Basics of Ship Modeling: The Illustrated Guide Paperback – January 1, 2000

If you want to find tips to build "Old Ironsides" then look elsewhere. You won't find a single sail in this entire book. But, if you prefer more modern ships (WWI era and newer), then this is the book for you!The book seems a bit thin when you first pick it up - 112 pages (about a quarter-inch thick). But it is packed with information.It is divided into five parts: - Injected-molded (IM) kits - Resin kits - Scratch-build ships (you need MUCH more info if this is your passion) - Working with photo-etched accents - Painting, masking, and decalsMy primary interest was in techniques related to injection-molded kits. I have recently started work on a Tamiya 1/350 Missouri, which, by happy coincidence, seems to be the model most favored in the injection-molded section of the book (though the author includes details of several other kits/scales/timeframes in a similar state of construction). But the book is an overview - it did not get into the nitty-gritty details of any particular kit (for example, the Tamiya USS Missouri uses the USS Iowa hull, which has scuppers, but the Missouri (and Wisconsin and New Jersey) had internal gutters and did not have hull-mounted scuppers, so these need to be scraped off for the other three Iowa-class battleships).Fortunately for me, the first section (regarding injection-molded kits) is the most thoroughly developed, and contains many useful hints (especially the use of white glue for various purposes - I had previously supposed that white glue had no place on IM kits).I would feel comfortable building a resin kit based on the information in this book, but I would never attempt a novice scratch-build based on the rather skimpy chapter. Maybe I could attempt a very simple superstructure (which is rather well described), but I'm pretty sure that most ships actually have decks and hulls, and the information to construct these components was noticeably lacking (I don't really care, because I don't scratch-build, but I mention it here in case a reader actually does).The detailing chapters are superb.The book is packed with photos illustrating the build sequence. Most of the book consists of these "photo pages" (six photos per page, each with a descriptive paragraph). These photos are all black & white, and some are rather washed out, but overall they are very good. There is a 16-page full color photo gallery of a wide variety of models though I questioned why some were included).I was disappointed that there was no mention of techniques to create a diorama. I see many models in fantastic-looking ocean scenes (and some such models are featured in the book's photo gallery). I was hoping to learn some techniques, but alas there are none here. Perhaps this is considered an "advanced" subject, and thus falls outside the book's purview.I learned many valuable tips from this book - any one of which is worth the price of the book (especially considering that one can spend hundreds of dollars and hours to build a high-quality model).

My model building days are behind me, I have other pursuits now, and can find other things to spend $250 to $350 on besides a resin cast ship model. (I have a number of kits sitting in my garage that I cannot bring myself to complete, a Tamiya Yamato, a Lindberg Blue Devil Destroyer, and a Lindberg PT-109 for example)While I can appreciate the effort and level of detail that goes into building one, the book makes that clear, I find it interesting that some of the basic and realatively simple things that can make a ship model come to life are not even covered in the book.Having been a photographer and photo interpreter, and scientist, I find it odd that the subject of painting, color selection and color scaling are not even discussed.A lot of information is available on authentic colors for naval ships and the color patterns for specific periods of time covering the days of the modern warship. This subject is not discussed.More troubling is the complete lack of discussion of color scaling. Why put $450 or $500 into a model ship and countless hours only to paint it in a way that makes it look like a cheap kids toy, detail not withstanding.One glance at the cover of the book, and I realized the author put more emphasis on detail, than model realism. The stark colors of the cover photo make the model look no more real than my kids plastic bathtub toy.Color scaling takes into account the scaled distance one would be standing from the actual ship to see it in the size depicted in the model. It factors in the dulling and muting of the colors by the air and haze that would be between the viewers eye and the actual paint on the ship. One only has to walk outside and look at something in the distance to understand this concept.Scaling the color on a ship should make the model look real to the person standing a couple of feet from the model. Ignoring this concept undermines all the effort put into building a highly detailed model in the first place.As an experienced model builder in my own right, I would place color scaling near the top of the basics to learn for a beginner modeler. A model with mediocre detailing but painted with scaled colors can look very real indeed, but a detailed model painted with amateurish looking garish out of scale colors will look like the efforts of a beginner.As a previous reviewer mentioned, the book only pays lip service to weathering techniques, mentioning it in passing in the caption of a photo that does not even depict it.I bought the book for several reasons, I still have an abiding interest in modeling if not the time to pursue it as a hobby, and I like to learn new things about things in which I have an interest. Sadly I would lump this book in with a number of others that I have purchased. That is to say, they are quickly thrown together in order to fund the hobby of the authors or club (each chapter was written by a different author is seems). That is not to say that the book does not offer information worth knowing, it does. That the book is a mashup is obvious by the fact that the chapter of scratch building is really discussing the building of a master model for making a resin mold of a ship for making resin cast kits.I found the part on correcting cast defects enlightening. Having to cut up a hull into numerous pieces in order to reassemble them and fill the deficiencies calls the whole cost and endeavor of building a resin cast kit into question. But I do realize that building ship models or AFV, aeroplane or dioramas is more for the enjoyment of the individual or club (preaching to the choir if you will) than anyone else. If the builder is satisfied, then so be it.All in all I did not find much worth the $15 I paid for the book. I was disappointed in the number of color photos and the lack of detailed "process" descriptions.Better just go to any number of ship model websites and download the very good detailed how to articles that are in full color. The best of the lot is [...]

Summary - I would NOT recommend this book to others. This a collection of incomplete examples and ideas with little that can not be found in a magazine or on the internet.Background - I purchased this book to help me build 1:144 scale ship models for RC Combat. The ships in this hobby require some scratch-building of the superstructure. I would like to add details it a realistic look on the pond before my foe sinks me from a viewing distance of 6 to 15 feet.Examples - For each section there is a short description of the concept followed by a series of photographic examples with captions. Many ideas are very basic and fill most of the space. The examples and tips are often basic, incomplete, and still require the reader to figure out how to properly implement the idea. The pictures do not always have the detail required and force the model builder to experiment to achieve the desired result.Guides - Very minimal. The author gives an idea, like adding rust and corrosion to WWII ships, but then does not provide a drawing of the areas that would benefit most form the additional paint technique. Worse, there is very little advice on how to create the proper corrosion effect. Another example is to scratch building the superstructure. The author skips critical steps (like how to scratch build a exhaust stack) but tells the reader that in order to proceed from one step to the next, they should have completed scratch building the item.Quality - The picture quality for most of the examples is fair. The exception are the pictures of the finished products. The book quality is also fair and this is basically a high quality magazine with a better binding.Value - Minimal. The cost is not justified by the content.

Very nice book, all in all. Gives a lot of information on building model ships. The one problem is that all the "step by step" pictures are not in color. This makes details a bit vague on a lot of them.Still an excellent ressource for the price!