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This book from the Nuts & Bolts team is a great release on several accounts. Not only was the original expanded to almost twice the size, information recently uncovered about the combat usage of the Kugelbitz has been included.
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Author Detlev Terlisten and Heiner F. Duske
Editor Heiner F. Duske
Drawings John L. Rue
Format Softcover, portrait format,heave paper covers, heavy glossy paper within.
Pub. year 2010
ISBN Unknown
Price 60.00 USD
Availability In print
With the release of the Trumpeter and Dragon kits there has been some interest on this vehicle. I was happy to read the Nuts and Bolts team have revisited one of their older volumes and updated it.
This book from the Nuts & Bolts team is a great release on several accounts. Not only was the original expanded to almost twice the size, information recently uncovered about the combat usage of the Kugelbitz has been included.
As usual, the book is broken down into sections. The inner covers have 27 photos of the various vehicles covered in the book in model form superbly rendered by Tony Greenland. There is an archival photo on the title page followed by bilingual text covering the variants, several tables, and a 13 page modeler’s section.
The text briefly covers the history German Anti-Aircraft usage from 1870 until the changes of 1942 when superior air forces made their presence felt over North Africa. Protecting from low level attacks was a concern for both the items protected and the gun itself.
The development of the Wirbelwind is then covered. Using interviews with Count Graf-Scherr-Thoss, even one of his sketches, the reader is shown how the development occurred and the vehicle manufactured from chassis returned from battle. The modifications to the chassis are shown in a list and a technical data sheet. Their usage is covered with particular attention to 10.(fla)/SS Panzer Regiment I during the battle of the Bulge.
The section of the Ostwind follows the same format although not in as much detail as there are no known surviving examples.
My favorite of the three is covered as well; the Kugelblitz. When Dragon released their kit, I thought it was only a prototype. Recently, information appeared on a web site showing a hulk found in the forest which suggested combat usage. The information is now found in the book along with excellent photographs of the museum example. Dragon has recently, at the time of writing, re-released the kit under their affordable Orange Series.
Scale plans are on 20 pages and they cover all of the subject vehicles and include three quarter views. These are drawn by John L. Rue. The plans are excellent.
So we have 168 pages with about 284 photographs of which 66 are archival. 191 Color photos of surviving flakpanzer IV specimens along with the 11 pages of color profiles makes this book much better than the first time around. It deserves a new volume number and is definitely worth buying even if one owns the previous volume. A note about the color profiles, they have continued to include an archival image of the subject so one can see the fidelity of the artwork.
This book is highly recommended, even at its price in the US, for every German armor library. It has all you would need to detail and correctly model the various variants of the flakpanzer IV.
You can order the book directly from Nuts & Bolts and pay using PayPal, recipient = hfd.duske@t-online.de.