2005-11-20 Great text but the illustrations leave a lot to be desired

Planking model ships is a difficult skill to develop even with external assistance and precious few good guides have been published - or at least I haven't found them. I bought this book to improve my skills in some particular areas and it has helped me achieve that. However, I had to read it three times, together with another book (by Keith Julier) in order to get the maximum out of it. Why? Because the diagrams and photographs are not as sophisticated as one might expect in the 21st century. OK, so it was first published in the 1980's. Authors, please note, colour photography first appeared in the early 20th century and it is amazing what you can see that is otherwise invisible in B&W pictures - especially if the photos are taken by a professional photographer with controlled lighting. Also, with little effort, an arrow can be printed over the picture to identify the point you are trying to make.

Who will benefit from this book? Anybody who builds model ships and wants the planking to look good without having to hide it behind a veil of filler & paint. Would I buy this book again? Yes, it is worth having. Would I buy a second copy of a new edition at a higher price if it had colour photos? Definitely - and that would earn the 5th star on my rating.