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• SAMI Vol 17 Iss 11 • 2012-09-19
• Airfix Model World June 2012, Issue 19 • 2012-09-19
• Scalemodelingnow.com • 2012-09-19
• Cybermodeler.com • 2012-09-19
• Modelingmadness.com • 2012-09-19
• Amazon.co.uk bestseller list • 2012-09-19
• Hyperscale.com • 2012-09-19
• IPMSUSA.org • 2012-09-19
• InternetModeler.com • 2012-09-19
• Aerostories.orgr • 2012-09-19
• Amazon.fr customer review • 2012-09-19
• Air Modeller: Issue 38, Oct/Nov 2011 • 2012-09-19
• Kitmaniac.com • 2012-09-19
• Amacon.com customer review (1) • 2012-09-19
• Replic No. 241 • 2012-09-19

• SAMI Vol 17 Iss 11 • 2012-09-19
  
• Airfix Model World June 2012, Issue 19 • 2012-09-19
  
• Scalemodelingnow.com • 2012-09-19

  Review by: Geoff Coughlin

  The Gladiator was the last fighter biplane to serve with the RAF, and saw action in France, Greece and North Africa with that service. It was also used operationally by several other air arms before and during WW2.

  Design, development and use of the Gladiator are described in detail in this new edition, which completely updates and extends the author’s earlier, best-selling, book. Much new information is included, more photos have been added and the artwork has been revised and added to – so much so that the material fills two volumes!

  Whilst Volume 1. covers the development and history, Vol. 2 describes the surviving airframes and includes an extensive ‘walk-around’ section with detail photos of all aspects of the airframe.

  Also for the first time is published 3D drawings and 3D-stereo (anaglyphic) drawings and to see them to their full effect 3-D glasses are even included by the publisher!

  Now, to be honest, I’m not sure that my enjoyment was enhanced by the 3-D drawings or wearing the glasses to see them properly, I would have preferred detailed line or CAD drawings (much like the ones included in the new Kagero Monographs on the Arado Ar 192 and Me 262).

  For the scale modeller?

  Most definitely.

  The whole volume is a wealth of full colour reference with comprehensive walkarounds of the surviving airframes and these give good coverage to just about all aspects of the airframes.

  The colour profiles are second to none and simply make you want to go and get your Gloster Gladiator kit -whatever its scale - and build it, using this book as the primary reference source. It’s hard to imagine needing anything else for your project and on that score this title has it all.

  The package is complete with 1:72 scale plans that you can use as essential reference for any Gladiator model project and this includes the Gloster Sea Gladiator.

  A few years ago I built the lovely Roden kit in 1:48 scale and I wish I had had access to this great volume then – it would have saved an awful lot of searching around for quality reference material!

  Overseas Gladiators included…

  This is going to be a real bonus for many who like to build overseas examples of the Gloster Gladiator: Swedish or Finnish. Some lovely all colour profiles for you of these subjects.

  Conclusion

  Highly recommended.

  For all the reasons mentioned above, this is a title not to be missed at all and, along with Volume One, this package gives you all you’ll need from a modellers’ perspective. Great work by the authors and publishers.

  Just a personal comment though… go the Kagero way and avoid what I think is a gimmicky addition of 3-D images and give us those same drawings as high quality colour drawings.

• Cybermodeler.com • 2012-09-19

  by Ray Mehlberger

  Review

  Mushroom Model Publications (MMP) is based in the UK. All their books are printed in Sandomierz, Poland by their associate Stratus. Stratus also prints their own line of books in Polish and English.

  I got this new book from Stratus very heavily packed in layers of cardboard. This was good, because the package suffered in the mail and was crushed on one corner. Thankfully the book was not harmed inside.

  The book is soft-cover and 160 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 5/8” page format. This book was shrink-wrapped. The shrink-wrapping was done to keep a pair of 3D glasses enclosed in it from falling out.

  The cover art shows a color photo of a Gladiator taking off from a grassy field.

  This is the 2nd volume in MMP’s revised and extended work on the RAF’s last biplane. This volume describes and illustrates all the surviving airframes around the world, and has comprehensive coverage of the technical specifications and an extended walk-around series of detail photos.

  In addition, there are some novel 3D and 3D stereo (anaglyphic) drawings showing the internal details of this iconic fighter in stunning detail. Rounding out this profusely illustrated volume are many extra color profiles, showing more of the colors and markings applied by the users of this pugnacious warplane.

