Albatros Fighter Aircraft of WWI (Spotlight ON) Hardcover – January 19, 2015

As a WWI aviation historian and occasional modeler I was looking forward to adding this book to my library, but what a disappointment. I had expected, at minimum, a decent history of the aircraft plus some color schemes and other appendices. Instead, what I found was a hardcover book that had one introductory page for Mr. Douglass to explain how he did the book but nothing about the aircraft, followed by 41 color drawings of the left-side only of various aircraft, plus the name of the pilot, where known. There is no explanation of the significance of his choices or any attempt to personalize the choices by given a little pilot history. So, as history it's useless.The same criticism applies if you want to use this for modeling--a paucity of detail. The 41 drawings include some duplications (e.g., "Vera" before and after capture, two drawings of Richthofen's aircraft [I'm TIRED of these!] and three of Udet's) so there is relatively little new information here. But, because there are only left-side drawings and no right-side or plan drawings, modelers must use their own knowledge of colors and markings for modeling and use Mr. Douglass's drawings only to see some unusual personal identifications (but without Jasta tail markings, for example).Unless you're interested in adding some "purty pictures" to your library, save your money.

This is a good book for modellers to get some idea of possible markings for specific A/C. I was disappointed in that it turned out to be only color profiles of aircraft with no "drawings" per. se. In that sense I was disappointed. For a reasonable price, you have, in one book, color profiles of many Albatros models. In short, a good addition to my library.

Great side view drawings. I would have liked some drawings from other perspectives (e.g. some top down views showing the wing and horizontal stabilizer/elevator colors). It's also a little short on text, but if you're looking for drawings vs. text that's not an issue.

I was pleased with the illustrations, though I wish that there could've been more. Plus, more of a narrative would have been a plus as well.

Great information and illustrations very comprehensive

Mushroom Model Publications has released the first of their new Spotlight On series featuring more than 40 of Dave Douglass's Albatros fighter profiles. The hard cover book measures 12"x8.5" with pages of a nice of heavy, glossy stock and is read like a calendar with the pages flipping up instead of to the side. This was done to layout the profiles full width, one aircraft to a page, maximizing the size of the artwork.The description is a bit misleading, stating "drawings" when it probably should have just said "profiles." A visit to the MMP website shows a video comprised of each page of the book.This is a book of profiles, pure and simple, though the word "simple" certainly doesn't apply to the artwork. The text is limited to the Introduction, Select Bibliography and the description of each profile. The descriptions are minimal but have everything you need to know. They list the aircraft version, serial number, pilot, unit, date and finally the wing camouflage style. The Albatros lends itself very well to this type of book due to the wide variety in the varnished wood, painted metal and factory finishes, as well as the huge selection of Jagdstaffe and personal markings. On top of that, it's just a darn good looking airplane.The larger size on the page allows you to appreciate not just the overall artwork, but also the smaller details included in the profiles. Mr. Douglass has an eye for detail and obviously spent many hours working to get the most accurate profile for each type and manufacturer possible, not just the paint but the detail differences of engines, airframes, etc.I really like this book. The quality of the printing, the layout of the profiles (big and not in the gutter of the pages) and the picture-only format win me over. The realistic lighting and weathering of the planes appeals to me as well, and the attention to detail is icing on the cake. My one criticism is I would have liked to have seen a small photo of each aircraft pictured included on the page, but any fan of the Albatros is bound to have other sources to fill that gap.

In the early to middle years of World War I, the German Albatros fighter was the fighter you had to beat. It was, I think, the most attractive fighter of the war. It had a plywood covered fuselage rather than being a fabric covered wooden frame of its contemporaries. In many cases this plywood was varnished and the wood grain shows up well in pictures. It was elliptical in cross section and tear drop shape from front to back. Powered by a Mercedes D.III engine of 150 horsepower (later 170 hp) and having two machine guns firing through the propeller it was the primary plane responsible for The Germans winning air superiority in the 1916/1917. Moving on through the war, the latest version of the Albatros, the D.Va was superseded by the Fokker VII, but was never totally replaced, still flying at the end of the war.This book primarily consists of photographs and drawings of aircraft used by some pilots during the war. These planes were painted with very individualistic patterns and colors to make them easy to identify by your countrymen during the whirling and turning of WW I dog fights.

This book is wonderful,excellent ,or dare I say beautiful? The large scale is a bonus. Modellers will love it. G.H.Keable.

Must get more of these.

Well produced would be helpful to have some 4 view pages

Nice profiles, lovely colour plates

I was quite disappointed when I received this book. I was expecting a history of the aircraft although I have the very good Windsock Datafile for it, and a number of drawings. I was really looking for detail for my modeling. Instead I got a book of colour plates. There is a small 2 line description for each profile so it is possible to look up the info online, but isn't that what the book is for? Finally quite a few of the profiles are ones you see everyday while looking up the Albatros online. There are few "new" schemes to look at.On the positive side this is a nice coffee table book.So if you want a book for display, a number of paint schemes all in one spot, a book on the Albatros to round out your collection, this is a good book. If you want details, history, uncommon paint scheme ideas, or line drawings this isn't the one