Comments: Hardcover, 167 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4738-7947-8
Price: $32
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing/Pen & Sword Books
From the publisher:
Norman Ough is considered by many as simply the greatest ship modeler of the 20th century, and his exquisite drawings and meticulous models have come to be regarded as masterpieces of draftsmanship, workmanship and realism. More than technically accomplished ship models, they are truly works of art.
The book is both a tribute to his lonely genius and a practical treatise for model shipwrights. Ough lived most of his adult life far from the sea in a flat high above Charing Cross Road in London, where his frugal existence and total absorption in his work led to hospitalization on at least two occasions. He was an eccentric in the truest sense, but he also one of the most sought-after masters of his craft: Earl Mountbatten had him model the ships he had served on; his model of HMS Queen Elizabeth was presented to Earl Beatty; and film production companies commissioned models for effects in several films.
Incorporating many of his original articles from Model Maker magazine, his detailed line drawings now kept in the Brunel Institute, and photographs of his models held in museums and at Mountbatten’s house, this book presents an extraordinary level of practical information as well as an inspiring panorama of perhaps the most perfect warship models ever made. Modelmakers, naval enthusiasts, and historians will welcome his remarkable insights into the ships of two world wars.
FSM says:
An amazing, almost intimidating view of the method, modeling, drawings, and life of a builder so obsessed with his work that some may say he was a man who went down with his ships. Line drawings, black-and-white photos, and 16 pages of color photos reveal a few of Ough’s most impressive works.