Customer Reviews

RMS Titanic: A Modelmaker's Manual

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Like many ship modelers, I have always had a fascination with the three Olympic class liners, and particularly that most famous of the three, the Titanic. Of course, many are drawn to her story and tragically short life, but I have always been fascinated by her appearance - in my estimation, she was one of the most beautiful ocean liners ever built.

Over the years, I have made a couple of attempts at capturing her in miniature, but was not satisfied the results. One core problem has been the lack of reference material. The discovery of the ship and the subsequent James Cameron film has sparked massive amounts of interest in her, and a result has been the publication of many books, plans and websites on all things Titanic. The amount of research that has been done in the last decade has finally allowed highly accurate models of this ship to be built. This book documents a very impressive feat of the model shipwrights craft, a 1/48 scale Titanic that is some 18 feet in length.

Starting with a brief summary of the prototypes story, and quickly progressing into research and building, Peter Davies-Garner has written a no nonsense documentation of the model. The author touches on every area of the build, but some more thoroughly than others - a necessary compromise to control the size no doubt, but I was left wanting more. The many photographs are really the core of the book, and the model is covered thoroughly in black and white with a central color section. If you see a high resolution scan of the cover, this is a classic case of not judging the book by it's cover - for some reason, it is a poorly reproduced digital image, whereas the photographs in the body are higher quality.

This is an important work to scholars of the Titanic. What I particularly appreciated was the author's clear differentiation of which areas are factual and which are educated conjectures. As he states, there will never be a totally accurate model of the ship built, but his must surely be the closest to that goal yet made. I highly recommend the book, and, if you are visiting Orlando, seeing the model in person.

This is a "must have" for any person interested in the Titanic or ocean liners in general. Although, the book is aimed at model builders, people interested in the external structure of the ship will also find this book extremely interesting. The book is full of plans and some very rare photographs - I think some of the photos have never been published before.

If you're a model builder the scope of the book will blow you away with the plans and details of the ship that will be found no place else. Years of research went into this book.

I purchased this book after searching and searching the internet for a detailed model guide for building my own. The book is based on the building of most complete and acturate Titanic model built todate. The book breaks the model down to perfect detail. Even though the one that I am building is quite a bit smaller. The color photos are great, wish there was more. Each chapter takes you up one desk at a time, leaving no detail or explanation left out. He even includes little known history of the ship. If you are building, getting ready to build, or just want to learn, in detail more about the famous Titanic. Then check this book out well worth it.

Having watched via the internet this model come together over the past couple of years, I often thought how great it would be to have a literary offering detailing a step by step illustrated procedure on how to build the definitive Titanic model. Over the years, there have been offerings to help the modeler build a comprehensive rendering of Titanic, from this writer included. Peter goes above and beyond and delivers in a way like nothing put out there before. The plans and photos will help the more visually-oriented person, while the text-packed pages will greatly benefit the model-maker who works better with worded descriptions.

The curious and the die-hard rivet counter, I believe, will find this book a valued addition to their collection.

This book is one man's journey in creating an 18 foot model of the infamous liner. That being said, the detail in the text is superb and is fully supported with diagrams and images for basically every aspect of creation and fabrication of this superb liner. It can be a slightly dry read for people who are not building this museum sized model, or who are more interested in the "human" aspect of Titanic. But chances are, if you picked up this book, you are very interested in going beyond the tales of Titanic, and you won't be disappointed. I would have liked to have seen more detailed photos in the colour section, as there are only about 4 or 5 pages with a couple pictures per page. However, the quality of photographs are crisp and clear. The text is sound with the odd spelling/grammatical error. One thing I found most intriguing is that Mr. Davies-Garner adds a slight intro to each chapter giving a background to the purpose in everyday life of each structure which will be created in the following pages. I found this book to be a very satisfactory read if you want to know how to make a super detailed model of Titanic, or if you are just interested in the mechanics of ship building and naval engineering in general. I would recommend reading this book in conjunction with Titanic: The Ship Magnificent, Vols 1 and 2, in order to get a very good overhaul on Titanic's design and construction. For more information on this book or general Titanic modeling, please check out the Titanic Research and Modeling Association (TRMA).

This modestly sized handbook is a real boon for model builders or ship enthusiasts. There aren't many colour photos, but for a manual on model building the only colour photos needed for paint schemes are there. Additional photos of the finished model on display are also included. Detailed drawings of the deck spaces are shown with detailed written instructions, and rather smallish b/w photos as to how construction was pursued. I was hoping for a larger book with larger photos, but that's asking for a lot these days. One might even be able to transfer the same techniques for use in building other models, but one would have to have some detailed drawings/plans of those ships.

I'm not sure if I could ever have the time or resources to undertake a larger model, but this will help anyone with a plastic model who wants an alternative detailed painting instruction other than those with the plastic model kit. At any rate, it's interesting to see how this was done.

I agree that this is a WONDERFUL book. However, be aware that the "plans" on the inside cover are not enough and that on the 1:300 scale drawing, a large portion has been left out--the uniform area of the hull before the last funnel and to just before the foredeck. without a plan view, the body plan is of not so much use . There is a basic plan view on pg x that could be scaled up then you are home free.
The major pluses are the very many scale drawings or detail all to a standard based on 1:48--doubled, halved or whatever. The photos of the model are great because they provide clarity that shipboard photos do not generally.
That said, there are plans in John Bowen's book Miniature Merchant Ships and general arrangement plans in McCluskie's books (and they are also filled with great photos and clear details not to be missed. As noted, the drawings are generally of the "Olympic "class and only detail drawings are apparently available for the Titanic.
There are likely things here that are standard shipbuilding practise so the details in this book could likely be used on other H&W ships or other merchant ships of the period, especially where no detail drawings are available. For example, the stern on the Titanic is not much different from the stern and forefoot on the Bavarian of 1869--H&W yard No 68 (Titanic was Yard No 400). This suggests that where no plans exist, those of the T could likely be modified for other hulls of the same period.
This is a book not to be missed by any modeller and MR Davies-Garner has done a great service to all modellers by setting an example of the kind of work that should be standard.

Ordered this book for $90 from 1eagle1 books. They claim they shipped it but four weeks later it has not arrived. Doh. Avoid them. Also price has escalated from $90 - to an absurd $1500 in the past 4 weeks. Obviously, nobody will ever pay that so but buyer beware - con artist alert! Hopefully the author will just reprint and you can get it for $40. Book I supposed to be excellent - wish i had dealt with a reputable outfit not 1eagle1.

This RMS Titanic Book,(RMS Titanic -A Model Makers' Manual)is, without a doubt, one of the best pieces of detailed information I have ever read regarding a Ship Model. I am going to build what I hope will be the most accurate ship model I have ever produced, using the information in the publication

This great informative book will allow me to do just that. I heartily recommend it to all ship Modelers everywhere who might wish to reproduce the RMS Titanic as a model.

My Wife, who is the account holder, purchased the book for me.

Signed, John F. Green, Marine Model Artist

I am speechless of this book and I have seen some pictures that I have never thought that I would even dream of seeing of the Titanic or the Olympic. Good book and I am glad to have it.