Customer Reviews

The Frigate Constitution and Other Historic Ships

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I and a friend are both ship modelers and we both ordered this book. The illustrations are faded and incomplete. My best description is that it looks like the copier ran out of toner before the printing got done. This is consistent throughout the book. I wrote to the publisher via snail mail complaining about the condition of these "new, reproductions" and have never received a reply. I am very disappointed with this book and will never buy anything published by Kessinger again.

I am currently building a model of the USS Constitution and recently visited the ship and adjacent Constitution musuem. At the museum I had the opportunity to sit with the model builder for about 45 minutes and "talk shop". I asked him which book was the best reference for building a model, and he pulled this one off the shelf.

The plans for the USS Constitution in the book were certified by the US Navy as the only authentic plans for model builders when the book was originally published in the 1920s. Some of the information on ships like the Viking ships, Santa Maria, and Mayflower has been changed by recent research, but overall it is an excellent reference, especially on the USS Constitution. The plans that came with the kit I am building are not the best, and I often have refered to this book to clearify things.

One of my next projects is a clipper ship and I will be using this book for that one also.