The Jadgpanther was a Heer (German Army) tank destroyer based on the Panzer Mark V Panther tank chassis. They had an 8.8cm anti-tank gun installed in a fixed superstructure that replaced the Panther’s turret and 7.5cm gun. This Meng Model’s Jadgpanther is the last production run made from November 1944 to May 1945.
This is a thin book but very large format, and the images are of a very high quality of the various 4 Wheeled German armoured cars of WWII.
The book covers the Kfz.13, Kfz. 14, Sd.Kfz. 221, 222, 223, 247, 260 and 261.
The most widely used 221, 223 and 223 take up most of the book. The photos and descriptions are great and very detailed.
I found this book fascinating and will be using some of the Photos as inspiration for a few kits in my stash. This this a fantastic reference for all armour modelers.
I highly recommend this book.
Thanks to MMP Books and Casemate Publishers for providing this book for review and to IPMS USA for allowing me to review it.
AFV Club has released their third version of a ‘Gun Truck’ employed by hard-pressed convoy security forces in Viet Nam. This time around we meet the ‘King Cobra’, sporting three 50cal M2 ‘Ma Deuce’ machine guns mounted on a fully equipped M113 APC hull, sans wheels and track, thrown right up into the bed of a M35 5-Ton truck, all black and bad. I took one look at the box top and I knew I had to build it.
The Viet Nam gun trucks have a fascinating history; borne of necessity, built with Southern ingenuity, and purpose-made to rain hell on its adversaries if attacked. While they were never officially sanctioned by the U.S. Army, an estimated 300 to 400 trucks were transformed in this way. Only a single gun truck, the ‘Eve of Destruction’, survives today, permanently on display at the Army Transportation Museum in Fort Eustis, VA.
MENG has released a new tool kit of this great British AFV, which I have always wanted to have in my collection.
I jumped at the opportunity to review this kit for two reasons, firstly I love the look of this vehicle and it’s a British AFV with no other offerings in this scale on the market.
In the box is:
Osprey is a prolific publishing company based in England that not only covers historical military history topics, but modern ones as well. Published in 2020, this work as a tight focus on vehicles used by the wide variety of elite and specialist troops in the Russian Republic. As with nearly every series of Osprey the book is filled with well reproduced photographs (all color) and illustrations. It divides the book into the various users and, again as a regular feature of these books, a short list of suggested works for those who would like to know more.
This book covers a little-known major operation within the campaign at Monte Cassino which was a success in its own right.
The operation was to build a road and assault German positions north of Monte Cassino with tanks of the New Zealanders, Indians and Americans forces. The plan was audacious and daring by building a road able to carry the tanks on a narrow mountain track. The operation would help in breaking through the infamous Gustav Line. I have long been interested in the Monte Cassino operation as my Father was involved in this campaign, but I had never read anything on this operation and found the book fascination and illuminating. The work and effort put into this action was enormous. The pictures and maps help the read to outstand the events and actions. The picture of the area as it is now also adds another dimension to the readers knowledge.
I recommend this book to everyone with an interest in WWII.
The Israeli Defense Force has a long tradition of importing U.S. weapon systems and upgrading them to meet their needs. The Magach series of tanks are based on the M48 and M60 tanks. The Magach 6B Gal is a modernized version of the M60A3 Patton and the addition of the Gal designation came with a new fire control system. The Magach 6B Gal was used as a front line vehicle for many years, serving alongside the Merkava series of main battle tanks.
The images of war series, published by Pen and Sword but distributed by Casemate Publishing, is a prolific series that covers a huge variety of topics. They will often feature a campaign or a particular vehicle and then provide a brief narrative and photographic coverage of the vehicle’s service life. The author’s do their best to find photographs that have not been widely published. The audience for these publications are history buffs and. I would say, modelers.
The Military Vehicle Preservation Society (MVPA) is a hobbyist group that restores and operate historical military vehicles. While the journal is for members, for modelers that enjoy soft skins, the images are worthwhile. From what I can figure out, it appears that History in Motion is available to members as opposed to something you would find in a hobby shop. This publication is the result of merging the previous two membership publications into one.
This is the first of a new series of books for military modellers and enthusiasts. Each book in the series centers on a particular subject and numerous model builds, step-by-step guides, and tips and techniques along the way. Models in a variety of scales are included- some full kit builds, some conversions, and painting guides. This particular volume looks in depth at various vehicles that serve with the Israeli Defense Forces. Some of the topics covered include urban warfare, mine clearance, main battle tanks, and armoured personnel carriers.
After a brief two page introduction, the book continues with 21 different builds or conversions of kits. The titles pretty much give an indication of what is occurring in each build and what kits were used. The builds break down into the following:
