Jump to content

Steve Ginter's Naval Fighters Series reference books through Ebay, authorized reprints or bootleg copies?


Recommended Posts

I recently purchased Steve Ginter's Naval Fighters Number Twenty One, Chance Vought V-173 and XF5U-1 Flying Pancakes through Ebay. 

 

Upon arrival, I noticed something was a bit off with the book.  It was printed on copy bond paper rather than glossy magazine paper, the print was skewed on the pages, presumably misaligned from using a copier, the leafs of the suspect copy were glued, rather than stapled on the originals, and the originals had the first page printed on the inside cover, while the first page of the suspect printing was moved to the first leaf, which later caused two-page illustrative spreads to be split on different sides of the same leaf.

 

Basically I'm asking if this is an authorized reprint, whereupon I'll just return the copy for a refund and look for an original, or if this is copyright infringement and who and how best to report it?

Thank you, and take care!

Link to post
Share on other sites

The book is Out Of Print. You have what is called a print upon demand edition. It is legit but not of the greatest quality. Same thing happened to me when I bought Vol 1 of Ginter's Skywarrior books. Same type paper and poor B&W photo reproduction. If you buy from Amazon sometimes it will be noted in the description that it is a POD edition. Another good place to buy books is Biblio.  

Link to post
Share on other sites

I suggest trying Biblio.com. They are like the Rock Auto of book stores. I have always been happy with my purchases through them.

 

I just got back from going on Biblio and there were several copies of the monograph you bought or are looking for. Various prices depending who the seller is.  

Edited by Jon Krol
Link to post
Share on other sites
On 11/6/2021 at 10:46 AM, Tailspin Turtle said:

Check Steve’s website to see what is out of print: http://www.ginterbooks.com/

 

Order any of those even on Amazon and you may get a low-quality POD.

 

I asked Amazon not to do that for any of mine and they seemed to have complied (the F-111B is out of stock; they list one “collectible” for $132!)

Tommy, I have your monograph on the F-111B. Loaded with great info on the plane. I wish someone would come out with a really good 1/48 conversion set for either the Academy or HB kits. I had no idea your book was worth that much lol. 

Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Jon Krol said:

Tommy, I have your monograph on the F-111B. Loaded with great info on the plane. I wish someone would come out with a really good 1/48 conversion set for either the Academy or HB kits. I had no idea your book was worth that much lol. 

Most of the stuff of interest to modelers, in fact material that is not in the monograph (it was published 30 years ago), is provided by my blogs. I’ve thought about fronting 1/72 and 1/48 conversions (and suggested it to a couple of aftermarket providers) but nothing has come of it. Yet.

Link to post
Share on other sites
5 hours ago, Tailspin Turtle said:

Most of the stuff of interest to modelers, in fact material that is not in the monograph (it was published 30 years ago), is provided by my blogs. I’ve thought about fronting 1/72 and 1/48 conversions (and suggested it to a couple of aftermarket providers) but nothing has come of it. Yet.

I'd go for a 1/48 set. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

I contacted Steve and POD seems to be his take.  While filing and organizing I discovered I have an original print of the Flying Pancake book, so I've filed a return.

I'll look at what's available at Biblio, I believe I've purchased through them before.

$132 for the F-111B book!  Makes me regret exchanging the legit misprint I had 15+ years back that Tailspin kindly helped me out with.  I should have had him sign it and then purchased another! LOL!

I'd go for an F-111B conversion set in 1/72.  I discovered the Pete's Hanger offering only after it had gone OOP, and Pete stated he was going to do a re-release, updated, just before he passed.

Thanks for your input, guys.  It provided understanding for what's going on and what to look out for.  Take care!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Jeez, didn't know my F-111B book was now a gold mine!  Glad I got it when I did....

For me the trouble isn't so much a conversion kit in 1/72 since I have the old Revell "B" nose; the trouble is finding a Hasegawa FB-111 kit for a reasonable price!!! :soapbox:

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...