Hello again
Since I had the day off today I thought I'd check out the new Barnes&Nobel that they just built. Shelfs were pretty thin but I came across these two books and I knew I had to have them. The first one is called "British and American Tanks of World War Two" the other is "German Tanks of Word War Two". They are both about 225pgs long but the photos and the specs that they give are unreal!! The authors are Chamberlain and Ellis and is distributed by Sterling Publishing out of New York. If you guys get a chance please check them out (if you dont have them already.). Scott

Hi Scott

Those are certainly good books as a starting point. I really enjoy getting lots of in action photos and drawings.

I have recently purchased a coupleof the Achtung Panzer series (PzIV & Tiger so far). These books are amazing. For each version of the subject vehicle, there are 1/35 scale plans with overall dimensions. Then there are 'factory fresh' photos illustrating the version as it 'should' appear. There are also in action shots of the vehicle showing what it really looked like in the field. Best of all IMHO are line drawings of all the OVE, hatches, breeches, individual track links and every other freakin' part of the tank, and for each major variant and modifications to those!! I haven't seen anything like this for Allied vehicles, and would love to see that. So, for a German WW2 armor modeller, these are essential references that make many others superfluous. Figure captions are in Japanese and English, but the text is not the important information in these books.

I enjoy the Squadron in Action series for doing a similar job for a lot less $$$. You get some scale drawings, some detail sketches and lots of photos. So, those are also 'essential' books I've found.

Finally, Wydawnictwo and MBI publishing out of Poland and the Czech Republic respectively have some nice titles. I just got the MBI Hetzer book and the Marder III & Grille book. They are fantastic references, again with photos of these pz38t vehicles in factory fresh state, with nice interior and exterior shots, and then some in action photos. Unlike some other titles, the English translations in the MBI books are fantastic. I have found the Wydawnictwo books more hit and miss, but many are worthwhile.

Finally, for modelling, Shep Paine's books are must haves for those basic tips and tricks. I find it very helpful to look through his 'Building Dioramas' book for tips and inspiration!

I'd like to hear what others have to say about these books and others.

Andy

Hi BF .....yes these are excellenbt book's............but they have
been around sice the late 70's.
As for the German tank book, I hope you bought the Revised Edition
for they have updated at lot of reference in this one, and corrected some
error's from the first edition.
The book's contain a wealth of reference & info that would please
any modeler and military entusiast.
ENJOY !
- ralph

How much are the books? One thing I have done since junior highschool is pick up the really cheap military books you see in the clearance piles. Last night I picked up one for $5.99 at borders about WWII aircraft. Not much modeling refferences but some really great color pictures that will really help when I do build some of these. Do you guys ever pick up these types of books along with the specific modeling books?

Yep, I also have been doing that for years. Books are almost as much a passion with me as models.
As for the 2 books Scott mentioned, I picked them up a B&N a few months ago for $19.95 each.

The periodicals are overlooked for thier content. there is a lot of information to get from them as well as contacts.

Andrew,

I've been trying to put together a list of my personal "library" and I have about 350 - 400 war related titles, mostly WWII. A lot of these are paperbacks. All non-fiction of course!

For me, the history and the reading is more of a passion than modeling. But lately, as I've been into modeling a bit more, I have been buying more of what I call picture books to use as reference material.

I guess modeling is a way to make your history 3D!

Steve

I picked up the books that Scott mentioned from Squadron a month ago for $10 each......only mine were by Chamberlain and Doyle. Keep an eye out at Squadron, they normally have REALLY good prices on books. :-) ....Otto

I to am as much a reader as a builder and collector. I always haunt the used book stores not only for non-fiction books on military history particularly WW2, but for reference materials. I have one near where I work. I get alot of good "historical war books": but I have spoken to the owner who picks up items for me when she is out buying that she normally wouldn't buy. So far I have gotten an origanal Janes dated WW2 1944-45, Janes Armored identification book from the early 60's and several of the old Ballentine War Series that had the separate volumes on equipment, battles, campaigns etc. I have purchased several aircraft reference books as well. So yes they are a great source especially if you get to know the owner or buyer. Estates sales can be great sources as well. Sad to say WW2 veterans are passing away and there spouses will often have estate sales to downsize - books from there husband's collections often are sold. I also have those books that you mentioned and they are great references. It is often difficult to keep a dollar in my pocket between the books and the kits. Fortunately both of these are my most serious vices. :-) I enjoy the collecting of both books and models equally. The research to do an accurate model is a must. There is also the comradery of sharing tips, historical information and learning something you hadn't know perviously particularly on this site and others like it. Tanks46.