For history buffs and modelers interested in artillery warfare during WWII, the folks at Pen and Sword have come through with an offering that provides extensive coverage of all manners of artillery. The different types of artillery, including the gun, howitzer, and mortar are covered in detail for all participants in the war as well as rockets that were used. Over 400 photographs and illustrations are contained in the book so that nearly every page contains one or more photographs or black and white drawing, all of which are well produced.
About the Author
Dennis Oliver is the author of over twenty books on Second World War armored vehicles including Tiger I and II Tanks, German Army and Waffen-SS, Eastern Front 1944, Panther Tanks, German Army and Waffen-SS, Normandy Campaign 1944, Jagdpanther Tank Destroyer, German Army, Western Europe 1944-1945, and Tiger I and Tiger II Tanks, German Army and Waffen-SS, and The Last Battles in the West, 1945.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- The Normandy Battlefield
- Camouflage & Markings
- Model Showcase
- Technical Details and Modifications
Summary
This book is another installment of the Tank Craft series which currently holds 17 titles and covers German, American, and British tanks, Tiger I and Tiger II Tanks, and German Army and Waffen-SS, and Normandy Campaign 1944.
About the Author
Ian Baxter is a much-published author and photographic collector whose books draw an increasing following. Among his many previous titles in the Images of War series are Hitler’s Boy Soldiers, Nazi Concentration Camp Commandants, German Army on the Eastern Front – The Advance, Germany Army on the Eastern Front- The Retreat, The Crushing of Army Group (North) and the SS Waffen Division series including SS Leibstandarte Division, SS Totenkopf Division At War. He lives in Chelmsford, Essex.
The R35 was a small, light infantry tank that was originally designed by Renault for the French Army. After the fall of Paris, many of these tanks were captured and pressed into service by the German forces. These were used as either second line tanks or they were modified for other rolls. The particular vehicle covered by this new kit from Hobby Boss covers a vehicle that has been modified to carry the 3.7cm Pak 35/36.
M1 IP Abrams MBT
The M1 IP (Improved Performance) Abrams was produced briefly in 1984 and was a transitional tank to the M1A1. Some of the upgrades included a new “long” turret with thicker frontal armor—upgraded from 650mm to line-of-sight thickness of 880mm. 894 M1 IP tanks were manufactured for the US.
First Impression
This PANDA kit was released in 2018 and is a re-issue with new parts from the original kit which came out in 2017. The box contains one clear sprue, PE, one waterslide decal sheet, brass wire, upper & lower hull pieces, and seven sprues (four of them dedicated to the tracks). The parts are molded in dark yellow plastic. The detail is fair. This kit has a large amount of injector pins and injector pin remnants attached to parts. Some parts had a moderate amount of flash which required cleanup.
This 64-page book is number 26 in Pen and Sword’s Tank Craft series. It is printed in the larger A4 size on high gloss, thicker paper. The topic of this book is the Jagdpanzer IV Tank Destroyer as used on the Western Front in 1944 and 1945. It starts by talking about the developmental history of this tank destroyer, then about the many kinds of units that used this vehicle. There are ten pages of color camouflage and marking pages with two tank destroyers on each page. Following that section are thirteen more pages of 1/35 and 1/72 scale kits builds. The first three kit are Dragon Models, then a Tamiya and lastly a 1/72 Matchbox. There are lots of color photos of these models and explanations how to build them. The ten pages after that are all the different modeling products concerning the Jagdpanzer IV. Kits and aftermarket products are listed and photos of each. This is a great reference section for modelers.
This 64-page book is number 24 in Pen and Sword’s Tank Craft series. It is printed in the larger A4 size on high gloss, thicker paper. The topic of this book is not the Panther tank, but the German Army (Heer) Panzer Brigades that used this tank in 1944 and 1945. There are three generations of Panzer Brigades and each is discussed in detail. There are nice organizational charts for each Brigade. There are ten pages of color camouflage and marking pages with two tanks on each page. Following that section are ten more pages of 1/35 scale kits builds. The first kit is a Dragon Panther Ausf A, then a Dragon Ersatz M10 Panther Ausf G and lastly another Dragon Models Panther Ausf G. There is lots of color photos of these models and explanations how the builds. The ten pages after that are all the different modelling products concerning the Panther tank. Kits and aftermarket products are listed and photos of each. This is a great reference section for modelers.
This is the 23rd book in the Tank Craft series which details tanks and also covers model kits and accessories to build the tanks covered in the book. This book covers the British Main Battle tank of the Gulf War – Challenger 2.
I found this book a fountain of information and rare pictures of the tanks. The Profile pictures are a favorite and awesome source for modelling.
Of particular interest was the in action and variants chapters which gave me a lot of information that I had not seen before.
The chapters on the different model builds and kits are of great interest and will provide a good resource when modelling these two tanks. There is a lot of suggestions of kit improvements and helpful details of a few great full builds
I’ll be honest. When I first saw pictures of this upcoming kit I assumed it was some kind of prototype. Every other French tank of the period that I’m familiar with – the Renaults, Hotchkisses, Somuas and Chars – all have a fairly consistent look to them, mainly because large castings were prevalent is each design, sometimes with a little bolting. This one is so radically different that it really threw me. But not only is this definitely a French design, but it is also NOT a prototype. A surprising number of these were actually built and saw combat.
This is book number 1 in Kagero Publishing’s “In Combat” series. This book is the larger A4 or European size with high gloss paper and is 80 pages long that has 12 chapters. The pages are laid out with English on the left side of the page and Polish on the right. The first chapter is about the development of the base Panzer III, then it jumps to Ausf. (model/version) H. Each chapter deals with a different Ausf number up to Ausf N. The detailed about each model is very extensive and a few charts are included that show production numbers. There are two to three photos per page showing the Panzer III version being written about. Some of the photos seem to be computer enhanced to bring out details.
