Modelling the Messerschmitt Bf 109b/C/D/E (Osprey Modelling, #32)
by Brett Green
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was the most prominent German fighter type of World War II - over 35,000 were built and it served in many different variants and roles throughout the course of the war. This book is the first in a series of three covering the entire history of the Bf 109. It describes the range of kits available for the early and pre-war variants, including the Bf 109s that flew in the Spanish Civil War, Poland, France and the Battle of Britain. Author Brett Green also includes the full...
The first American armoured cars began to emerge around the turn of the century, seeing their first military use in 1916 during the Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa. When the United States entered World War I, the American Expeditionary Forces used some armoured cars in France, and American armoured cars were used by the French Army. The inter-war years saw considerable innovation and experimentation in armoured car design. Of the 1930s scout car designs, the M3A1 scout car was good en...
When at Hitler's insistence the first Tiger I tanks went into action in Tunisia in December 1942 they rapidly gained a formidable fighting reputation despite their lack of reliability and the small number deployed. With its heavy armour and 88mm gun, it outclassed all the Allied tanks then in service and forced the Allies to accelerate the introduction of improved anti-tank guns and tanks that could match the Tiger in terms of firepower and protection. In this, his second volume in the TankCraf...
Canberra (Canberra: The Greatest Multi-Role Aircraft of the Cold War)
by Ken Delve
An aviation legend designed in the mid-1940s, the Canberra entered service in 1951 with RAF Bomber Command. It served in the conventional, interdictor and nuclear bomber role with the RAF, in the UK, Germany, the Middle East and Far East. Its performance and adaptability made it ideal as a reconnaissance aircraft, and the final version, the Canberra PR9, only finally retired in July 2006! The Canberra was used in many support roles, especially in signals / electronic warfare. The Canberra was ad...
During the Cold War, the T-54/55 series of tanks represented the most serious threat to Nato land forces in Europe. Available in huge quantities, it formed the core of the Warsaw Pact armoured warfare doctrine, which envisaged massed tank attacks against the weakest point in Nato's front-line defences. Yet the T-54/55 could be stopped by smaller numbers of tanks which had the benefit of better technology and training, as was demonstrated during the Yom Kippur War of 1973 when Israeli tanks deal...
A monumental, wholly accessible work of scholarship that retells human history through the story of mankind's relationship with the sea. An accomplishment of both great sweep and illuminating detail, The Sea and Civilization is a stunning work of history that reveals in breathtaking depth how people first came into contact with one another by ocean and river, and how goods, languages, religions, and entire cultures spread across and along the world's waterways. Lincoln Paine takes us back to t...
From ancient flint hand daggers to the futuristic M1A2 tanks of today, flip through a series of stunning visuals to discover the weapons and vehicles that have shaped the military world.With rich illustrations, striking photography, and inputs from experts, Machines of War presents the story of all forms of weaponry that have dominated the battlefield, right from the pre-industrial age to the 21st century. Get a close-up look at firearms, aircraft, tanks, warships, and learn about the invention,...
AD 643. Anglo-Saxon Britain. A gripping, action-packed historical thriller and the sixth instalment in the Bernicia Chronicles. Heading south to lands he once considered his home, Beobrand is plunged into a dark world of piracy and slavery when an old friend enlists his help to recover a kidnapped girl. Embarking onto the wind-tossed seas, Beobrand pursues his quarry with single-minded tenacity. But the Whale Road is never calm and his journey is beset with storms, betrayal and violence. As th...
Modelling the SdKfz 251 Halftrack (Osprey Modelling, #6)
by Robert Oehler
The adoption of blitzkrieg tactics in the German Army prior to the start of World War 2 meant that Germany needed a new kind of fighting vehicle for transporting troops around the battlefield in support of the Panzer spearheads. It was in response to this requirement that the armoured half track was developed during the mid-30s. The SdKfz 251 half-track soon became one of the most numerous vehicles in the German World War 2 arsenal, and saw service on every front from Russia to France. This is t...
Modelling the German 15cm sIG33 Bison and Grille (Osprey Modelling, #19)
by Gary Edmundson
The Rheinmetall heavy Infanteriegeschutz 33 was the most powerful German support weapon at the beginning of World War II, and in January 1940, the first attempts were made to transform it to a tracked vehicle. An improved version, based on the Panzer II chassis, served in Rommel's Afrika Korps, and further alterations were made during the battle for Stalingrad in 1942. The Grille Ausf. H, the adaptation of the sIG 33 on the Czech Panzer 38(t) chassis, served from 1943 onwards with the schwere In...
Modelling the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A, F and G (Osprey Modelling, #27)
by Geoff Coughlin
This is a complete guide to modelling one of the best fighters of World War II. Designed by Kurt Tank, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 first saw combat in the summer of 1941 and went on to be produced in several variants. It remains a hugely popular subject amongst many aviation scale-modellers. The first of two to cover the Fw190, this book provides a detailed, step-by-step guide to modelling the Fw 190's 'A', 'F' and 'G' types in 1/48th and 1/32nd scale. The key aspects such as creating mottled camoufla...
Airbrushing and Finishing Scale Models (Modelling Masterclass)
by Brett Green and Robert Oehler
ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN E-BOOK. Brett Green details the prerequisites of airbrushing, including the different types of spray equipment and air sources available, offering advice on appropriate thinners, paint ratios and air pressures to ensure the most appropriate paint coverage across a range of different airbrushing applications. He then examines various airbrushing techniques across a wide range of models. Ten step-by-step, illustrated studies ranging from weathered military aircraft to pristine...
Adding a figure to a kit or a vignette can really bring it to life – yet building and painting figures continues to be a source of frustration to many modellers, with the results all too disappointing. However, help is at hand. The aim of this book is to equip the average modeller with techniques to successfully complete a figure from start to finish, and provides clear and easy-to-follow instructions on how to select, prepare, assemble, modify and paint realistic figures. It covers a wide range...
Panzers in the Defence of Festung Posen 1945
by Maciej Karalus and Jaroslaw Jerzak
Panzers in Defence of Poznan 1945 by Maciej Karalus and Jaroslaw Jerzak is the first book published in English to describe the bitter battle for Festung Poznan in 1945. That Polish city, occupied by the Nazis since almost the very beginning of the Second World War in 1939, was declared a fortress (Festung) on January 20 1945, and for the whole month it saw heavy fighting between Wehrmacht and Waffen SS troops and the Red Army advancing directly towards Berlin. Among the garrison of the fortress...
Repair, logistics, recovery, tactics and movement of a panzer division compiled from post- war debriefs, contemporary intelligence reports and interviews.
USMC M4A2 Sherman vs Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go (Duel)
by Romain Cansiere and Ed Gilbert
The different national tank doctrines of the United States and Imperial Japan resulted in a terrible mismatch of the predominant tank types in the crucial Central Pacific campaign. A flawed Japanese doctrine emphasized light infantry support tanks, often used in small numbers. Tactically, tanks were often frittered away in armored versions of the familiar banzai attacks. Meanwhile, the Americans saw the tank as an infantry support weapon, but developed a more systematic tactical doctrine. They s...
Since its introduction in 1981, at the height of the Cold War, the Abrams main battle tank has been one of the most visible and iconic symbols of American military power, and it is the fascinating subject of this heavily illustrated historical and modelling guide in the TankCraft series by David Grummitt. Designed to meet head-on the massed tank forces of the Warsaw Pact, its combat debut in fact came in a different scenario in 1991 during the First Gulf War. Since then it has served in the pea...