Model Art Issue 60 is typical of other Model Art magazines in that it is written entirely in Japanese, with occasional English words, usually in article titles or in captions. The Vessel Model Special is a quarterly issue that focuses on naval subjects. Advertising comprises the inside covers (and back cover) along with another four pages showing what is available and new, always useful for building up that wish list. I counted nearly 600 photos (mostly in color) along over forty 1/700 scale drawings. Additionally there are a lot of color scrap drawings highlighting details in the Ship Construction series.

There is a lot of incredible models in this Summer edition as I was just amazed at what could be done in 1/700 scale. This issue’s feature is the Battle of Leyte Gulf. As you can see in the following Contents, the focus is primarily on Ozawa’s Task Force with the USS Lexington thrown in to represent the US side.

Once again our friend Piotr keeps cranking these things out… THANKS VERY MUCH for sending IPMS USA another of your growing line of turned metal Pitot tubes, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it on to me to review….

This is, again, a world-class improvement and upgrade to the kit plastic. Actually, it’s a step beyond, as included is what appears to be a 3-D printed part with all the vanes (which cause us old guys to have apoplectic fits) molded on one tube! FANTASTIC!.

The Master data probe consists of two metal parts and one resin part with all 8 vanes attached to it and protected in a foam cutout box. These three simple items directly replace the kit pitot probe and air data vane assembly. This is an easy addition to improve the longevity of your kits’ appearance.

Matthew Willis was born in the historic naval town of Harwich, Essex in 1976. Matthew studied Literature and History of Science at the University of Kent, where he wrote an MA thesis on Joseph Conrad and sailed for the University in national competitions. He subsequently worked as a journalist for Autosport and F1 Racing magazines, before switching to a career with the National Health Service, where he wrote everything from press releases to consultation papers. His first non-fiction book, a history of the Blackburn Skua WW2 naval dive bomber, was published in 2007. He currently lives in Southampton with his University lecturer wife Rosalind, and writes both fiction and non-fiction for a living. This is Matthew Willis fourth book, and third with Mushroom Model Publications. He has also authored many feature articles in aviation and scale modeling magazines