Plastic Ship Modeler 1995
  The standard emerges
By: Shane Jenkins
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    The second year of Plastic Ship Modeller's run really set the standard for 
    the following years. Plenty of good line drawings, sketches and the like (usually 
    done by Dan as were the covers), with an improvement in photo quality and 
    general production values. In addition reviews of both plastic and resin kits 
    increased with a new section for photoetched items being added. 1995 also 
    saw a welcome increase from 32 pages to 36 pages and the standard of writing 
    was exemplary. 
Plastic Ship Modeller's strength has always been the various 
    series on naval colours. This year saw it really get started with a vengeance. 
    In 1995/1 Richard Mellico's well researched and thought out article on the 
    often contentious issue of scale colour prepared the way for the rest of the 
    year. A three part series on WW2 Kreigsmarine camouflage covering in detail 
    the various schemes that saw service and many that didn't across the whole 
    navy (1995/2 - 1995/4). Al Ross tackled PT boat camouflage and Falk Pletscher 
    looked at comouflage in the Italian Navy.
    
    Modelling articles covering the following were also featured in this year: 
    USN Deck Markings, HMAS Nestor, USS 
    Cheyenne/Wyoming, R.N. Fiume, IJN Hosho, building a 27C Essex carrier, Farragut 
    destroyers, Mogami class cruisers - Kumano and Suzuya, USS Louisville, KMS 
    Bremse and detailing fo'c'sles.
    
    Merchant navy articles were also covered with American tugboats, Arundel Castle, 
    SS Athenia and the Harriman type shipping board design 205 making an appearance.
    
    With the emphasis on colour articles in Plastic Ship Modeler (now becoming 
    more familiarly known as PSM), ship modellers began to approach the standard 
    of reference in a magazine that other modelling genres take for granted.