US Essex Class Carriers in Action
Warship #10
By Michael Smith
color by Don Greer, illustrated by Ernesto Cumpian.
| Squadron Signal publications has been producing modelers reference books for over 20 years. They have a pretty thorough line of books covering various classes of ships. This one is dedicated to the Essex Class Carriers of the second world war.. The book begins with a history of carrier development and covers the high points of Essex Class Carriers in the many roles they served in. | |
| The book is filled with photo's and drawings that will help the modeler add those finer details that help make your kit stand out. Most kits have instructions that are a little lacking and it is a benefit to the modeler to have a reference to call upon when detailing or painting your kit. |  |
| My favorite feature of the "In Action" books are the great centerfolds, elevation and plan drawings of some of the ship in the class, nicely illustrated in color to give the modeler an idea of the camouflage patterns used. Check out the sample image on the right. Not only do the illustrations give the model and idea of the colors used, but also the weathering used. |  |
| There are a number of illustrations of weapons, radar's and various fitting used on the carrier. The illustrations will be a big help in doing that final detailing need to spruce up your model. The illustrations also explain the difference between the long and short hull carriers, and show accurate catapult placement in case you want to try to correct one of the flaws in the Hasegawa CV USS Ticonderoga. I especially appreciate the plan and elevation line drawings the show all the carrier classes in their relative sizes at the front of the book. There are also illustrations of the typical aircraft that they carried. |  |
| From cover to cover you will find many useful illustrations and photo's of Essex Class carriers from their initial deployment to their late war appearances. My only complaint is the lack of 50's and 60's images of the Essex class conversions. At a relatively low cost this book represents a great value for anyone interested in building an Essex or Ticonderoga Class Carrier kit out there such as the Hasegawa CV USS Ticonderoga. |  |
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