Michael spent his formative years in Papua New Guinea in the 1960s, during which he became fascinated by the many WWII aircraft wrecks which lay around the country and also throughout the Solomon Islands. Michael subsequently served widely overseas as an Australian diplomat throughout Southeast Asia and the Pacific, including Fiji (1995-1998) and Papua New Guinea (2003-2005). Michael’s history of the Tainan Naval Air Group in New Guinea, Eagles of the Southern Sky, received worldwide acclaim as the first English-language history of a Japanese fighter unit, and was subsequently translated into Japanese. An executive member of Pacific Air War History Associates, Michael holds a pilot license and PG4 paraglider rating. He continues to develop his skills as a digital aviation artist.
"""If I had been a little smarter, or was an AI review, I should have written something generic about all the magnificent color profiles and markings, along with a capsule history of individual airframes of squadron after squadron, in the series and just change the subtitle and say ""ditto"" as each new volume comes out. Any modeler or wargamer who paints up aircraft for WWII South Pacific will enjoy every volume in the series.""-- ""Historical Miniatures Gaming Society"" ""...a superb reference book for the modeler and enthusiast and well worth the price of admission.""-- ""ModelingMadness.Com"""