Casemate Publishers, distributors for Kagero Publications, has added another title to their ongoing series of Super Drawings in 3D. This time they turn their attention to the classic British Battleship, HMS Rodney. If you are familiar with these titles, a ship is rendered in full color, 3D illustrations. Each of these super drawing books provide a short overview of the ship in question specifications and a summary of its operational history before plunging into the illustrations. Kagero also provides a black and white fold out plan of the HMS Rodney.

If you are not familiar with these publications, the illustrations cover the features of a ship from stem to stern. They focus on the bits and pieces that are normally found scattered on the deck of a warship. As in previous titles, the illustrations are well rendered and provide the kind of details that a ship modeler will appreciate. The illustrations only provide external details; they do not go between decks or in the superstructure. The illustrations concentrate of the Rodney’s configuration in 1942.

HMS Rodney and Nelson were some of the first battleships commissioned after the end of World War One and would remain the largest battleships in the Royal Navy until the newest class of big gun battleships entered the fleet at the end of the interwar period. There unique silhouettes, a long hull dominated by three main turrets forward of the bridge, were perhaps the most unique battleships in the Royal navy. The Rodney’s most memorable action was participating in the sinking of the Bismarck.

These titles offer a unique 3D perspective of classic warships. The illustrations do not cover the life of a ship and all of its modifications. As the title indicates, it covers a ship in one moment in time. The major weakness of this work is its text. It reads as though it was put through a machine translation from another language to English. There is faulty grammar and misspellings that should have been corrected before the work went to print. That being said, if you are a fan of 3D renderings of classic warships, this title is nice addition to any collection.

My thanks to IPMS and Casemate Publications for giving me the opportunity to review this book.