Military Model Scene

Title:  The Japanese Destroyer Shimakaze

Author: Mariusz Motyka

Publisher:  Kagero

ISBN:  978-83-65437-76-1

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More for the Naval fans with another of Kagero's series of computer generated Super Drawings in 3D. This softcover book has 80 pages packed with their colour images which illustrate all aspects of the vessel.

The opening 6 pages have the historical, technical and service background story to the ship.  She was built a bit larger than earlier IJN Destroyer types and planned to have a high speed (40 knots) and heavy armament which included adding a third torpedo launcher.  They planned to build 16 vessels of the type but in the end, only the prototype ship was completed.  It was named Shimakaze, meaning 'Island Wind'.  Commissioned in 1943, details of her operational history, her sinking and the discovery of her wreck in 2017 are all provided.  The rest of the book holds their full colour images that illustrate every detail of her external appearance, in excellent detail.  Among them are details of the gun turrets, the torpedo mountings and secondary armament.  Detail of the masts also includes the rigging which will be a useful guide for modellers.  Equally there are images of the internal arrangements of the bridge and separate, individual detail images of the different types of shops boats, the depth charge racks and the various armament mountings.

Added to all this, a separate fold-out sheet is tucked within the pages that folds out to give a set of 1/200 scale drawings of the Shimakaze, which on the back has detail sketches of elements such as the funnels and the different sections of superstructure.  A very useful reference not just for plastic modellers, but perhaps also for those who might want to take on the challenge of building one that can be fitted with motors, remote control and used on your local boating pond.

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Distributed by Casemate Books, who kindly provided my review copy.

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Robin