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Mr postman was really good to me today with the delivery of this Bjorn Landstrom's much sought after book on the Vasa. A book that can go for silly money and on reflection am very happy with the price I paid. Its a great book on the building and embellishment, the rigging and armaments of the Vasa. Some really impressive artwork can be found inside this publication and this together with Fred Hocker's Vol 1 means I now have an excellent library on the stunning ship. Great book for those that wish to enhance their own builds even further.... I'm one happy chappy....  Regards Alan Gandale attached the following image(s):
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 Rank: Beginner Level 3 Groups: Registered
Joined: 17/03/2010 Posts: 23 Points: 39 Location: South Shields
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I also managed to buy a copy of this book at a "reasonable" price.
I totally agree that the illustrations are stunning, and will be a great help with modelling Vasa. The only obvious problem is that the colour scheme shown (gilded carvings against a blue background) has, as we now know, been proved to be inaccurate. This however in no way detracts from the quality of the artwork. The drawings showing the building of the ship are particularly interesting.
In the excellent Swedish Warship Vasa forum Fred Hocker is critical about the historical accuracy of some of the text.
Landstrom quotes the theory that was popular at that time that the Vasa was altered during her build, from a single gun-deck design, on the instructions of the King. Apparently recent research has proved that the Vasa was in fact built as she was originally intended, without major alterations of this nature.
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 Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Landstrom worked with the woman who was responsible for documenting the ship in the 1960’s and 70’s, ‘Eva Marie Stolt’, and spent a year crawling around in the ship before starting the paintings. The illustrations of the ship under construction are particularly good, and accurate for the most part. The color scheme he used was based on what the museum thought at the time, before the paint remains had been documented and analyzed which he can’t be blamed for.
The book text is another matter. Landstrom was an excellent observer and artist, but he was not an historian. He is one of those responsible for the myth that the king altered the specifications of the ship after construction started, and some of what he says about the history of the ship either cannot be substantiated or does not tally with the evidence.
On balance, the Landstrom book is an excellent source for model builders who want to know how the ship is constructed.
Hocker is planning to include a number of the the Landstrom illustrations in his forthcoming Vasa Il book which is indication of how good he thinks the illustrations are.
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Rank: Pro    Groups: Registered
Joined: 26/05/2015 Posts: 121 Points: 366 Location: Wexford, Ireland
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It looks like an "must have" book for me  But the price......  85£ on Amazon  doesn't sound like a "reasonable" Regards, Arek
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Hi Arek, for anyone who is really serious about everything to do with Vasa then this book is well worth having. The artwork contained inside is for me, a sight to behold and full of detail... As for the price, yes its pricey but I think its worth every penny. Others of course may not agree.....  .. I'm also eagerly awaiting Fred Hocker's Vol II to be published, I'll buy it even though it will contain a lot of the artwork from Bjorn's book and I don't think that will be cheap either......... Regards Alan
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Rank: Pro Groups: Registered
Joined: 26/05/2015 Posts: 121 Points: 366 Location: Wexford, Ireland
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I will probably get this book sooner or later. In the meantime, I have a plan for the weekend break in Stockholm later this year. I should get plenty of inspiration from Vasa museum then  Regards, Arek
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Hi Arek There is also another book out there called the Vasa 1. If your interested in the vasa 1 book it's still available at oxbow books for £40, doing a search may get you a second hand one cheaper. This is also a good reference but with more line drawings rather than colour pics and is also a history and political guide of the time, the upcoming Vasa 2 book in the series is reputed to have a good few of the landstrom pictures in it. Link below, https://www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/vasa-i.html
Andy Current builds:-C57,Zero, Lamborghini Countach, Caldercraft HMS Agamemnon,Robi,R2-D2, MFH Cobra .
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arek wrote:I will probably get this book sooner or later. In the meantime, I have a plan for the weekend break in Stockholm later this year. I should get plenty of inspiration from Vasa museum then Regards, Arek Oh, you lucky boy.... Would love to visit but alas its unlikely to ever happen..... Hope you take and share lots of pics of the visit and hope it happens soon..... Regards Alan
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Rank: Pro Groups: Registered
Joined: 26/05/2015 Posts: 121 Points: 366 Location: Wexford, Ireland
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Gandale wrote:arek wrote:I will probably get this book sooner or later. In the meantime, I have a plan for the weekend break in Stockholm later this year. I should get plenty of inspiration from Vasa museum then Regards, Arek Oh, you lucky boy.... Would love to visit but alas its unlikely to ever happen..... Hope you take and share lots of pics of the visit and hope it happens soon..... Regards Alan Certainly will share photo or two.  My wife once lived in Stockholm for some time and when I told her about the Vasa museum, she actually offered a short trip. I'm going soon to Poland for two weeks, but I should visit Vasa before the end of summer anyway. Regards, Arek
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