This book sets out to explain how the Soviets came to develop what has become arguably World War two’s most revolutionary tank design.

I have always been intrigued by the history and development of the T-34 as it helped greatly in changing the fate of Russia on the Second World War. This book goes in to incredible details and reasons behind its design and history. There is so much information included that I had not seen before. The pictures are also a great resource and will be invaluable when researching the T-34. There also a few Profile pictures are a particular favorite and great source for modeling.

I was impressed at the amount of information and history found in the pages of this extremely enjoyable book. The pictures along are worth the cost of the book. I will find this book indispensable in my library of reference books.

The Book

Robert Doepp and AFV Modeller Publications capture for its readers a comprehensive detailed construction of a BMW R75 in 1:9^th scale. Inspiration for this 112-page softbound book, “BMW R75 Escaping from the Falaise Pocket” comes from a rare black and white WWII image found in, Pallud, Jean-Paul. Ruckmarsch! The German Retreat from Normandy: Then and Now. Battle of Britain Internat., 2007. The German wartime image depicts a crew of 4 German paratroopers retreating on a BMW R75 with a sidecar attached.

Before this undertaking, several model magazines have showcased Robert Doepp’s work including Tamiya Model Magazine, Model Time, Dioramag and Steel Art. As well as being a contributor to several magazines, he has won numerous awards.

OKB Grigorov produces resin kits and accessories. The kits are 1/700 submarines and 1/72 armor. The accessories are for 1/35 and 1/72 armor. The kits aim for great detail. This is one of those kits, and it hits the mark.

The Vehicle

The Flak Panzer IV Kugelblitz (fireball) is a Panzerwaffe ’46 model. There was an idea for a Panzer IV armed with anti-aircraft weapons, something like the Wirbelwind, but with 3cm guns instead of the Wirbelwind’s 2cm guns. The concept was for an enclosed turret, providing protection lacking in the Wirbelwind, and greater stopping power from the larger caliber guns.

The Kugelblitz never made it into production or even prototype. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting vehicle based on an interesting idea.

The kit comes packaged in a small zip lock bag with a paper header that has the OKB logo the part number and the scale as well as a description of what is in the bag. In this case a complete set of road wheels for the T-64 type-1. The wheels are very well molded and are free from bubbles and the molding is very crisp. The detail on the wheels is outstanding and looks great.

The resin wheels are a bit more detailed than the road wheels in a trumpeter kit that I compared them to and I will be putting them on the kit. Unfortunately, I do not own a Skif T-64 kit and would like to compare the wheels to that kit as well. But based on the level of detail and molding in the OKB I cannot help but feel they are more than likely better.

This kit is a super pack containing all the needed items to weather a vehicle of any type in a Desert or Arid battlefield. The box is small and packs a lot of items in such a small space. When I opened the box, I was very please at all the items I found inside here is a comprehensive list of what’s included inside the box.