Box Top Air Power Book Review by Paul A.

Hi,

Hi, Another book review, this time featuring one of my more recent purchases, from a few months ago.

Box Top Air Power - The Aviation Art of Model Airplane Boxes, Thomas Graham, Schiffer Publishing, USA, 2008.

Still available.

Another volume from Thomas Graham, but slightly different to his previous company histories. This one is a collection of the paintings done for various model aircraft box tops, along with a few missiles and spacecraft. 

These are the original paintings rather than the box tops that we saw in the shops. There is no text or company logos - just the artwork. All the illustrations are in full colour. The book is printed on glossy paper throughout, with excellent reproduction. 176 pages.

Following a short introduction, each entry comprises the painting, a brief history of the aircraft, and some information on the artist and the painting itself. This varies from a sentence or two, to several paragraphs. Mostly one painting per page, but there are a few pages with two. 

The illustrations run in historical order, according to the real aircraft, from the Monogram Wright Flyer, to the Monogram YF-22 Lightning II fighter, and a couple of Science Fiction craft. This does mean that artwork from different eras is presented side by side, rather than having all the 1950s paintings together, then the 1960s, etc. 

That would have made it easier to see the changes in box art styles over time, but would have meant mixing up different eras in aviation history.

The artwork comes from a number of different companies, some now long gone, but others still around (even if they have changed hands several times). Most are from the Big Three - Revell, Monogram, and Aurora, plus examples from Lindberg, K&B, Williams Brothers, AMT, Hawk, MPC, and Testors. 

Apart from a few airliners by Lodela (Mexican Revell kits), all of these are US companies.

This is not a reference book on models, but a collection of some truly stunning box art - the cover painting is from the Revell Air Power Gift Set of 1956, which contained five USAF jets. If you like kit box art, this is a wonderful book.

Paul Adams from New Zealand