Two Bobs Aviation Graphics

SHOCK AND AWE AIRCRAFT, Nose Art & Mission Marks of

Operation Enduring / Iraqi Freedom By Greg L. Davis

Product Article by Ken Middleton on Aug 9 2005

 

 

 

The long anticipated book by Greg L. Davis, also known as "Cactus", and Two Bobs Aviation Graphics is now available.

The book is soft-cover, and contains close to 1,000 color photographs on 160 glossy pages. The photographs show various art work and mission marks carried during the conflicts, and captions explain the work. There is an author's note to readers, acknowledgements and a forward by Capt. Randall "Hacker" Haskin, an F-15E pilot with the 336 FS. Hacker's forward explains a bit about the history of nose art. At the end of the photographs, there is a Two Bobs decal listing that would allow many of the aircraft depicted to be modeled. Finally, a photo and a biography on Greg completes the volume. Personally, I have been a long time fan of Cactus' work.

A note about the cover material - Bob Sanchez acknowledged the material is a bit thin, so proper care should be taken when handling it.
The book is divided into 5 chapters - US Air Force, USMC, US Navy, US Army and Coalition Forces.

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The aircraft covered are as follows:

USAF: F-16 (21 pages), F-117, A-10 (including Capt. Kim Campbell's jet), HH-60, MH-53, various C-130 variants, KC-135, AWACS, E-8 Joint STARS, RC-135, KC-10, C-17, C-5, C-32, CN-235, C-135, U-2S, RQ-4, B-52, and F-15.

USMC: EA-6B, F/A-18, AV-8B, KC-130, AH-1W, UH-1N, CH-53 and CH-46.

US Navy: S-3, CH-46, CH/MH-53, EA-6B, F/A-18 (23 pages), C-2A, E-2C, SH-60, F-14 (15 pages). 

US Army: AH-64, CH-47 and UH-60.

Coalition Forces: RAF Tornado, RAF Harrier, VC-10, Tristar, RAAF Hornet, RAAF CH-47, RAAF Sea King, RAAF C-130, Russian AN-72 and Belgian C-130.

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The photography throughout is excellent, and showcases the various art and mission marks carried. The photographers range from award winning professionals, to military members, to hobbyists. The captions do a very good job explaining the origins of many of the art. For anyone interested in history and/or modeling, this book is a must have.

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This book retails for $34.95 and is available now through www.twobobs.net and select US Hobby Shops.  Overseas customers can purchase these from Twobobs site or through Twobobs network of overseas distributors.  Remember, shipping is always FREE to US Customers at Twobobs!! 

A very special thanks to Two Bobs for the review sample.

Ken

Photos and text © by Ken Middleton