Review by John Daniel

This is a book which caused me to think about a thread I saw on Missing Lynx some time ago. In it, a prominent armor authority remarked in response to an inquiry that he thought that most modelers made lousy historians. Looking back on all of the modelers I have met in my over 50 years (!) in the hobby, I have to admit that I've known people who could give me the most arcane details of any given airframe, and reproduce that aircraft in miniature beautifully, but couldn't say, for instance, how many B-17s were in a typical Bomb Group. On the other hand, I know many historians who can't glue 2 pieces of plastic together, but can give me a unit history down to the squad level. Traditionally, books have catered to one faction or the other; this book is a bridge between the two.

This book is not a biography of Marseille, unlike the "Ace Profiles" series also published by AirPower. Rather, this is a history of the markings of Marseille's aircraft, and is the product of many years of patient and difficult scholarship. It is also a compilation of the known profiles of Marseille's aircraft in already existing works, with accompanying evaluations of their accuracy. You will notice upon opening the book that there are profiles which are only partially in color; this is because the authors have declined to make any assumptions about an aircraft which would not stand up to peer review. However, do not make the mistake of thinking that the book is not a useful tool for modelers; there is, quite simply, no more detailed monograph on this subject available today. The authors leave it to your discretion to fill in any blanks in reproducing a specific aircraft in miniature. Much of the academic detective work has been done for you here; it remains for you to do further research on your own in an attempt to recreate history. To me, anything which encourages serious inquiry into the subjects we all love is a good thing. I am sure that I will see this book on the table at contests when someone enters one of Marseille's aircraft; I'm also sure that I will see this book on the shelves in may "serious" historians' libraries.

Very Highly Recommended

Paperback: 64 pages

Publisher: AirPower Editions

ISBN: 978-0-9555977-0-1

Price: Approximately $35.00