KAGERO PUBLISHING [ MORE REVIEWS ] [ WEBSITE ] [ NEW STORIES ]

Book Review
3D Reference Book “IJN Tone
3D reference book “Japanese Heavy Cruiser Tone”
  • move

by: Gremlin56 [ GREMLIN56 ]

Summary
I was hooked right away when I was asked to write a review on the new reference book from Kagero Publishing in Poland with as subject the IJN Tone. Kagero Publishing is well known for the series of reference works it has marketed containing beautiful 3D drawings of some of the most well known warships built. Their newest book about the IJN Tone, by Waldemar Góralski, Grzegorz Nowak and translated by Kazimierz Zygadlo, would appear to be the best yet.

Content
The book is a soft cover 84 page edition that contains a concise, 15 page description of the history of the IJN Tone, specifications of ship and armament and a bibliography if you decide to do further research. The book also contains a very large fold-out black and white drawing, with on one side detailed drawings of the bridge superstructure, funnels and most importantly the rigging and on the other side there is a 1/350 scale general arrangement plan of the IJN Tone. The rest of the book contains magnificent drawings of just about every piece of superstructure, deck and hull that you can imagine. The information provided on the IJN Tone would appear to be correct, (as far as I can verify from online information on the Tone and sister-ship Chikuma).

In how far the drawings are 100% accurate is hard to tell from the grainy photos of the Tone on Internet, several being of the Tone after being bombed into submission and resting on the sea bed. I haven’t found anything glaringly wrong or anachronistic in the drawings contained in this book.

The book is very obviously aimed at anyone who has recently bought Tamiya’s magnificent but very expensive 1/350th IJN Tone and wants to take the detailing that one step further than strictly out of the box. If that is your aim you can’t really go wrong with this little gem from Kagero.

On my first quick browse through the book I ran into several details in the drawings that would improve and add even more interest to a build of this WW II Japanese greyhound: what appears to be stowage of some spare lengths of anchor chain on “B” turret, the storage of spare wings and floats for the aircraft around the smoke stacks, ( yes, these storage baskets are included in Tamiya’s IJN Tone), and extensive details of the aircraft marshalling decks, (rails, turntables catapults etc. The crew must have needed eyes in the backs of their heads to work safely in that area of the ship). Primary, secondary and anti-aircraft artillery are all shown in full detail and there are several drawings of the torpedo launchers and stowage.

Conclusion
The book should be appearing in the stores very shortly, ISBN number: 978-83-62878-07-9. I would recommend buying it if you are building or going to build a model of the Tone or Chikuma. It gives great insight into how full and cluttered every inch of space on board these sleek vessels, (top speed 35 knots!), really was. It is also one of those books that I enjoy browsing through sitting in my chair with a good glass of wine and discovering details of how the ship was designed and built.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on Modelshipwrights.
SUMMARY
Highs: Obligatory companion to an IJN Tone build. Great reference on the rigging of the Tone and Chikuma.
Lows: none I can think of. Some people might be put off by the fact that it is drawings only and no photos. That certainly isn’t an issue for me though. Soft cover might bother some folks.
Verdict: Loved it, great work.
Percentage Rating
95%
  Scale: Other
  Mfg. ID: ISBN: 978-83-62878-07-9
  Suggested Retail: 26,72EUR
  PUBLISHED: Dec 25, 2011
  NATIONALITY: Japan / 日本
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 90.63%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 88.31%

Our Thanks to Kagero Publishing!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

View This Item  |  View Vendor Homepage  |  More Reviews  

About Gremlin56

Copyright ©2021 text by Gremlin56 [ GREMLIN56 ]. Images also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. Opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of Model Shipwrights. All rights reserved.



Comments

Hello Can I ask a question? I'm a closet ship modeller but I have this book and kit in my stash, along with several other 1/350 battleships and books. I also own the Kagero 3D Scharnhorst & both Type VIIC Uboat books similar to the IJN Tone. I noticed in another publication that the capstands were painted white and red, and white and green denoting starboard and port. In all of the Kagero 3D books I have and have flipped through they show them as only white and red vertical stripes regardless of the ship. So... What is correct? Should both capstands be white and red?... or red/white and green/white as I observed in other publications. Was this a universal thing between different navies? I don't know enough about these sort of things... this was an observation I made comparing pictures between two different publications. Any help on the subject would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!! Carmen
JAN 22, 2012 - 11:25 AM
Good afternoon Carmen, I couldn't tell you if this is a Navy thing or not. I sailed for Wijsmuller and Smit-Lloyd on deep sea salvage tugs and anchor handling tugs and we didn't have huge crews that had to be kept busy painting anything that didn't move The capstans on board the vessels I sailed on were generally painted black with a white segment or stripe on the top. Why did we do this? It made it easier to see if the capstan was still rotating or not. I would guess that the capstans you refer to had stripes painted on them for the same reason. There are plenty of Navy guys on this forum who will undoubtedly now add their 2 cents and tell us if I am right or wrong. cheers, Julian
JAN 23, 2012 - 02:22 AM
   
ADVERTISEMENT


Photos
Click image to enlarge
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
ADVERTISEMENT