I'm finding that there aren't many other "reference freaks" out there. Alotta people keep asking for reference on a certain subject. I understand that many just don't have the money to spend on alotta books and rags (magazines) as, in the long run, they can be a helluvalot more expensive than the kits themselves. Some of you may not use any at all, and that's perfectly understandable.
But for those of you who want to get that paint scheme right, or want to see what that cockpit looks like or if you simply just want to learn more about what you're building, where do you go for that info?
I am a self admitted reference freak.
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I've spent WAY too much on WAY too many books, rags etc. As a consequence, I've compiled a good sized reference source for almost any aircraft (and to a lesser extent, every targ... er, tank or fast targ... er, race car) that I could ever want to build. I've also amassed a huge archive of clippings, articles, actual photographs and much more that fills a few file cabinets. (What this all means is that I must go out in search of a life someday!)
So for me, I just walk over the the bookshelves or the file cabinets and I find what I want. I also utilize the net to a great extent. My hard drive is SCREAMING at me to fill up some CD's and get rid of this schtuff so I can defrag the drive. Many of you probably rely on the net for alot of your modeling needs in general, never mind reference.
One suggestion I have is this; if you would like to have a decent reference library but haven't $$$ to spend on a ton of books or 10 to 12 magazines a month, a good option would be a quarterly periodical called "International Air Power Review" which is published by AIRtime Publishing. These are the same folks who publish "Combat Aircraft" magazine and dozens of excellent books on varying military aviation subjects.
"International Air Power Review" is a rather expensive rag, $20 an issue, [:0]
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but it's not your average magazine. It's a freakin' book! Each issue has over 500 photos and a TON of info on alotta different subjects pertaining to military aviation. Mostly modern subjects are covered, with a few articles devoted to vintage subjects.
There were two other identical rags published by the same lot, "Wings of Fame" (dealt with mainly vintage stuff; Vietnam and back) and "World Air Power Journal" (all modern stuff). You can still find these here and there and can also get them directly from AIRtime. If you're interested in these rags, here's a link to AIRtime's website:
http://www.airtimepublishing.com/
Like I said, these things are expen$ive, but they're well worth it. And no, I haven't been paid by AIRtime for this plug! LOL
So, in any event, let's hear from you folks! Any fellow "freaks" out there?
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