  There are 13 color photos of the Gladiator, including the cover and 16 black and white ones. There are also 173 color photos of the walk-around type showing surviving airframes in various museums. Two of these type photos are in black and white.

  There are 4 illustrations from a technical manual and one information chart.

  There are 1/72nd scale line drawings for:

  The MK.I as a 6-view

  A profile drawing of the SS37 prototype

  A profile drawing of a Finish Air Force Gladiator with skis

  A Swedish Air Force J8 with and without skis

  A Gladiator MK.II, Met Flight version profile

  A Norwegian Air Force. Profile drawings with and without skis

  A Sea Gladiator as a 4-view

  There are 53 black and white skeletal and cut-away drawings by M. Rys.

  The color profiles include:

  Mk.I in RAF markings, with No. 3 Squadron,. Kenley 1937-1938 as a 2-view

  Mk.I in RAF markings, with No. 73 Squadron, Church Fenton, 1937 as a 3-view

  MK.I in RAF markings, with No. 73 Squadron, Hendon, 1938 as a 2-view

  Mk.I in RAF markings, with No. 80 Squadron, 1938. Just a profile

  MK.I in RAF markings, with No. 87 Squadron, 1938, with a black and white photo of the actual aircraft

  Mk.II in RAF markings, with No. 112 Squadron, 1940 as a 3-view

  Mk.II in RAF markings, with No. 247 Squadron, 1940 as a 3-view

  Mk.II in RAF markings, with No. 263 Squadron, 1940 as a 3-view

  Mk.I in Iraq Air Force markings as just a profile (no year given)

  A South African Air Force Gladiator profile. (no year or type given)

  A Mk. II in Finish Air Force markings, summer 1942 as a 3-view

  Mk.II in Finish Air Force markings, February 1940 on skis as a 3-view

  Mk.II in Finish Air Force markings, 1941 as a 3-view

  Mk.II in Finish Air Force markings, 1941 a profile on skis with a winter partially white scheme

  Swedish Air Force J8, 1935 as a profile

  Swedish Air Force J8A, 1937 as a 2-view

  Swedish Air Force J8A, with skis as just a profile (no date given)

  A Swedish J8A in Finish Air Force

  markings (no reason given for this strange marking) on skis, 1940 as just a profile

  The same aircraft as above, after returning to Swedish Air Force markings on skis as a 3-view

  Sea Gladiator with RAF markings, No. 802 Squadron,. HMS Glorious, 1939 as a 3-view

  The same Sea Gladiator later serving with the FAA No. 261 Squadron, Malta,. August 1940 as a 3-view

  Mk.I with RAF No. 3 Squadron, kenley, June 1938 as just a profile on the back cover of the book

  Also on the back cover is the color illustration of the cover of the first volume about the Gladiator.

  This book will prove to be essential reading for all the Gladiator enthusiasts, modelers and aviation enthusiasts in general.

  Highly recommended.

• Modelingmadness.com • 2012-09-19

  Reviewer: Scott Van Aken

  Within these 160 pages of mostly full color images, is contained the second part of the treatise on the Gladiator. This time, it covers all the survivors and a very detailed look at the various bits and pieces of the aircraft. We are somewhat fortunate that there are at least a half dozen extant airframes in some state or another with some of these quite complete and two of them in flying condition in the UK.

  It is quite rare for what is essentially a pre-war military aircraft to be on the war bird roster, but there you have it. One has been flying pretty much constantly since it was built while the second, which one was a spares supply, has been brought up to full flying status.

  The book starts out with a look at the extant air frames and then goes into a rather detailed look at pilots notes and aircraft maintenance. Basically, your specs section. This is followed by several pages of superb drawings of all the different Gladiator variations.

  Then we get into the meat of the book and that is the very detailed look at all of the various parts of the aircraft. These are taken from not only extant airframes, but also from period photos and illustrations from various manuals. At the end of this long section, we have a new and interesting addition. This is a set of large drawings of the bare airframe in 3D. The folks at MMP have included a set of 3D glasses and I have to say that the experience is pretty neat.

  This is followed by huge color profiles and three views that provide one image per page, making the color renditions in what has to be 1/48 if not near 1/32 scale. These provide an unprecedented look at some of the more interesting schemes carried by the Gladiator.

  It all makes for the perfect companion to volume 1 and is a must for any RAF or Gladiator enthusiast.

  September 2011

• Amazon.co.uk bestseller list • 2012-09-19
  
• Hyperscale.com • 2012-09-19

  Advantages:

  Good overall coverage; easy to read narrative; interesting and varied selection of photographs; comprehensive collection of colour profiles.

