Military Model Scene

Title:  TopDrawings 55, The Cruiser Moskva

Author: Witold Koszela

Publisher:  Kagero

ISBN:  978-83-65437-77-8

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Number 55 in the TopDrawings series of books from Kagero, and it covers an interesting Cold War era warship of the Soviet Navy.  Built in the early 1960s it was designed to be an anti-submarine warship, to hunt for American Ballistic Missile submarines.  With useful AA defences, it was primarily a helicopter carrier, able to operate 14 Ka-25 helicopters, which are interesting in themselves for having contra-rotating main rotors, eliminating the need for a tail rotor.  The ship's role was rendered obsolete as newer, longer range missiles came into US service.

The Moskva made a last operational cruise in 1991 and was retired in 1996, before being scrapped in India in 1998.  The story with more detail in given in English and Polish on the first 2 pages, and the rest of the book is filled with scale plans showing the various sections of the vessel, including cutaways with the hanger stowage for the helicopters in both the superstructure and a hanger below the flight deck.  Add detail drawings of crane, missile launchers in 1/100 & 1/200 plus a set of colour drawings on the back page.

Tucked between the pages of the book are two separate, larger sheets with 1/400 plans for the Moskva, while the second sheet has the colour profiles also in the larger scales.  A particularly interesting subject rom the days of the Cold War, and kits are available so the modeller should find this very handy.

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Distributed by Casemate Books, who kindly provided my review copy.

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Robin