Arts & Letters: Warbirds, Essex Interactive Media, N.J., $9.99.
Creative users with a love of aviation can build flyers, posters and almost anything that can be put on paper. Tools in the software offer control over object styles, colors and shapes. Hundreds of different backgrounds and clip-art images help users make pictures of aircraft in action. Images unrelated to aviation are also included for variety. An online database of warbird sound effects and historical data adds a little punch to this title, but its overall value is limited.
As an art program, Arts & Letters: Warbirds is outclassed by more modern packages, such as PrintMaster Gold, and as a reference product it is somewhat dated when compared to the polished Discovery Channel Wings titles such as Midway to Hiroshima or Wings Over Europe. As a collection of art and sounds, however, it would be a nice adjunct to either of those other programs, since the clip art can be exported and the sound files are available straight off the CD for use as Windows sounds.
Bernard Dy