  Disadvantages:

  Conclusion:

  A publication that will appeal to both the enthusiast as well as the modeller and would be an excellent reference source if you are about to embark on a build of the Gladiator.

  Reviewed by Rodger Kelly

  F i r s t R e a d

  For the uninitiated, Mushroom Model Publications is based in Hampshire in the United Kingdom and their books are printed in Poland by Stratus.

  As the title says, this is part 2 of their coverage of the Gloster Gladiator biplane. Whilst part 1 concentrated on the developmental and operational history of the Gladiator, this volume concentrates (in the main) on an excellent photographic coverage of the surviving examples of the machine.

  Having said that though the book is more than just that. It provides a detailed look at the Gladiator with chapters devoted to:

  The maintenance requirements of the machine as well as pilots notes (translated from the Swedish manual for the Gladiator J8/8A).

  The machine’s technical data – airframe and engine mount, wings, undercarriage, elevators and fin, flight controls, flaps, fuel system, lubricating system, engine ignition system, electrical equipment, radio equipment, landing flare equipment, armament, machine gun firing system.

  Scale plans – nine pages in 1/72 scale and five in 1/48 scale.

  Detailed photographic coverage of the machine using both superb images of extant machines as well as selected period images and (what look to be) computer aided design (CAD) drawings of selected part of the machine. These drawings are rendered so that they can be viewed using (supplied) 3D glasses – different to say the least.

  42 pages of large colour profiles and three view illustrations showing the Gladiator in the various paint and camouflage schemes it wore during service.

  These drawings are superbly done and are laid out to show several images per machine spread out over two to three pages. Coverage is provided of pre-war as well as war time RAF machines, Finnish machines, and those operated by Sweden. The Royal Navy also gets a look in with images of Sea Gladiators included.

  The book is A-4 in size with cardboard covers and comprises 160 pages in all.

  This is an excellent book from Mushroom Model Publications. It will appeal to both the enthusiast as well as the modeller and would be an excellent reference source if you are about to embark on a build of the Gladiator.

• IPMSUSA.org • 2012-09-19

  Reviewed by: David Wrinkle, IPMS# 45869

  I've always been a fan of the Gladiator and certainly in my eyes she is still one of the best looking biplane fighters ever produced. When I saw the chance to give this book a read and review I jumped on it. I'm very glad that I did. My initial flip through of the book left me speechless. The publication is printed on thick paper stock and is wrapped in a beautiful glossy cover complete with a sweet photo of a Gladiator touching down in a perfect 3-point landing.

  The first 10 page chapter of the book includes a brief rundown of each of the known Gladiator survivors and a photo of each. I found this information to be very interesting although a couple of airframes only warranted a paragraph or two due to the fact little is known of its history. The second 13 page chapter of the book runs though the Gladiators operations manual step by step. This section is an interesting read if for nothing else to see what is required to keep this wonderful aircraft flying.

  Now for the really interesting bits. The third chapter consists of a technical description of the Gladiator to include many photos and several factory drawings of various systems and diagrams of the airframe. To back up the details, several pages of 1/72 scale views of the various Gladiator marks are provided along with absolutely superb 3D drawings of the Gladiator without her skin. Ok, so you say you're not impressed yet? The remaining 110 pages or so is in my mind is alone worth the price of the book. The author covers the Gladiator section by section with some absolutely stunning photography intermixed with numerous 3D drawings of the same aircraft section. I cannot overstate the added detail provided by Marek Rys' work in creating the 3D drawings used in this publication. His drawings clearly convey detail that in many cases are just can't be captured by conventional photography. The author covers the following sections with photography and drawings:

  Fuselage

  Wing

  Canopy

  Cockpit

  Engine

  Tail

  Undercarriage

  Armament

  The Swedish J8A in Detail

  Following the details are six pages of anaglyphs created from the 3D drawings. The book comes with the anaglyph glasses to allow you to view them in stereo. I personally thought they are neat to look at, but I'm not sure how helpful they are. In the last chapter the author finishes the book off with a bang. The chapter features 41 pages of stunning color profiles. Like the 3D drawings, I was absolutely blown away with the quality of the artwork.

  In summary I would highly recommend this book to any aviation fan and certainly to anyone planning on modeling the Gladiator.

