Updating the references

[sean]

Lately I've been thinking of updating my reference material as most of it still comes from my

Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft,which is from the late 80',s, plus one

or two other books, Fighting Colours for example. I've seen the likes of AIRfile and

Modellers Datafile advertised, and they seem to be aimed at the modeller specifically.

Would they be a good place to start? I wouldn't be looking for really tech stuff, as it would

be mostly model related as regards camoflauge and colours,

TIA,

Sean

[Giorgio N]

The Modellers Datafile are a good reference, and very useful for modellers. They offer information on every aspect of a subject and maybe the camouflage and markings section is the less strong.

If you're mainly interested in this aspect, I'd look into series like the AirFile you mentioned or the SAM Combat Colours and Camouflage and Markings series (look at Guideline Publications website for these).

If you're into US modern types, the same publishers of the Detail & Scale books had a series named C&M - Colors & Markings that was very good, although focused more on the use of pictures rather than text and with no profiles (the British publications on the other hand rely heavily on the use of profiles).

A series to consider that while not aimed strictly at modellers has a number of information on colour scheme is the Warpaint.

We should also not forget the titles coming from Easters Europe ! The Mushroom books are very nice and so are other series. Kagero and 4+ have some titles devoted only to schemes and even books with decal sheets, for which the book ends up being a large instruction manual.

In general, I think it would be important to understand if you're more interested in specific types or in a specific era. Some books will give a lot of information on say the Spitfire, others will explore several types within a certain timeframe. Buying one book per every type a modeller is interested in could be expensive, at the same time if the same modeller plans on building 20 Spitfires then one book on the type might easily not be enough....

[sean]

Cheers Giorgio, thanks for taking the time to reply, much appreciated. I've had a look at your suggestions and they are

pretty much what I was looking for, especially the books by SAM. Time to start updating the library, thanks again,

Sean

[CarLos]

My advice is not to concentrate in a series, but try to find the best reference for what you plan to build. You can ask for opinions here in Britmodeller! Sometimes you will find that what you have online is enough, and saves you money for another subject!

[sean]

Thanks Carlos, I do intend to pick and choose what I'll buy, it's pretty much finding stuff that's more up to date than what I have. Of course Britmodeller is

the best option, but I'm a bit old fashioned, and like to have books to delve for references, although they don't always help either.

Regards,

Sean