Andrew Birkbeck
Reviews By Author
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German and Russian Tank Models 1939-45Published: October 15, 2019 The author of this tome, Mario Eens, is well known to those on the international modeling scene as an award winner at European model shows, together with being a regular contributor to the excellent French modeling magazine, Steelmasters. The book itself consists of a master class in building, painting and finishing scale models, divided into five chapters, and spanning 128 pages measuring 8”… more |
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Challenger 2Published: October 12, 2019 Kagero Publishing is one of the world’s preeminent publishers of military vehicle and aircraft books aimed at the modeling community. The book under review is from their Photosniper series, and the author, Dick Taylor, is a leading author on British military vehicles. The book is 88 pages in length, with a card cover. The pages measure 8.3” by 11.7”, on glossy paper. All the photos within its… more |
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Legends of Warfare: Stuart Tank, Vol. 2 The M5, M5A1, and Howitzer Motor Carriage M8 Versions in World War IIPublished: October 9, 2019 David Doyle is one of the most prolific US writers of books on military subjects, and over the years has penned literally dozens of excellent titles on military aircraft, ships and armored vehicles. One of his most recent is this book on the Stuart Light Tank of WW2 fame. The book is 112 pages in length, and is printed on high quality glossy paper, the pages measuring 9” x 9”. As the title… more |
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Panzer III On The Battlefield 2Published: July 3, 2019 If you are a student of WW2 German armored vehicles, or enjoy modeling subjects such as the German Panzer III and Panzer IV, then the name Tom Cockle should be very familiar to you. Mr. Cockle is a prolific author on such subjects, and has written or co-written books for Osprey Publishing, Concord Publications, Squadron Signal Publications as well as European publisher Peko Publishing. Mr.… more |
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The Complete Guide to German Armored VehiclesPublished: June 29, 2019 Given the massive interest surrounding the Nazi armed forces during World War 2, it isn’t surprising that publishers want to produce books that cover the entirety of the military vehicles used by the Germans, in one volume, at an affordable price. And for a reader interested in this topic, it might be very useful to have a handy guide to said vehicles all in one volume. Over the years, there… more |
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The Japanese Destroyer ShimakazePublished: January 20, 2022 Kagero Publishing of Poland has two lines of books that include titles with a nautical bent and aimed at scale modelers: Super Drawings in 3D and Top Drawings. The former covers a ship in great detail via the use of color 3D renderings, while the latter covers a ship in great detail via black and white line drawings. The books are sized differently, with the… more |
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German Tank Destroyer Sd.Kfz. 173 "Jagdpanther Ausf. G1"Published: February 9, 2019 BackgroundOf late there has been a plethora of new WW2 German Panther tank kits in 1/35th scale from multiple manufacturers, and where there are Panther kits, there almost certainly will soon be subvariants of the Panther. Sure enough, having recently released kits of the Panther Ausf A and Ausf D, together with a Bergepanther Ausf A, Meng has added to their Panther pride with a… more |
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The Battleship Bismarck (Anatomy of the Ship)Published: November 17, 2018 “Sink the Bismarck” was the very first war movie I ever saw as a young lad, with my Scottish Father telling me it involved “the greatest naval engagement undertaken by the Royal Navy in the Second World War”. The Bismarck, one of two Bismarck-class battleships laid down by Nazi Germany’s Kriegsmarine prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, was fast and… more |
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T-34-85 After WW2-Camouflage & Markings 1946 - 2016Published: October 12, 2018 The T-34 series of tanks together with the M4 Sherman series are THE most important tanks of the Second World War from the Allied point of view. The Panther tank, perhaps the most influential tank of WW2 from the German perspective was a direct result of German forces running smack bang into the T-34/76 on the Eastern Front, and the demand for German industry to provide a counter to it. In… more |
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The History of the PanzerjagerPublished: September 10, 2018 According to Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This law describes the action of warfare as well, and so when the Allies introduced the revolutionary “tank” onto the battlefields of Western Europe in 1916, the opposing German forces quickly attempted to blunt the tank with the introduction of anti-tank weapons together with… more |