Flying Colors Of Richard J. Caruana
Bookazine Collection: 2
Review: ModelFan
Author: Richard J. Caruana
Publisher: MMP-Books (Mushroom Model Publications)
ISBN: 8367227565
Softcover, published: June 2024
Pages: 60
Price: approx. 20.00 euro.

This is another colourful book (in a larger series) by the well-known aviation artist Richard J Caruana, who was born and lives in Malta. The well-known author/illustrator has a 15-volume history of the Italian Air Force to his name, numerous books on model making and ospreys (among others), and has designed 89 stamps for the country of Malta. You will also find many of his drawings and profiles in many other publications dedicated to aviation. At Stratus Publishers (-MMP-Books) he created two series. The first, titled "Fighting Colours of Richard J. Caruana," dealt with fighter planes, and each volume was devoted to a specific period or theater of war.
The second series is titled "Flying Colours of Richard J. Caruana" and offers a selection of interesting aviation topics that the author would like to share with us as readers.
For me it is the first acquaintance with the "Flying Colours of Richard J. Caruana. The book is printed in the format A4 landscape/horizontal on quality glossy paper and is reminiscent of the Squadron Signal publications in terms of format. The language is English.
This Bookazine Collection: 2 is richly packed with 48 pages of full-colour illustrations and the inside cover B&W drawings of the Hawker Hart and Hawker Siddeley Harrier in 1/72nd scale.
The full-colour profiles include: the Morane-Saulnier Type N, the U.S. Nieuport Ni 28, De Havilland D.H. 88 Comet, Hawker Hart, Messerschmitt Bf109D & E-3, Kawasaki Ki-61, Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA and AV-8A, and the AMX Ghibli and A-1 series. Each of the planes consists of a dozen colourful side silhouettes and, in some cases, drawings of top and bottom. Each of them has a brief description of the profile. Each chapter is preceded by a short introduction, illustrated with some photographs from the period.

The author divides the book into different historical periods and presents two types of aircraft of each. The period of the "Great War" is represented by two types of French aircraft. These are the Morane – Saulnier Type N and the Nieuport Ni.28 C1, the latter depicted in the U.S. Expeditionary Force livery.

The next chapter can safely be titled "These Beautiful Men in Their Flying Machines." We are talking about the interwar period, probably the most beautiful period in the history of aviation. This period is represented by the de Havilland DH 88 Comet racing aircraft, to which the author has devoted the shortest chapter of the entire book.

The same cannot be said about the next "hero", the Hawker Hart fighter. The author describes here, not only the aircraft that serve in the RAF in the so-called "silver wings", but also the aircraft that were used in the Swedish Air Force.

The period of the Second World War was dominated by two fighter planes. In terms of design, the aircraft are similar. A small chapter on the Swiss Bf-109E and an extensive study on its Japanese counterpart – the Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien. Here, the variety of impressive versions can give you a headache, and an accidental visit to a model shop can end with a completely unplanned purchase.
The post-war period, i.e., the era of the fighter jets, is fairly divided between the early versions of the Harrier, including aircraft used in the RAF as well as in the air forces of Thailand, Spain and the USA. The second aircraft presented here is the AMX-Ghibli, an aircraft that is as graceful and interesting in terms of the colour schemes presented as the Harrier. The author presents a total of a dozen side profiles of aircraft used by the Italian and Brazilian Air Forces.

Highly recommended for anyone who wants to enjoy the beautiful drawings of Richard Caruana, as well as for any modeler who wants to get ideas for the colours and camouflage patterns for his models to be built. You certainly won't be disappointed, even kit manufacturers can find inspiration for new and alternative decal sets. A wonderful book.
I am looking forward to see more (new) parts in the series.

Thanks to Mushroom Model Publication for making a copy of this book available for review.