There is an excellent video presentation of this latest MMP publication " Messerschmitt Bf 109 G with DB 605 A Engine " on the MMP website (see below) and initial impressions were very good. Unfortunately now that I have the book in my hands I have to say that I'm a little disappointed. Firstly though the book certainly appears to represent good value for money - amazon resellers are offering this at under £9! And the page count is incorrect in the amazon blurb - it is actually 150 A-4 pages. Contents are organised around a description of each variant of the Gustav, a few pages of (rather washed-out) photos and scale plans - up to page 68. From page 68 to 142 the book features colour airframe photos from museum examples with additional detail views extracted from the various type handbooks. However the layout is rather haphazard and the captions are pretty poor, comprising at most a sentence or two. In addition the 'featured' airframes have all been seen many times before, while the photo content is curiously slanted towards Axis operators of the Gustav -rather than Luftwaffe - and the reproduction of the handful of pages of profile artworks is very dark. The 'old' Squadron Signal Walkaround Bf 109 G is a rather better book than this one, but can be a little hard to find. Overall though, recommended with some reservations.
And via email from Rich Carrick, news of a new publishing company specialising in Luftwaffe subjects;
" Taking my cue from such established and successful publishers as Classic Publications, Monogram, Schiffer, JaPo and Trojca, my aim with Chandos Publications is to produce high-quality titles that you will be proud to own. They can be used both as stand-alone history books, and as primary references to help ensure an accurate model build. The initial focus will be on World War Two Luftwaffe subjects, although I am also hoping to explore other areas of military history. For this, and future projects, I have employed the services of the original Classic Publications team of Robert Forsyth, Eddie J. Creek, Arthur Bentley and Mark Nelson. Our first book will be a completely re-worked, expanded and up-dated edition of Martin Pegg’s seminal 1997 work Hs 129 Panzerjäger!, originally published by Classic. Following the debut release, keep an eye out for a fascinating title covering late-war Luftwaffe operations using the Arado Ar 234. I hope that these two books will be the first of many in our planned ‘Luftwaffe Library’ series..." Rich Carrick
The Chandos Publications website is here
Interview on this blog with Eddie Creek
Interview on this blog with Robert Forsyth
