Reviewed by Rodger Kelly

Kagero's TBM-3 Avenger is  available online from Squadron.com

Topshots is yet another series in the range of book from the Polish company, Kagero. 

Kagero's Topshots series is of the photographic walk-around genre.  To date, only three others have been released with this, the TBM-3 being the third in the series. 

The photographic coverage is of four different machines, all of them restored examples. The photos themselves have all been mixed together so that, whilst the subject may be cowlings for example, you are presented with shots of each of the machines.   

The book has been laid out so that you get two pages of colour followed by two pages of black and white.  Layout varies between four shots per page in the main to a maximum of seven shots per page. 

Being a photographic type book, text is minimal.  You are given an initial and thumbnail history of the aircraft in English language and the remainder of text is confined to captions to the photographs apart from a small box that gives you technical data – weights, dimensions, armament and the like.  The captions to the photos are in both the English and the Polish languages. 

The book is B5 in size – 240mm x 166mm and landscape in format.  It is made up of 42 glossy pages between thin cardboard covers.  You are treated to 103 colour photographs and 70 black and white ones.  All of the pics are sharp and clear. 

As seems to be the custom with Kagero, you are also treated to a set of decals with the book.  The decals are for two aircraft and are in 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32 scale.  The aircraft are:

• VC-83 from USS Sargent Bay.  In tri-colour camouflage.
• VC-9 from USS Natoma Bay (not Nato Mabay as Kagero have printed it as).  In overall glossy sea blue finish.

The decals are confined to just modex numbers and geodetic designs only and have been printed by Techmod.  The back cover of the book carries profile paintings of both machines. 

All up, not a bad product and it will surely help you with detailing you next masterpiece. 

Recommended.

Thanks to Squadron for the review sample.

Review Copyright © 2005 by Rodger Kelly
Page Created 27 June, 2005
Last updated 28 June, 2005

Back to HyperScale Main Page

Back to Reviews Page