Reviews of products for scale ship models, including submarines.

Book Author(s)
Les Brown & Robert Brown
Review Author
Luke R. Bucci, PhD
Published on
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$28.95

Casemate Publishers presents Seaforth's ShipCraft 23, Rodney and Nelson battleships by Les & Robert Brown. This book is an update of the original 2015 ShipCraft of Rodney and Nelson. Les Brown is a well-known and accomplished British warship aficionado and builder of beautiful models, with a long history of championing British warships, typically destroyers and smaller warships. He is also a luminary in the Small Warships Group of the IPMS. Canadian Robert Brown has also authored other craft books, including HMS Warspite and British Aircraft Carriers.

This heavily illustrated paperback is the ultimate single resource for building accurate models of both Rodney and Nelson, some of the oddest but successful battleships of the 20th century. The book has very little open space, crammed full of text, drawings and photos of models.

Book Author(s)
Carlo Cestra
Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Kagero Publishing
MSRP
$49.00

This is part of a series of books by Kagero on warships and I have a few of these and are truly indispensable when building a model of the subject matter. I was glad I got to review this book now as I am in the middle of building the Very Fire 1/350 Deluxe Edition and it was invaluable in helping with the Photo Etch and finals details on the build.

This book goings into great detail via illustrations of the Imperial Japanese Navy Battleship Yamato as it was in 1945.

The book is lavishly illustrated and includes a few 3D drawings, many of which are stunning.

The illustrations give so much details as one could wish for as a modeler or history buff.

I cannot recommend this book enough as its gives as much details as available on Yamato. Thank you to IPMS USA and Kagero for allowing me to review this great book.

Book Author(s)
Waldemar Goralski and Janusz Skulski
Review Author
David Wrinkle
Published on
Company
Kagero Publishing

As a regular at IPMS shows, I’ve often seen Kagero’s Super Drawings in 3D series on display, and I’m kicking myself for not picking up a copy sooner. After diving into Takao, the latest installment in this impressive series, I can confidently say that it was well worth the wait.

This softbound book boasts excellent print quality, with full-color gloss A4 pages that bring every detail to life. The vintage photographs have been colorized, offering a fresh perspective on the Takao, and there’s even a few images of a stunningly detailed scale model of the ship.

Book Author(s)
Witold Koszela
Review Author
Luke R. Bucci, PhD
Published on
Company
Kagero Publishing
MSRP
$23.00

TopDrawings18 is a magnum opus of research and detail. Oddly, but luckily, this older Top Drawings from Kagero Publishing from 2013 was up for review. No complaints, and had to bring out the drool cup again. Kagero's Topdrawings softbacks are legendary for scale modelers. For ship modelers, they are an ultimate reference of appearance at a particular time, or sometimes several timepoints. Glossy color plates from covers and inserts are welcome, but color renditions of more views are found in the hefty companion 3D Drawings books of the same subjects. TopDrawings are specifically handy for scale modeler workbenches. Scale line drawings can be easily resized to fit whatever scale the modeler is building by modern copiers, a boon for scratchbuilding or replacing inaccurate parts.

This TopDrawing of HMS Warspite from WWI to WWII is larger than most, perhaps because of the illustrious career Warspite enjoyed. Even the history is two pages instead of one.

Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Schiffer Publishing
MSRP
$24.99

David Doyle's book on the US Coast Guard Cutter 37 is one of the latest entries in the 'Legends of Warfare' series with entries in Ground, Naval, and Aviation. Schiffer Publishing’s The Legends of Warfare series has expanded rapidly since its 2017 debut in the market with now over 100 titles released. This hard cover series covers a wide variety of monographs at a good price point. Catch up with Schiffer Publishing at https://www.facebook.com/schifferpublishing.

Book Author(s)
Stefan Draminksi
Review Author
David Wrinkle
Published on
Company
Kagero Publishing
MSRP
$37.00

For some time now, I have been wanting to check out a Kagero publication. I see them for sale at the IPMS shows from time to time and I can’t believe I waited this long to get my hands on a copy. The only Aircraft Carrier I have in my stash is the Akagi so I thought this a fitting edition to start with. First of all, I have to say I was gob smacked at the quality of the print. The book is softbound, and contains amazing color images on a full color, gloss A4 sized paper.

Book Author(s)
Mariusz Motyka
Review Author
Luke R. Bucci, PhD
Published on
Company
Kagero Publishing
MSRP
$30.00

Kagero's Super Drawings in 3D version was released in 2020. Kagero Top Drawings are geared for model builders in a more affordable and benchtop-useful format.

Another excellent pictorial book with large line drawings in color and B&W of an obscure subject - the most numerous class of post-war destroyers until the US Navy Arleigh Burke class, all started post-WW2. Project 30bis served as the backbone of Soviet fleet destroyers until the 1960s. This publication is designed for modelers, including scratch-builders, for any scale desired. The accuracy and number of views of the entire ship, ship sections, and ship fittings (even down to fairleads and bollards) are stunning, as usual. Even the colors appear to be accurate. This issue shows the class (named Smelyi class in Russia) as originally built - keep in mind there were many variations throughout a long time of service in Soviet and other navies.

Book Author(s)
Witold Koszela
Review Author
Chris Vandegrift
Published on
Company
Kagero Publishing
MSRP
$24.95

Right off the bat the 2 inserts are going to grab your attention! The color Sheet C is a large 16”x23” profile and top view of the ship as she was in 1944. Additionally, it has a profile showing the armaments for 1944 as well. This color version is obviously to reflect the camouflage scheme and will be the perfect reference for painting. The flip side of this is sheet D, the planes arrangement on the stern deck, which includes 3-view and technical data for the OS2U Kingfisher and SC1 Seahawk aircraft.

Book Author(s)
Carlo Cestra
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Kagero Publishing
Scale
n/a
MSRP
$33.95

While Kagero has an established reputation for quality books that modelers appreciate and use on their reference shelves, Super Drawings in 3D focuses on ships beautifully rendered in 3D CAD. Number 16056 in the series focuses on the Schnellboot Type S-38 and S-100, the most common of the WWII German Kriegsmarine classes, with the Type S-38B serving from 1939 and the S-100 from 1943, with both variants serving until Germany’s surrender in May 1945.

The book is broken into the following sections

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
OKB Grigorov
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$35.41

One of the latest items provided to the IPMS-USA Review Corps by OKB Grigorov was this 1/350-scale submarine representing the Barracuda-class of submarines developed after WWII. The boat is 3D printed and is under the Trimotium Historic Miniatures name within the OKB Grigorov company that comes from Bulgaria. The kit contains a total of ten pieces and should not present too much challenge to any modeler familiar with working with either resin or 3D printed kits.