Sheperd Paine: The Life and Work of a Master Modeler and Military Historian
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
| Author: Jim DeRogaitis | ISBN: 978-0-76432-929-6 |
| Publisher: Schiffer, ©2008 | Binding: Hardcover |
| Pages: 272 | Price: $79.95 |
There are a few iconic scale modelers out there, and Sheperd Paine would definitely fall into that category. His skills in building and finishing are extensive, and his long career as a modeler has resulted in a huge collection of impressive finished models and dioramas. Many will remember Shep Paine's work from his inserts in Monogram kits in the 1970s, and more than a few modelers found inspiration from those inserts to attempt dioramas themselves. For the most part, though, it would probably be safe to say that few modelers are aware of the complete breadth of Shep Paine's work. This large tome from Schiffer presents the broadest picture of the work of Sheperd Paine over the last several decades.
The text is actually an interview between the author, Jim DeRogatis, and Sheperd Paine. As such, it reads quite a bit differently than a traditional book. However, it tends to capture how the hobby has changed over the decades, as well as examine the growth of Shep Paine's work. Rather than discuss the content of the text, I will just say that it is an interesting read, and there are plenty of very interesting nuggets to be found in there. In addition to the main text, there are sidebars for many other individuals that were influenced by Shep Paine. These offer yet another view on the fascinating career of the man.
This book is not all text, though, and no book about Sheperd Paine would be complete unless it contained photos of his work. This book does just that, and in fact I would be willing to guess that, without the photos, this book would only be a couple dozen pages long. Yes, there are that many photos, many of which are printed large, and nearly all of them are in color. These include dioramas, standalone figures, vignettes, and boxed dioramas. Each subject is worthy of close examination, and on the whole, every piece can provide inspiration for modelers branching out into these various genres.
This is a hard book to put down once you start, as there is just so much material presented. While detailed step-by-step techniques are not discussed, the basics are presented, both in the photos and in the text (the captions themselves are quite detailed and useful), and modelers can glean quite a bit of technical information for their own use. I can recommend this book to any modeler who would like to learn new techniques and see just what can be done by a master modeler. My thanks to Schiffer for the review copy.