Air Combat Legends [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Nicolas Trudgian (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
One of the world's most popular painters of military subjects presents 50 full colour aviation paintings, including depictions of aerial combat not achievable with the camera, supported by detailed pencil drawings and the artist's narrative. Will be launched at Duxford Air Show. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description
A collection of over forty full colour paintings of combat aircraft dating from the second world war, by aviation artist Nicolas Trudgian. Each painting is accompanied by the preliminary sketches and working drawings and a text locating each scene depicted.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 95 pages
• Publisher: David & Charles; illustrated edition edition (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0715307932
• ISBN-13: 978-0715307939
• Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 11.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,450,711 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Military art at its finest, February 23, 2001

By A Customer

This is an excellent example of military artwork at its best. Gives the reader an excellent background on the thought process behind each of Trudgian's masterpieces. I own 11 separate prints of his and this book is a welcome addition to my Trudgian collection. Highly recommend this book to any WW2 historian or fan.

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful Aviation Art Collection!, September 23, 2008

By	Michael OConnor "Wordsmith" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Nicholas Trudgian has to be one of the top five or six aviation artists in the world. David & Charles provides a generous sampling of his art in this 1998 volume which showcases over 30 of Trudgian's best work. It's the next best thing to owning a print!

Following a brief, 16-page biography by a fellow illustrator, Trudgian presents 31 full-page reproductions of various WWII air combat scenes. The facing page includes interesting comments by Trudgian on the event depicted, problems encounted with that particular painting, etc. along with close-ups views of the artwork or related paintings. The 'Operation Tidal Wave' painting, for example, includes another Trudgian B-24 artwork on the facing page.

In perusing the book, it's easy to see why Trudgian is so highly regarded. That self-same 'Operation Tidal Wave' artwork gives the viewer a marvelous, evocative feeling of "you are there" as USAAF B-24s thunder past you, fleeing Ploesti at rooftop height. Other Trudgian favorites of mine include 'The Battle of Kursk,' 'Thundering Home,' 'A Welcome at the Inn' and 'One-Tens Over Kent.'

For those of us who love aviation history but have limited budgets, books like COMBAT LEGENDS are a god-send. You not only get to sample a major talent at work but you get to hear some interesting history along with
stories about painting. Pick up a copy of COMBAT LEGENDS and see a master at work! Highly recommended.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful book, gorgeous paintings by a talented artist, September 7, 1999

By A Customer

A great book with lots of info about the paintings and comments from the artist about the way he develloped the pictures