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.

The Marat began life as the Petropavlovsk, the third of four Gangut (aka Sevastopol) Class Dreadnoughts. This class of Soviet dreadnoughts included the Gangut, Polava, Petropavlosvsk, and the Sevastopol. The Petropavlosvsk was laid down on 06/16/09, but was not commissioned until 01/05/15, with her primary role of defending the Gulf of Finland against the Germans. The 1917 Revolution put her in the hands of the Bolsheviks. The 1921 Kronstadt Rebellion saw her crew rebel again. This rebellion was crushed and the Petropavlovsk was renamed the Marat. She was reconstructed between 1928 and 1931 and once again operated in the Gulf of Finland. German Stukas, one piloted by Hans Ulrich Rudel) managed to blow her bow off with bow two hits that detonated her forward magazine. She was refloated and served as a stationary battery during the Siege of Leningrad. In 1950, the Marat was renamed the Volkhov and served as a stationary training ship until 1953 when she was scrapped.

The Chapters include:

• Introduction
• From “Petropavlovsk” to “Marat”
• “Marat’s” Modernization in 1928-1931
• From “Marat to “Petropavlovsk” [Page 8]
• Another Planned Modernization
• Extraordinary Events
• World War Two
• 22 June 1941
• The Last Years of Service
• Listing of “Marat’s” Commanding Officers During World War Two
• Bibliography
• Basic Characteristics of the Battleship “Marat” In Various Periods of Service [Table]
• Scale Drawings [Centerfold, ~26.6” x 19.0”]
  • 1/350 Scale Port. Starboard, and Top Views
  • 1/250 Scale Bow and Stern Views
  • 1/200 Scale Mk-3-12 305mm Gun Turret Views
  • 1/100 Scale 42’ Long Boat, 42’ Motor Boat, and 40’ Steam Boat Views
  • 1/50 Scale Rangefinder, 76.2mm AA Gun, 37mm AA Gun, and 12.7mm Gun Views
• Color Illustrations
  • Exterior [Page 13, 38]
  • Interior [Page 29]
  • 12.7mm DShk Machine Gun [Page 59]
  • 37mm 70K AA Guns
  • 76.2mm 34-K AA Gun
  • Twin 76.2mm 81-K Gun
  • 305mm Gun Turrets [Page 65]
  • 40’ Steam Boat
  • 42’ Motor Boat

Model-wise you have a couple of choices. Zvezda has an injected plastic kit in 1/350 and HP-Models has a resin ~ 1/700 scale kit. WSW has a ~ 1/700 kit of the Petropavlovsk as she was originally built (1914).

I consider the Kagero Super Drawings in 3D an essential reference for model building. You get angles you can’t really see in other references and they are in full color. This being the fifty-ninth volume, they have managed to cover quite a few ships. If you have any of their previous books in the Super Drawings in 3D series, you know how great a value this book is. Highly Recommended!

My thanks to Casemate, Kagero, and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this great book.

Highly recommended!