Allied-Axis Series
No. 5 and No. 8
Ampersand Publishing
S
u m m a r y
|
Title, Description,
Publisher, Media and Price |
Ampersand Publishing Allied-Axis
Series No. 5: M8 Armored Car, Tank Transporters of World War II Part II,
Japanese Type 89 Medium Tank, M1 and M1A1 Heavy Wreckers by the Ampersand
staff; Ampersand Publishing, Delray Beach, Florida, 2002; 96 pp.; price
$13-18 (no ISBN reference)
Allied-Axis Series No. 8: LVTs at the Front; German 10.5 cm howitzer (Part
2), Marine Corps Shermans of WWII, Kursk: Porsche's heavyweight in action
by the Ampersand staff; Ampersand Publishing, Delray Beach, Florida, 2002;
96 pp.; price $13-18 (no ISBN reference) |
Review Type: |
FirstRead |
Advantages: |
Nice, new photo selection of
subjects, many from private collections; good matchup with current model
kits and modelers' interests |
Disadvantages: |
Some subjects may seem too esoteric |
Recommendation: |
Highly Recommended to all armor fans
and modelers who want different markings and references |
Reviewed by
Cookie Sewell
HyperScale is proudly supported by Squadron.com
This year marked the first time at AMPS that Pat Stansell and his crew from
Ampersand Publishing, the same people, who publish the magazine "Military
Miniatures in Review", came to the show and set up a vendor's stand with a wide
selection of their publications. These included the "Modeler's Guide to the
Sherman" and the mockup copy of the forthcoming "Modeler's Guide to the Tiger",
a number of issues of their magazine "Military Miniatures in Review" and also
their historical journal "Allied-Axis" series.
"Allied-Axis" is a nice series of 96 page books in which they look at the
counterparts on the Axis and Allied side in WWII. These volumes, numbers 5 and 8
of 9 published so far, continue the winning format that the series has
pioneered. The books are short on text but long on high-quality, clear
photographs of their subjects, many from private sources and thus fresh.
Volume 5 covers 10 more pages on the M26 Dragon Wagon with text by Pat Stansell,
including the late war M26A1 softskin version that served long into the Cold
War. Jim Hensley offers a short view of the relatively unknown Japanese Type 89
medium tank, followed by 28 pages on the operational use of the German Wespe and
photos of the "runner" preserved in Koblenz. Another 28 pages cover the US M8
Armored Car as provided by Joe Porter. Lastly is a series on the M1 and M1A1
Heavy Wrecker done by Pat Stansell.
Volume 8 covers 10 pages by Pat Stansell on the German leFH 18 howitzer, the
weapon most commonly misidentified by the WWII GI as the "Kraut 88" as they
didn't realize it was the true maid-of -all-work German artillery piece. Next is
a 20 page selection of WWII Marine Corps Shermans from the collection of Ed
Gilbert. 42 pages of material on all types of LVT vehicles used in WWII is
provided by David Harper and Pat Stansell. Last, 21 pages cover the initial (and
not very auspicious) combat debut of the Porsche "Ferdinand/Elefant" at Kursk by
Thomas Anderson.
Overall, the selection of photos is excellent and most of the text and
descriptions very clear (one set confused IA as the identification for 1st
Armored Division; it's not, it was the marking for 1st US Army). But when used
in conjunction with other more technical references, they are very handy and
also provide nice alternative markings for modeling projects.
NOTE: These are not currently being reprinted, and as they go out of print they
disappear. Fair warning!
Cookie Sewell
AMPS
Review Copyright © 2003 by Cookie
Sewell
Page Created 26 May, 2003
Last updated 24 August, 2003
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