45-Degree, 2 Bar Ship's Railings

Published: January 30, 2012
Company: Eduard

Bottom Line

Very esoteric 1/700 scale warship photoetch set with limited utility. For experienced super-detailers. NOTE: this is not typical deck railings!

Eduard from the Czech Republic has been producing superior photoetch sets for years. They have ventured into 1/700 and 1/350 scale ship railings now with eleven new sets released in 2011. Four are in 1/700 scale and all are angled railings, something unique. You have a choice of long or short spaces between stanchions (vertical supports), and 2-bar or 3-bar railings, but all are 45-degrees, meaning the vertical stanchions are angled at 45 degrees to the horizontal chains.

What You Get

For a retail price of $27 you get a large fret of stainless steel, rather thick railings. There are two versions… more

USN 20mm Oerlikon AA Photoetch Set

Published: January 11, 2012
Company: Eduard

Bottom Line

Another entry into aftermarket 1/700 scale US Navy 20mm mounts. Has single and double tripod mounts. Photoetch steel with close to scale look, not difficult to fold, fair value, but still has flat barrels. One of few sources for 20mmx2 mounts. Will give acceptable, good-looking 20mm mounts for late WW2 USN warships.

One major bugaboo for 1/700 scale warships has been oversized light AA weapons. Most injection-molded kits have 20mm barrels that are more like 3-5 inch guns when scaled up to actual size. Gun shields are thicker than battle ship armor plate when scaled up. In other words, most WW2 models suffer from light AA weapons that are way too big, wide, chunky and oversized, enough so to make the model look toy-like instead of accurate. This is… more

Model Art Modeling Magazine, #42, Waterline Model Special - Attack on Pearl Harbor

Published: July 4, 2020
Company: Model Art

On the 70th anniversary of the Hawaiian Operation (as the Imperial Japanese Navy called it), Model Art Winter quarterly is all about Kido Butai, the Japanese fleet that attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Most of this issue is devoted to building detailed 1/700 models of the major Japanese warships (light cruisers and larger) and the submarines that attacked Pearl Harbor. Thus, this issue is strictly for IJN buffs.

Model Art quarterly issues are a larger format than their monthly issues. As usual, almost the entire text is in Japanese, but the pictures tell a thousand words. Page 1 has the usual four postcards of IJN warship paintings by Yukio Mizuno. Pages 3-7 are the Table of Contents and ads. Pages 8-15 are a new kit review of Hasegawa’s 1/350 Hikawa Maru liner.… more

Model Art Modeling Magazine, #832, November 2011

Published: November 11, 2011
Company: Model Art

ModelArt No. 832 monthly update has the usual features of new product kits, as well as a feature topic. This month, the topic is aluminum metallizing finishes. Pages 5-49 show a list of four entire pages of different paints with a picture of its bottle and a painted plastic spoon so you can see how it looks – a thorough encyclopedia of available aluminum metallic paints. Examples of how to use the paints to build real kits are detailed for 1/32 scale P51D, Tojo, and Tony fighter aircraft. Other examples include more fighter aircraft, a B26an airliner, a Formula One racing car, several luxury sedans, and even tank treads. The text is in Japanese, but the numerous photographs help decipher what is being done. At least this section gives some advanced modeling tips for aluminum finishes… more

Model Art Modeling Magazine, #41, Waterline Model Special - Katori class, Hatsuharu class

Published: September 9, 2011
Company: Model Art

Model Art No. 41 Autumn 2011 is devoted to several classes of more obscure Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) warships in WW2. Specifically, Katori class light/training cruisers, Hatsuharu class destroyers, and Fuso class battleships. For each class, you get to see builds of the most recent kits, drawings, figures and photos showing intimate details of each class/kit, and background history with photos (in Japanese of course). Scales are mostly 1/700 since 1/350 kits are not available for Katori and Hatsuharu classes yet. Battleships kits are mostly 1/350 scale model kits. Coverage is comprehensive, with emphasis on historical accuracy of appearance. This edition is perfect for those modeling these ship classes.

