Books and Plans

Warships & Warship Modelling by David Wooley and William Clarke

Here's a new book by a couple of warship modelers that you may know. Dave Wooley and Bill Clark have teamed up to give you an overview of large scale ship modeling. This 9" x 12" hard cover book has about 170 pages of everything from real ships, to working scale models that operate like them.

The book is divided into three main sections. The first dealing the real ships with several different ones featured, mostly post war types. There are a number of high quality photos that show many of these ships in great detail. Some of these have never appeared in print

The book features include ships like the USS Truman CVN-75, HMS Invincible, and the Richelieu after her refit in the states. The latter includes some high quality photos of that refit.

Chapter two is my favorite and deals with "Shipbuilders and commercially made models" such as those that were constructed by the various shipbuilders of their ships. These are fascinating and most show the ship in a level of detail that is simply amazing. There are some cutaway views showing complete interiors that you just have to see to believe. See the second thumbnail above for a sample.

Research, plans and helpful publications is the next chapter and it give a good overview on the types of plans and research material that are helpful in building ship models. The next chapter covers the workshop and the tools needed.

The choice of subject and types of construction will help you decide on the type of ship you want to build and the method you chose. Bread and butter and plank on frame are among the types discussed. The book goes on to discuss techniques for building superstructure and turrets in the next chapter.

Fittings, etched work, and castings covers photo etch and white metal castings and how you work with them and improve them. Some of the ships are very complex with not only operating props and rudders, but guns and fittings that move. There is even a section of the book that shows how to animate these parts.

There is even a chapter on Painting and Camo for when you get your ship ready for the water. The chapter on Preparation and operation will get you ready for sailing with info on remote control and handling your ship. As you go through the book, you may notice some familiar faces and models. After you finish the book you will have a greater appreciation for what goes into these ships.

Although I model in the smaller static scales, I found this book to be informative and a nice guide to ship modeling. The larger scales often feature a higher level of detail that can be used as reference for smaller versions. If you are into RC and large scale modeling than you will find this book extremely helpful in your projects.

This is ISBN: 1-85486-240-5 Warships & Warship Modellingby David Wooley and William Clarke and it lists for £19.95 direct from Special Interest Model Books.