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Best Modelling Reference book for Mosquito


Manic Modeller

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Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for a good model related reference book on the 1/72 Mosquito to which I can add the High Ball conversion.  I'm someone who would like to spend his money on kits etc. so if possible just get one good reference book.  I see Richard Franks has done two Datafile books, which one is best or are there other better tomes?   

Any recommendations would be welcome.

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I have the Datafile, but also just purchased both of the Valiant Wings Mossie books, and they are the best, in my opinion- they also have the advantage of being much more recent, so the info on available kits, accessories, decals, etc. is much more comprehensive. One volume is on bomber/recon variant, and the other is on fighter/fighter-bomber/night fighter variants. You could just get the one that covers the version you want to build. Both volumes have excellent 1/48 scale drawings that can be reduced if that's not your scale.

Mike

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I have Frank's datafile (1998 version) and I keep coming back to it - it has answers to most questions I have. I can fully recommend it.

 

The "20" edition seems to be a newer, extended edition of the 1998 original.

 

Quote

We have decided to revise and re-print Modellers Datafile #1, but whilst retaining all the original historical and scale modelling content unabridged, we have now expanded this book to 176 pages and included the additional model builds and in-box previews covering the significant new toolings that have appeared in the fifteen years since to series began, along with an updated list of currently available kits, accessories and decals. When the first Datafile was published back in 1998 it was quite rightly regarded as the definitive book on modelling one of the most enduring and popular military aircraft ever. In recent weeks, a televised documentary named it 'The Plane That Saved Britain'. The book was comprehensive in its approach, the research meticulous, and it remains as accurate and authoritative as ever. At the time of publication the author mentioned the imminent arrival of new kits, and the modelling content was, accordingly, designed to bridge the gap between old and newer toolings, presenting the information in a manner that transcended any one manufacturer or scale and informing and inspiring all potential builders, irrespective. Out of print for many years, this second edition marks a welcome return for the very first of the very best modelling reference books around."

 

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3 hours ago, Manic Modeller said:

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for a good model related reference book on the 1/72 Mosquito to which I can add the High Ball conversion.  I'm someone who would like to spend his money on kits etc. so if possible just get one good reference book.  I see Richard Franks has done two Datafile books, which one is best or are there other better tomes?   

Any recommendations would be welcome.

Go with the two Valiant books - forget the rest. 

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Books?  Nah!  I ask the blokes on here... They're much more informative than any book!  (And thanks again to all the lads who have answered my sometimes dopey questions without pointing and laughing at me!)

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People have the information because they bought the books (and applied a certain amount of thought to them once bought!).  If the books stop being bought then they'll stop being published, and information will be much more difficult to obtain.  A book spreads much more information to more people than any thread on here.   (Also misinformation too, sadly.)  Thankfully, much of the discussion here is between informed and interested (if sometimes less-informed) individuals.  However, the thought of being regarded as a one-stop shop for pushing out expensively-obtained knowledge (time and money) to those too lazy or tight to look for themselves can be a bit dispiriting at times.

 

If you are interested in a subject, buy the books.  Or at least read them in what remains of a once-proud library service.

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22 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

People have the information because they bought the books

Don't get me wrong, Graham, I've nothing against books and my reasoning isn't financial or laziness... I just find the lads on the forum are always very warm as opposed to the cold, hard pages of a book.  There's also the "missionary" idea... We tend to like helping others in hobbies, gives a sense of community.

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