Colors and Markings of the F-102 Delta Dagger Book Review

By Michael Benolkin

Review

Detail and Scale Publications is back with another digital title, and the second in their Colors and Markings Series since going digital-only in their publications. This is the Colors and Markings of the F-102 Delta Dagger and is designed as a companion for the F-102 Delta Dagger in Detail and Scale released earlier this year. Unlike many of the titles previously published in the new digital Detail and Scale family, this is an all-new reference and the first with Rock Roszak (Colonel, USAF retired) in the lead. Followers of this series will recognize Rock's name as he had co-authored and illustrated the previous titles in the digital series, but he is also the one who transformed the once-hardcopy titles into fully interactive digital references that have the same look and feel in Apple's iBook format and Amazon's Kindle format. If you have any other digital titles in your library, these Detail and Scale titles set the bar (high) for what I expect out of other digital publications.

What does digital publishing mean to you?

• You can use menu hyperlinks to jump straight to a section of interest
• You can expand photos and drawings to full-screen
• You can zoom in on details in photos and drawings for a closer look
• You can search for specific text within the title
• You can bookmark items of interest
• You can highlight and annotate the book with your own notes

Coverage includes:

• Delta Dagger Paint Schemes
• Air Defense Command (ADC) Squadrons
• Alaskan Air Command (AAC)
• United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE)
• Pacific Air Forces (PACAF)
• Air National Guard (ANG)
• Miscellaneous Users

I recently read an online request from a modeler wanting to see the F-102 in 5th FIS colors. That's in here. I was curious to see if this identified the unit that one Lt George W Bush flew the F-102, and that's in here as well. The search function works well. Did you know that the F-102 wore three primary color schemes? That's in here along with nice illustrations from the author. In fact, the author provided nice full-color three-view versions of the Southeast Asia paint scheme out of USAF Technical Order 1-1-4 for both the F-102A and TF-102A.

If you're planning to build one of the Monogram 1/48 F-102 kits (Case X or XX), whether it appears in a Monogram, Revell, Encore, or Hasegawa box, or perhaps the aircraft in another scale, here is the best reference for replicating the colors and markings for the specific unit your decals represent. Of course, you'll want the F-102 in Detail and Scale title to assist with the colors and details in the cockpit, weapons bays, etc. And at $9.99 per title, where else are you going to find 300+ pages of excellent modeling reference at your fingertips?

Head over to Amazon or the iTunes Store and order a copy. This technology is also truly instant gratification as the title will download to your tablet on completion of your purchase.

For more information about this and other titles, visit their website.

Definitely recommended!

My sincere thanks to Detail & Scale for this review copy.