Greetings:

I am hooked into making these models which to me means research. I looked up amazon and aerodrome books and looking for a general introduction of these planes with lots of pictures and details. There are a couple of books, Aircraft of WW I and Military Aircraft of WW I that seem to be what I want but have few reviews. Should I forget "general" books and concentrate on specific planes or countries? Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi John,

Some of the best sources are the Windsock Datafiles, which are softbound books that cover specific airplanes. They are written and illustrated with the modeler in mind.

As a source, I would have you consider Byrd Aviation Books (www.byrdaviationbooks.com). They carry all the Datafiles in print, and will get you any that are out of print (it may take a little while, but they'll find it). They are an outstanding source for any and all books related to airplanes of this time period, and their prices are very reasonable. For a special treat-if you are in Williamsburg VA, I would strongly urge you to set up an appointment to stop by the store. It's like waking up as a kid on Christmas morning, only you have to pay for the presents...

Hope this helps.

Thanks Dennis,

I appreciate the tip. What a fantastic resource the Byrd Books are. I have been looking them over for a while now and will have to spend a few dollars on them. Great references, thanks again.

John

John,
I second Dennis's comments on Datafiles. My work has kept me mainly in a "spectator mode" for years however as the retirement thing drew closer I started to build my reference library and Windsock is a big part of it. I deal with them directly on line and have been impressed with the attention and personal approach they use.
Suggest also Osprey; their Aircraft of the Aces being really nice stuff on markings and color schemes and tremendously enjoyable reading as a bonus.
Last, I highly recommend a subscription to the Windsock Worldwide magazine. (six issues a year and great value for the $) It's a wealth of info catered to the WWI aviation modeler and full of build articles, kit and product reviews, and inside perspective on coming products. Hope I'm allowed to "push" specific products on this forum as the most valuable resource I've found is this very site and I don't want to get put in the penalty box!
Welcome to the fold.

Cheers