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Rating: 
Summary: Maybe okay if you already know all this stuff!
Review: An interesting book covering most aspects of planking of solid, bulkhead and frame models. It really only brushes over each subject. What it really needs is a step by step example, be it photos or diagrams, as I am yet to find an author that really does it well. You purchace a book on techniques, you expect it to be step by step, with demonstrations, not generalisations.It has good photos of wonderfully made models, but it is about planking, not showcasing a mate's work. It is a difficult subject, that could have been done so much better. Why not show differing clamps, homemade and commerical, the ways to bend the planks not a paragraph of description, demonstrate how to do the dowels, not a paragraph, that is why people buy these books, to learn.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Resource
Review: I own several other great books on ship modelling: Ship Modeling Simplified by Frank Mastini,
The Built-Up Ship Model by Charles G. Davis,
Ship Modeling from Stem to Stern by Milton Roth,
and Historic Ship Models by Wolfram Zu Mondfeld, as well as other less comprehensive books. I have studied all of these books at length and found Dressel's text to be the most informative on not only planking but also framing techniques. While others who have reviewed this book seem to have gripes about it, I would challenge anyone to find a more detailed book on this discipline. The fact is that no one text exists that will provide all of the best tips and techniques, but this book gives the most detail that I have come across. I consider it a must-have for any model shipbuilder's library.
Rating:
Summary: I would not buy this book again
Review: Lots of [bad] pictures. A stuffy comment about "I have never had to personally use stealers" This guy may really be that good but the rest of us don't need to hear about it. Final comment: I kept the book but have been thinking about throuwing it in the recycling bin. It is NOT GOOD for beginners...or much of anybody else.
Rating:
Summary: I would not buy this book again
Review: Lots of [bad] pictures. A stuffy comment about "I have never had to personally use stealers" This guy may really be that good but the rest of us don't need to hear about it. Final comment: I kept the book but have been thinking about throuwing it in the recycling bin. It is NOT GOOD for beginners...or much of anybody else.
Rating: 
Summary: Good information poorly organized
Review: Mr. Dressel is obviously a very experienced builder, and there is a great deal of information in the book, but it the way it is presented makes it very difficult to absorb. The organization of the material made for very frustrating reading. The planking techniques indicated in the title are scattered throughout the book in various sections, and are often separated by unrelated (but interesting) material. Nautical component terminology (like "wing transom" and "fashion pieces") should be clarified (preferrably by illustration) before or at least at the same time they are used in the text. The "how to" explanations would be much improved by diagrams, photos or drawings with step by step procedures, rather than the often vague descriptions provided. Overall, the reader must expend a great deal of effort to glean the information from the book.
Rating:
Summary: Very bad
Review: Very bad
Poor organized, picture very bad
Don't spend you many on this book
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