Military Model Scene

Title: TankCraft 13, Tiger I and Tiger II Tanks

Author: Dennis Oliver

Publisher: Pen and Sword Books

ISBN: 978-1-52674-182-0

 

Book No 13 in the TankCraft series from Pen and Sword, and another in this series by author Dennis Oliver.  The book follows the regular format for these TankCraft books and provide an excellent mix of historical background, technical details of the tanks themselves along with colour profiles, a showcase of expertly completed models and a survey of kits and accessories that are available on the market. Judging by the number of manufacturers who produce models of the Tiger I & II, modellers seem to have an unquenching demand for all of them.

The Introduction provides the context of this particular book on the topic of the Tiger, and its' use on the Western Front in 1945. Each unit of the Heer, the German Army, are individually described. Amidst this are unit organisation charts, maps and archive photos That leads into a section on Camouflage & Markings which does include 10 pages of fine colour profiles which are accompanied by useful notes on each one. The modellers showcase features three models, a 1/72 Hybrid Tiger I by Steve Shrimpton, a 1/35 Tiger II in Belgium by Lester Plaskitt and another Tiger II, this time in Germany in 1945, by Sheng Hui. A hard act to follow as there is excellent inspiration for modellers already, then we get a survey of kits and accessories you can get, and in a variety of scales.

On page 49 we go back to the history and the Heer units, before getting to similar coverage of the Waffen-SS units. This goes on to a useful set of notes on Technical Details and Modifications that were made during the final period of the war. It also includes a couple of pages, with archive photos, of 'Hybrid' Tiger Is. These were put together in workshops, mixing old and new turrets and hulls to get tanks into service, rather than hope for new factory production. This leaves the final couple of pages to go over Factory Applied Camouflage and a list of model producers contact details.

Another interesting addition to the series from Dennis, and with something to interest both the modeller and the armour historian.

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Thanks to Pen and Sword for this review copy.

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Robin