Book Review: Superdioramas

With a very suitable title, this book highlights the work of two very accomplished and ambitious modelers, Lewis Pruneau and Bob Letterman, both of which were inspired and befriended by Francois Verlinden early in his career. Francois immediately published this first book dedicated to their work in order to introduce them to the rest of the scale modeling community. The book focuses on only three pieces of their work, but in reality a book could easily have been made for each of these massive pieces. The first piece, entitled The Paris Gun, is a 1:35 scale monster of a German railroad mounted gun built from scratch by Lewis Pruneau. Depicted in a diorama as it appeared during construction in the factory, this piece is comprehensively detailed from every side to a very high level of realism. The next piece, also by Lewis, is of a dry-docked German experimental U-Boat undergoing maintenance. Again, the entire piece is built from scratch, with many photographs taken during construction. This piece truly illustrates the talents of this bold modeler. The final article focuses on a miniature city in 1:35 scale by Bob Letterman. Depicting a French city undergoing liberation from the Germans by Pattons forces during WWII, it truly must be seen to be believed. Although the main theme is clearly shown in the form of U.S. Army convoys moving past columns of German P.O.W.s in the city, seemingly countless details can be seen, from individual vignettes on street corners, to different European architectural styles. This book is a must for every modeler, artist, military enthusiast, and history buff.