[.ca] The Messerschmitt Me 109: Volume I: 1936 to 1942 (from ... (ISBN 2913903088)

Details!:
If you are more interested in camouflage than the actual blue print of the aircraft, this is the book for you. The level of detail concerning insignia and variation in paint schemes makes this book fascinating. Remember, the goal of the artist was not to make super realistic lateral views. Rather, it is a chronicle on the creative camouflage applications by the Luftwaffe during WW II. I was somewhat bothered by the underneath wing cross not following the shape of the wing. Unacceptable considering all the work that went into these illustrations. No one checked for typos and word spacing problems either. Still, the two volumes of this series are the most important books of their kind. Aircraft modlers will go absolutely nuts over these books.

A Color Art Bargain, But ...:
For the price, you get 51 profile pages, that's 205 aircraft! 109s, starting with prototypes, B-C-D models, into the E-series warhorses, to include foreign service. There's also a brief dip into early F-models (12 examples). A goodly number of examples are not often illustrated. Color art is rendered in the "scale effect" approach, so the appearance is toward the realistic while color differences are easier to distinguish (compared to the use of full strength colors from RLM paint chips favored by some illustrators). Other pages present pertinent details graphically. Examples of this are stencil placement, standard camo schemes, experten kill markings, 109 subtype differences, and more, some 16 pages worth. So, this volume is nothing but colorful and pleasing to the eye. At the price, for color art, this one is unbeatable. However, there are flaws. Maps purporting to show unit locations for major campaigns are incomplete; not explained, this good idea is close to worthless. Unit badge pages are spectacularly colorful but captions are poor and can mislead. Some captions are transposed on the page for E-model camo schemes (albeit, no special knowledge is required to sort this out). These examples suggest insufficient care by the publisher. So, when examining captions for the profiles, some problems arise. Unit designations may not be 100% accurate and the dates are loose. So confusion can arise, especially when more than one a/c profile is shown for a given pilot. Specifically, 3 for Helmut Wick and 2 for Heinz Bar. There's more, but going into written detail without showing the visuals would be a waste. The point is, some captions can lead to confusion when it comes to historical detail. Bottom line: The abundance of color a/c profiles(including lesser known examples) makes this volume highly attractive. But it offers little as a solid historical reference. As long as this can be overcome by readers, look forward to succeeding volumes covering 1943-1945.

The Messerschmitt Me 109 : 1936 to 1942 : (From the Prototyp:
The color profiles of various Me-109s ARE the book. Great for modelers, and Me-109 fans. Some French to English translation / editing flaws in the text. The main thrust of the book is the Me-109E, its various paint schemes, maintenance markings, wing and fighter group insignia, fusilage markings, kill markings, etc. The Me-109F2 is introduced in the final chapter, with 12 profiles of said aircraft provided. If you're looking for prewar / early war Me-109 color profiles, this book is "more bang for your buck" when compared to those in the Osprey Aircraft of the Aces Series.

Pages after Pages of Me 109s Colour-Plates - Good Reference.:
This is by far the most comprehensive guide on the markings and colour schemes of the famous Messerschmitt Me 109. I was breathless when I first opened this book. It is filled with many very beautiful colour-plates profiles of this WWII fighter. This Volume I covers the period between 1936 to 1942 and Volume II will cover 1943 to end of WWII. Messerschmitt fans and modelling enthusiasts, don't hesitate. You won't regret getting this one.

Osprey do it better !:
For a book based exclusively on a collection of aircraft profile drawings the artwork has to 'look right'; here it simply does'nt. A vast selection of Bf109s are illustrated but they all have a curious banana shaped fuselage and heavily shaded panel lines where none exist...there are no accompanying reference details and little in the way of photos. As the intro in the original French edition stated, this work was essentially cobbled together from a variety of well known English language sources and designed for non-English speaking enthusiasts. There seems ultimately little point in offering a translated edition...the bottom line... even Osprey does this sort of thing better..!!