Model Art Co, Ltd

Japanese Passenger Ships #3 August 2007

Reviewed By  Luke R. Bucci, PhD, IPMS# 33459

MSRP: 1470 yen (approximately $15) Pages: 33. Pictures: dozens of color and B&W photos of the actual passenger ships over their careers; one page of deck plans, 3 pages of color art for appearances. Publisher: Model Art Co., Ltd, 3-11 3chome, Iidabashi Chiyodaku, Tokyo, Japan (www.modelart.jp). Feature: Japanese Coastal Passenger Ships As usual, this Model Art magazine is approximately 7 X 10 inches, and the printing and reproduction quality is excellent. Of course, the language is almost 100% Japanese. This is not as detrimental as it may seem for those who do not read or understand Japanese text, since the pictures and diagrams are sufficient for modelers to understand the colors and appearances of the ships. Model Art Japanese Passenger Ships #3 focuses on two small, coastal passenger ships - Kurenai-Maru and Murasaki-Maru. Both the KM and MM (my abbreviations) are obviously small ships (around 2800 tons) built in the 1960s. KM was fitted with cabins for overnight voyages, while MM was fitted out for day trips and dinner cruises. Both ships went through a variety of refits and owners, and there are pictures of a model. It appears they were based in Yokohama and took passengers around the bay or to the vacation spots in the southern islands. There is a lot of attention paid to these two ships, and the pictures and diagrams would be very helpful for modelers. However, these ships are so esoteric and, well, humdrum, that I doubt they will be tops on anyone's wish list. This magazine is of interest for those die-hard ship fanatics that simply must have everything, even small, unobtrusive, foreign, yeoman coastal passenger ships. These ships would sure be a stumper at contests and are actually kind of cute as ships go. Since this is book #3, there are obviously other passenger ship ModelArt magazines out there. Nice book on an obscure subject.

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