Overview

Panzer Rollen provides an insightful look into the workings of the Military Intelligence Service that was so invaluable in shaping both the strategy and tactics of the Allied forces during the Second World War.

Captured German field manuals translated and published by the US Military Intelligence Division are crucial in offering a perception of the intelligence provided to Allied fighters. The two volumes gathered together in this publication were originally published by the German War Office and therefore are particularly valuable, as they also provide a rare glimpse into the methodology underlying the operation of an armored division from the German perspective. Comprising of two supplementary field manuals, this book is essential reading for any military history enthusiast.

The recent rerelease of Airfix’s catalogue of 1/76 AFVs has generated a little bit of a buzz among Airfix fans, many of whom grew up building these little gems as lads. Now, as adults, they get to harken back on the days of yore with the reboxing of these little beauties. I myself never had much of an opportunity to build Airfix kits in my youth, but have taken to them as an adult. Whether it’s a fiddly older kit, or one of the new-tool ones in the shiny red boxes, getting back into the hobby later in life also meant finding some great new, and OLD, kits to build.

In today’s review we will be doing a Soviet Union Lend lease M10, This Tank was originally released back in 2014 for the 70^th anniversary of the Normandy invasion with that being said this new release does have a few things differently such as the decal sheet and the Soviet figures.

Let’s start will the Hull, This kit does offer the interior which is very nicely detailed. Some of the fit needed some work such as the 4 Sponson containers on the sides of the tank. The diamond blade deck was a very tight fit and required some additional sanding to sit in with ought bending the deck. My only real complaint is the lack of an engine for the build. The outside of the Hull is also very nicely detailed with all the little details that are added plus the molded-in features such as the weld lines and positionable crew hatch’s.

When I was around 10-11 years old, I got into a small-scale armor kick. The local shop carried Airfix kits and I built a lot of their kits at the time. The first time I built the M3 Half Track it was an MPC release in their Battle of the Bulge Historama kit.

Fast forward 45, cough, years later and Airfix is rereleasing many of their kits under their Vintage Classics range. The kit appears to be the exact same plastic first released in 1966 including the 1 Ton Trailer. The kit includes 54 parts molded in an OD plastic. There is a bit of flash but what would you expect from a set of molds almost older than me. The kit includes some nice detail, a driver and one of the nicest small scale .50 caliber machine guns. Decals are included for a M3A1 during Operation Overlord. More about them later. The color scheme is shown in full color in the instructions. Other than that change, the instructions look like they did when I first built it.

From the author’s website:

Although only 100 examples were produced, the 155mm Gun Motor Carriage M12 served with distinction as an infantry - support weapon and in particular as a bunker - buster during the U.S. assault on the Siegfried Line in the winter of 1944 - 45.

Spread through 144 pages, almost 200 photos, nearly evenly divided between photos of the sole surviving example and vintage development and combat photos, including numerous previously unpublished images, chronicle the history of this pioneering self - propelled gun and its companion M30 ammunition carrier.