Review

This offering from MMP Books is part of a package that arrived from Casemate UK. This is a soft backed book, authored by Mikael Forsound. The contents of the title are presented over 208 pages of a semi matt paper of A4 size. The contents of this title are:

Chapter 1      The Choice of Engine

Chapter 2      The Prototype/test aircraft

Chapter 3       AJ 37

Chapter 4       AJS 37

Chapter 5       AJ 37 and AJS 37 armourment

Chapter 6       SK 37

Chapter 7       SK 37E

Chapter 8       SH 37 and AJSH 37

Chapter 9       SF 37

Chapter 10     AJSF 37

Chapter 11     JA 37

Chapter 12     JA 37D and JA 37Di

Chapter 13     Viggen Trials

Chapter 14     Viggen Crashes and Pilots

Chapter 15      Viggen Simulators

Chapter 16      Viggen Export Attempts

Chapter 17      Preserved Viggens

Chapter 18      Colours and Markings

Chapter 19      Technical Descriptions

The SAAB aircraft that have been produced over the years have always interested me as SAAB never seem to follow the same guidelines as every other manufacturer, so when this book became available I made a B-line for it. This title tells the story of the progression of the SAAB 37 Viggen, and if I am not mistaken, follows it from birth to death. The written content of the title is a little dry in its presentation as it is very heavy on technical information. However, a book of this type is one where I would expect to find just such information. The text is in a good font, but a little on the small side for my old eyes, that said as soon as I put on a decent pair of glasses I was able to read it with ease. 

Alongside the written content, you have a very large number of photographs of the Viggen in its various forms and all of these pictures appear to be of a good quality with most being presented in full colour. Photographs are all good and well, but the modellers looks for other things and this title offers that as well. With a good mix of 1/72nd scale line drawings in 5 plains which are a great aid for the modeller - it is just a pity that 1/48th scale would not fit. Alongside the photographs that are presented, are a number of artists profiles showing the aircraft from the side and helping you pick out details that may not be obvious in the photographs. 

One of the areas the modeller spends a lot of time and effort on is the cockpit due to it being an aspect that other modellers like to look at. This title take you through a schematic depicting each instrument and control. A lot of detail is provided specifically on the pilots hand grip that may benefit some, alongside the various schematics are a number of photographs of the cockpits you encounter on the model variant you are building. I was particularly pleased to see the ejector seat get a particularly high level of detail in an angled schematic that also points out what the various elements are. 

In addition to the aircraft itself, the weapons systems that could be launched from the SAAB 37 Viggen are also covered in this title with a number of the weapons systems being presented in angled schematic drawings that are clearly identified. It is also well presented as to what weapons systems should be on which hard points, however, it does not cover the accurate layout of a weapons package mix. I would also like to give a special mention as it identifies aircraft crashes and preserved aircraft locations, and so enabling a physical view of a unique aircraft.

Conclusion

This offering from MMP Books courtesy of Casemate UK, should in my opinion be a hard-backed offering as I believe the contents warrant it. The detail presented is of a very high standard, the text included provides a very high level of information on the aircraft variants and while dry in its presentation should answer all of the questions you may have. I find it very hard to fault this title, with the only thing I can really pick up on being the lack of drawings in 1/48th scale due to the limitations of the pages of the book.