book online. Point your browser to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0FCm6RlzkA and watch the preview, featuring images of some of the content. The preview runs just over 4 minutes and gives the viewer a comprehensive look at the contents of the book. While on the MMPBooks website, take the opportunity to download the Stratus Catalogue. It is 28 MB but is well worth the short download time.
The book is presented in A4 format, which means that it is 8.3 x 11.7 inches. This is an excellent size, not too big for most bookshelves, and large enough to allow the illustrations and images within to be reproduced in a size revealing much detail.
The book contains scale plans, both in 1/72nd and 1/48th, showing top/bottom/side views of the various versions of the P-38J-L. These scaled views are accompanied by full-color (or colour) profiles showing many of the famous and colorful paint schemes and personalized markings that modelers favor.
A thorough and comprehensive "walk-around" section covers the P-38J-L from all angles. The section of the book entitled, "Detailed Photos" reveals even the small, and often ignored small details of the main fuselage, tail booms, engines, canopy, cockpit, tail, wing, undercarriage, and armament. It is, for lack of a better phrase, a gold mine of detailed references for the modeler.
To add icing to the cake, MMPBooks includes a fantastic folded poster, illustrated by Dariusz Karnas. Karnas created a six-view illustration of a P-38L-5 in 1/48th scale. On the reverse side of the poster, also in 1/48th scale, Karnas presents a five-view illustration of a P-38M.
This publication is highly recommended for it excellent content, use as a research tool, use as a modeling guide, and coverage of a very unique aircraft.
I've always thought the P-38 was the best looking airplane the US ever developed. A friend flew them (he actually flew a J model which is the subject of this book. So after reading this book I loaned it to him.
He was based in Italy and in January of 1944 was on a mission over Vienna. A large caliber anti-aircraft shell went off under his plane. Both engines quit, the electrical system quit, control cables were cut so he had no control at all. He wasn't flying, he was just inside a bunch of scrap metal. So he opened the canopy and got out.
Page 3 of this book mentions "a high risk of injury to the pilot when he was forced to bail out, due to the tail arrangement." My friend hit the tail as it went by, compound fracture of his right leg and he thought his left leg was broken. He looked down, his right foot was pointed backwards and blood was coming out where the bone came through the skin.
Landing in a chute is difficult, about like jumping off the roof, and his legs must have smarted a little. He looked further down and the ground was getting closer. He doesn't remember what he was thinking, but it couldn't have been good thoughts. He might have even thought of a few select words not used in polite company.
He spent from then to the end of the war in a German POW Hospital.
As for a description of the book, it has dozens, perhaps hundreds of pictures, many never published before. I enjoyed reading it and so did my friend.
As always, every release from MMPBooks is one amazing research material for modellers. MMP Books are some of the best publications on the market, now the we have the opportunity to review an pretty book about the P-38 Lightning. The book comes in a hard cover and is Written by Robert Peczkowski and illsustrated by Artur Juszczak. There are 33 books in the "Yellow Series", featuring a wide range of aircraft from before WW II through the end of that conflict, and this book, featuring the Lockheed P-38J-L is a welcome addition becoming the 34th book in the series.
The book is presented in A4 format, is an excellent size, not too big for most bookshelves, and large enough to allow the illustrations and images within to be reproduced in a size revealing much detail.
A thorough and comprehensive "walk-around" section covers the P-38J-L from all angles. The section of the book entitled, "Detailed Photos" reveals even the small, and often ignored small details of the main fuselage, tail booms, engines, canopy, cockpit, tail, wing, undercarriage, and armament. It is, for lack of a better phrase, a gold mine of detailed references for the modeler. The book includes a fantastic folded poster, illustrated by Dariusz Karnas. Karnas created a six-view illustration of a P-38L-5 in 1/48thscale. On the reverse side of the poster, also in 1/48th scale, Karnas presents a five-view illustration of a P-38M.
This publication is highly recommended for modellers and aviation enthusiasts to use as a research tool and a modeling guide.
One of the most unique aircraft of the Second World War, easily identifiable from just about any angle, was the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Its twin booms gave it that distinctive look, while the twin engines with superchargers gave it unparalleled performance. Early P-38s had problems with those superchargers and their related intercoolers, and a redesign simplified and improved that, changing the look of the engine nacelles and creating the P-38J. This newest title from Mushroom Model Publications takes a detailed look at the P-38J and later variants.
The book covers each variant in detail, both in the written text and in scale drawings. The printed drawings are in 1/72, but there are 1/48 drawings in a separate insert. Complementing the text and scale drawings is the imagery, of which there is plenty. There are period photos as well as detail photos of museum and flying warbirds. The color profile illustrations highlight the varied color schemes and creative nose art often worn by P-38s.
While there have been many books written on the P-38, there is always room for more and this book provides a great single-point reference for late-mark P-38s. My thanks to Mushroom Model Publications for the review copy.
The twin-boom "fork-tailed devil" was certainly one of the most effective American WWII fighters and easily one of the best looking. Originally conceived as a high-performance twin-engine interceptor, the P-38 was the first 400-mph fighter in history—thanks to Lockheed's best designer, one Clarence "Kelly" Johnson whose name would become synonymous with fast and innovative aircraft such as the SR-71 Blackbird.
With some 10,000 copies the Lightning was the only American fighter to be produced throughout the entire war, and the J and L versions (there were also two K variants) represent the end of the series and therefore the most mature iterations.
First published in 2003 this excellent book is now released in an expanded and revised second edition, and in hardcover form at A4 size (8.3 x 11.7″). As one would expect from a publishing house that made its name producing specialized material for model makers, this book too excels in that department. Come to think of it, the firm whose very credo once was "not to take modelling too seriously" now pretty much rules that market and its many books are indispensable reference sources not only for modelers but also anyone with interests in technical/developmental aspects and markings/camouflage.
This book falls into MMP's "Yellow Series" which now contains 34 aircraft monographs and its author and illustrator have been an MMP editors since 1997. This one comes with a special goodie: a removable folded 1/48 scale b/w five-view tech drawing (by Dariusz Karnas) showing on one side a P-38L-5 and one the other a P-38M (the night fighter variant) along with a rear view of the L-5. These and the many, many other drawings (by Artur Juszczak) throughout the book in 1/72 and 1/48 scale will allow you to correct the often serious shortcomings in commercially available kits or, for that matter, build your own from scratch. The same purpose is served by the many detail photos (some of restored examples) in a stand-alone section that makes up more than a third of the book. There is also one cutaway from a 1945 issue of Flight magazine. Even compared to other new titles in the Yellow Series, for instance the Messerschmitt Bf 109F one, the Lightning book is uncommonly deep on the illustrative but light on the textual side.
MMP publications are by design highly specialized—and thankfully so—and the reader not yet familiar with a particular aircraft may not find them entirely suitable as general, high-level introductions in terms of operational and general type or aviation history. While there are plenty of the latter (although, oddly, not so much in regards to the P-38), MMP books always add layers of micro detail that others are lacking and are thus worthwhile.
The exquisitely rendered color profiles alone are something to marvel at and the thorough photo captions may well draw even the expert eye to heretofore overlooked details. Considering the size and the hardcover binding, this P-38 book represents an especially terrific value! In fact, by raising the bar MMP invites an inevitable question: why don't more of their books follow this mold?