This is the first book written by the Author and is self published in A5 format with 30 pages (A4 pages printed on one side & folded) with an A4 centre foldout made possible by the spiral binding. It retails for AUD$28.00.

There is a brief precis of IJN Zuikaku's service history as well as a brief look at the design process of the ship. The book is illustrated with 14 photos and 6 pages of drawings covering bridge detail and AA guns in 1944, armanent and 3 colour profiles showing her camouflage just before she was sunk. It also contains colour profiles of her aircraft tail codes and a centre foldout with starboard & overhead view profiles as in 1944, although no scale is given.

The photos, while interesting in a historical context are of little use to the modeller wishing to model the Zuikaku, the detail sketches will prove to be of more use. Although any modeller wishing to find details of the IJN Zuikaku before she was sunk in late 1944, will have more research to do. The drawings are helpful, but would be better served by including the scales.

Disappointingly, there is no colour information to go with the colour camouflage profiles. While it is appreciated that information on Japanese colours is often conflicting and requires research, the absence of any colour information will make the modellers job that much more difficult.

I have seen the Author's stunning model of the IJN Zuikaku (which took 1st place in it's category at the 2003 Model Expo in Melbourne) and am somewhat suprised that the booklet does not include a short section on building the 1/700 Tamiya kit as this would also be of more value to the modeller.

I acknowledge the problems and expense in self publication and wish to commend the author for "having a go". However it is regrettable that a book which claims to be sic "essential for modeller" doesn't deliver on that claim.

I wish the author well on his future endeavours, but feel that anyone wishing to purchase this book will find the value eroded by the lack of colour and modelling information. Indeed, in many respects, this would have been better as an expanded historical/modelling article in a model magazine such as ModelArt Australia or on a website such as SMML.

Review copy courtesy of Modelart Australia

Copyright © SMML 2004