Books published by The Crowood Press Ltd

Learn to capture the beauty and drama of the sky. A good sky is the essence of successful landscape and seascape paintings. This practical book covers everything you will need to know to paint a sky that captures the mood and atmosphere of a scene. With over 200 paintings, it explains techniques, demonstrates the painting process including step-by-step instruction on painting in oils with the alla prima technique. Advice is given on using alternative colours and creative interpretations and gives ideas to inspire and develop skills and a personal style. There is also detailed instruction on equipment, tone, composition and perspective and finally, practical advice on painting en plein air and travelling light.

Railway layouts often depict a branch line in a rural or urban setting, with the majority of locomotive models representing passenger trains.  However, increasingly, ready-to-run models of industrial locomotives are becoming available, providing the unique opportunity to place them into an industrial context.  This new book gives the guidance and inspiration to place these models in their natural, industrial environment. It gives step-by-step descriptions of several build projects including a gas holder, a cooling tower and an open hearth melting shop.  The book shows how to make resin buildings, kits and scratch-building and demonstrates the construction of industrial struce models in a variety of scales. And finally the development of an industrial locomotove fleet, specialized rolling stock and road vehicles are covered.

The techniques of casting are of crucial importance in our day-to-day lives, being used in the manufacture of diverse products ranging from dental implants and hip replacement joints, through bicycle frames and car engine parts, to the most exquisite items of sculpture and jewellery. Nevertheless, the prospect of casting can seem daunting to the home metalworker. Casting for the Home Workshop aims to demystify the craft and make it accessible to all. Topics covered include the history of casting; tools, materials and equipment; techniques; the home foundry and post-casting operations.

Narrow Boat Engine Maintenance and Repair is a practical guide to help keep your engine operational, and your boat moving.  It also provides instruction on how to identify faults and, where possible, how to fix them.  With its focus on diesel engine operation, and the systems found on most vessels, this is a useful resource for any boat owner.  It provides practical guidance to undertake everyday maintenance on your diesel engine; it demonstrates how to complete a service and locate and resolve common faults; explains the theory required to understand each of the boat's main systems and shares the practical skills and techniques that engineers spend many years learning.  The book is highly illustrated with 264 colour step-by-step photographs and 60 technical diagrams.

Explains the process of landscape photography, leading you easily through the stages of editing an image to lift your photographs and bring out the image you captured at the taking stage. This book covers topics such as: screen grabs; black and white landscapes; combining photos into realistic high-dynamic-range images; and Photoshop shortcuts.

From the heavily beaded tubular dress of the 1920s through to the body-skimming shift dress of the 1960s, this book looks at and celebrates the historic shapes, detailing and romance of vintage wedding gowns. Equipped with instructions, patterns and photos, it explores the history of wedding wear and explains how to make a vintage wedding gown inspired by historical fashions and trends. A beautiful and practical book, it will inspire everyone who wants to express themself through timeless and elegant styles.

The perfect way to experience the amazing countryside of county Durham is on two feet. Whatever your age, ability or energy level this new collection of 100 walks of up to 12 miles will help you explore the best of this breathtakingly beautiful coastal landscape. The Crowood Walking Guides give detailed and accurate route descriptions of the 100 walks. Full-colour mapping is included which is sourced from the Ordnance Survey. Details of where to park and where to eat and drink are included and also places of interest to see along the way.

Comprehensive in its coverage, Modelling the Southern Region - 1948 to the Present presents an historical overview of the post-war Southern Region of British Railways before guiding the reader through a series of detailed modelling projects, illustrating all of the techniques and equipment required, from building freight, locomotives and architecture, to modernization, electrification and the third rail.  These projects make use of the best available commercial model-making products and provide an introduction to scratch-building your own lineside items.  Each project is supported by a short historical background section and suggestions as to how each project could be further developed.

Covers a wide variety of materials and processes, and tells you everything you need to know about building model railway coaches. The author guides the reader through the necessary techniques and skills. He covers topics ranging from kit building in metal, plastic, resin and wood to 3-D printed kits and components.

Insects, and their close relatives, the arachnids, centipedes, millipedes and woodlice, make ideal material for study by the recreational microscopist. This book reveals the basics of insect microscopy, explaining what equipment is needed and how to get the best out of it.

Determining where and how to store a model railway when it is not in use can be difficult, especially if space is limited; a folding railway layout can be the solution to this problem. In this book, the author describes all aspects of how to build the folding case and how to construct the layout using lightweight materials such as rigid foam.

Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) produced some of the most iconic British bikes of the 1940s and 1950s. Illustrated with over 200 photographs, this book looks at the history and development of the single and twin-cylinder ranges; the racing bikes; technical details of all major models, and owning and riding AJS and Matchless bikes today.

There have been other generations of Jaguar XK since, but the definitive incarnation is the family of 6-cylinder sports cars that stretch from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s, from XK120 to the E-Type. This is the complete story of the whole 6-cylinder XK generation, the circumstances, the people and the events that created it.

Surrey is a walker's paradise, with rolling chalk downland, picturesque villages and dense woodland. This collection explores the best of this diverse county. It provides detailed and accurate route descriptions of the 100 walks.

A model railway layout is greatly enhanced by a good back scene. If a modeller is prepared to go to great lengths to achieve realism in the locomotives, rolling stock and buildings, this should be carried through to the scenics. This is a guide for both railway and diorama modellers to create convincing back scenes.

Cities provide endless exciting scenes for the artist, from sun-baked cafes, rain-soaked streets, illuminated nightscapes and busy squares to quiet, atmospheric corners. This book explains how to paint these scenes using water-based painting materials and new techniques.

Watercolours are the first choice for many painters, but few master the full potential of the medium. This book encourages you to be bold and colourful. It offers practical ways of working with watercolours, and shares ideas and thoughts that can make your painting methods more exciting and adventurous.

The E-Type Jaguar has been described on countless occasions as one of the most beautiful cars in the world. This manual takes you through the full nut-and-bolt restoration of a very early example, E-Type Jaguar Chassis No 60. Each chapter gives you a first-hand account of the process.

Northumberland offers a wide range of delights for the walker - from coastal walks to important historical features such as Hadrian's Wall. This collection explores the best of this diverse county. It provides detailed and accurate route descriptions of the 100 walks.

Cheshire is a walker's paradise with its industrial heritage and outstanding natural beauty. This collection of 100 walks of up to 12 miles will help you explore the best of this diverse county. It gives detailed and accurate route descriptions of the 100 walks. It also includes details of where to park and where to eat and drink.

Part of the Everyday Modifications series that are designed to guide classic van and car owners through the workshop skills needed to make their vehicles easier to use and enjoy, this book is concerned with improving the 4-cylinder Spitfire and Herald, and the 6-cylinder Vitesse and GT6, with engines ranging in size from 948cc to 1998cc.

Precious metal wire is a versatile material that can be used to great advantage in jewellery design. This book focuses on using soldering techniques to confidently construct wearable wire jewellery designs. It includes fundamental skills such as cutting, filing, annealing and soldering, and encourages the maker to master these basic techniques.

Combines technical instruction, art history references and thoughts on the day-to-day practice of painting the head from life. After introducing materials, principles and ideas, this title follows the course of painting a head in five sittings, providing unique insight and practical comment throughout.

Drawing with graphite and coloured pencils enables you to capture every detail of a plant, and to enjoy, study and celebrate their forms. This book introduces and explains the drawing skills behind the art. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of the plant, working upwards from the root system to include the stem, leaves, flowers and fruit.