Hachette Air Power Supermarine Spitfire Book

[Des]

Came across this today in Tesco for Nine Pounds Ninety Nine Pence (still no idea where the pound sign on my keyboard has gone) which seems to be possibly the first of a part-work series of aviation books and carries the full volume title 'Spitfire , Britain's Greatest Fighter! , From Seaplane Racer To War-Winning Legend'.

 

160 pages , lots of contemporary pictures rather than modern Warbirds , a lot of colour artwork and includes material on American Spitfires previously published by International Air Power Review and by Osprey although no mention is made of the writers/sources for the rest of the book.

 

Full series title reads as  'Air Power The Definitive Guide to Air Combat' and the inside back cover shows the Harrier ('Harrier , The Aircraft That Revolutionised Air Warfare') to follow in November although there is no other information about future titles or subscription bonuses mentioned and nothing at all about the book or possible series on the Hachette Partworks website.

 

The Spitfire book is dated 2018 and printed in Great Britain but the cover shown for the Harrier volume has artwork for a GR.5 which might either be merely an unusual choice or be a sign of dated material.

 

I do not do a lot of WWII modelling so do not have an especially great deal of reference material on the subject and to me at least what is contained in the book looks at first glance to be worth the cover cost but I wondered if anyone was aware of any such series having been published previously elsewhere and could throw any light on how good, bad or indifferent other subjects might have been? 

Edited September 14, 2018 by Des
excess about removed

[FalkeEins]

doesn't appear to be advertised on Hachette's own site but I found this page

 

https://www.jacklin-uk.com/Hachette_orders/subscribe.php?club=NF

 

 

None of the links work. Have they pulled it already ?

 

First issue (Spitfire) £3.99 for subscribers and 'free' Airfix kit with issue 4

[Des]

Thanks for that.

 

Dated 2014 but I don't recall ever seeing before which makes me wonder if that release and the magazine which I have since seen in a couple of shops in this area are perhaps a regional test launches to test potential sales as has been done with other part-works in the past.

 

I got in touch with Hachette in the UK back when I first posted this and after a couple of weeks got a response telling me that my enquiry had been passed to the appropriate department to reply direct but as yet nothing else heard which perhaps supports my suspicion that it could be a test launch , will see if the release of the Harrier in November actually happens and if that throws any more light on future releases.

 

Since discovered that they launched a French language series ' Avions de Guerre '   ( http://www.checksix-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=199721 ) at the end of 2017 with 58 titles listed of which No.16 is the latest to have been released , started with the Rafale and seem to be in hardback with a different cover design but seems unlikely that the two series are unrelated , perhaps same basic material with an English speaking editorial team.

Edited October 18, 2018 by Des
tense issues

[Des]

2 minutes ago, Des said:

 

oops

Edited October 18, 2018 by Des

[Paul821]

I seem to remember reading that most part works are test marketed in one area of the UK, before making the decision to go ahead with a national launch. My reason for recalling this was the old ITV Anglia region was sometimes chosen and at the time I lived just outside of it. This meant my local W H Smith's might not have a part work while the one in the next town did. Also a Model Railway part work only appeared in one local area recently and does not seem to have been taken further. A bit annoying for those in that region who wanted the full set.

 

 

[Des]

Has anyone come across the Harrier volume from Hachette , advert in the back of the Spitfire issue said due out in November.

 

No sign of it in any of the places that I saw the Spitfire being sold.

 

Nothing ever heard from the 'appropriate department' from my September query with Hachette and no response at all to my second in mid-November.

 

UPDATE , found it in my local Tesco later this morning having been delivered over the weekend , no mention of whether or not there will be an Issue No.3 and if so what it might be.

Edited December 3, 2018 by Des

[jaw]

 I saw the Harrier volume in Tesco's Shoreham by Sea branch a week or two ago. I picked it up and put it down again - it looks OK and covers all Harrier operators. If I see it again I might well buy it - although I was told that it was on sale in the Works as well.

 

John

[Des]

Hachette do seem to have a rather casual approach to customer service and distribution but at 160 pages for 9.99 covering most if not all variants and operators with almost 270 images, 10 three-view colour schemes , 55 colour sideviews, some double-spread artworks and cutaways I reckon that it will make a cheap and handy first-port-of-call on the reference shelf.

 

Will be interested to see if that is it with their intended series or if a volume 3 will turn up somewhere around February/March time.

[Des]

Picked up the third in this series in my local Tesco this afternoon (wasn't there Thursday) and it is on the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress , same price and format as the previous two volumes.

 

Next issue will be on the Messerschmidt Bf 109 which is described on the end page as coming soon which judging by the previous issues should be around mid-March as it seems to be roughly bi-monthly , up this way issue 2 appeared about 11 weeks after issue 1 but issue 3 has followed on around 7 weeks after issue 2.

 

Individual issues of Part 1 & 2 are now available on the Hachette website although still no further information on the series which has neither author nor editor credited but only has a named Project Manager.

[Des]

Picked up Issue 4 on the Bf 109 today , part 5 will be on the F-4 Phantom and I would think will follow around mid-May.

 

Local outlets that had the previous three issues no longer seem to be stocking the title , got this one from a branch of W H Smith 13 miles away , only info on the website is the first two listed as back issues , only info in the magazine is the next title 'Coming Soon' which all seems quite unusual for Hachette whose more usually are keen to sign up subscribers.

[Des]

Issue 5 on the Phantom has appeared in the shops this week with Issue 6 to follow possibly in early July going by previous releases.

 

Still nothing about the series on the Hachette website but the 'Coming Soon' page gives the web address as   www.airpowerbookazines.com   which opens the main Hachette website where as mentioned there is no mention of the series ..... fantastic marketing strategy !!

 

P.S. 8 hours later link is now active but only allows purchase of Spitfire and Harrier issues and provides no further information on the series

Edited May 9, 2019 by Des