Avonmore Books | Pacific Profiles: Volume Six
Reviewed by Kevin Williams
Publisher: Avonmore Books
Author: Michael John Claringbould
Publishing Date: 2022
ISBN: 978-0-6452469-0-2
Pages: 120
Now that I have a growing familiarity with the series, they're all very well presented, printed on nice quality gloss stock, with quite a few very nice illustrations of chosen and representative subjects, along with several black & white and occasional color photos as well. I'll probably have to seek out the companion volumes as well, as coverage of the air campaigns in the Pacific, is something that I find fascinating, but don't seem to have much of.
This particular book (Volume Six in the series), depicts the more rather well known Pacific combatants, specifically the Bell Airacobra, and it’s chock full of representative material; plenty of ground shots, variations in painting schemes, as well as showing the incredible wear on the finishes of these Pacific birds, as well as (naturally enough) plenty of color profile drawings (96).
The P-39 and P-400, being stalwart subjects amongst modelers, are both well represented here and I'm particularly pleased with the real "at work" type of photos presented, both black & white, as well as a spattering of color shots, again, many of which capture the spirit of the surface battering that these aircraft were subject to. Large scale modelers are able to choose from either the Special Hobby or Kitty Hawk kits, though the latter may be hard to find right now.
This work, being dedicated to the South and Southwest Pacific (1942-1944) arenas, offers up some worthwhile coverage of Airacobras in that theater; a great wealth of information to add for those that seek information regarding these fighter aircraft working from those environments.
The author has also penned at least two Osprey "Duel" books (P-47 vs Ki-43 and Airacobra vs Zero) that I actually have in my own stash!
Typical Photo/Illustration Quality to be Found Throughout
To me, the high point of this volume, is the overall appeal of the subject matter, combined with numerous interesting facts about the campaigns in the pacific, all packaged in a smooth, attractive presentation.
I'll have to say that, to me, this book is very good value, given the overall intensity of the content.
Even if you have just a passing interest in the pacific air war, you can’t go wrong with the purchase of this book and you may just become a fan, as I most certainly am.
(Not a selling point, as such, but the cover has a nice tactile "feel" to it, reflecting, in my opinion, a dedication to overall quality of presentation that I very much like.)
On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d rate this book as a solid 10, no question about it. For the Airacobra enthusiasts out there, I see this as a volume you may well want to add to your library.
My review copy compliments of Casemate Publishers. Many thanks to Casemate, it's truly an outstanding series of reference books for the Pacific theater of war in general, and the impressive P-39 and P-400 specifically, really top-notch stuff.
© Kevin Williams 2022
This review was published on Saturday, August 13 2022; Last modified on Wednesday, August 31 2022