Thanks to Casemate Publishers USA and IPMS/USA for the review copy!

For too long, the Royal Navy's numerous heavy cruisers have been ignored by model ship companies. This timely update shows this mistake is being corrected, a boon for ship modelers. This heavily illustrated paperback is a useful and powerful single resource for building accurate models of the 13 County class heavy cruisers.

Casemate Publishers brings back Seaforth's ShipCraft 19, County Class Cruisers in Britain's Royal Navy before, during and after World War 2 by Les Brown. Les Brown is a well-known and accomplished British warship aficionado and model builder, with a long history of British warship subjects, typically destroyers and smaller warships. He is also a luminary in the Small Warships Group of the IPMS.

The book has very little open space, being crammed full of text, photographs, drawings and photos of models and actual ships. New material updates the blossoming amounts of kits and aftermarket parts, and I surmise some of the beautiful color plates of camouflaged cruisers' schemes are also updated - simply mouthwatering and mesmerizing. As usual, the best part of ShipCraft books is the Modelmaker's Showcase. Photographs of built models are excellent references of appearances and camouflage patterns. The advent of an increasing number of County class cruisers model kits in all scales has reinvigorated interest in these ships, and this book is a timely and useful asset.

The book is divided into the usual chapters:

• Design (pp.1-5)
• Careers, Refits and Modifications (this section is split into two sections - pp.6-16 & 49-62)
• Model Products (pp.17-27)
• Modelmakers' Showcase (pp. 28-41)
• Schemes (pp. 42-48)
• Plans (pp. 62-63)
• Selected References (p. 64)

Summary

This book is a long-awaited, must-have for learning about and building the forgotten Royal Navy County class heavy cruisers in WW2. Very highly recommended for WW2 naval afficionados, Royal Navy WW2 ship modelers and anyone wanting new subjects.

Thanks to IPMSUSA and Casemate Publishing USA for the privilege of reviewing this superb reference for WW2 warship modelers!

Figures

• Figure 1: Front cover of Seaforth ShipCraft 19 County Class Cruisers
• Figure 2: Rear cover of Seaforth ShipCraft 19 County Class Cruisers
• Figure 3: 1/700 Scale model of HMS London of the HP Models kit. London was extensively rebuilt in 1941, and the only County class cruiser with two funnels, instead of the iconic three funnels, and a larger bridge with airplane hangars