There are other features too… more

Model Art Modeling Magazine, #828, September 2011

Published: September 9, 2011
Company: Model Art

In Model Art No. 828, September 2011, the ever-popular Takao class of WW2 Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) heavy cruisers in 1/700 scale is featured. Pages 12-45 are filled with a comprehensive review comparing commercial kits and aftermarket sets, along with very detailed build information on super-accurizing each ship in the class (Atago, Chokai, Maya, Takao). Builds range from straight out of the box to superdetailing with aftermarket photoetch. Pages 50-52 are a history of Chokai. Except for this history, the non-English language is not a problem for understanding the builds and modifications. If you want to build 1/700 ships of this class, this magazine is a must-have.

The first feature (pages 6-11) is Revell’s new 1/350… more

Italian Battleships of World War II

Published: August 29, 2011
Book Author(s): Mark E. Stille
Company: Osprey Publishing

Mark Stille is a retired Commander of the US Navy and has written a succession of books for Osprey Publishing on naval topics. He continues as an intelligence analyst at the Pentagon. New Vanguard 182 covers Italian battleships of World War Two, an obscure topic. Like other Osprey books, an in-depth treatment is not given, but an excellent synopsis of design, characteristics and history of each ship is presented.

Italian battleships at the start of World Ward Two (June 1940 for Italy) consisted of two classes of four obsolete World War One vintage battleships that were all modernized in the 1930s. While much criticism has been expressed for spending time and resources on old hulls instead of new builds, these ships gave the Italian Navy an interim force to counter French capital… more

Model Art Modeling Magazine, #824, July 2011

Published: July 6, 2011
Company: Model Art

Model Art No. 824, July 2011 issue features the tools of modeling – everything needed to finish surfaces of models. Pages 9 - 43 are filled with commercial products from sanding sticks to glue and everything in between (but not paint). Unfortunately, this is where not being able to translate the text into English hurts – we never find out who won.

Pages 44 - 61 show off the next feature – building three kits of late-mark Spitfires in three different scales, followed with two pages of who makes Spitfire kits. Next up is the Waterline No.395 section, a review of the new 1/700 IJN Amagi battlecruiser kit from Fujimi. This is a what-if, showing what the ship would have looked like in the early 1930s. Amagi was cancelled by the 1922 Washington Treaty and scheduled for conversion to… more

Model Art Modeling Magazine, #39, U.S. Light / Escort Aircraft Carriers of WWII

Published: April 6, 2011
Company: Model Art

ModelArt Spring 2011 No. 39 is entirely devoted to US Light and Escort Carriers in WW2. Armor, aircraft and car buffs will only have a few small ads to peruse, with one exception. Aircraft modelers will love the section on aircraft markings for individual carriers. No. 39 turns out to be an excellent reference work on US Navy WW2 smaller carriers, but as usual the text is entirely in Japanese. However, the historical data section is still useful, and the usual scrutiny of recently available kit builds are very helpful for modelers. This format is larger than regular monthly ModelArt magazines, and the printing quality is of high standards. The book measures 210 X 296 mm (that’s 8-1/4 by 11-3/4 inches). The majority of the article photos are in color. My chief complaint with their… more

IJN Nagato 1941

Published: April 1, 2011
Company: Fujimi

Bottom Line: New molding for 1/700 scale IJN Nagato as she appeared at the beginning of WW2 (1941). Excellent detail, excellent fit, accurate appearance.

IJN Nagato

Nagato was a historic ship – first battleship with 16in main guns, the most powerful weapon afloat for a few years, Japanese flagship at the start of WW2, surrendered the Japanese Navy in 1945 and sunk by an atomic bomb (it took two). On December 2, 1941, the signal to attack Pearl Harbor was transmitted from the IJN Fleet Flagship, HIJMS Nagato. Until Yamato was commissioned and made Fleet Flagship in February 1942, Nagato was the flagship and thus the most important warship in Japan for almost twenty years. During the war, Nagato shadowed the newer super battleships Yamato… more