Military Model Scene

Title:  Sd Kfz 6

Author: Alan Ranger

Publisher:  Stratus Books/MMP

ISBN:  978-83-65281-70-8

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Number 1 of the 'Camera On' series of books from MMP, a softcover book packed with wartime photos.  The Sdkfz 6 was the 5ton version within the series of German half-tracks.  One of the earliest types built is was also one of the rarest as production was closed as it turned out to be a class they could manage without.  The smaller Sfkfz 11 could manage many of the same loads, albeit at a push, and the larger Sdkfz 7 could also be used, so the Sdkfz 6 just added excess complications to the supply chain of spares.  Production was ended in 1943, and this and more detail is explained in the introductory text section.

What follows are another 75 or so pages packed with archive photos, all with helpful captioning, and pretty much all of them were new to me.  It is divided into sections which each cover variations of the half track.  The first is for The Early Version, followed by the BN (DB) I 8 version.  Some illustrate the version with three rows of seats and rear stowage boxes, used more as artillery tractors, while others have the 4 rows of seats and lack the rear bins, before it moves on to the BN 9 variant.  The final section deals with the Sdkfz 6/2 with 3.7cmFlak 36.  These sections all add up to being an ideal reference for modellers.  Not just the detail on the Sdkfz 6 itself, but the variety of photos show it in barracks, on training grounds, in a variety of terrain, towing a variety of different artillery pieces and a good number in company with other equipment and in bridging scenarios which offer all sorts of potential diorama ideas.

The last couple of pages provide some handy references as the pages illustrate the different road wheel arrangements on the different half track models, with Sdkfz 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11.  Then these have both front and rear photos of each type to help you be able to identify the different types in photos, and then finally, a set of comparison profiles of the same vehicles.   Vehicle historians and modellers alike will njoy this one and I am sure the series will do well for MMP Books.

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Thanks to MMP Books, who kindly provided my review copy.

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Robin