Captured Panzers: German Vehicles in Allied Service
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Mini Top Colors 39
Authors: Marek Jaszczolt & Arkadiusz Wrobel
Publisher: Kagero Publishing
ISBN: 978-83-62878-89-5
Binding: Softcover
Pages: 18
The Kagero Mini Top Colors series returns to armor with this latest title, and this one covers some very interesting subjects. German armor is a popular subject, with interesting designs and camouflages, but interesting markings are sometimes elusive. Captured vehicles, though, that adds quite a bit of interest to the equation, and this book provides markings for sixteen options in three different scales: 1/35, 1/48, and 1/72.
For each subject, the book provides both a color illustration and a descriptive paragraph. For many of these subjects, the illustrations are further accentuated with scrap views showing alternate angles. The written text is in both English and Polish, and provides a bit of background for the specific vehicle. The new operators cover a broad range of nations, including France, the United States, Britain, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia, and Canada.
The sixteen vehicles covered are:
- PzKpfw II Ausf F, 1st Ranger Battalion, United States
- SdKfz 222, No 2 ACC, RAFJagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer, Poland
- PzKpfw V Panther Ausf A, 1er bataillon AS de l'Ain, France
- 15cm Panzerwerfer 42 auf Selbstfahrlafette SdKfz 4/1, 1er G.M.R., France
- PzKpfw V Panther Ausf G, 145th Regiment RAC, Canada
- PzKpfw V Panther Ausf G, 4th Battalion Coldstream Guards, Britain
- PzKpfw IV Ausf H/J, l'Escadron Autonome de Chars Besnier, France
- SdKfz 251/8 Ausf D, unidentified MEDEVAC unit, United States
- PzKpfw V Panther Ausf G, 366th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment, Soviet Union
- Panzerbefehlswagen Panther Ausf G, l'Escadron Autonome de Chars Besnier, France
- SdKfz 251/9 Ausf D, 153rd Field Regiment RA, Guards Armored Division, Britain
- SdKfz 251/1 Ausf D, Czechoslovakia
- SdKfz 250 Ausf A, Czechoslovakia
- Sturmgeschütz III Ausf G, 5th Independent Self Propelled Artillery Squadron, 6th Infantry Division, Poland
- PzKpfw IV Ausf J, 5th Independent Self-Propelled Artillery Squadron, 6th Infantry Division, Poland
The decals are printed by Cartograf and have excellent color and density, and the registration is spot on. With options in all three scales, be prepared to find some friends to share the scales you don't build. Alternatively, you could build all of them for months of modeling fun. If you're looking for some interesting new armor subjects, this is a great book to pick up. My thanks to Casemate for the review copy.