| Shipcraft #13
New Orleans Class Cruisers by Lester Abbey reviewed by Timothy Dike |
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This new Ship Craft book is the latest in this series. It covers the US Navy New Orleans Class Cruisers from the Second World War period. Starting with the pre-war configurations of this seven ship class, their early and late war modifications, the loss of three at the Battle of Savo Island, this book is a great visual reference on one of the hardest fought groups of USN warships.
Covered under the historical content in the volume are a study of design and development, details of class variations, modifications, and a camouflage reference. For the model builder’s content, the coverage of this book is of reviews of various model kits, accessories, and further historical and modeling references in both book format and Internet sources. Once again this is a volume that offers the model builder and the armchair historian a great insight to this type of warship, as well as being a great cross-market product.
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| Contained within the 64 pages (32 in color) are a brief history, historic photos, drawings, color illustrations, model kit reviews, reference list, and a gallery of built models. One of the best little gems in this book are images of both sides of CA44's camo, never before published. Sorry I didn't scan that page, you will just have to buy the book if you want to see it. The sample pages above are typical of the quality of the book and what it contains. The color is not quite right on the illustrations, but the patterns look correct. |
Lester Abbey is one of my favorite 700 scale modelers. I have followed his work since the early days of the net when his work appeared in the now defunct Navis Magazine. He has a real passion for the USN and particularly the ships that served in the many Guadalcanal battles. I know he has researched the New Orleans class extensively and can think of no better person to write this book. These books keep getting better and better with each new release. I highly recommend this one.
This is ShipCraft #13 New Orleans Class Cruisers by Lester Abbey (ISBN #978-1-84832-041-3) with a list price of $23.95 US. This one is available in the US direct from Classic Warships. Check their website for this and other Ship Craft books.
