The photoetch fret arrived in excellent shape in a resealable plastic package with the distinctive Eduard knight logo. The fret is 2.75 x 2.00 inches in size. The color-etched laminated figures are printed on both sides on polished metal. The fret metal is just soft enough to fold the figures, but firm enough to hold shape, whew! The 3D concept is that each figure consists of two halves, joined at the feet. The halves are folded upwards and together, creating a thicker and more-to-scale figure. Properly folded, the shoulders will match, and the boots can be folded to form feet for the figure to stand on. Trimming should be done very carefully, as should the folding. If the folding is not done correctly, it will be difficult to have the shoulders and feet line up.

Kagero’s The Russian Battleship Marat is one of the latest in their Super Drawings in 3D series. This edition is in their standard 8.25” x 11.75” format softbound publication that is 68 pages (excluding covers). This volume starts off with seven and a half pages of historical text followed by 61 pages of color 3D illustrations. There is also a Centerfold full of line drawings (~26.6” x 19.0”) that starts with profiles at 1/350^th scale and goes up to 1/50^th scale for the details. I counted 117 color 3D illustrations along with one table. There are no current nor period photographs.

Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy!

This book is also available in a hardback version (302 pages) priced at $55.00.

Casemate Publishers has reprinted a definitive review of the so-called “Treaty Cruisers” by Leo Marriot. The author has a long list of military books to his credit, focusing on WW2 ground actions and WW2 to modern naval subjects, including this title. He is known for an excellent book on the Titanic and The Universe, with illustrated views from the Hubble Space Telescope.

You get a 9.25 X 6 inches size paperback book with three Parts, 14 Chapters and four Appendices. Although the covers have a red tint, the book is completely B&W (no color) inside. The small print text is interspersed with B&W photos of ships, most of which are seen elsewhere, but there are a few rare ones. There are also small line drawings of profiles of ships. But mostly, this book is crammed full of text.

I would like to thank Master Model for this review sample.

Master Model continues to “turn” out metal details for the ship modeler and this one is indispensable. For anyone who has tried to work with tall thin masts made of plastic in small scale, the mast either end up being too thick so they don’t bend or too flexible if they are to scale. The solution is either wood or metal for thin masts that don’t bend, but the trick is achieving the required taper with this material. If you are not a machinist, skilled at turning wood or brass, Master Model comes to the rescue.

I was surprised to find when I opened the package that the rather long masts were put into a bag too small to hold them. This was noticeable when I removed the display card. The result was that the taller main mast was bent 90 degrees and the bag itself was not sealed. I was able to gently bend the mast straight using smooth jawed pliers. I hope this was a packaging anomaly.

Background

German battleships and heavy cruisers were equipped with three armored fire-control posts (in the conning tower, on the foretop, and on top of the aft superstructure. Target selectors around the foretop selected air targets. Each of the selectors, called ZAGs, worked in conjunction with one of the Directors for targeting. Veteran Models Fire Control Set provides 4 - ZAG Light Flak Directors, 4 - Zielsäule C/38 S Night Directors, plus 8 - 1540mm Search Light Directors.

The resin pieces are exquisitely cast with extremely fine detail, and virtually no imperfections. There is some very minor flash on the parts, but no bubbles or voids. The eyepieces even have recessed ends! The small photoetch fret provides hand wheels for the Light Controllers and Night Directors, and there are several spares for the extremely small pieces.