ModelWarships reveiw

Bismarck in 3D
book review

Reviewed by Timothy Dike
June 2013

This latest book in the Top-drawings series covers one of the most famous ships of world war two, the Bismarck. Much has been written about this mighty ship and it is one of the most built ships in the model world. So it was only natural to see Kagero cover the ship featuring the drawings and renderings of Waldemar Goralski.

click images to enlarge

The drawings show the ship in a variety of poses with both line drawings and some rendered views. The artist appears to have used the latest sources as the ship appears to be accurate. A couple exceptions would be the deck edge treatment that runs around the border of the deck planking. The other is the lack of the swastika in the illustrations. I know it's not politically correct to show them, but their absence makes the illustrations a little less accurate.

Many of the views show the ship with sections removed giving you a look at details that would not normally be seen. The line drawings are sharp and are a little easier to make out the details then the renderings. Two removable double sided sheets (25-3/4" x 19") show the Bismarck in the standard plan and elevation views as well as bow and stern views and a large overall angled view. The two can be combined to form a large poster print.

CONCLUSIONS

The Top-drawings series is like the name implies mostly about the drawings as opposed to the 3D series and their renderings. These books are a valuable resource to the model builder who wants to get the details right.

The book is in A4 format (8-1/4" x 11-3/4"") with 23 pages with over 80 illustrations. It is listed for €16.46 (About $21.50) on Kagero's website. You can order this new book direct from the Publisher or from MMD Squadron or Casemate Publishing.