Arado 196 - TopDrawings 14 (including Decals)

[Mike]

Arado 196 - TopDrawings 14 (including Decals)

Kagero Publishing

The Arado 196 was used almost exclusively by the Kriegsmarine as marine reconnaissance during WWII, as it was ideally suited to the role, and after the destruction of the majority of the German battlefleet it continued in use with coastal squadrons. With the addition of the new(ish) Revell kit of this aircraft to their range, there are kits in all of the major scales, and anyone with a wish to detail their model will find something of interest in this volume.

The book is softbound with a glossy outer cover, at around A4 size. Inside the cover are 15 pages of plans in 1:48 and 1:72, detailing the whole airframe, as well as the ancillary equipment, armament, and cockpit layout. The drawings of the beaching trolley will be of particular interest to the diorama builder, I suspect. The middle four pages and back cover are taken up with some excellent profiles, with scrap views detailing the painting and marking of both sides of the wings. Each profile details the main colours and location of the aircraft in question, which will doubtless be of use for the more unusual liveries that are depicted here. Of course, decals for each of the four schemes are provided on two large sheets, In all three scales.

On top of this content, there are two double-sided folded A2 sheets of further plans in 1:48 and 1:32, with detail drawings that look to have been culled from the technical manuals filling up some of the space around these drawings. As well as the decals for markings, a full set of cockpit instrument decals are supplied, as individual decals for 1:32, and suspended on carrier film for the other two scales.

The decals are all printed by Cartograf, have excellent colour density, perfect register and are very nicely printed. The Swastikas are printed as halves facing away from each other to accommodate territories where its depiction is restricted.

Conclusion

Another hit from Kagero, riding the wave of interest in this unusual and well liked floatplane. I make no secret of loving their output, as it is always top quality, and well presented. Inclusion of the decals and loose plans makes for a very good value package.

Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

[Julien]

Kagero are really making some good stuff.

Julien

[bradlad]

Hi,

have managed to obtain a copy through Amazon.

Very detailed.

Thanks for listing, it will be of great use......... Ta!

[avro683]

Thanks for the review Mike, that looks a very useful set. The inclusion of instrument panels and swastikas is very useful, it's great to have them in more than one scale.

Edited August 12, 2012 by avro683