Type 42 Destroyers ref - Janes Fighting Ships 1974-75 edition, Pg.337
10. Remember, when it all goes wrong there is always another day
Steve Whitelock
Ten Tips for Stress-free Model Boating
www.modelboats.co.uk Model Boats April 2019 68
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JSC USS Arizona Memorial
Card modelling is one of the oldest forms of the hobby and the subjects, especially ships, are unlimited. However, some ‘outside the box’ thinking presents us with a subject often overlooked and I think, especially with anyone connected
with the USS Arizona tragedy, a popular one. The Polish Company, JSC have come up trumps with this excellent rendition of the USS Arizona Memorial, located above the wreck of the ship which
succumbed to the Japanese onslaught at Pearl Harbor.
The model comes as an A4 sized booklet, fronted by dual language instructions (and some good history) in Polish and English, the model parts being printed on six A4 sheets. The instructions are easy to follow and once complete you will have a good representation of the
memorial in 1/200 scale, which equates to 285mm long, 135mm wide and 75mm high. If you want a ‘very’
good version of the model, I would highly recommend purchasing the supporting lasercut parts package (219-L). This pack
replaces the sides and roof of the memorial and all of the hand rails, transforming the original package into a very crisp piece of work. The lasercut parts are provided on a single sheet protected by a sturdy piece of plywood which will prove useful for other projects I’m sure.
This is a very satisfying way of making models and for a little over
£13 plus postage, it is not going to break the bank compared to the average cost of the 1/200 scale plastic equivalents. A very highly recommended product and hopefully we will be seeing a lot more card modelling in the magazine and more from JSC too.
Thanks very much to Kasia at JSC for supplying Model Boats with this sample. Visit www.jsc.pl for the full range of card models.
MC Test Bench is a service that we provide free of charge to
manufacturers, distributors and retailers of model boat-related products. Covering all disciplines, anything from books to balsa is accepted for these pages. To submit material, e-mail the editor via editor@modelboats.co.uk with the relevant information or send samples direct to the editorial address in the front of the magazine.
Test Bench
A round-up of all the latest kits, books and blingy bits
Product: Card Model Ref: No.219 & 219-L Scale: 1/200
Parts: 91 (219) & 22 (219-L)
Price: 5.40 Euro (£4.63) (219) & 10 Euro (£8.57) (219-L) Manufacturer: JSC
Website: www.jsc.pl
Model Boats April 2019 www.modelboats.co.uk 69 s
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Southern Thunder – The Royal Navy and the Scandinavian Trade in World War One by Steve R Dunn
During World War One the Scandinavian countries played a dangerous and sometimes questionable game; they proclaimed their neutrality but at the same time pitched the two warring sides against one another to protect their import and export trades. Germany relied on Sweden, Norway and Denmark for food and raw materials, while Britain needed to restrict the flow of these goods and claim them for herself. So the battle for the North Sea began. The campaign was ferociously fought, with the Royal Navy forced to develop new tactical thinking, including convoys, to combat the U-boat threat.
In this new book maritime historian, Steve Dunn, tells the little known, and often ignored, story from both a naval and a political standpoint, revealing how each country, including the USA, tried to balance the
needs of diplomacy with the necessities of naval warfare.
Starting from the declaration of a British blockade, the narrative progresses to cover the struggle to prevent supplies reaching Germany, the negotiations to gain preferential British access to Scandinavian trade and the work of sailors, of the Merchant Navy and Royal Navy, who had to make the system function.
Two years later, the Germans, desperate to break the tightening stranglehold, even brought out their big-gun ships to hunt and disrupt the Scandinavian convoys.
Detailed analysis and first-hand accounts of the fighting from those who took part create a vivid narrative that demonstrates how the Royal Navy helped to bring about Germany’s downfall and protect Britain’s vital Scandinavian supply lines.
Many thanks to Charlie Simpson at Seaforth Publishing for the review copy of the book which is available at www.
seaforthpublishing.com John Deamer
Cold War Fleet by Clive & Sue Taylor
Every now and then
something a ‘bit good’ comes along and this is a great example. Subtitled ‘Ships of the Royal Navy 1966-91 – A Photographic Album’, this lump of a book is worth every penny of its £50 retail price. The combination of superb, unrestricted black and white photography and the Cold War make this a book a winner for those who appreciate how strong and diverse our navy used to be.
Thanks to its very large format, each image is given the space it deserves, complete with an informative extended caption for every one of the 600 plus photographs. All of those photographs were captured by husband and wife team Clive and Sue Taylor, specialists in naval photography and boy it shows!
The subjects are broken down into there respective
types beginning with Aircraft Carriers; Cruisers; Destroyers;
Frigates; Submarines; Patrol Craft; Mine Warfare Vessels;
Amphibious Warfare Vessels;
Survey Ships; Tankers and Stores Ships; Depot, Experimental and other Support Vessels; Tugs and finally, Harbour Craft and Tenders! The book is topped and tail with sections about the Cold War Fleet, a great essential glossary, a super index and finished with a very useful list of Pennant numbers.
High quality, superb layout, carefully selected photography and great supporting text make this one of best books I’ve seen on this subject in a while.
Thanks go to Minty Stokes-Rhys at Osprey Publishing for this review copy which is available at www.
ospreypublishing.com. The official publication date for this title is 21 March, 2019.