Valiant Wings The Hawker Sea Fury – Airframe Album 2 (Second Edition)

[Mike]

The Hawker Sea Fury – Airframe Album 2 (Second Edition)

Valiant Wings (9780995777330)

 

 

The Sea Fury has a number of poignant distinctions, as it was both the fastest piston-engined production aircraft, and the last prop-driven aircraft to serve with the Royal Navy.  Powered by the huge and powerful Centaurus engine, it had a top speed of 460mph, and carried a heavy armament of 4 x 20mm Hispano cannons, with hard-points under the wings for 12 x 3" rockets.  It saw surprisingly long service, into the 60s with foreign air forces that weren't quite ready or able to begin their jet age.  As such it saw a surprising amount of conflict, beginning with the Korean War, and including Cuba, Burma and Iraq where it was well-liked.  Once it had been outmoded by the upcoming jets it went on to compete in air races, where it saw some success with the airframes gradually getting customised as time went by.  There are still plenty in existence due to them not being caught up in the wholesale destruction after the war, and if you're lucky you'll be able to see one at an airshow in a number of countries including the UK.

 

This book is the Second Edition of the original Airframe Album number 2 that was one of Valiant Wings' early books in the early teens.  As the little triangle in the bottom right corner says, it has been updated and expanded to include new information, and comes just at the right time for anyone with a new Airfix 1:48 kit that's asking them to build it.  The volume is perfect bound in a card cover, with 112 pages excluding the cover in a portrait oversized A4 format, which will match their other books in your collection.

 

 

It is broken down into sections as per usual, with the layout as follows:

 

1. Technical Description

Detailed coverage of the construction and equipment

2. Evolution – Prototype, Production and Projected Variants

3D Isometrics illustrating differences between variants

3. Camouflage and Markings

Colour side profiles, notes and photographs

4. Kit Builds

Steve A Evans builds the multi-medium T.Mk.20 from AMG and new Airfix FB Mk.11, both in 1:48

5. Survivors

An updated list of those airframes that survive today

Appendices

I. Kit List

II. Accessory List

III. Decal List

IV. Bibliography

 

As always the level of detail that the technical parts go to is astonishing, discussing all parts of the airframe from the spinner to the tail.  The 3D isometrics are a boon to someone like myself that forgets what the differences between variants were, and the choice of markings shown in the profiles by Richard J Caruana is surprisingly wide and varied.  Steve A Evans never disappoints in the build section, doing justice both to the resin 2-seater AMG kit and the brand new Airfix kit that wasn't available for the original edition.

 

 

Conclusion

There's a lot to read, and because of its long service, some of the photos are in colour, with the remainder in black and white, and all as crisp as possible given the original sources.  I really should pick up an Airfix Sea Fury now!

 

Very highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of