Military Model Scene

Title: Panzer Tracts 5-2 Pz.Kpfw. Panther Ausfuhrung A
Author: Hilary Louis Doyle and Thomas L. Jentz
Publisher: Panzerwrecks
ISBN: 978-1-915969-32-3

The most recent edition of the Panzer Tracts books to have been revised by the new owners of the series, Panzerwrecks. A 128-page soft-cover book.
This was first published back in 2003, but this new edition not only includes that original information but benefits from additional information that has been unearthed since then, plus some new material on the armour suppliers and extra photos. Additional work has gone into the CAD drawings, which now occupy 50 pages in this edition, with scale plans in 1/35 along with fine details in 1/20 and 1/10. Also, if that was not enough, there is a separate sheet to accompany the book with a set of plans for the Panther A in 1/16 scale. It starts by examining the Design & Development story, and then goes on to the 4 different companies who built the Ausf A version. This section features some fantastic detail photos of the interior, including the suspension system, engine, transmission and much more. There is also a section looking at the detail changes made during production, which will help you identify the manufacturer and other detail you will see in archive photos. The new section looks at the manufacturers of the armour used in building these tanks, while the final part of the book has a series of reports on Operational Experience of the Ausf A in service on the Eastern, Italian and Western Fronts.
With the excellent base of the original edition, this new version has new paper, new information, and the photos are presented in high quality images. All done with original source information and measurements used for the CAD drawings all taken from measuring surviving examples. Even if you have that original edition, I have no question is suggesting you should get this new enhanced edition, while the scale plans are a gold mine for the military modeller.
Thanks to Panzerwrecks for the review copy.

Robin