modeling books....

[e_jacob77]

HI all,

I am looking for a book that shows a complete buildup of various models...Tips and such...Does one exist????

[cobywan]

Yeah! There's, like, a million of them. You can try Google to find them. There's too many to choose from for me to make a recomendation.

[e_jacob77]

Hi all,

Could you recommend one in particular???

[cobywan]

http://btobsearch.barnesandnoble.com/books...64307959&itm=10

[onezero]

A very good intro, focusing on sci-fi builders, is Richard Marmo's "How to Build Sci-Fi Model Spacecraft"

A review: http://www.starshipmodeler.com/tech/marmo_book.htm

Another: http://misc.kitreview.com/bookreviews/scif...kreviewrk_1.htm

Edits: geez-louise, where did *I* learn to spell .......

Edited September 3, 2004 by onezero

[macplus]

This is all you need

http://www.squadron.com/old/ss8102/ss8102.htm

HTH and happy modeling!

[ProfessorF8]

Just some thoughts on what you might come across in your searches...

I don't know if this was mentioned specifically in other's links out-of-site, but Shepard Paine's old--ANCIENT, mind you--book on "how to build tanks and military vehicles" is the best all-around book I've read on the subject. "Tanks?! Oh, pshaw-and-bother," says you, "I don't care even a fig for Tanks!" Perhaps, but his book covers the very simple (where even experienced modelers shamefully discover something they didn't know) to more serious detailing, weathering, etc. Some of the book's suggestions on using household materials might seem whimsical now, after two decades, but some still cause me to wonder why people pay bone-crushing prices at the hobby shop for specialty stuff! It is neither, like many other books published by Kalmbach, a series of photos with just vague captions, or reprints of articles from Finescale Modeler. A great way to get started, and as for all the tanks, just think destroids; They probably look, sound, fight, weather, age, and smell much the same.

--And his book on dioramas, recently updated...Well, (chuckle), sorta updated anyway, is also a good book on that subject. If ever there are textbooks on model building, Shep Paine wrote 'em.

If you fancy yourself more of a moneyed-gentry type, than I might guardedly recommend the Osprey Masterclass series, although I don't know that they produce a sci-fi-specific volume. These hard-cover volumes, however, are very expensive, and while offering a broad range of eclectic subjects, tend (in my opinion) toward meticulous focus in each volume. For example, one is "Plastic Napoleonic Figure Modelling," not exactly a broad focus. Further, I find them to be VERY British, not, obviously a criticism by itself, but it is to say that their focus, whether it be medieval modeling or architecture, concentrates on the UK, to the detriment of techniques for other areas. (For these to be helpful all your Valks have to be guarding Mortshire-on-Tyne, for example, rather than the Santiago, Chile, or Jack-ass Flats, Wyoming). Masterclass books also, I think, are not tailored to the beginner. The techniques (and expenditures) they suggest are a bit much for many modelers. As for their other modeling books (smaller, softbound, less expensive) I can't offer any advice, as I've never seen inside their covers.

In any case, don't forget to use half.com or even better, Campusi.com to find the books you need cheaper. No, I don't work for these firms, but I know through long experience that paying for a lot of new books is paying too much.

Prof. FATE!