Italian armored equipment has never received the level of coverage than armored equipment from other countries has gotten. This book is part of recent efforts to correct that historical trend.

The book has 3 main sections: the walk-around of three preserved self-propelled units (two M 41 and one M 42), a section with line drawings, and a brief historical summary, with period photos.

The walk-around is clearly the most important part of the book. It covers three surviving Semoventi, the M 41 da 75/18 at Rome, the M 41 da 75/18 at La Spezia (this one is a full running Semoventi), and the M42 da 75/18 located in Rimini. The last one is in German markings and built to German specs, after the Italian surrender.

The pictures are in full color (for a total of 171 pictures among the three Semoventi), including interior pictures. They show every detail from the running gear to the weaponry, armor plates, external brackets, etc.

I enjoy 72nd scale armor kits; they're usually easy to build without a zillion parts. Also, I've built mainly aircraft and cars over the last 15 years, so a fresh subject helps to get the modeling juices flowing again. This kit fits the bill. It's well cast with crisp moldings and excellent details for the scale, and the finished model certainly looks like the real-life subject (though I'm not counting the rivets).

Dragon Models offers a complete lineup of the Pz.Kpfw. IV family tree in 1/35 scale. Following on the footsteps of their (Late Production) H released four years ago, their new (Mid Production) H represents a specific vehicle in the 12th Panzer Hitlerjugend Division, fighting in the defense of Caen, June, 1944.

Like the earlier release, the Mid-Production H comes with molded-on Zimmerit and one-piece DS tracks. New to this kit, however, are turret side skirts with Zimmerit as well as a brand new frontal armor plate containing the steering-brake hatches. The only other change is that Dragon has replaced the aluminum barrel in the original kit with a slide-molded one in the update. For fit and finish, I prefer the latter, so that’s also a welcome replacement.

History

The RG-31 is a 4x4 mine-protected, all-terrain armored personnel carrier(APC) first manufactured in South Africa. It is able to withstand mine blasts and small arms fire due to the V-shaped, all-steel welded armor monologue hull and high suspension. As a multi-purpose vehicle, the RG-31 assumes a wide range of roles, such as APC, ambulance, and surveillance vehicle, but is mostly used during peacekeeping missions for its non-aggressive appearance. The RG-31 has served in Iraq & Afghanistan.

Kit

Inside the box, there are 5 tan plastic sprues, 1 clear sprue, 1 black rubber sprue, 5 black hard rubber tires, a PE fret, a decal sheet, and a 24-page instruction booklet. Also included in the kit box is a bonus "Check Point" set. The set consist of four figures and barricades (both water & concrete). I did not build this set for this review, but after looking it over, I think this set would build into a very nice diorama featuring the RG-31.

Much has been written in regard to the tank battles that happened on the eastern front with heavy emphasis on either the Germans or the Russians. This book looks into the smaller countries and the vehicles that were used during this campaign. By reading the book, you find out that some of these countries were not true allies to Germany. Many were forced to side with Germany and some tried to get out of this "alliance" but were drawn back in through kidnappings of their family members and other strong-arm tactics.

This book is clearly written and easy to follow. There are many black and white period photographs, color artwork, line drawings, cut-away drawings, and charts of the vehicles.