• InternetModeler.com • 2012-09-19

  By Stephen Tontoni

  First the format; the book is in the larger White Series format (around 8.5"X11"), compared to the previous Yellow Series (around 6"X10") Gloster Gladiator book from MMP. It is 160 pages in length, with MANY photographs and drawings that concentrate on the details of aircraft. Toward the end of the book, it has color profiles of a number of Gladiators in various air forces. These profiles include three views of each plane, and one (K7974) even has starboard and port profiles to show that the insignia on the tail is different on one side to the other. Of interest is that in the Yellow Series Gloster Gladiator by MMP with the same author, Alex Crawford, K7974 is also illustrated. The Yellow series profile indicates a blunt nose wooden propeller while the White Series indicates a spinner on a two bladed propeller. The Yellow Series profile of K7974 has no art on the tail at all. Another aircraft, K6130, has different markings than the White Series book. Both books have a number of profiles illustrating aircraft of MANY different countries. MMP didn't simply use the image from the Yellow Series and put it in volume 2; these are completely new profiles, and of higher quality. On the other hand, many of the profiles in the volume 1 of the White Series are retreads of the profiles in the Yellow Series book. I'd say that the larger format for the profiles is really nice, and the illustrations are higher quality in the White Series "Survivor" volume than either the Yellow Series book or volume 1 of the White series.

  Multi-view line drawings will be very useful to modelers, and I believe that the drawings in the Yellow Series and this book are identical. If anything, the lines in the Yellow Series have a bit more weight, but that may just be a printing thing. Volume 2, however, has line drawings for several types that are not included in the Yellow Series book. All drawings in both books are in 1/72 scale.

  While the Yellow Series seems to have a good balance of illustrations and text, White Series volume 2 has very little text at all. This is because it is volume 2, and volume 1 is where all that text can be found. I'm one who likes to read development and histories, but I know many modelers just want the references. A balance is nice. To get that balance within the White Series, I strongly recommend getting both volume 1 and 2.

  From the sublime to the questionable; while the cockpit illustrations will be invaluable to the modeler who wants to scratchbuild that kind of stuff (me me me!), they've also included 3D images. Yes, they include the silly glasses so that it doesn't merely look severely out of register, but why? Fortunately, all those illustrations are also included in 2D format. The last time I had fun with 3D was at a showing of The Creature from the Black Lagoon. All my whining aside, you'll enjoy these images if you enjoy 3D.

  This companion book to Volume 1 of the Gladiator concentrates on the surviving airframes. It takes advantage of the access to these aircraft to show the construction and details of the Gladiator. Details are not limited to the interior and other "walk-around" kinds of illustration (although the walk-around photos are excellent); it also includes inner construction details, cut-away drawings, engine drawings and more. This will be especially helpful to those wanting to build that 1:1 model. Volume 1, on the other hand, concentrates on the development and operation of the Gloster Gladiator, including much more text as well as small air force profiles. As the publisher indicates, these are not "two books"; between them, they constitute one comprehensive study of the history and construction of a classic fighter aircraft of the 1930s which was utilized by many air forces of the world.

  Conclusions/Recommendations T

  his book is high quality, with many very useful photographs, drawings, and profiles. I'm not so sure why they included the 3D stuff, but it doesn't do any harm really, since MMP was considerate enough to include the same images in 2D (phew). I very strongly recommend getting both volume 1 and volume 2 to balance history and development with extensive detail photographs and drawings.

• Aerostories.orgr • 2012-09-19

  As previously announced, the second volume dedicated to the Gloster Gladiator focuses on a study of surviving airframes around the world. The first quarter of the book which contains 160 pages, deals with the purely technical part which is very detailed, and it seems that nothing is missing ! The rest of the book highlights the different parts of the aircraft that will be of great help for modelers and that somethings Mushroom does particularly well. The book ends with twenty pages of colour profiles which are different from those published in the first volume and are a perfect complement to them giving at the end a very nice set of profile.

  Mushroom gives us an extra little gadget that consists of 3D glasses to help to see the anaglyphic drawings and various cutaways of the aircraft presented in the book. Basically, if that doesn’t add that much, I must recognize that this idea is original and funny for a book devoted to the study of an airplane. As I said in the review of the first volume, for those interested only in the historical aspect of Gladiator, Volume 1 is largely enough, the second volume is rather reserved for those who need plenty of technical references of any kind or for those who want to have a truly comprehensive study, which will make volume 2 necessary. Regarding the price of this second volume it is therefore good to know what you are looking for.

