Model Art Co, Ltd

Model Art Extra 02 1/700 Waterline Series Modeling Guide Book of Imperial Japanese Navy Battleship

Reviewed By  Luke R. Bucci, IPMS# 33459

Pages: 144 Pictures: dozens of finished models, mostly color; Diagrams: numerous; Foldouts: 5 (one for each class of battleship, early and late war fits) Publisher: Model Art Co., Ltd, 12-30, 1Chome, Kudankita Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0073 Japan MSRP: 2200 yen (approximately $20) ISBN: 00140-6-196313 www.modelart.jp Imported by Dragon USA (www.dragonmodelsusa.com) Feature: Building WWII Japanese battleships from commercially available kits As usual, Model Art magazines are in almost 100% Japanese language. However, this is not as detrimental as it may seem for those who do not read or understand Japanese text. The pictures are sufficient for modelers to comprehend the gist of each article. Diagram titles are in English, making this edition more useful than usual. The format of this Special Edition is larger than normal (A4 size), and as usual, the printing and reproduction quality is excellent. Model Art Extra 02 is solely concerned with building the kits of the five classes of IJN battleships during WWII: the Kongo, Hyuga, Fuso, Nagato and Yamato classes comprising 12 total ships from the current Aoshima, Hasegawa and Tamiya plastic kits. The first five chapters cover how to accurately build each ship of each class from 1941-1945. Where needed, tips and photos of simple conversions to kit parts are shown in order to accurize each ship. Most of each chapter is devoted to pictures of the finished models, built OOB (Out-of-box). Usually no photoetch details are pictured - just what the kit came with, plus paints of course. Numerous diagrams and larger foldout pages show the fit of each ship after major modifications. Another chapter shows models backdated to 1920s and 1930s appearances of the older battleships (without showing how they did it), and the next chapter illustrates in color the floatplanes used on the battleships. A final chapter is devoted to aftermarket plastic pieces and photoetch sets that are up to date for end of 2007. Unlike most ModelArt features, this issue has only 6 pages of advertisements, an all-time low. My major complaint is that full-ship photographs and diagrams cross over the spine in the center, detracting from the effect (Figure 5). This issue is a good, basic resource for building accurate renditions of the existing plastic kits of Japanese WWII battleships. It is not super detailed, but shows how the models can look without any additions but paint and glue. For the price (less than a battleship kit), this magazine is a good value for a simple, focused reference that will aid beginners and more advanced modelers of these ships.

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