Review: Supermarine Walrus & Stranraer, MMP Yellow Series

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PaulBradley
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Review: Supermarine Walrus & Stranraer, MMP Yellow Series

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Supermarine Walrus and Stranraer
James Kightly & Roger Wallgrove
Mushroom Models Publications, Yellow Series


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This Yellow Series book from Mushroom Models deals with two of Reginald Mitchell’s other designs – Supermarine was first and foremost a company that built flying boats, not fighters! The Walrus, immortalized as the Shagbat, is remembered as an air-sea rescue craft, but was designed as a ship-borne spotter. The Stranraer, named for a small Scottish port, was the last of the big biplane flying boats and served with distinction as a patrol aircraft in both the RAF and RCAF during the early years of WWII. Both types served in limited civilian roles post-1945.

This extensively-illustrated paperback describes in detail the technical aspects of each type along with a brief history. In the case of the Walrus, there is a very useful section that describes in detail the differences between marks – the Stranraer was only produced in one form. The authors state that this is the first time that the Mk.II Walrus has been accurately described and illustrated, a bonus for conversion addicts. The majority of the book is made up of 65 pages of mostly good quality photos, both color and b&w, of the aircraft in great detail. These are both period and of the few remaining airframes. At the end of the book, there are 23 pages of full color profiles guaranteed to whet the appetite!

One omission that I find glaring, especially with such unusual subjects, it a lack of information on available kits. For the record, the Stranraer has only once been kitted, albeit nicely, by Matchbox in 1/72 scale. The Walrus has been issued by Matchbox/Revell, Valom and Airfix in 1/72, Merit/SMER in 1/50 and Classic Airframes in 1/48, of which the latter is by far the best!

In addition to the book, a nice set of pull out plans to 1/72 is included. These clearly illustrate the features of these boats and their variations. The authors are at pains to point out that previous plans of the Walrus contain many errors, though not having access to the real thing, I cannot judge how precise the plans in this book are!

To my knowledge, this is the first time that the Stranraer has been covered in this detail, though the Walrus has been the subject of a Profile and a Warpaint. As such, this will be especially useful to those who have the Matchbox Stranraer, but also for those with one of the various Walrus kits. Mushroom have a nice habit of picking unusual subjects for their monographs, which pleases me no end. I can heartily recommend this book.
Paul

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