  Phil Listemann

• Amazon.fr customer review • 2012-09-19

  Gloster Gladiator reference book 24 avril 2012

  Par JFB

  Achat authentifié par Amazon

  superb! amazing 3D drawings and plenty of detailed pictures. this book is a must for modellers and aeronautics enthousiasts. the book comes with stereo glasses for visualization of engine, airframe, cockpit.

• Air Modeller: Issue 38, Oct/Nov 2011 • 2012-09-19
  
• Kitmaniac.com • 2012-09-19

  General Characteristics:

  The new title of the White series of MMP Books is a detailed study of one of the most famous aircraft of the interwar period. The book covers not just the operational life of the Gloster Gladiator, but your project and combats for RAF and other forces who served around the world. As is tradition, the book presents a reading easy to understand, and hundreds of photographs and dozens of color profiles, and a new fantastic 3D designs from different angles and parts of the aircraft, a show of images.

  Considerations:

  This book will have as the public modelers and aviation enthusiasts in general. Since the references included in this book make it the definitive work on the technical details of the Gloster Gladiator.

  The book:

  This edition is a continuation of an extensive research work on one of the most iconic aircraft made by Gloster, the Gladiator. Part 1 focused on the history of the development of operational actions of the Gladiator, as Part 2 focuses (mostly) in an excellent photo coverage of details of the aircraft has been photographed many aircraft museums and private owners around the globe.

  One of the most interesting things is that technical information are based on real data extracted from the original flight manuals from a J8/8A a Gladiator.

  They completely covered the technical data: structure of the engine, wings, landing gear, elevators and tail, flight controls, flaps, fuel system, lubrication system, ignition system of the engine, electrical equipment, radio equipment, equipment landing gear, weapons.

  Included are plans to scale, nine pages in 1 / 72 and five on the scale 1 / 48 scale.

  The book also features a 3D glasses to help in the visualization of 3D images included in the book. This is a beautiful attraction that I first saw in a publication linked to aviation. The book also features 42 pages of color profiles and three illustrations and three different views showing Gladiadors paintings and camouflage.

  Readers will find here all reported aspects of the operational life of the Gladiator, from the pre-war, its operational life in the RAF and RN, in addition to its operations in Sweden and Finland, where he operated against the Russians in Finland-Soviet conflict.

  The book is in A-4 size with cardboard covers and comprises 160 pages in total.

  This is a highly recommended book, which is essential for aviation enthusiasts of pre-war period. For models is sure that this book will have the supplies necessary to do a great job. Highly recommended.

  Pompeo

• Amacon.com customer review (1) • 2012-09-19

  Average Customer Review

  4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)

  4.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile, but I was somewhat disappointed with the CAD, November 12, 2011

  By Jim Davis (St. Charles, MO USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

  This is the second half of Alex Crawford's two volume set on the classic Gloster Gladiator biplane.

  The book is a 8-1/4" x 11-3/4", 160 page, square bound card cover in MMP's White Series (No 9114). The pages are broken down as follows:

  15 pages of color photographs and histories of surviving examples.

  13 pages of a translation of a Swedish maintenance manual for the J8/J8A version and accompanying black and white photos.

  9 pages of technical description along with contemporary technical illustrations and black and white photographs.

  6 pages of line drawings in 1/72nd scale.

  6 pages of CAD drawings showing the basic Gladiator structure. v58 pages of close up detailed color photographs of surviving examples complemented by more CAD drawings.

  6 pages of close up detailed color photographs of a surviving Swedish J8.

  6 pages of anaglyph (3D) drawings with glasses included.

  42 pages of color plans and profiles showing various color schemes. vThe biggest disappointment for me were the CAD drawings. Although competently executed, there were two problems that made them less than what they could have been. First, most were either shown at too small a size to make out much detail or if they were full page size showed the entire aircraft. Only the cockpit drawings were really satisfactory in this regard. Second, the drawings were aluminum color over a dark background which also made picking out detail tough. I think multiple colors for clarity would have been the way to go. Also, the the rear engine drawing on the top of page 91 looks quite incomplete. There doesn't seem to be any way for air to get into the engine!

  The 3D drawings do nothing for me as I can't achieve the proper effect with normal glasses combined with the 3D glasses. vOn the plus side the color photographs are really outstanding and worth the price of the book by themselves.

  Recommended for anyone with an interest in the aircraft. I'll be interested to see if others had the same issues with the CAD drawings as I did or if it was a case of "just me".

• Replic No. 241 • 2012-09-19