Volume Seven of this addictive series is here, and this time we have something subtly different, in that it's themed on the Eastern Front, with all images taken from archives and collections from that theatre of operation. There's a wide variety of vehicles depicted, as you might imagine from such a vast operational area, starting with a great shot of a zimmerited Demag-built Panther ausf.A in thick, glutinous mud, covered in spare track links with open stowage bins etc., so immediately we are off with some great modelling inspiration! Beaten-up, winter white-washed Panzer IVs are next, followed by further Panthers, and superb study of a muddy, white-washed 7.62cm gunned Marder II on a railway flatcar, a vehicle much under-represented in kit form. We progress through pages on smashed Hummels, StuGllls, more Panthers and PzIVs, Tiger lis, but as a respite from these, a very interesting few pages showing Hungarian Turan tanks on railway flatcars. Good quality photographs of these handsome vehicles are rather rare, so this section is a real treat, and in my opinion, worth the price of this volume alone - Cromwell Models have a kit coming out of this machine and these shots will make invaluable reference material for it. Another selection of photographs that will appeal to the armour modeller wishing for something a little different show a captured Jagdpanzer IV, PzlV H/J and a Hetzer in Bulgarian service, and as such have been painted overall Russian green with big, white-bordered red stars hand-painted on their sides very nice for a different looking piece of German armour.

Verdict; Aside from that described here, there's a lot more in this book as well, and as always, it really should not be missed by those wishing to go deeper in their armour modelling. MN

Reproduced by kind permission of Tamiya Model Magazine International (opens in a new window)