New Releases from Squadron/Signal Publications

F4F Wildcat in Detail
by Bert Kinzey
#8265, Squadron/Signal Publications

Just off the press is the latest in Bert Kinzey's great lineup of aircraft monographs - the F4F Wildcat. As with the latest in the "in detail" series, the book is comprised of 79 pages of color and black & white photographs, along with color profiles, three-view drawings and scrap details that chronicle the development and differences in the Grumman Wildcat family. Among the variants discussed is one that I hadn't seen before - the F4F-3S Wildcatfish - an F4F on floats! Developed to operate in the Pacific in areas where airfields were not available, the allied push ensured that there were adequate land facilities available and the Wildcatfish was not put into production.

This book is also a must-have for the aviation historian as well as the modeler seeking quality detail references.

- Michael Benolkin

Panzer IV, The Panzerkampfwagen IV Medium Tank, 1939-1945
by Kevin Hjermstad
#6081, Squadron/Signal Productions

Squadron/Signal Productions has released the latest in their outstanding armor reference series, this one covering the Panzer IV series. The book is comprised of 55 pages of black & white photos, detail scrap drawings, three-view diagrams, and a brief summary of each variant in the Panzer IV tank family. It also contains 8 pages of color profiles of each of the variants as they appeared in various theaters of operation. This title does not cover the derived variants of the Panzer IV family, such as the Sturmgeshutz variants, but that would require a book of similar size to do this area justice.

This book is a must-have for the detail-oriented modeler and the historian alike.

- Michael Benolkin

Vosper MTBs in Action
by T Garth Connelly
#4013, Squadron/Signal Productions

The latest title in the Warships In Action series features the Vosper MTB. Within the standard 48 pages it describes the Vosper MTB in black and white photos, colour illustraions by Don Greer and general arrangement drawings by Ernesto Cumpian and Richard Hudson. Builders of the Revell 70' Vosper and the Airfix 73' Vosper will appreciate the numerous detail photos.

The text takes us from the earliest CMBs of WW1, to the private venture MTB 102 - which was the forerunner of all the later Vosper boats, to the wartime boats. Along the way operational usage of all types is given as well as a look at the experimental one-off long-hull boat MTB510. However it is on the wartime boats that the bulk of the narrative concentrates.

For anyone interested in 'small ships', this title is heartedly recommended.

- Bob Pearson

Our sincere thanks to Squadron/Signal Publications for these review samples.