Greek Armoured Cruiser “Georgios Averof” 1911-1913, Super Drawings in 3D (Kagero 2018)

Greek Armoured Cruiser “Georgios Averof” 1911-1913, Super Drawings in 3D (Kagero 2018)

Georgios Averof is a modified Pisa-class armored cruiser built in Italy for the Royal Hellenic Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The ship served as the Greek flagship during most of the first half of the century. Although popularly known as a battleship in Greek, she is, in fact, an armored cruiser, the only ship of this type still in existence.

The ship was initially ordered by the Italian Regia Marina, but budgetary constraints led Italy to offer it for sale to international customers. With the bequest of the wealthy benefactor George Averof as down payment, Greece acquired the ship in 1909. Launched in 1910, Averof arrived in Greece in September 1911. The most modern warship in the Aegean at the time, she served as the flagship of Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis in the First Balkan War and played a major role in the establishment of Greek predominance over the Ottoman Navy and the incorporation of many Aegean islands to Greece.

The ship continued to serve in World War I, the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, and the interwar period, receiving a modernization in France in 1925 to 1927. Following the German invasion of Greece in April 1941, Averof participated in the exodus of the Greek fleet to Egypt. Hopelessly obsolete and prone to mechanical breakdowns, she nevertheless spent the next three years as a convoy escort and guard ship in the Indian Ocean and at the Suez Canal. In October 1944, she carried the Greek government in exile back to liberated Athens, after the withdrawal of the German army.

In 1952, she was decommissioned, before being moved to Poros, where she was berthed from 1956 to 1983. From 1984 until the present day, she has been reinstated on active duty as a museum ship in the Naval Tradition Park in Faliro, near Athens. After maintenance in late 2017, she achieved seaworthiness state once again, allowing the ship to sail (towed) accompanied by Greek frigate Kountouriotis (F-462) to Thessaloniki, Greece, where she received more than 130,000 visitors over her 53-day stay.

A new book from Kagero & Tassos Katsikas...

Kagero is a well known Polish publisher of specialized modelling books and with the “Super Drawings in 3D” series they have taken the art of reference editions many steps further.

One of their latest addition about the “Georgios Averof” Greek Armored Cruiser is no exception: Packed with a plethora of 3D color drawings (we counted 130) in 70 pages on matte excellent quality heavy paper, A4 size (210x297mm), you get a wealth of reference material.

Tassos Katsikas has done an excellent study of “Georgios Averof”, producing a set of super detailed color drawings of the cruiser, especially for Kagero.

The text is minimal, in the form of a historical narrative (overview, design, propulsion, armor, armaments, operational service & conclusion) - 6 pages in total, including general data charts/technical specifications and data about the sister ships Pisa and Amalfi. The rest of the book is full of large color 3D drawings, which show in detail almost every aspect of the cruiser, inside and out.

The drawings start from the ship’s hull and superstructure, port, starboard and topsides, and then follow a walk around pattern showing the bow, armoured turrets, forecastle deck, anchors, chains, capstans, telemetry towers, rangefinders, stern deck, searchlights, steamboats, rudder, propellers, telegraph wires, crane booms, masts, funnels, observatories, bridge, etc, with many close-up pictures. All the illustrations are highly realistic as though you are looking to the real ship using an imaginary drone!

The drawings are clear and perfect for the maritime modeller to see all the useful details that could help make a true masterpiece. This release does include drawings for below the waterline, so it is perfect for those who build full hull. As a bonus a folded double-sided black & white set of drawings of the Averof is also included, showing the exterior of the craft in 1/300th, 1/100th & 1/50th scales. This is an A1 folded sheet of line drawings and contains 3 views of the ship overall, in 1:300 scale, while on the reverse there are bow and stern drawings in 1:300, plus numerous detail drawings of equipment in various scales between 1:50 and 1:100, giving even more detail. Of particular interest are the distinctive radio aerials with their spreaders.

If you plan to build the YS Masterpieces superb 1/350 resin scale kit of the “Georgios Avereof” then you should seriously consider buying this book, as an absolute and essential modeling reference and a color guide. You will even find ideas for weathering and adding many small details, like these concerning the guns and cannons, boats, hatches, etc. to your model. A must-have for any maritime modeller.

Highly recommended!

You can order it online here.

Greek Armoured Cruiser “Georgios Averof” 1911-1913, Super Drawings in 3D (Kagero 2018)Greek Armoured Cruiser “Georgios Averof” 1911-1913, Super Drawings in 3D (Kagero 2018)Greek Armoured Cruiser “Georgios Averof” 1911-1913, Super Drawings in 3D (Kagero 2018)Greek Armoured Cruiser “Georgios Averof” 1911-1913, Super Drawings in 3D (Kagero 2018)Greek Armoured Cruiser “Georgios Averof” 1911-1913, Super Drawings in 3D (Kagero 2018)Greek Armoured Cruiser “Georgios Averof” 1911-1913, Super Drawings in 3D (Kagero 2018)Greek Armoured Cruiser “Georgios Averof” 1911-1913, Super Drawings in 3D (Kagero 2018)Greek Armoured Cruiser “Georgios Averof” 1911-1913, Super Drawings in 3D (Kagero 2018)Greek Armoured Cruiser “Georgios Averof” 1911-1913, Super Drawings in 3D (Kagero 2018)Greek Armoured Cruiser “Georgios Averof” 1911-1913, Super Drawings in 3D (Kagero 2018)Greek Armoured Cruiser “Georgios Averof” 1911-1913, Super Drawings in 3D (Kagero 2018)