Can anyone suggest a book that covers basic armor. I need a basic book that covers general armor. I am a noob to armor, so I need something that covers the basics of armor…like what the cables are for, or the tools, or the basic priniples of armor…and perhaps something filled with great pics of various pieces to stimulate my brain flow!![;)]
There’s a few decent references out there that touch on the overall development of armor. The book ‘The Great Tanks’ and ‘Inside the Great Tanks’ by Halberstadt are decent starting points. They can generally be found in Barnes and Noble and Borders bookstores, sometimes on the bargain shelf if you’re lucky. I got my copy of Inside the Great Tanks for $14.00 about a year ago. Although the title suggests it’s an interiors book, they do provide color images throughout, and good exterior detail shots as well. Only trouble is, they don’t don’t cover everything, and they run from WW2 era up to modern.
For general information about a particular vehicle, the web is still probably the best place to go for generic information and photos. Most of the equipment on armor is pretty generic, tow cables are just that, usually two per vehicle in most instances. Then you’ll find the standard pioneer tools, shovels, picks, and tools for track repair, and gun cleanning rods, although most German vehicles had those stowed in a cylindrical tube along the hull sponson. Some Russian tanks carried large ‘lumberjack’ style handsaws, and most German vehicles carried a heavy duty jack.
Hope that helps.
Jeff
That sounds like exactly what I am thinking of. I am building a Panther right now, so I noticed the cylinder where they keep the gun cleaning equipment, but wasn’t really sure what it was for. I also am not too sure where the tow cables attach to the rear of the tank as it just kinda shows up draped on the sides. I will look that up, and see if I can find those books…thanks for the tip!
For tank questions, ask tankers.
Trust me, they can come up with answers to the most obscure questions…
NTM
try this sites … plenty of good books !!!
http://betah.co.il/book_catalog.asp?category=Software%20Books
http://www.farposst.ru/BTT.htm
if your interested in German armor, The books Panzer colors I, II, and III are filled with pictures and camo schemes and vehicle markings. This may be not what your looking for, but if are going to build a lot of german armor in the future, I highly recomend them.
Thanks for the links everyone!! I just got in The Great Book of Tanks, and have been oogling all of the dirty machines!!
I have found that the Squadron books are very good for reference and ideas on how to finish a model. There are books on seemingly every subject you can think of , they are fairly cheap and easy to get .Hope this helps.