Introduction

Xtreme Modelling are perhaps better known for publishing the excellent and innovative magazine of the same name. This is the first in a series of monographs dealing with various elements of diorama building.

The subject says it all really. Most books on diorama techniques DO cover various aspects of water-effects but rarely (if ever) do we find an entire book dedicated to the subject. Usually when they're covered, they focus on the addition of water in a diorama but rarely, is the water the center of the diorama. It is also usual for the various manuals to have a single author, with the ability of the authors who write this kind of book it is beyond criticism, but with this book a 'multiple' approach has been used with no less than EIGHT writers each contributing one specific project. The area of water effects is divided into three separate areas - Seas, Swamps and Puddles...

In Brief - the book

H2Whoa! Water Under Modelling has been released by the Spanish publisher Xtreme Modelling and consists of a soft-cover, A4 book which contains 96 pages. The book is the first in a series of books which will cover various aspects of diorama work under the series title 'Elements in Combat'. As I mentioned in the introduction, there are 8 modelers involved in the book who are: Rhodes Williams, Domingo Ruiz, José A. Azorin, Javier Soler, Ignacio del Corral, Javier Redondo, Volker Bembennek and Chema Cabrero.

In More detail - the projects

The book, to illustrate examples of various water effects, present the work of the authors through eight very different projects. As it would be impractical to comment on all of these individually, i'll consider one in the next section of this review. Meanwhile, here are the chapter headings:

SEAS

Herr Hauptman’s Champagne - Rhodes Williams
Ducks on the water - Domingo Ruiz

SWAMPS

The Swamp Thing - José A. Azorín
Making water with transparent resin - Javier Soler
Calm waters - Ignacio del Corral

PUDDLES

Panther G Späte - Javier Redondo
K.O. Wirbelwind - Volker Bembennek

ADDENDUM

Tupolev G5 - Chema Cabrero

Overview - One of the projects

For sheer imaginative content and a superb execution, I chose the first project - Herr Hauptman’s Champagne by Rhodes Williams. Following the 'rule' of all good dioramas, this tells a story - a German LWS above a sunken fishing boat which had been used to transport equipment (and even a Kubelwagen lashed to it's deck). The entire diorama is housed inside a plexiglass case (giving the viewer the impression of looking inside a small aquarium). To give some added 'drama' to the scene, one of the crew has been diving onto the boat to recover a case of champagne when a shark appears....

Williams, in this diorama, manages to do something few of us would ever attempt - a genuinely 3-D diorama with several different elements - the surface of the sea, the seabed, the two vessels (the LWS and the sunken fishing boat) as well as the debris from the sinking scattered about the seabed. If that wasn't enough, the addition of the Kubelwagen, the animation of the crew of the LWS adds a myriad of interesting elements to what was already an interesting idea...

However, like all the projects in the book, it's not simply a showcase of the work of a group of modelers. The author explains in considerable detail the execution of the scene and the construction and (vitally important) establishing a connection between the various elements. However, it also follows that if the elements aren't well constructed, the intention will fall flat on its face. In this case, everything seems to work very well - the figures are nicely animated, the SWS is well done (considering the shortcomings of the donor kit, no mean achievement) and a lot of work has gone into the fishing boat and its cargo.

Like the other chapters in the book, the intention is not simply to present a completed diorama. The objective is to present a series of practical techniques which can be used on many different projects. This, taking 'Herr Hauptman’s Champagne' as an example becomes fairly obvious. It's a VERY practical book - for the workbench not for the coffee table..

Conclusions

Recently, when I reviewed a more general book on terrain modeling, there was (in certain circles) a criticism that the author had used an inordinate amount of a specific manufacturer's products and it appeared (IMO, unjustifiably) to be little more than a sophisticated advert. The same criticism may well be levelled at this book as many (though by no means all) of the water-effect products used, are produced by Vallejo. Let me counter this by saying that the company produce considerably more than just acrylic paint and do have a huge catalogue of items for terrain modeling. Also, as most of the modelers featured are Spanish, in Spain, we DON'T have exactly a vast amount of comparable products to choose from. Logically, you'll use the product which is most readily available and since Vallejo's products cover most eventualities...

The book is very logically edited and the idea of seperating it into three categories was, in my opinion, absolutely correct. Whether you're planning to recreate a section of Overlord a muddy field in the Ukraine or an oasis outside of Tobruk, you'll find something in the book to get you thinking.

The diversity of techniques and materials is also impressive. An enormous amount of materials are used to good effect - including the use of weathering powders, the pre-cut leaves from PlusModel or MK35's 'footprints'. There is a very good 'how-to' section on making a fir tree, some basic groundwork techniques and even three pages of color profiles of various Panthers.

The quality of photos is very good, with excellent, well-captioned images showing the various processes covered. Some of the images are full-page with the technique photos being of a good size.

It's strange that any one book covers the three principal areas of diorama work - Armor, Naval and Aviation are all there - the latter in the form of a P38H Lightning being transported (somewhat precariously) between two DUKWs - this is also the only 1/72nd scale diorama featured.

An excellent book which represents great value for money - there is an extraordinary amount of information in its 96 pages. This should definitely bode well for future books in what should become a very interesting series.

VERY Highly Recommended