UFO by Asahi Sonorama
01/08/2004 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 

pub: Futabasha/Asahi Sonorama. 96 page softcover. Price: £30.00 (Japanese Import via Comet Minatures, UK but check the Net for suppliers in your country. ISBN: 4-575-29630-9.

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check out website: www.futabasha.co.jp

Again Asahi Sonorama is either the publisher, writer or both. As the book is in Japanese, it's a bit hard to say which although this time, we might have a possible publisher.

If you're going to compare this to last month's 'Classic Thunderbirds' then don't. This book is nearly half the size but larger than A5. There's a lot more Japanese text, fewer colour pages but a lot about the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's TV series 'UFO' and its Japan merchandise.

If you're planning to go after Japanese model kits then this really is an essential...er...can't call it a read unless you can read Japanese. What it does show is the models that are constructed and if you want to avoid the models that have been built with wheels then this is an asset.

There is also an excellent of Mike Trim's pre-production sketches of all the series craft. You might have seen some of these in last year's 'The Complete Book Of Gerry Anderson's UFO' but it's nice to know they're in wider circulation.

This is awfully specialised for the average 'UFO' fan if you're really after photos from the show but if you're a completest then you'd probably go after it anyway. As with all these Anderson related Japanese books, it's sure to become a collector's item in a year or so and should be suitably warned not to have regrets later for missing out.

GF Willmetts