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The Yamato and Musashi were the largest battleships ever built. Constructed under a veil of secrecy they never lived up to their designer's expectations and both became victims of American air power without ever getting to fight in the massive fleet battle they had been built to dominate.
The book is aimed at the modeller, so it includes a series of reviews of the best kits and add-ons, and a selection of book reviews written from the point of view of their usefulness to the modeller, commenting on the quality of photographs and plans included. Wiper also looks at some very impressive existing models, including one professionally built 86ft long 1/10 scale model and 1/1 full scale reconstruction built for a recent film. The book also includes a series of high quality photographs, some showing unusual parts of the ship (such as the rear of the bridge), and aimed at the modeller, and some that give a really good impression of the massive size of these ships.
For the non-modeller Wiper has included a good history of the ships, their designs as first built and the modifications that were made during the war, along with their service records and a detailed account of the sinking of the two completed battleships.
As a non-modeller I find it hard to judge that element of the book, although the series appears to be generally well received, and the reviews and model maker's showcase were both interesting to read (and may yet tip me over into buying one of the smaller kits). The historical section is well written and useful, and is supported by some rare pictures of these somewhat mysterious ships.
Chapters
Design
Career History
Reference Material
Model Kits
Model Detail Accessories
Model makers' Showcase
Illustrations and Drawings
Additional References
Author: Steve Wiper
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 64
Publisher: Seaforth
Year: 2009