Leslie Geddes-Brown

The ‘ShipCraft’ series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeller through a brief history of the subject, highlighting differences between ships and changes in their appearance over their careers. This includes paint schemes and camouflage, featuring colour profiles and highly detailed line drawings and scale plans. The modelling section reviews the strengths and weaknesses of available kits, lists commercial accessory sets for super-detailing of the subjects, and provides hints on modifying and improving the basic kit. This is followed by an extensive photographic gallery of selected high-quality models in a variety of scales, and the book concludes with a section on research references – books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites. This volume completes Les Brown’s coverage of British cruisers of the Second World War, concentrating on ships with a primarily anti-aircraft role. It begins with the innovative inter-war conversions of old ‘C’ class ships and moves on to the Dido class – not originally designed as AA ships but armed with a new 5.25in dual-purpose gun that made them effective air-defence ships. Also included are the small number of merchant ships converted to cruiser-standard AA ships. With its unparalleled level of visual information – paint schemes, models, line drawings and photographs – this book is simply the best reference for any modelmaker setting out to build one of these famous cruisers.

The ShipCraft series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeller through a brief history of the subject class, highlighting differences between sisterships and changes in their appearance over their careers. This includes paint schemes and camouflage, featuring colour profiles and highly-detailed line drawings and scale plans. The modelling section reviews the strengths and weaknesses of available kits, lists commercial accessory sets for super-detailing of the ships, and provides hints on modifying and improving the basic kit. This is followed by an extensive photographic survey of selected high-quality models in a variety of scales, and the book concludes with a section on research references - books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites. Number 7 in this series, first published nearly 20 years ago, covers the three ships of this First World War type, Hood, Repulse and Renown, which survived to fight in the Second. Still the fastest capital ships in the world in 1939, their protection was not up to contemporary standards and two were famously lost in action. Hood in an old-fashioned gunnery duel, but Repulse succumbed to the more modern threat of aerial attack. The one modernised ship, Renown, survived an adventurous wartime career. This completely updated and revised new addition introduces new kits and models and lays before today's modeller's everything they need to build a kit of one of these famous Royal Navy ships.

The ShipCraft series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeller through a brief history of the subject class, highlighting differences between sister-ships and changes in their appearance over their careers. This includes paint schemes and camouflage, featuring colour profiles and highly detailed line drawings and scale plans. The modelling section reviews the strengths and weaknesses of available kits, lists commercial accessory sets for super-detailing of the ships, and provides hints on modifying and improving the basic kit. This is followed by an extensive photographic survey of selected high-quality models in a variety of scales, and the book concludes with a section on research references - books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites.This volume covers the five ships of the highly successful Queen Elizabeth class, a design of fast battleship that set the benchmark for the last generation of dreadnoughts. Since its first publication in 2010 this popular class has been the subject of many new kit releases and these, and related accessories, are covered in depth in this revised edition.LES BROWN is a leading light in the Small Warships Group of the IPMS and the editor of their newsletter. He is the author of a number of titles in the ShipCraft series, including two on British light cruisers, and, with John Lambert, he produced two larger works, one on ‘Flower’ class corvettes and another on Allied torpedo boats. He also wrote the volume on Black Swan Class Sloops in Seaforth’s ‘Original Builders’ Plans’ series.

The ''ShipCraft'' series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeller through a brief history of the subject class, highlighting differences between sisterships and changes in their appearance over their careers. This includes paint schemes and camouflage, featuring colour profiles and highly-detailed line drawings and scale plans. The modelling section reviews the strengths and weaknesses of available kits, lists commercial accessory sets for super-detailing of the ships, and provides hints on modifying and improving the basic kit. This is followed by an extensive photographic survey of selected high-quality models in a variety of scales, and the book concludes with a section on research references - books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites.The two ships covered in this volume were the only capital ships designed and built between the wars - a special concession of the Washington Treatys ban on new battleships - and they were unlike anything before them, with the superstructure three-quarters aft and all main armament turrets forward of the bridge. During the war Nelson survived mine and torpedo damage, while Rodney played a major part in the destruction of the Bismarck, both surviving to be broken up post-war.LES BROWN is a leading light in the Small Warships Group of the IPMS and the editor of their newsletter. He is the author of a number of titles in the ShipCraft series, including two on British destroyers, and, with John Lambert, he produced two larger works, one on ‘Flower’ class corvettes and another on Allied torpedo boats. He also wrote the volume on Black Swan Class Sloops in Seaforth’s ‘Original Builders’ Plans’ series. ROBERT BROWN is a Canadian ship modeller, who has contributed a number of volumes in the ShipCraft series, the most recent being British Aircraft Carriers published in 2024. He is also the author of Battleship Warspite, the first in a new series based on original builder’s plans.

If you have ever bought a cookery book not only for the recipes but also for the mouth-watering images and attractive design, then A Book for Cooks is for you. Food writer and self-confessed bibliophile Leslie Geddes-Brown surveys 100 pioneering cookbooks, selected by her for their influence, for their unusual recipes or simply for their beauty. All types of cookery book are featured, from the seventeenth century to the present, with cuisine ranging from Italian to Moroccan, Indian to South American. Among the famous chefs and writers included are Mrs Beeton, Raymond Blanc, Robert Carrier, Elizabeth David, Nigella Lawson, Claudia Roden, Constance Spry and Alice Waters. Each entry includes a brief commentary on the book as well as photographs of its cover and several inside pages. Also featured are contributions from leading chefs, cookery writers and other food experts, either discussing their top 10 cookbooks or describing how they organize their own collection. With more than 500 colour illustrations, lively text, including a short history of cookery books, and an elegant design, A Book for Cooks is a culinary delight for all foodies.