Military Model Scene

Title: Panzer Tracts 12-1: Flakpanzer IV
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'And other Flakpanzer Projects', the latest re-published/updated edition of the Panzer Tracts series now that they are in the hands of publishers Panzerwrecks. An 82-page soft-cover book.
As the war progressed, there was an ever greater requirement for mobile anti-aircraft support of the German ground forces. The Panzer IV was an obvious choice as a flexible, and reliable chassis to form the base for what turned out to be a variety of different flak variants. Each of them have their own section, with coverage of the 2cm Flakvierling version of the slab sided Mobelwagen, followed by the 3.7cm Flak 43 version, using the same superstructure arrangement. Then there are the turreted versions, the Wirbelwind with the quad Flakvierling and the Ostwind with the 3.7cm Flak 43. The lead neatly into the low turreted Kugelblitz, with twin 3cm guns, but only 2 were completed before the end of the war. That is followed by the one Pz 38t based 2cm Flak 38 and then the larger Versuchsflakwagen 8.8cm Flak auf Sonderfahrgestell mounting the Flak 41/ Only 3 were built and issued, one of these later have the gun replaced with a standard 8.8cm Flak 37. Throughout the book there is a great selection of archive photos, which have clearly been enhanced with the new paper/presentation in this new edition, and each with a page of detailed specifications, just as the text has been updated with new information gathered since the original edition was published. Added to all of this is a section of 14 pages with 1/35 scale plans by Hilary Doyle, and with a nice clear explanation of how the authors have double checked all the original dimensions using original plans and from measurements of surviving vehicles.
With the new style and layout, along with the updated information, this new edition of the book is great for both the military vehicle enthusiast and modeller alike. Panzerwrecks are making some really useful improvements as this classic series of books are steadily being updated. Absolutely no hesitation in recommending this one.
Thanks to Panzerwrecks for the review copy.

Robin