C-17 Globemaster III: McDonnell Douglas/Boeing's Military Transport

Stemming from a U.S. Air Force proposal to replace the C-130 Hercules that grew in size and power, the C-17 actually fills a gap between the C-130 and the C-5 and meets many of the roles left by the C-141. In addition to strategic and tactical airlift capable of carrying more than 170.000 pounds of cargo including tanks, the 174-foot-long jet can drop paratroopers and is used for medical evacuations. Since entering USAF service in 1995, more than 270 have been built and are operated by the air forces of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, India, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait.

Revell has released a 1/144 scale C-17. In 1/72 scale, there are several versions of the big plane in resin from Anigrand and Kinetic has shown an intention to produce an injection-molded plastic kit. Regardless of which version you plan to build, grab a copy of C-17 Globemaster III: McDonnell Douglas/Boeing's Military Transport from Schiffer's Legends of Warfare Aviation series. After tracing the cargo lifter's development and comparing it to other military transports, author Ken Neubeck shows the C-17 in detail with good photos of the landing gear, cockpit, airframe, and cargo bay.

A separate chapter details the loadmaster functions with photos and diagrams of various loads. Following that are chapters about the planes in USAF and foreign service as well as in combat operations and special missions.

Like all of the Legends of Warfare books, the focus of the 128-page hardcover is large, well-produced photos with detailed captions. Those make this a must-have for anyone building a Globemaster III or interested in seeing learning more about the aircraft.

-FineScale Modeler Editor, Aaron Skinner