Kagero of Poland has just released number 18 in their series of 3D drawn warship books. This time the subject is BB-39, the USS Arizona and what a magnificent tribute to the ship this book has turned out to be. This time the 3D illustrations are by Waldemar Góralski, the translation is by Kazmierz Zygadlo, 3D visualizations on title and spread page by Piotr Forkasiewicz and the text is by Leszek A. Wieliczko and Piotr Wisniewski. The ISBN number is 978-83-62878-53-6.
Once again Kagero have very kindly sent me a review copy of their latest book.
Contents:
The Arizona is portrayed in the book as she would have looked on December 7th 1941, Navy blue hull and superstructure, light gray control stations and red turret tops on A,B and D turrets for aerial recognition. Having made this statement I am already stepping into a major minefield that pops up in nearly all discussions about the ship’s appearance: were these really the colours used on the Arizona at the fateful moment in time? I had several interesting discussions with other modeller’s when I was building the Trumpeter 1/200th USS Arizona. I received a lot of fascinating information from Tracy White, an expert on US matters naval in the true sense of the word. Anyone with a lot of time on their hands can find my build here: http://modelshipwrights.kitmaker.net/forums/176600&page=1
My review of the Trumpeter 1/200th USS Arizona can be found here:
http://modelshipwrights.kitmaker.net/review/5805
I chose the colours portrayed in Kagero’s book, (as did the builder of the new model at the Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbour).
The book is in the usual format, 90 pages, a short history and technical summary of BB-39 and a comprehensive collection of illustrations. Also included is the obligatory black and white line drawing with rigging plan, ( I was extremely happy to see that it is a perfect match to a rigging plan of the Arizona that Tracy White sent to me).
Different this time is the inclusion of a cardboard pair of 3D glasses. The last 19 pages of the book are 3D drawings that require the red/green shades. Using the glasses gives an eerie sense of depth to the drawings. The fact that I have glasses of my own doesn’t make using the cardboard 3D glasses easier though and this in not my preferred way of reading a book. As usual the drawings are a veritable mine of information for the model builder, making it easy to add further details. I would have loved to have had this book at hand when I was building the BB-39.
Several drawings brought back memories of the build: the bird bath, (the platform on the main mast with the four Browning MG’s on it), was another subject for discussion, centring on which colour the deck would have been painted. “We”, (the online panel of experts discussing these details), decided that a light deck would dazzle the gunners in tropical climes so “We” decided to go for red-brown to depict linoleum. I am quite happy to see that Kagero went for light-gray instead.
Conclusion:
Another Kagero gem for anyone building a model of the USS Arizona. The drawings are lusciously executed and contain all the details you could possibly wish for.
The book is a “must have” item for modellers or warship buffs alike.
Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on MODEL SHIPWRIGHTS..
SUMMARY
Highs: A veritable mine of information and inspiration for the BB-39 modeller. The 3d drawings add a new dimension to the Kagero warship series. I have spent a couple of happy hours reading the book and comparing the drawings to how I built “my” BB-39.Lows: One and only one, after using the 3D glasses for about 10 minutes it feels as if you have been sandpapering your eyeballs. Having said that the effect of the 3D drawings is mesmerizingVerdict: Another winner. Once again worth a closer look.
I hope Kagero have taken note of the next offering by Trumpeter, a 1/200 USS Hornet CV-8.
I think i like to hold at the theory that it was only partially painted in the blue...most of the hull,the lower main gun turrets and the raised platforms of the upper main gun turrets as well as most but not all of the lower superstructure and casement gun area. Me I'm gonna go with the dark grey scheme say Oct 1941 time frame
Book looks marvelous though adn useful for detailing some of the smller guns and the like.
For what it's worth, there's very little chance she was painted in Navy Blue at all - it was just too new of a color.
There are three main theories at this point.
1) Still in stock Measure 1 - 5-D Dark Gray up to the top of the stacks and 5-L Light Gray above that.
2) Some sort of Modified Measure 1 with the 5-D replaced with 5-S Sea Blue.
3) A hybrid "system" that blended the older Measure 2 graded style with some newer colors. This called for 5-D on the hull and the superstructure painted in 5-O or 5-S *as needed* (meaning that one turret or one deck level might be repainted and the rest of the superstructure could have still been Dark Gray).
Steve's approach is the safest for accuracy adherents as we know she was in Measure 1 up until late October at least.
Hi Tracy,
That should have been Sea Blue in the review and not Navy Blue, you are correct. I used Navy Blue on my build when I started and never corrected that error. It does illustrate my remark that any mention of colour scheme for the Arizona puts one in a potential mine field
Cheers,
Julian
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