Introduction

Luftfahrtverlag-Start is a publishing company based in Germany that has been in operation since 2002. At the moment Luftfahrtverlag-Start produce hard backed books and paper backed magazines covering all arms of the German military in World War 2. In this review I will be taking a look at Luftwaffe Im Focus Edition No 22, This as the title indicates is the 22nd edition of a magazine that looks at a number of German aircraft from that dark period that was World War Two.

Contents

When my postman struggled up my path with what turned out to be a very heavy parcel, my interest was piqued to see exactly what had arrived. Inside a very well packed box I found 2 books and 2 magazines from Luftfahrtverlag-Start, each of which was individually wrapped and as this is the usual way Luftfahrtverlag-Start package and post their products, it tells me they take pride in and like their products to arrive in the best possible condition. The magazine consists of 48 pages, 50 if you count the fact that the inside of the front and rear cover also contain information and images. Between the covers you will find 65 photographs of which 12 are in colour. Below is a breakdown of what you will find inside this edition of Luftwaffe Im Focus.

• Tails; an Hs 129 ‘can opener’ with an impressive scoreboard
• Background; Lt Detlev Rohwer and his ‘Götz von Berlichingen’ emblem
• Aircraft in Focus; unusual aircraft of II Lehrgeschwader 2
• Scenery; an aircraft of the Eagle Geschwader makes a headstand in Gilze-Rijen
• Personal Emblems; In Action with the ‘Red Mill’, 5./KG 27
• Equipment: The “Dobbas I” transport device
• Seaplanes: An Arado 196 from the Prinz Eugen comes home (The story of the museums aircraft Nordholz)
• Color Photos: Crash in the forest (Fi156 Stkz. KH YP)
• Destroyer: Bf110 C-2 of4./ZG 76 at the canal
• Aircraft in Focus: Bf 109 G, Stab III./JG 11 and 7./JG 11, 1943
• Document: Invitation to the One-Year Anniversary of 4.(F)/123

Review

This series of magazines from Luftfahrtverlag-Start are printed on very good quality heavy paper with a decent card cover in a glossy finish. The printing is of a very good standard with clear text in an easy to read font, the text in the book is in both German and English. The photographs have been well selected with most being very clear and sharp, this allows the viewer to easily pick out details on the aircraft which could be easily overlooked otherwise. The graphics included in the magazine are very good particularly those representing emblems for specific units or aircraft.

Luftfahrtverlag-Start recognise that with a magazine of this type mistakes will occur, especially with the number of World War Two veterans still with us greatly reduced and unfortunately will all to soon leave living memory as World War One has; with that in mind Luftfahrtverlag-Start actively encourage their readers to contact them pointing out any errors which may have crept in, and they then print corrections at the start of the next issue to be released. It should also be pointed out that Luftfahrtverlag-Start happily accepts suggestions for content to cover in future issues.

The large number of aircraft types covered in the magazine and with the limited number of pages, I did find myself wishing for more coverage of less items, however I am aware that the magazine needs to appeal to as broad a spectrum of people as possible. There is in this release a photo that really appeals to me and a feature. The photograph that appeals is of one very sorry looking Stuka that looks best suited for straining vegetables, however the aircraft is easily identified and would make for a great diorama as laid out in the book. I should point that if you have an interest in damaged aircraft this book has a lot of what you are looking for. The feature that appeals to me the most you will not be surprised to hear is Seaplanes: An Arado 196 from the Prinz Eugen comes home (The story of the museums aircraft Nordholz), due to an earlier review I wrote.

Conclusion

Looking at this book in its own right from a modellers viewpoint I can see a lot of information and pictures which get ideas bubbling away for both displaying models and finishing options. While I have concentrated on the aircraft images in this review there is also a good selection of reference on uniforms. In the belief that German WW2 aircraft have the same high number of devotees that German WW2 armour has, this magazine should be very popular and I believe that most people who purchase it will be very happy.

I have not listed a price for the magazine as it varies depending on the purchasing option chosen.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.