Introduction

When it comes to reference titles aimed specifically at the modeller Kagero must rank among the top tiers of the genre. The titles in this series from Kagero specifically look at enabling the modeller to super detail a purchased model or for that matter to build a model from scratch. This title looks at the Battleship HMS Prince of Wales.

Review

This offering from Kagero is authored by Carlo Cestra. The offering is a soft backed book with 94 pages between the covers. The card for the cover has a very glossy finish and is of a reasonable thickness to protect the pages within. The paper inside is very smooth and a nice semi matte finish. This text in this book is in English only and covers the first seven pages. The text provided covers the history in a short manner that I found interesting and acceptable of a title aimed at the modeller for accuracy purposes rather than background information. The limited text also looks at specific areas of the ship covering the hull, super structure and weapons before finishing with a brief history of its service. The text is well written and reading the data provided gave me an acceptable background to the ship.

The HMS Prince of Wales is a battleship that was to be called King Edward the VIII, but that was changed due to the king abdicating the throne. Before she even made it into service with the Royal Navy she was damaged by a bomb while docked in Liverpool. The Prince of Wales took part in the attack on the Bismarck when the battleship HMS Hood was lost and is listed as causing the damage to the oil systems that meant she headed for port rather than to sea. She is also the ship that carried the British Prime Minister Churchill to meet the US President Roosevelt. She was lost in action at the end of 1941 and was the first capital ship to be lost in open water to enemy action alone and so is considered the vessel that saw the end of the Battleship due to this threat.

The book being listed as 3D does not mean you need to wear a pair of glasses with red and blue lenses to look at the images, it does mean the images are displayed at angles other than the normal front and sides. With that said the book begins with views of the sides and top of the vessel in sections that has allowed a very good level of detail to be covered and for this detail to be replicated or checked against a model you may have.

The book then moves onto the drawn images that give the 3D titles their name, the 3D drawings. These drawings are very well replicated and show various aspects in great detail. The captions are what I would describe as short and to the point but sufficient for the purpose. The drawings here also take parts of the ship such as weapons systems and looks closely at the details on them. I was especially pleased to see the smaller vessels kept on board covered in detail along with the weapons systems on this vessel are exceptionally well covered in this title, but perhaps the part that caught my eye the most are the detailed drawings showing the Supermarine Walrus that was kept on board; I am not a model ship modeller usually but I find myself being drawn in by these 3D titles from Kagero.

Also included with this title is a fold out sheet that displays the vessel from both sides, top, front and rear in 1/350th scale that will enable those with the needed skills to tackle a scratch build of the boat. On the rear side are specific aspects of the vessel in very nice scale drawings in various scales from 1/50th to 1/200th scale. I do wish that Kagero would pick a scale and stick to it not just in this offering but across the series as a whole; I appreciate the issues of covering a vessel of this size in 1/200th scale but I am sure Kagero could do it especially considering that this is a book I consider affordable but not cheap. The head on view showing the girth of the vessel along its length and which then correlates to a side view of the vessel makes me believe that even I could build a reasonable hull to an accurate level with this title.

Conclusion

Another excellent title joining the 3D range of titles covering ships generally and in this case the Battleship HMS Prince of Wales specifically. The data will enable those modellers with the required skills to build a very accurate model of the Battleship HMS Prince of Wales in any number of scales if they alter the provided drawings. If you need reference for this vessel or indeed wish to scratch the vessel this is the book to seek out for the task.