Introduction

Top Drawings is a really nice series of books from Kagero Publishing that are aimed specifically at the modeller who loves and needs to get the detail on their models just right. The latest one I have obtained a copy of looks at the F4U Corsair and covers a large number of variants.

Review

This offering from Kagero is a soft back book written by Maciej Noszczak. This is a duel language offering with English on the left of the page and Polish on the right of each page where there is dedicated text. The cover is made from a light card with a gloss finish and inside there are 20 pages of high quality matt paper plus a fold out sheet and a very nice poster print of the Corsair..

The book begins with a short written introduction and that is the only pure text in this title as its purpose is to provide accurate visual reference material. The material is presented in the form of scale drawings and colour profiles. Included with this release is a single fold out sheet on the F4U Corsair and these are both in 1/48th scale covering the F4U-1D and a Corsair Mk I, Mk IV from above and below in 1/48th. These line drawings in 1/48th scale show a tremendous level of detail from the panel lines in bold detail down to the rivet detail in very light contrast, a very well presented set of line drawings.

The title offers 15 pages of scale line drawings in two scales which are 1/72nd and 1/48th scale , the prevalent scale in these line drawings is 1/48th scale and covers the various Corsairs from both sides and also front and rear. The 1/72nd scale line drawings at the end of this title covers the Corsairs from left, right and above only and which I feel is a bit of a shame for modellers into the smaller scale of 1/72nd. All of the scale line drawings share the same nice attributes of the fold out sheet and leave you in no doubt as regards the details that should be present and where; I also like that the angle of the gull wings can be checked in this title.

In the centre of this title are four pages of colour drawings featuring the F4U Corsair. These drawings are well done and may depict an aircraft you wish to replicate and so could prove very helpful, but please not that these drawings are not presented in any particular scale, at least not one that is mentioned.

Conclusion

This offering from Kagero as part of their Top Drawings line of books looking at the Chance Vought F4U Corsair and a number of variants is not a title for the person interested in reading about the aircraft; it is a title aimed very specifically at the modeller looking to build an accurate representation of a Chance Vought F4U Corsair. The scale line drawings biggest plus is the way bold and light lines are present that enable the viewer to instantly tell if something is a panel line or a finer detail. I think the inclusion of the fold out sheet is a nice touch especially as it is the only place that the Corsair is covered from above and below in 1/48th scale and those areas need to be covered in a title such as this. The print included is a really nicely done print and one which would look very good in a frame on the wall.